66 Miata Batmobile Build

How to move forward?

So I have a damaged front that apparently has little to no durability.

There are two ways I could go, should I choose to move forward with what I have:

I could patch up the front and wrap it in aluminum tape, then spray it with rubberized under-coating and/or lay on a skin of duct tape.
I would leave it in the shed until I have a back half, then bolt it all on and retape as needed. This would be the mega-ghetto DIY 'screw it all' method.

The problem is that what I have is already extremely impractical in terms of installation or weight. With the lights and support metal, the thing is a bruiser. Like a hundred pounds. With a similar back half the miata would be a real dog, struggling around town.

OR

I could patch up the front and then refine and resculpt the skin with a whole bunch (and I mean a whole darn lot) of spackle with no regards to weight. When I had a good-enough shape, I would take the whole front to a contact I found who sprays fiberglass projects freelance. He would spray a hard-shell coat of fiberglass over the whole thing. Then I would tear out the current structure, reinforce and mount the fiberglass front.

It would be a viable durable structure, but:
1. Top-glassed shapes require a lot of sanding and filler to be anywhere near-smooth. The fiberglass dust is carcinogenic and an extreme irritant.
2. I would have to start from scratch with the mounting and lights.
 
I think at this point it's time to start moving on Batmobile Beta: 1) you proved you have a design that looks extremely cool 2) the materials used for Alpha will not withstand moisture/foul weather (as well as weight factor)

If you go the fiberglass route, you might consider your original thought of creating a really good (but heavy) blank, pull a mold, then have the skin done. Initially more costly, but if something happened to the skin you could make another (and you could also sell 'em to anyone that wants to build a Miata-based Batmobile!).

You also know what problems to work out, mainly the wiring and the hood. If you could devise a way to have the Bat-Hood pivot from the front, it may solve your problem.

Don't get discouraged. If you need to take a break, do it - but I'm hoping to see this completed (with back end), 'cause IT'S SO COOL!!
 
I was thinking the same thing as warpig. The materials you've been using just arent feasible, but you've come so far, and this is way too cool a project to give up on. Refine your shape, and have it glassed!
 
creebobby - due to your allergy to resin, you may need to partner with someone (maybe your friend that does glassing?). Don't know if you've gone on other forums to see if there's other Batmobile fans in your area (check the Illustrious Matt Munson's Mattmobile thread for some forum ideas).

It *is* an awesome build - but you need to stay healthy to enjoy it :)
 
It's an awesome looking car, but driving around with a wood, foam and filler frame bolted to your car couldn't possibly be the final answer.

You need to break it down into components; left/right fenders, hood and nose (and rear quaters, trunk and tail, when you get to those), then have molds made and make fiberglass casts. Even if you have to work with someone else, due to your allergies. Then, once you have feasible casts, find a miata forum and offer them as a kit.

People spend thousands on those kit cars, turning fox body mustangs into 60's cobras or pontiac fieros into lamborghinis. Who knows, you may have an untapped market.

-Fred
 
Being that I am an Austinite with car experience (WyoTech class of '05!) I'd definitely be willing to provide a helping hand. I was thinking about this build when that crazy rain came through, and I'm sorry to hear that the car got schwacked so badly. I'm with the consensus that you need to get the shape up to par, and have it glassed in.

This car looks great! don't let it die.
 
Duuude... My heart broke for you when I read about your water issues. I hope you don't let this discourage you too much. It's an awesome build, and you've done an incredible job so far.
 
I believe this could well be the coolest thing I've seen on the RPF. Epic with nothing = everything we are here for. Nice work man. Hope what ever troubles your having are sorted soon.
 
Back from the dead.

The 66 front end has been in my shed for the last year.

I took a year off from the project.

In July I was on vacation in Amsterdam when I got an email from a lady making the Batmobile documentary for the Dark Knight Rises Blu-Ray.
She said she wanted to feature fan-made Batmobiles, and wanted me to send her footage of mine!
Well I got all excited and was walking around Amsterdam with Batmobile on the brain, making plans to throw it back together when I got home, put on some temp fins and shoot some cool footage.
Alas, only a few days later she sent me another email stating that between the legal departments at DC and Warner Bros. they decided not to feature any fan built Batmobiles in the documentary because they weren't sure where they stood on these things legally.

