Lockheed C60 Lodestar rescued from out of a junkyard

[carlisle1926]

I built this one some time ago for McDonald's. It is 22ft long and 8.5ft wide. It was easy getting it titled and insured in Texas. I'm not to worried about that kind of stuff at all.

[mustanglover]

I built this one some time ago for McDonald's. It is 22ft long and 8.5ft wide. It was easy getting it titled and insured in Texas. I'm not to worried about that kind of stuff at all. http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l52 ... onalds.jpg[/img]

Nuff said!

[tinbender2]

I'm a natural born Texan. I don't believe in the words "It can't be done."

I've already nixed the idea of using a tricycle gear. It would be under 8.5ft and I'm an experienced auto builder. It weighs under 3,000lbs right now. I plan to have NO normal heavy motor home stuff inside-shower,toilet, gray water tank etc. It would be a large hollow panel truck. I rarely leave the state, so I'm not terribly worried about the police or DPS troopers doing searches. A friend of mine drives a Jeep daily with a replica M2 Browning on a mount. I don't think he has ever had trouble because any rational cop can see that he isn't a terrorist. I suspect most police would be wise enough to realize that this thing isn't really a fully operational bomber going down the road. And if I get one that does think it is, then I will have one more story to tell about having guns pointed at me. But, I do value your points.

I admire your attitude, and wish you the best.

I think most cops would assume the vehicle is not an VIED, but would stop you just to satisfy their curiosity. They will probably call it in as a possibly heavily armed vehicle and ask for back up. Remember that guy who stole a tank and went on a rampage? or the Killdozer incident? I'll bet most cops have those images burned into their brains.

Good luck and keep us posted on progress. Your fabrication skills are impressive. If you were closer, I could do most of the sheet metal work myself.




ETA..

Okay, I just gotta ask...







why in the world would McDonalds want a theme car based on an old shoe?



Trying to say their burgers are as chewable as old shoe leather?

Last edited by tinbender2 on Mon Jan 30, 2012 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[tinbender2]

"Tinbender",

I'm not sure where you live so I can't speak for there, but here in Texas, getting a home-built vehicle apparently isn't as hard as it is in other places as there are more than a few of them on the road, not to mention the number of hot rods and rat rods that are not only on the road, but built in Texas. We also have a very popular "Art Car" movement which uses at most a commercial chassis. All of these vehicles are fully road worthy and registered. I believe the state even has an actual "Art Car" license plate now. While Jason's idea may be too big to classify as an "Art Car" (I don't have the regulations handy to tell you for sure), I suspect that in Texas it's substantially easier to get a vehicle like his registered.

As for the insurance issue, what kind of insurance were you trying to get? Most companies will issue liability insurance on just about anything, it's the "full coverage" that gets you into problems. As liability insurance just provides coverage for any damage you do to others, the risk of you crashing your "Art Car" is just as high as crashing your brand new sedan since a lot of it has to do with the person behind the wheel, including maintenance since the person behind the wheel has to make sure the vehicle has been properly maintained and is in good working condition before going down the road.

Good for Texas. Glad to see they haven't succumbed to the stupidity of other states. I had to register the bus conversion as a commercial vehicle, because the NM DMV said "it was manufactured as a commercial vehicle and that designation can not be changed". Liability insurance as such was pretty high (48,000 lbs GVWR). Replacement coverage was also exorbitant, and the insurance companies wanted 3rd party inspections, etc.

[wingman1]

I built this one some time ago for McDonald's. It is 22ft long and 8.5ft wide. It was easy getting it titled and insured in Texas. I'm not to worried about that kind of stuff at all.

As a McDonald's employee i find that picture very..........hilarious!

[wingman1]

I'm a natural born Texan. I don't believe in the words "It can't be done."

I've already nixed the idea of using a tricycle gear. It would be under 8.5ft and I'm an experienced auto builder. It weighs under 3,000lbs right now. I plan to have NO normal heavy motor home stuff inside-shower,toilet, gray water tank etc. It would be a large hollow panel truck. I rarely leave the state, so I'm not terribly worried about the police or DPS troopers doing searches. A friend of mine drives a Jeep daily with a replica M2 Browning on a mount. I don't think he has ever had trouble because any rational cop can see that he isn't a terrorist. I suspect most police would be wise enough to realize that this thing isn't really a fully operational bomber going down the road. And if I get one that does think it is, then I will have one more story to tell about having guns pointed at me. But, I do value your points.

