The X-Sonic

I am a little torn. I like the car, definitely tops in pioneering and its considered a 60's style car even before the big ball dropped on 1959. Thats a pioneer.

One of the questions I have is where does the bubble top fall in terms of use and existence? Were bubbletops common in the custom world at this time or was this car one of the first as well for this aspect?

The reason I ask is that I guess I really don't really get the bubbletop on this car. It doesn't really flow as well as say the Beatnik Bandit or the Orbitron. To me thats about the only "iffy" part of the car. The rest is gorgeous


Fryguy

 

This car is sweet, but something i'm curious about. Halfway down on the second page of this link is the article from R&C showing the car when it was found, apprently the guy that had it dragged it off of Ron's vacant lot??? In that condition??? Seams kind of odd to me, why would someone who obviously put a ton of time into there own car let it end up rotting in there yard/lot gutted like that?? Electrical fire maybe?
Just seems odd to me I guess. Normally it seems old custom cars that are found have a 15-owner-story before they ended up rotting in someone's backyard...

Only thing is maybe he tried doing one last version of the x-sonic and lost interest, or tried to do too much...

 

Bubble tops were not at all common. Probably less than 20 were built and most of those were done by Daryl Starbird in Wichita Kansas. When Roth toured his Outlaw back east, he met Daryl, who showed Roth his technique for making them. Then in turn, Roth helped Aguirre with his.

The plexiglass was bolted between two pieces of thick plywood. One sheet had a hole cut into it the shape of the car's cockpit and the other sheet was solid except for openings for compressed air. The plexi was then heated (in a pizza oven, so the legend goes), then they pumped in the air and it literally blew the hot plexi out through the plywood hole just like blowing a bubble.

There wasn't a whole lot of control with how the profile would look, just how low or tall. On the X-Sonic, a lower profile would have flowed better with the styling, but maybe Ron wanted a high top since he seems pretty tall.

Starbird made a few double-bubbles by having a vertical piece of plywood running the length of the cockpit opening. When the bubble woud rise up, the plexi would form around the divider, separating it into twin bubbles (hopefully both the same height).

 

I like anything that moves with wheels or skirt (Within reason... grin)

That thing is slick!

Tom, thanks for explaining how they did it. May have to give that a try.

 

Of course mostly true, but the "bubble" looks slightly conical and high, and in the photo with an occupant looks habitable. If the X-sonic was driven around the area, then this is a form concession to function.

 

I made a bubble top for a model car using the method in the 60's when I was a kid. It worked.

 

I used the method and created a 1/25th scale bubble top for a model car when I was a kid, so I know it works.

 

I remember reading a longer version of that article in lowrider in the mid to late 90s? was a great read and I would love to see a clone of this car!! I seem to remember the longer article saying the first version was hand pumped? Anyway Awesome car and and would be an incredible clone hey doesnt someone make fiberglass kit cars of the classic vettes? would be a great starting point!

 

It's funny how many times I've mentioned this car,and the hydraulic suspension.Good article on it,but I may have found out about a car that had hydraulics before this...A friend of mine that owns a junkyard out here knows Ron Aguirre,and also knows about the person who developed the hydraulic system for that car,and was talking about a Cadfillac that was "juiced" before the X-Sonic as a test before the X-Sonic was hooked up with Hydraulics...I'm going to talk to him and see what other information I can find,but as it stands,the X-Sonic was the first "Show Car" to feature hydraulics,and it was done for function more than for..Done at a time when cops were busting cruisers left and right for ride height,Ron Aguirre wanted a way to make the vehicle low as possible,but be able to adjust it whenever a cop was in sight to lehal height,and also to get over any obstructions in parking lots or the roads..

I remember bringing it up here..
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2731527#post2731527

 

HMMMM, I'm jealous of your buddy. I've wanted to debate "expense" issues of Hot Rods on the phone with you

 

I like the front, but the rear seems like a afterthought. It's to sad to think that he had to fight it on and off the trailer to get it in the hall with the wacky steering. I'm sure as a show car it won more points that way. My feelings are after the show circuit is over, how cool it would be to cruise it.

 

Wasn't MarkX going to make a clone????? I saw him chime in an earlier post??

