Wildwood

[comp1839]

sounds off the hook don. i have to ask,......what's the significance of the name "wildwood"?

[Don Garrett]

Well Dave, I wasn't really going to go there this early in the game but being you asked the answer it's simply because it's going to have wooden coach work...in other words - a Woody. We are going to build a woody that is as politically correct and acceptable at the country club as it is with a long board on the roof at the beach.
I'm not going to just slap some veneer & balsa together and call it a day...it will be properly framed out and I'll use some rather exotic woods for the skin. Luxury interior.....with all the bells and whistles.

A little bit hot rod, custom, show car, luxury beach cruiser...........what more could you want in a daily driver? Shoot, I think even the Donald would approve......hee, hee.

[hot ford coupe]

Hey Don, when it's all done, since you're using a bucket load of TDR parts, you can use this build to show them all off. You can make it a TDR flagship to show what you can do with all the parts.

[Don Garrett]

Yeah Jeff......it'll show off some TDR parts but other than mentioning what parts I've used (as well as giving credit to other vendors or individuals) the majority of the car will be scratch built or modified parts from outside sources. There will come a day when I build a complete car using only TDR parts and a Madd Fabricator or a body of my own.
That however is for another day..........this particular build is all about what tickles the fancy of Rick and myself.

I'll be posting some "quick" sketches of where we are headed shortly after I get the 1/8th scale glass Cuda thread going.....that car has been on the back burner far too long - - - it's on the bench....and now that I have a clean bill of health I want it outta here so that I can move on to other projects.

[Don Garrett]

Let's get this show on the road.......the pics don't do these wheels justice......they were fabricated and laced by Chris Garcia.
The disc brake rotor is a TDR item. Rick had these wheels custom made by Chris for a project he had been working on....they are gorgeous.
I'll be stripping the red paint and more than likely faux anodizing them, adding a valve stem, some big & little white sidewall tires and use them on Wildwood.

[comp1839]

thanks for the explanation don. sounds incredibly cool.

[Don Garrett]

Thanks Dave, Rick hasn't seen this sketch yet so it may change but here's my first draft......I wanted to retain the overall visual recognition as a Willys but being it's going to have a Ferrari engine I borrowed a few styling bits from the Enzo. I also want it to be a bit more contemporary than simply a retro rod Woody.
Whatcha guys think? Input is more than welcome.

.

[hot ford coupe]

Nice front end treatment. I love it. I also love those Kelsey Hayes wheels. I'd love to make a set of those myself.

[Don Garrett]

Talked to Rick, he's good with the sketch and sent me a Pocher F-40 engine kit so it's heater time.......not too shabby with the twin turbos and all but we're going outside the box for this cruiser........I hope some of you Ferrari guys will keep me on track with the wiring etc. Haven't decided yet whether to put a distributor on the thing...or use coil pacs and 'puter.

Here's a pic of the Pocher kit I'll being using for those of you that are unfamiliar with it.......



Looks like a lot of pieces but there's parts for complete engine and another partial engine. Rick also included most of a trans kit (hardware).



Now we all know there's no substitute for cubic inches and I have a spare block etc.
I can leave this as an 8 cylinder or make a (fantasy) 10 cylinder?

If I was going to do a 12 cylinder I'd have used a Testarossa engine.

[Old Busted Hotness]

The TR engine is far too wide to fit in the front of anything. You'd be over the 102-inch width limit by the time you put tires on it. But REAL Ferraris have 12 cylinders, in a V for preference. And you know the Willys has room for six in a row under the hood, so what's another row?

Cutting off the front of the hood makes the Willys identity disappear. It's still recognizable with only the grille mods. Why not try a transparent bubble scoop like the original TR's used? Or is that too hot -roddy?

[Don Garrett]

Stu.....couple of great ideas there pal.
I'm really liking the transparent bubble thought......wouldn't be difficult to vacuum form something........I'm going to have to hold up on the final hood design until I have the blower mounted on the engine and see how high it sits.
I'll give the V-12 some serious thought, it sure would make for a wicked looking engine.
I kinda hate to cut up another Pocher F 40 for a few cylinders but what the heck....I could always make a V-4 Ferrari with the left overs and stuff it in Guzzi frame or trike right? It would be cool in mid-engined / transaxle bug or buggy too. Hmmmmmmmm.

[Don Garrett]

Here we go....I'm hoping that this build will be informative and helpful to some and at least eye candy for others.
As it progresses I'm sure there will be screw ups and gremlins that have to be dealt with but if nothing else it may keep some of you from repeating our boo boos in your own builds....in other words Rick & I will use our coin and time to (with any kind of luck) save you some $, time and frustration.


Rick & I after some head scratching' and our usual bantering back & forth collectively decided to keep the F40 a V-8.
Had to chuckle a bit when Rick said " Stay with the V8. It's a hot rod, not a Beverly Hills grocery getter".

Anyway on to the pictures......
Here's some out of the box Pocher kit pieces for the front covers and alternator....in my mind, no better or worse than any other kit. A bit lacking in detail perhaps considering the cost of Pocher stuff, but that's for you guys to decide.

[Don Garrett]

I'll be using a number of bits from various vendors including TDR and the Madd Fabricator.......right up front let me say I am involved with TDR & MF, but whatever I use I'll be calling like I see 'em. Fair 'nuff?

These next few photo's are of the kit pieces assembled, painted, and some trans kit hardware pieces added.
The only reason I'm posting them is for comparsion between the O.O.B. parts and assembled with the trans kit stuff so that you can decide for yourselves if trans kits are worth the coin.
These are spares and I did not assemble them!

I'll be breaking them down to salvage the trans kit hardware parts only.
I don't know who assembled them and I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but if you look closely some of the plastic bosses are broken out and drilled off center. That may be okay for some but I want want this build to be super detailed and the best my particular skill level with allow.







The trans kit bits I'm using are a Scale Details item for this engine.....I've been asked if it's worth the cost?
Let me just say the the quality is right on the money, if I had to to round up the hundreds of bolts, etc. that come in the kit not to mention the P.E., brass tubing and supplied info...it would cost me way more than the price of their kit and the reseach time would be out of sight.

Is it worth it....that's for you and your piggy bank to decide.

[strevo]

I like the air intake idea, and figure it needs to be on top of the hood to hit the blower right, but it sure would be cool to have a pair of intakes, one on each side of the hood where the flat on the inner side of the fender(the part that the hood sits on) could flow up into the engine compartment through a channel and into the blower(if that makes any sense). Of course, this is YOUR design, so do whatever suits you! This sounds like a really cool project!