In the mean time, over the last year I've been imagining ways I could move forward with the 66 design myself, with new materials, a new approach, or perhaps move on to Batmobile Beta, a completely new and original design.

NEW MATERIAL IDEAS:

Aluminum:
I got some sheet aluminum, a pop riveter, a small bending brake and sheet metal shears. I did a test panel and was encouraged by faceted riveted aluminum. For the 66 design, I could cut off the paper/glass panels and use them as a pattern for aluminum panels that would all rivet together like an airplane/airstream.

Lexan:
I haven't tested these materials out yet, but an idea for a new design would be to use corrugated Lexan panels (Polygal is the brand name, it's corrugated like cardboard) for the skeleton of a new design, and use .030 sheet lexan panels riveted together and to the frame for the skin.
To keep the lexan from cracking at the rivet points, I'd drill slightly oversized holes and put a rubber and then aluminum washer on the backside. That way the rivet would mushroom behind the lexan and not inside the hole.

If a Lexan skin didn't work, I could use the Polygal for the skeleton and aluminum for the skin.

Again, the result of both these methods would be airplane style - slightly faceted, riveted with seam lines, but I've always liked that look.

NEW DESIGN:
So over the last year I've played with different, new, original designs for a Bat-Miata. My goal was to create an original design composed of a minimum number of separate modules, each consisting of one simple shape that could be easily faceted out pepakura style.
I've worked out a design that I like a lot.


​
Here's what I call Bat-X:

View attachment 151163

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The Maquette is sculpted with black sculpey III on a 1:10 RC body.

I can't decide whether I like one fin or two fins better. The way I have it designed, I could have a set of each and swap them out.

The nose got a little long in the sculpt because I was fitting it over the stock miata bumper. For the big sculpt I'd remove the front bumper and shorten the nose to better match the cartoon version.

So I'm thinking about attempting this design with a riveted sheet style.
The skeleton frame would be made out of 1/4" Polygal panels, and the skin would (hopefully) be riveted sections of .030 Lexan sheet. (If not Lexan, then .025 aluminum sheet).
This would make for an Ultralight kit I could build all by myself a little at a time, that would be entirely modular (ten modules including the fins), that would be impervious to moisture/humidity and not involve any chemicals other than CA superglue to tack weld pieces together before riveting.

If I choose to attempt this design, I would build the fins first and mount them to the miata. Then I'd drive around for a month and make sure the materials are going to work for the project.
If I liked the result and wanted to move foward, I'd then build the modules from the back foward (trunk, tail-lights, rear quarters, hood, front fenders, bat-head.) All these units would be sculpted separately.

Why not keep going with the 66 design? Well, I'm a bit traumatized by my experiences with the 66 design. I do have the option, of course, of building the Bat X rear half, then re-faceting the 66 front half with Lexan, cutting out some of the dead weight, changing how it mounts and using it.
The skeleton and the sculpt, after all, are still good beneath that cardboard skin.

As always, any thoughts and ideas on this would be greatly appreciated.
 
I liked the first one better you had a real nice start but I think you need to upgrade to materials like fiberglass and carbon fiber. You could use the first one for a mold to pull a part for the new one just a suggestion.
 
So that's one vote for sticking with the 66 design.

I've been working on getting patterns made from the new sculpt.
I tore apart and deli sliced the driver's side and scanned the individual pieces.
I used clay, popsicle sticks and a laser level to get a base-line vertical or horizontal on each piece before scanning. I then alligned and traced the scans in Photoshop. I will probably do the final patterns in Illustrator.

View attachment 151711

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Also, there was an 89 replica in the park last weekend. Fun to see.

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At the risk of giving a non-answer, I don't think any of us could see your "vision" when you first started this thread and your end-result was brilliant. So I'm ready to climb onboard with however you'd like to proceed.
 
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