I admire your attitude, and wish you the best.

I think most cops would assume the vehicle is not an VIED, but would stop you just to satisfy their curiosity. They will probably call it in as a possibly heavily armed vehicle and ask for back up. Remember that guy who stole a tank and went on a rampage? or the Killdozer incident? I'll bet most cops have those images burned into their brains.

Good luck and keep us posted on progress. Your fabrication skills are impressive. If you were closer, I could do most of the sheet metal work myself.




ETA..

Okay, I just gotta ask...







why in the world would McDonalds want a theme car based on an old shoe?



Trying to say their burgers are as chewable as old shoe leather?

Roland McDonald's shoe?

[carlisle1926]

ETA..

Okay, I just gotta ask...







why in the world would McDonalds want a theme car based on an old shoe?



Trying to say their burgers are as chewable as old shoe leather?[/quote] A friend of mine was one of the many Ronald McDonald's across the country. McDonald's already has two clown shoe shaped cars and the Gulf Coast McDonald's association wanted to out do the ones in New York and Chicago. They brought me a real Ronald Mcdonald clown shoe and asked if I could build a vehicle that looked like their shoe. I scaled it up a bit and presto- a shoe that will do in excess of 100 miles per hour. -and yes their food is made of leather.

[ZRX61]

-and yes their food is made of leather.

Well it's certainly from the same animal... The issue I have with McD's food is that BigMacs smell EXACTLY the same as gas gangrene...

[The Inspector]

Want to know what you need to register and license a vehicle in your state? Why not drop into the local DMV or State Patrol and.....................ask them.
In Washington State it's fairly easy (unlike California where they work over time to screw up a PB-n-J sammich). After getting all the info and forms from the WSP for what you will need to pass inspection. When it comes time to get your vehicle inspected and issued a state I.D. to register it, you TOW it on a trailer to the State Patrol Inspection station (don't drive or tow an unregistered vehicle on the street, in Washington that gets you a piece of pale green paper with a very significant number on it! $$$$! )with ALL your verifying documentation, the troopers wil look it over and if everything is good to go-you leave with a state issued registration & VIN-still on the trailer since you still don't have a license plate, call your agent and get it insured, then hit the license agent and get your plate. NOW you can drive it on the street here.

[carlisle1926]

That is pretty much the same process that we have to do here. I have the "book" that they hand you tucked away here at home on all the regulations. There are a lot of things that you would think that you would have to have- like bumpers- that are not required here. Another option, and this gets a little fuzzy, but you can get a title from an antique car or truck, in this case a 1942 Hudson, and register the vehicle with that title. You don't even have to take the vehicle in to inspect it. They just give you a new title in your name, and suddenly you have a 49 ft long legal 1942 Hudson, that has been slightly modified. The great thing about registering a vehicle as being made before 1959, is that a LOT of the modern safety laws do not apply here in Texas---such as turn signals and having more than one dimly lit tail light. Although, I think having only one tail light and no turn signals is extremely dangerous.

[The Inspector]

Maybe, but with that lighting setup, you'll blend right in in Lousiana I've seen an aftermarket tail lamp for Model 'A' type hot rods that's a red small stop lamp with a period correct larger amber running tail lamp and molded into the lens it says;
'STOP F@%(^R'

[tinbender2]

You folks that haven’t dealt with the Banana Republic of New Mexico DMV, are missing a real experience.

Ask five different clerks/supervisors the same non-standard question, and you’ll get five very different answers. I’ve asked plenty of times, but they would not let me read their huge manual of DMV regulations. They would quietly read from it, but never out loud. I couldn’t find the specifics on line either.

My last failed encounter was two years ago. I converted a full size van and tried to re-title it as an RV. It had almost the exact same set up as a factory RV, on purpose, so I could show them photos of the factory unit as compared to mine. No luck. The chimp read his big book of regulations, then announced that it wasn’t an RV because it did not have a stand up shower. In mine, you had to almost sit to shower because the roof wasn’t tall enough. I showed him the factory RV had an identical set up, but that didn’t help.