 

dont know if its been mentioned, about the un-drivability because of the bobble top... i was looking through Rik Hovings site and found pics of it when Watson painted it, what i noticed is that by then the bobble top had been modified to allow air to come in straight from the front.

http://public.fotki.com/Rikster/11_...cars/watson-painted-x-sonic/x-sonic-c-03.html

sorry if someone already mentioned this, thought id share.

Yaril

 

someone could buy this vette in the classifieds and use it to make a clone


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=253726&highlight=aftermarket+corvette

 

He was supposta be uh makin' one! Hurry Up MarkX!! The world needs another bubble!

 

Nice Jason!

So that is what you did in Dublin.

 

Wouldnt a good ac system be enough in the bubble? does anyone but Ed Roth know? I remember a green rod built that had a bubble top a while back and now there is that new red one with the ginormotron hemi in it I did see the green one cut the top off first like t tops and then all the way off total bummer.

 

The x-sonic was pretty bitchin'! A clone was in the works by a HAMBer, but I think he needs to get busy on it! ha ha ha

I like the 60's era better because of the creativity involved with the cars. Well, that is until they started putting toilets and bunk beds on them. A nice 40's style rod is cool, but a lot of people who are into them are about as bad as the restorer types by pointing out that you didn't use the "correct" this or that. You put a row of nicely done trad cars together and by the time I examine the 3rd or 4th one, I am getting tired of looking at the same formula on all of them. Compared to a show rod, it doesn't take much more than money and e-bay to build a perfectly trad car with all the right parts. I can appreciate the guy who has scoured swap meets looking for this and that, but aside from how much money you have in the car the result is pretty much the same. You can get a little creative with a bracket or whatnot, but when it comes to suspension and body, the box of acceptable parameters is pretty small.

With the custom rod era the box is wide open, you can do whatever you want. That is great for those of us who like to buy cars that most would consider junk and turn them into something else. Give me a perfect body, a nice frame and all the right suspension parts and I am pretty sure I can slap together a trad rod in no time. I guess I like more of a challange than that.

 

That is my car, yep good a/c is enough. My car is one where I sacrificed a little function though, it is pretty tight inside, but it is very driveable, unlike most of the ones that have been built.

 

If the function was to be an over the top full custom car using every trick in the book on a CORVETTE, than the form follows the function perfectly.

 

Come on up, the keys are in it........

 

Why couldn't a video game controller be used to control the car? hydraulic rams and valves that controlled ike a Wii?

 

You could fit, you would just have to lean a little more to the right. Just pretend you are from Detroit. ha ha ha

 

I love this car. some of the mods toward the end were a bit much for my taste. But I would love to make a replica of the first edition. The black and fur interior killed the later versions for me....... Great post ryan!!!

 

I was going to take it to Salina and race the Titus brothers in their car, but I don't think I can afford it.

I will give you one thing though Ryan, the thing that really sucks about show rods is that sometimes you make them so nice that you are afraid to mess them up. The county just rocked my road last week so the bubbletop is staying in the garage. I didn't even take it to the local car show 4 miles from my house. The spacetruck made it because that thing is just a tired old road dog. I consider it a "showrod in training". ha ha ha

 

I don't think the Atomic Punk will pass tech - I don't have seatbelts and I won't fit in there with a helmet. I don't think a lexan bubble will qualify as a "Roof". ha ha ha I would run it on the Highway by my house though, I already have. I don't have the speedo really calibrated and I don't know how fast I was going. The bubble has a little lift to it when you get going down the road, I have it pinned down but I am not sure how it would do at full speed. Maybe some of us will should get it out and get a you tube of it. There is already a video in existance of the first run with it where I was trying to get stupid with it, but Gordy hasn't got it put up yet. Somebody pick a weekend and we will do it.

Does someone have a calculator that would tell what a 400 horse Hemi with a Turbo 400 and a 3.70 gear should run? I think it raps out kinda high. I have been trying to take it easy on it since the motor is still getting broken in.

I have driven the car about 80 miles or so, not earth shattering by any means, but it is 80 miles more than most of them.

I guess the cat is out of the bag about Mark X. How is that car coming along, player????