Dear Mr Kelsey

As one utterly devoid of mechanical ability, I cannot tell you how much enjoyment I get from your progress reports. Sentences that contains the words:"I made some castings" or "the clutch assembly is nearly done" provides me with more thrills than is strictly appropriate. Keep 'em coming, please!

Just a thought; how much work will it be to join 2 4cyl engines inline and then designing and building a new crankshaft? Oh, that much? Sorry.

Have a very pleasant day.

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner

Herman. the MGS epoxy I'm using is the L285 system. When using the "fast" hardner, there is no heating it as it exotherms immediately.

I don't have an autoclave or anything like that so I am using an "oven" built of styrofoam that seem reasonably stable up to at least 50 degrees C. I have used it to "cook" the fiber as well. It won't get all the moisture out but most if it.

Just for the fun of it, I made a small section of frame as it will be built just so I can be sure the radius is okay so the c/f will bend around them and so forth. I use a small hand held router to put all the radii around the top and bottom. I will also be able to test it to failure to see where it will break.

This is my first c/f frame. Made several tube steel frames and never had a failure yet. This is a new adventure! Frame failure is usually not a pleasant experience at speed. I don't know how it is in Europe but here in the U.S. there is a lot of "heavy duty" after market stuff sold. Usually it is just heavy. Making things light while still maintaining required strength is very difficult.

If this carbon fiber frame works out, it will be much lighter than the Bugatti steel structure and, once painted, should look nearly identical. If it doesn't work out, I'll try something else.

Johan, I am at the limits of my ability. The engine I have chosen is a 2 liter inline six cylinder supercharged Toyota - the 1ggze. It is a superb engine by any standards. Part of the reason I chose it was because of the sound. I know that seems silly but a well tuned six has a great sound. A well tuned eight does too but a V8 is far too wide and there are no small eights, either inline or "V" configuration available so I thought it was an excellent compromise. There are some things that simply can't be helped, such as the exhaust being on the wrong side but I can live with that. I can crank it with a hand crank to start it so there is at least that rudiment of authenticity.

Believe me, I was just kidding about the 2 in line fours. I read about a gentleman in Britain who built a homage to the Alfa Romeo 8C2.9 and he had built an in-line 8 from 2 4cyl. blocks. The appearence was very close to the original indeed, but that still did not prevent him from losing a fortune when he eventually sold it. I think it was called the Appenine.

What I enjoy about your project is the "outside the box" philosophy. As for the exhaust being on the wrong side; another American gentleman has built a T57/59 roadster with left-hand drive. These details are insignificant. What interest me is your approach to materials, you are building your car in 2007; why should you not use materials that speak of its era.

How do you approach the question of appearance; which proportions are important to you? If I may, the position of the radiator in relation to the front suspension and the size of the wheels play a very delicate dance with the human eye. But I believe it to be the basic proportions that are important, not the details. A 2 litre supercharged engine should give you plenty of performance; should she need modern (ish) shock-absorbers (and brakes!) then so be it.

Have you managed to find replica wheels yet? You have spoken about the Argentinian company who does not reply to e-mails; there are many restoration firms in Britain capable of making up a set of wheels, Ivan Dutton springs to mind. I have heard that the Brits give really good work and , so I hear, charge accordingly. But if you can, you must.

On a personal note, I prefer the early T35 wheels to the later, single piece items used for T51. But you have come up with such interesting solutions to the many problems you've had so far, I am curious as to what you will decide on.

You are designing and building the car of your dreams; only you can decide how this project will progress. Thank you for sharing this very personal journey with the rest of us.

Regards
Johan

Johan, there is no way I am going to glue two engines together! I know Bugatti did it and the built up crank and all that stuff but I am not going to waste years of my life to accomplish something that probably was not such a great idea 80 years ago. Besides, I don't know how.

I am directing my efforts at building a car that will give me the thrill of driving a car that is similar in nature to the original T-35B. That is not to say that I am suicidal - I am not. We have come a long way in many technological aspects that not only make it easier to build this sort of thing but actually make it possible. For example, It is possible for me to build a carbon fiber frame with the tools found in my small shop. It is not possible for me to build a steel frame as Bugatti did without large presses and so forth.

As to the wheels, I am stuck! Ivan Dutton doesn't keep them in stock and when he has them made, they are extremely expensive. In light of our now worthless dollar, I will not be doing that. The Argentina company...I simply don't trust them. I contacted a retired pattern maker - a German man who really knows what he is doing and asked him if he would help make the patterns to cast the wheels. He has not given me an answer yet. In the mean time, I contracted with a man in New Zealand who is making a set of five wire wheels as the Type-37 except that the centers are Rudge so they will fit my splines. They are 19X3.5 inches and I elected to have them chromed with stainless wires. Probably should have had them painted. He seems to know what he is doing - knew exactly how many spokes and how to lace them up and so forth.