I tried the commercial DMV outlets, but they were not allowed to re-title a vehicle to a different classification.


Texas IS looking better and better.




Anyway, sorry for the thread hijack.

Since the fuselage only has to look acceptable, you should be fine using a shrinker and some aluminum angle to fab some formers. More angle as stringers, and you'll have an acceptable skeleton to rivet sheet to.

If you haven't done aircraft structural repairs before, with your fabrication talents, the skills will be easy to acquire once someone shows you how.

The plexiglas nose may take a bit more work, especially if you want the glass to float and not have hard contact with the framework, so it has a lesser tendency to crack.

[carlisle1926]

I hadn't considered the plastic in the nose cracking yet due to rubbing and vibrations.- good call there. I have an idea as to how to make the fuselage formers/ribs. I have a large tubing bender. I think if I roll aluminum square tubing in it to get the desired contour, I could then cut off one side of the tubing to create a rib.

The DMV can be a bit trying at times here too. An example would be trying to obtain a copy of my lost title a few weeks ago. I made the mistake of going in to get a copy of my title for my 54 Chevy car. I have owned this car for nearly 25 years now. I forgot to get the VIN number off of the car, but I thought oh well, they will just type in my driver's license number anyway and pull it up. The guy in line in front of me didn't have his VIN numbers either. He walked up to the window, handed them his driver's license and told them his truck was a 1957 Chevy. They handed him his title on the spot. I went to the window two places down from him and the rather huge glutton of a woman refused to give me a title because she said I HAD to have the VIN number and proof of insurance, and that she couldn't pull the car up on the computer with just my driver's license. I went outside, thought about it, and walked right back in and went to the same window that had just handed out the title for the 57 Chevy truck. I handed him my license and he found my 54 Chevy under my name and handed me the copy of my title.

[The Inspector]

If you plan on any sort of serious bending on square tubing be prepared for disastrous results, unless you cut one side on a band saw from the end of the piece to past where you are going to put the bend (and let the loose side flap on the outside of the bend) then weld it back after the bend is correct so you are bending a 'U' shape. If you don't the tubing will buckle on the sides 90 degrees to the bend area and collapse because there's no place for the stresses to dissipate to and be useless except as yard art. (this is an old Hot Rodders trick to bend square tubing)

The square tubing on lawn and patio furniture is bent usually using a mandrel and that is one pricy piece of machinery.

[The Inspector]

You folks that haven’t dealt with the Banana Republic of New Mexico DMV, are missing a real experience.

Ask five different clerks/supervisors the same non-standard question, and you’ll get five very different answers. I’ve asked plenty of times, but they would not let me read their huge manual of DMV regulations. They would quietly read from it, but never out loud. I couldn’t find the specifics on line either.

My last failed encounter was two years ago. I converted a full size van and tried to re-title it as an RV. It had almost the exact same set up as a factory RV, on purpose, so I could show them photos of the factory unit as compared to mine. No luck. The chimp read his big book of regulations, then announced that it wasn’t an RV because it did not have a stand up shower. In mine, you had to almost sit to shower because the roof wasn’t tall enough. I showed him the factory RV had an identical set up, but that didn’t help.

I tried the commercial DMV outlets, but they were not allowed to re-title a vehicle to a different classificat

Texas IS looking better and better.

Anyway, sorry for the thread hijack.

Since the fuselage only has to look acceptable, you should be fine using a shrinker and some aluminum angle to fab some formers. More angle as stringers, and you'll have an acceptable skeleton to rivet sheet to.

If you haven't done aircraft structural repairs before, with your fabrication talents, the skills will be easy to acquire once someone shows you how.

The plexiglas nose may take a bit more work, especially if you want the glass to float and not have hard contact with the framework, so it has a lesser tendency to crack.

If it's public law then it's a public document and, as a member of the public, you should be able to have a copy of that document with no questions asked, otherwise it's law by whim. Try contacting the states A.G. Office and threaten to sue the DMV for access to a 'public document' under what I would assume N.M. has as a 'sunshine law'