1947 Norman Timbs Special

1947 Norman Timbs Special

Google the story and it definitely is worth the read on the original. Glad to see it made it out of the desert years ago and was finally restored. Love it or hate it — it definitely was cool. Unfortunately in the recent California fires it met its demise (but is apparently being recreated upon components that survived the fire itself).

My iteration alters several things from the original design. One of the things I never truly liked about the original is the nose appeared to be angled upward and the overhang on the front. Thus lots of minor changes to reimagine this into a slightly sleeker form.

Although the original was built with an aluminum body, if someone was to create a version today they should seriously consider creating the bodywork in CAD as a solid model and just 5-axis CNC router a wooden plug for it. (I’d just machine the molds direct and bolt them together as it would be faster!) Probably best to design a few molds for bulkheads as well to support the bodywork, act as a firewall and other structures. (along with the cockpit) Plus it would be more symmetrical than the original ever was! I’d strongly suggest to do the bodywork in composites with resin. There is a front and rear bodywork panel and that is it! (only one set of gaps to align!) With the bodywork in CAD, one could determine engine / gearbox positions (vs cockpit) and also just outsource to a 3rd party a modern box-section frame from the street rod industry. This cold be an easy build if one planned it accordingly and leveraged modern CAD tools to make it happen.