Million Dollar Skunksworks Kirkham

[David Kirkham]

Here is a shot of the front suspension and all the hoses, water pump, etc running all over the place.

[David Kirkham]

Here you can see the remote oil cooler adapter on the block. The steering support is not connected in this picture. It is just hanging there.

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by big-boss

David,
Electric Water Pump? Any experience with that setup? What alternator is that? Thanks

We will have some experience with the electric water pump soon enough!

The only thing we know about the alternator is that it is a Hitachi unit. We usually just go to the local parts house and start rummaging though boxes. They are really nice guys there.

David

[David Kirkham]

[Don]

David, I did not go back and review all the postings, if not mentioned, your comments on the engine choice, carb vs FI, specifications, etc etc

The Odyssey battery, your experience ?

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

.........thanks

[Hoofa]

What do you have planned for a Steering wheel? I'm picturing a traditional style but a little smaller in Diameter and a thicker grip, made out of some exotic hardwood and a raised solid gold "K" logo on Stainless for a center cap. Get Sandwich a hunk of Burl and some gold bullion, Stat!

[saltytri]

Hoofa, you really should be nicer. When you challenge David and the boys, they take it seriously. This makes their lives much more difficult because they feel obliged to rise to the challenge and expend whatever energy and resources might be necessary to meet the challenge and, probably, go one better. So, they end up pulling a lot of OT, their wives get mad at them, etc. You should be ashamed of yourself.

[Lew Ledyard]

Originally Posted by saltytri

So, they end up pulling a lot of OT, their wives get mad at them, etc.

I have a feeling that they are way past that point...

[kris-kincaid]

You're not putting the battery there, are you? It looks like you got the chassis almost together then figured out you'd forgotten the battery!

I'm curious, approximately how long did it take to come up with the rough design here? It seems like it would take a few years.

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

Here is the battery getting mounted. Notice we mounted it on the right hand side of the car--to offset the driver's weight and balance out the car any way possible.

[brobehr]

Originally Posted by Lew Ledyard

I have a feeling that they are way past that point...

That is the understatement of the year.. : )

brobehr

[mr bruce]

that's the battery? Looks more like a pack of cigs.

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Don

David, I did not go back and review all the postings, if not mentioned, your comments on the engine choice, carb vs FI, specifications, etc etc

The Odyssey battery, your experience ?

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

.........thanks

No problems so far. I have been very happy with them. They are a bit pricey, however.

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Hoofa

What do you have planned for a Steering wheel? I'm picturing a traditional style but a little smaller in Diameter and a thicker grip, made out of some exotic hardwood and a raised solid gold "K" logo on Stainless for a center cap. Get Sandwich a hunk of Burl and some gold bullion, Stat!

The steering wheel will be tan leather to match the seats. Our customer doesn't like wood steering wheels.

I did, however, want to make a really nice steering wheel out of bird's eye maple. I really like that wood. My night stands are made out of it and our customer likes it too.

The raised gold may be gilding the lily a bit.

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by saltytri

Hoofa, you really should be nicer. When you challenge David and the boys, they take it seriously. This makes their lives much more difficult because they feel obliged to rise to the challenge and expend whatever energy and resources might be necessary to meet the challenge and, probably, go one better. So, they end up pulling a lot of OT, their wives get mad at them, etc. You should be ashamed of yourself.

We do take all challenges seriously...we have committed ourselves to a far greater challenge on this car that we haven't yet spoken about...

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Lew Ledyard

I have a feeling that they are way past that point...

What is OT? I thought you woke up; went to work; went home; woke up; went to work...

Maybe it is a lawyer term???

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by kris-kincaid

You're not putting the battery there, are you? It looks like you got the chassis almost together then figured out you'd forgotten the battery!

I'm curious, approximately how long did it take to come up with the rough design here? It seems like it would take a few years.

The battery looks funny because all the interior panels aren't in yet. That is where we put our battery on all of our cars now and I think it will look fine once everything is in. What you see is just a really temporary fix so we could driver the car...and drive we did!

The whole process was about 2 years to date. About 1 year of really heavy research and 1 year of design, prototyping, and programming. There was overlap both directions, however. I guess I should add, more than one person were (are) working on the project.

David

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by mr bruce

that's the battery? Looks more like a pack of cigs.

That's why we use them. They are a special battery they developed for military use. They save a good chunk of weight, don't leak, and are easy to package as they are so small.

David

[David Kirkham]

In this shot you can see the "tub" like structure we made to make the chassis stiff. You can see a really great shot of the tunnel and how it contributes greatly to the stiffness of the structure.

[David Kirkham]

Here is another view of the chassis. In this shot you can see everything is kinda shaped like a bowl. As you know, a bowl is stiffer than a plate.

[David Kirkham]

And now...

for the good stuff!

David