Lotus 49 - images of the chassis / monocoque needed

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CK
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Re: Lotus 49 - images of the chassis / monocoque needed

Post by CK »

I have found a drawing that is suppose to be from Classic Team Lotus from the internet in 2019.

Wheelbase of the 49 is 95 in. The width of the seat bottom (marked by red arrow line) is 14.4 in.

It is tight but reasonable. All racing drivers want it tight, otherwise they would be thrown around too much.
49-factory.gif
Hope this can be helpful.
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sky1911
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Re: Lotus 49 - images of the chassis / monocoque needed

Post by sky1911 »

Hacksaw, some of those I know and have been using. I was somehow hoping to get feedback from Classic Team Lotus regarding blueprints of the chassis. But I doubt they'll deal with one such nutcase. So I've been trying to source as many prints from other sources. The book you mention sounds good, but comes with a steep price tag due to it being out of print. I have the Haynes "Owner's Manual" for the 49. There are some good blueprints in it, but none are covering the area I am interested in for my project.
I have a series of photos from the chassis inside, outside and under that surely help, but since some parts have (apparently) been repeatedly doused in paint are difficult to make out exactly. But regardless, I'm more interested in the mostly naked chassis inside.

CK, that print overall looks familiar, however, it has some new additions that I haven't seen before, i.e. the structure at the bottom of the tub, like the cross brace in the knee area of the driver plus the cross section of the rear cockpit wall / seat area. That is actually the part I have been working on last night trying to sort out the angles for the backrest. Looking at that cross section, my angles are way steeper than that. But that is very good to have.


RE: the inner dimensions. Again, yes, I believe 14.4-.5" is the correct inner width of the tub. But for me and potentials friends (or my dad) in the 5'11 range that will be highly uncomfortable. So certain compromises will have to be made.
Cheers,
Roman

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Re: Lotus 49 - images of the chassis / monocoque needed

Post by Hacksaw »

Something that I forgot to mention was this link:
https://vimeo.com/53036827
Which should take you to the video of the seminal Lotus 49 and its first racing season in 1967.

Apart from being a fascinating video there are numerous clips of the Lotus under construction which should give you some clues about how the car was designed and put together. The instrument panel can be seen at 20.30 into the video.

Notice the people in the video, back then people were slimmer than today thus slim drivers (by today’s standards) were not unusual.

It was a different time pencil and paper to produce the drawings, adjustable set squares and a “guessing stick” (otherwise known as a slide rule) were the tools of the designer but computers are appearing look out for the computer tapes in the Cosworth machine workshop.

Hacksaw
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