Austin Fx4 taxi - Rat Rod or Hot Rod?

[Go4fun]

Like this?
http://www.rodsnsods.co.uk/forum/garage/taxi-based-pick-up-38943


Shorten it too by cutting out the rear doors?

Gasser? Hot Rod? Sleeper! A perfect little taxi and then the customer gets in and the world disappears in tire smoke and exhaust roar. Not to mention the nimrods who try you at a stop light and watch the taxi disappear into the sunset and tire haze. 
Of course the front seat is full custom bucket seats and such while the back is luxury maximus.

[McColm]

Another possibility is the Ute/pickup truck and lose the back seats or have them pop-up if stored away.
I was watching Quest , Chop Shop-London Garage and they were recreating the Rover Jet 1, P4 75 Cyclops Car for Jools Holland.
I know that the Austin Taxi isn't the same vehicle but I do have a Merlin engine from a 1/24 Airfix Hurricane. If the engine fits, I'll slice the roof off and use a single windscreen from the Lincoln Futura (batmobile look-a-like). The roof could be used to cover the exposed parts around the drivers' seat.
Or rear engine if it doesn't fit. Edges to be rounded, suspension lowered. If both windscreens fit cut to size, individual tub seats, air/radiator vents along body work. Lots of chrome exhaust pipes. Rearrange the headlights, tidy up the grill. Remove bumpers, New tyres.

[McColm]

Another idea springs to mind is the 1940s Batmobile, I think it was a spinoff film. Got the Corgi diecast in my stash. Black and red finish, with the large bat fin on the back.

[Hobbes]

Merlin engine from a 1/24 Airfix Hurricane. If the engine fits

Here's a Rover Meteor installed in a Rover SD1:



(that's Charlie Broomfield's car) So in an FX4 you're going to have a similar problem where half the engine will be aft of the firewall.

[Weaver]

James Bond version? Ejector seat, retractable weapons, telesocpic tire-slashers in the wheel hubs etc...?

[PR19_Kit]

Jeepers, that's a tight squeeze! They must have modified the front suspension as normally the lower links on an SD1 are mounted off the engine sub-frame and that one's totally different.

It looks a lot neater than the same engine in 'The Beast' though, but I hate to think what his fuel consumption is! 

[zenrat]

Get one of the AMT Parts Packs with the Allison V1710 - it'll work out cheaper than buying a 1/24 Airfix plane just for the engine.  Although of course you could still build the plane without an engine in it.

[McColm]

Got a secondhand 1/24 Airfix Spitfire VB off eBay, the tail has some damage and some parts are missing. I think I only paid £10 for it.

[Hobbes]

Jeepers, that's a tight squeeze! They must have modified the front suspension as normally the lower links on an SD1 are mounted off the engine sub-frame and that one's totally different.

It looks a lot neater than the same engine in 'The Beast' though, but I hate to think what his fuel consumption is! 

I found some photos of the engine installation:


more here

[McColm]

Thanks.
I think Kit was right, might be better in a truck.
Or I could move the windscreen back to the rear doors, cut the roof and refit the dashboard. Blank out the front doors and extend the bonnet/hood. The back could get a hatchback.

[PR19_Kit]

That's amazing, the build pics are tremendous Harro, thanks for posting the link.

From them I can see what they did with the front suspension and it's very clever. Darn it, the whole THING is very clever! 

I'm amazed it's not got more publicity as it was built in 2006, it certainly is one superb job of engineering.

[zenrat]

Got a secondhand 1/24 Airfix Spitfire VB off eBay, the tail has some damage and some parts are missing. I think I only paid £10 for it.

Bargain!

[PR19_Kit]

On the Merlin engined model front, here's the chassis of my 1/24 drag racing Chevy van with an Airfix Spitfire I engine mounted in the back. I orginally built it in 1974 and won the Hot Rod and Dragster Class with it at the IPMS Nats that year.

It's being slowly rebuilt after falling off my model shelf a while back and I'm having problems re-doing the rather fragile front suspension. The wires and stuff hanging out the back are to connect up to the body mounted parachute BTW.

[McColm]

Got a secondhand 1/24 Airfix Spitfire VB off eBay, the tail has some damage and some parts are missing. I think I only paid £10 for it.

Bargain!

With a few resin aftermarket kits the Spitfire will either be a Reno Racer or if I can get some forward swept wings for it something experimental.

[McColm]

Looking good Kit