The Jalopy Journal

**Jive-Bomber** · 03-22-2011, 09:11 AM

I just saw this rare 1933 film clip of the Dymaxion with Bucky Fuller and Amelia Earhart doing a large-scale press event, presumably at the World's Fair in Chicago that year. Ryan and others ha...

To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

Tman · 03-22-2011, 09:21 AM

Very cool Jay! We studied Fuller rather in depth in college and I do not think I had seen this clip?

**JeffreyJames** · 03-22-2011, 09:24 AM

I just got to visit the Dymaxion House at the Henry Ford museum. That guy (Buckminster Fuller) was pure genius!!!!

Hollywood-East · 03-22-2011, 09:27 AM

Very Kool!!! There is a car like this or Very close at Space Age paint supply in Mesa Az. Krazy looking.... Thanx for the post

**gnichols** · 03-22-2011, 09:45 AM

Bucky was amazing. I heard him speak once in Ames, IA on how he got to the geodesic dome idea. It was so fucking simple you'd think the ancient Indians or Persians or Romans would have thought of it. That's the genius part. While at SIU in Carbondale, IL, I got to ride my Schwinn past his domed former office building almost every day enroute the Comms building photo lab. We need more like him. Gary

Tman · 03-22-2011, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnichols

We need more like him. Gary

We do have, they are called HAMBers

**31fordV860** · 03-22-2011, 10:02 AM

Would have done well at Bonneville......has the airstream aerodynamics goin on..

eddie_zapien · 03-22-2011, 10:57 AM

Pretty sweet video! that thing was the ultimate mini van!
sidenote: Amelia Earhart was a pretty haggard looking woman.

storm king · 03-22-2011, 11:00 AM

Yeah, but she wasn't fat, and that's about all it takes for men to be attracted...

Jagman · 03-22-2011, 11:11 AM

This was the clip I'd always seen of that. It would have been interesting to hear what they were saying as they held the chassis in the first clip....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs

This clip has Bucky descibing the technical points of the car, sorry for the terrbile Iggy Pop music background

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhSonPwM8zE

silverdome · 03-22-2011, 11:13 AM

I just Googled the Dymaxion and found some more videos of it in motion. The thing that impresses me is that it had a 90 HP Ford flathead that would go over 100 mph, seated eleven and got 30 mpg. Now with that kind of technology back then, why is it today we can't do better with the resources we have?

ArchangelKustom · 03-22-2011, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by storm king

Yeah, but she wasn't fat, and that's about all it takes for men to be attracted...

Hey, I'll ride plus size any day baby...

Zerk · 03-22-2011, 11:36 AM

To me, Buckminster Fuller was the lifehacker of his time. He designed structures, homes, vehicles all with a kind of robotically detatched elan. The man was brilliantly out of step...but his stuff worked, it did what it was supposed to do, and well.

The Dymaxion vehicle had a flathead for power, and as far as I know, a conventional drive system. Aerodynamics and to a very small extent rolling resistance would have been responsible for the improvement in performance and economy.

The fuel economy would almost certainly have been a steady-state figure; for example a rock-steady 40 mph, or 50 mph. In a CAFE loop, or ordinary driving, the number would certainly be lower.

BigBlockBuck · 03-22-2011, 12:13 PM

Is it just me or does that shock strut in the cut away look kind excited?

beatnikontinental · 03-22-2011, 12:41 PM

The next time you are in Austin - go check out the Bucky archives at the Henry Hansom Center on the University of Texas campus - they have some amazing material in the archives along with some really cool Norman Bel Geddes papers, models, etc.

That place is incredible - A Gutenburg Bible? The first photograph ever taken? yeah, they have those.

http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/

Russ Gaylord Fontana · 03-22-2011, 03:07 PM

Good but expensive book....got it for Christmas and have really enjoyed the work of such an amazing man.
http://www.artbook.com/9780956433930.html

flamingokid · 03-22-2011, 04:19 PM

I want a Dymaxion house,that is too cool.