The dimentions of the car are being kept as close to the original Bugatti as possible. This is very difficult for me to do. It just doesn't make sense. It doesn't look like things will fit - things like me. I have seen several pictures of T-35 with a passenger and it looks like the passenger is looking at the spare tire or looking along the side. I finally realized that there is simply not much room for two people side by side. Could be real cozy or real uncomfortable depending on who you are with.

The proportions of the Bugatti Type 35 are absolutely superb - just to look at it. Nobody could ever deny that Bugatti knew how to make things beautiful. I can't think of a single thing that could be changed to make it look any more beautiful.

I recently watched a programme on Discovery called Biker Build-off. One of the builders used a fully automated milling machine to fabricate a 26-inch front wheel. It was not so much the size that fascinated me, but the design; a multi - spoke design more complicated than that of the T35/51.

You spoke of the enormous expense to have a set of wheels cast. Is it possible that a set of wheels machined from solid alluminium could be cheaper? From what I understand, the most complicated aspect is programming the machine.

How this will compare to the price of the set of wire wheels being constructed for you in New Zealand, I have no idea. But I tell you, watching a fully machined wheel appearing, as if by magic, from a slab of raw alluminium, is a most impressive sight. I have no idea as to either availibility or cost, but I was so impressed, I simply had to share this with you. Hope springs eternal?

Of course, I have seen this technology used by Boyd Coddington's shop, but that man is a bully. As is Dwayne (or is that Duane?) Either way, they are not to be trusted with Bugatti components. Or with people for that matter. I thought sweat-shops are illegal in the USA? Anyway, he's no Chip Foose is he? And he lacks the sensitive communication skills of OCC's Tuttle family!

One last thing: You spoke of how beautifull you find the T35. Over the weekend I looked at all the photos I've collected of the T35 and realised how right you are; it truly is a most perfect design. There is not a single superfluous line or detail, is there? I understand why you are driven to build one from scratch. I wish you the best of luck with your continuing project, Mr Kelsey. I'm not normally an envious man, but in your case I am prepared to make an exception.

Kind Regards
Johan Buchner

Johan, I would do that too if possible. Problem is: It is impossible. The reason is that the inside - that is, the area between the inside and outside rows of spokes, is hollow. There is no way to machine it out. It either must be cast or it must be made in two (or more) pieces. I thought of making them out of two pieces and bolting them together with the same bold circle as Bugatti used in the early wheels. In the mean time, the retired pattern maker I mentioned earlier has proposed making all the patterns for U.S. $5000.00. It will then cost about $500.00 per wheel to have them cast and heat treated. I have not decided what to do as yet - more pressing matters to attend to...like the frame.

The frame has turned into a nightmare! The first, the 4130 welded frame, developed cracks and warped. I decided to make it out of carbon fiber and spent a lot of time building the mold which is difficult to do because of the compound curves. Finally got it done. I bought some carbon fiber material from a guy who advertised it on Ebay. When I received it I inspected it and it seemed fine. We spent a whole night cutting it to size and another very long night doing the layup. Then the curing and post curing. When I started to remove the foam core, the carbon fiber broke in my hands. I couldn't believe it!!! I thought I did something wrong. Took a strand from the roll and pulled it and it pulled apart in my hand. I don't know what the stuff is but it sure isn't carbon fiber. I might have caught it earlier when cutting it but I just bought a new pair if special scissors for use with carbon fiber and kevlar and I thought they were just working extremely well. Of course, the guy who sold it to me is bewildered. Claimes he has sold several thousand yards of the stuff and nobody has complained. Perhaps they have built frames using his c/f fabric and they are all dead.

Anyway, I am going back to the drawing board. There is no way I will quit or give up. Perhaps I will try to build it as Bugatti did - out of mild steel. I have been reluctant to make it from mild steel as he did because of the weight. According to the drawings I have, the thickness was 4MM! That makes for a very heavy frame.

Unbelievable. Did this guy have a technical datasheet or a type number of the carbon? Some carbon can be brittle, but this brittle?

