Cheetah 1965
Location: Seattle
Posts: 163
My VIN: 1374
Cheetah 1965
A can of worms doesn't open itself.
Patrick Maruska Seattle WA USA.
Location: Seattle
Posts: 163
My VIN: 1374
I forgot to note the Cheetah has doors similar to the Mercedes 300sl and another car from the 80's that was featured in a movie with Michael J Fox.
A can of worms doesn't open itself.
Patrick Maruska Seattle WA USA.
Location: Middleburg Heights, OH
Posts: 1,939
I think the Cheetah has the engine one third of the way from the front, two-thirds from the back (based on the air filter). Not really the middle.
As Rich W said, pretty much every single modern monster truck I've seen has the engine exactly in the middle (note: D-Rex is vintage, thus not modern). It used to be in the front a few decades ago, but they have since integrated it into the frame, partially because it's entirely protected by the frame (preventing damage and thus fire), and partially because it is in the gravitational center of the car, both front-to-back and top-to-bottom.
Location: Seattle
Posts: 163
My VIN: 1374
Originally Posted by EMDF
If you measure from spindle to spindle, you'll find the two rear cylinders are on the centerline. If the engine was back 6-7 inches, it would be dead center.
A can of worms doesn't open itself.
Patrick Maruska Seattle WA USA.
Location: Middleburg Heights, OH
Posts: 1,939
Maybe it's the angle of the camera, but the air filter seems to be positioned a bit differently on that one. The red Cheetah had the air filter about a foot and a half from the windshield, but the blue one looks like roughly four inches from the windshield.
Posts: 14
My VIN: 007008
mid-engine......kind of
Location: Seattle
Posts: 163
My VIN: 1374
I lost a bet before on the cheetahs engine place. My buddies Pops has one and i was saying my Lotus Esprits engine was closer to centerline then a front engined car. We measured and sure enough, the Cheetah's engine was closer. Only reason i had any idea.
A can of worms doesn't open itself.
Patrick Maruska Seattle WA USA.
Location: Woodbine, MD
Posts: 182
My VIN: 02650
Club(s): (DMA)
Keep in mind that from an engineering standpoint, there's no reason to want the engine itself in the center of the wheelbase. The goal is to have the overall vehicle's CENTER OF MASS in the center which must accommodate the DRIVER also. So the center of the wheelbase will typically end up somewhere between the driver and the engine.
NOTE: This is all assuming you're shooting for a vehicle with a 50/50 weight distribution.
Last edited by protodelorean; 09-14-2012 at 08:38 AM.
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