_________________
Vive la Marque !!

Herman, I think it was a fraud. A young man who helps me from time to time thinks it is not carbon fiber at all but rather a flame retardant material that looks like c/f. It is not a matter of being brittle. I can take a tow and pull it apart with my bare hands! Cotton has more tensile strength than that. The credit card company contacted him and he is issuing a total refund whether he wants to or not. I am out the cost of the epoxy and a lot of time but at least I learned something. What of value I learned is unknown at this point.

Anyway, back to steel. I hate to use steel. It seems so ancient...so twentieth century. I get some comfort from knowing that Bugatti was a twentieth century kind of guy. Steel worked for him. Steel will work for me.

Is it immediately apparent that this material is fake? Is it possible that someone used this material and is unaware of the safety risks? Should this result in injury (or worse), surely this vendor would be liable? This man is playing with people's lives. Good luck in hunting him down like a dog.

But a refund cannot compensate you for all the time and effort wasted. A lesser man would have given up. It speaks highly of your character that your determination to see this project through to fruition, has not been diminished.

Why can't people just tell the bloody truth?

Good Luck and Regards
Johan Buchner

Johan, I gave up on any expectations of the world being a more perfect place when I was a young man living in a boys home. People lie, cheat, steal, kill each other, and every other rotten thing we can imagine and some we have difficulty imagining...The Middle East comes to mind.

Just a few comments:
Of course it is extremely annoying when you buy something, put a lot of effort in it, and then it turns out to be rubbish. Especially the work that's gone into it ......

On the other hand, a Bugatti chassis from carbon fibre? It seems to me that the design was based on using steel as a material. When using carbon fibre, this should imply an altogether different design, maybe like a.... eh.. Veyron?

So, for me, when building a replica of a classic Bugatti, the material should, from my point of view, steel (except for a replica of a T64, where you use aluminium)

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www.BugattiPage.com
www.BugattiRevue.com
www.BugattiAircraft.com

J.J.

A point well taken. However, there is only a certain amount of authenticity available to me on a limited budget and expertise.

In the small shop I have, there are only two ways to make a steel frame that even remotely resembles the original Bugatti T-35 frame. One way is to cut the two sides and the two tops and bottoms of the frame rails to conform to the curves and weld them together. the other way is to build two massive jigs and hammer them into shape. It could also be built from box steel tubing and bent, welded and so forth but that is also getting away from the original design. Using carbon fiber, I can replicate the shape exactly and (hopefully) retain the strength of the original with a great weight weight saving to boot. On the down side, there is risk and, by comparison to steel, huge cost. One mistake in a carbon fiber frame could spell catastrophic failure. (I'm told that when a race car built from carbon fiber crashes, they sound like they basically explode.)

Anyway, I have decided to go back to steel and build it from welded sides, tops and bottoms of each rail. Easy enough to do. I will use mild steel rather than chrome moly and take the weight gain.

Perhaps slightly off topic but maybe not. I started reading a book entitled "Bugatti Queen". I didn't think it had anything to do with what I was doing but in a way it does.

My goal is to capture as much of the excitement of the original T-35 as I possibly can. In light of the fact that I have never even been in one, I have to rely on the accounts of others. Even the sound...How am I supposed to know what one sounded like? The only straight eight I ever heard run was a 1952 Buick. Rene' Dreyfus (hope I spelled it correctly) was quite descriptive in his account of driving a T-35 but the account of the Helene Nice and her racing a T-35 is descriptive beyond belief! The two thin layers of cotton gloves because of the horrible blisters must have been nasty. The physical endurance required to drive one of these leaves me to believe that it was not a car for whimps. She was certainly no whimp! Just to look at the car, it appears to be small and easy to steer. From what I have read it was extremely difficult to steer and equally difficult to stop.

A video tape made by Hugh Conway shows the cars in action and just to watch the bouncing around and the driver almost falling out is a source of excitement or sickness, depending on your point of view and constitution.

I am not sure I agree with you Jaap. What William is trying to do is to "touch the cloth" but, like most of us, he cannot afford to pay millions for the real thing. Given the limitations described by Mr Kelsey, I find his out-the-box approach quite fascinating.

The question is not whether carbon fibre is an appropriate material, but whether an authentic Bugatti experience can be had using this material. Remember, we are talking about an individual building a car; it has to satisfy only William.

A carbon fibre Bugatti, like a Lamborgini engined Ferrari P4 replica, has to please only the creator. The opinion of onlookers is irrelevant.

Allow me to conclude with a story: The great composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was once asked by a young musician for some advise. "You are still very young", replied Mozart, "why not start with something simple first." "But you wrote symphonies when you were nine" exclaimed the youth. "True" said Mozart "but I did not ask how"

Regards
Johan Buchner