**paperdog** · 03-22-2011, 07:04 PM

Thanks made me think of this from "chaddilac"

oo oo oo memories

johnny bondo · 03-22-2011, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paperdog

Thanks made me think of this from "chaddilac"

oo oo oo memories

holy shit, i thought of that exact thing too. wonder what ever happened to that thing.

narlee · 03-22-2011, 09:06 PM

I saw it at the Automobile Museum in Reno, pretty cool. Too bad it got the bad press from the accident plus the timing of trying to start in bad economic times made it an uphill battle.

03-22-2011, 09:11 AM	#1
Jive-Bomber Alliance Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Moraga, Ca Posts: 2,420	The Dymaxion in motion I just saw this rare 1933 film clip of the Dymaxion with Bucky Fuller and Amelia Earhart doing a large-scale press event, presumably at the World's Fair in Chicago that year. Ryan and others ha... To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

03-22-2011, 09:21 AM	#2
Tman Old School HAMBer Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Beautifull Black Hills of South Dakota Posts: 28,192	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Very cool Jay! We studied Fuller rather in depth in college and I do not think I had seen this clip? __________________ Open for business, website in developement www.compulsionrodandcustom.com

03-22-2011, 09:24 AM	#3
JeffreyJames Alliance Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: SUGAR CITY Posts: 15,925	Re: The Dymaxion in motion I just got to visit the Dymaxion House at the Henry Ford museum. That guy (Buckminster Fuller) was pure genius!!!! __________________ I PLAY WITH TIGERS WWW.SUGARCITYSPEEDSHOP.COM CHECK OUT MY INSTAGRAM IMAGES

03-22-2011, 09:27 AM	#4
Hollywood-East Grenade Inspector Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Waterport NY. Posts: 171	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Very Kool!!! There is a car like this or Very close at Space Age paint supply in Mesa Az. Krazy looking.... Thanx for the post

03-22-2011, 09:45 AM	#5
gnichols Alliance Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 6,214	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Bucky was amazing. I heard him speak once in Ames, IA on how he got to the geodesic dome idea. It was so fucking simple you'd think the ancient Indians or Persians or Romans would have thought of it. That's the genius part. While at SIU in Carbondale, IL, I got to ride my Schwinn past his domed former office building almost every day enroute the Comms building photo lab. We need more like him. Gary __________________ Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/a...p?albumid=2874 http://public.fotki.com/kitbashr/

03-22-2011, 10:02 AM	#7
31fordV860 Alliance Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Corona, Calif. Posts: 852	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Would have done well at Bonneville......has the airstream aerodynamics goin on.. __________________ yeah...i Remember when smoking was good ... and drag racing was bad..

03-22-2011, 10:57 AM	#8
eddie_zapien Grenade Inspector Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 269	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Pretty sweet video! that thing was the ultimate mini van! sidenote: Amelia Earhart was a pretty haggard looking woman. __________________ Eddie

03-22-2011, 11:00 AM	#9
storm king Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Morgantown, Ky Posts: 1,962	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Yeah, but she wasn't fat, and that's about all it takes for men to be attracted...

03-22-2011, 11:11 AM	#10
Jagman Grenade Inspector Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kansas City Posts: 284	Re: The Dymaxion in motion This was the clip I'd always seen of that. It would have been interesting to hear what they were saying as they held the chassis in the first clip.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlLZE23EJKs This clip has Bucky descibing the technical points of the car, sorry for the terrbile Iggy Pop music background http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhSonPwM8zE

03-22-2011, 11:13 AM	#11
silverdome Grenade Inspector Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: McCune, Ks. Posts: 281	Re: The Dymaxion in motion I just Googled the Dymaxion and found some more videos of it in motion. The thing that impresses me is that it had a 90 HP Ford flathead that would go over 100 mph, seated eleven and got 30 mpg. Now with that kind of technology back then, why is it today we can't do better with the resources we have? __________________ 1 man, 2 doors, 3 gears, 4 tires, 5 windows, 6 cylinders, GO, GO, GO.

03-22-2011, 11:36 AM	#13
Zerk Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: L.B.N.J.U.S.A. Posts: 1,124	Re: The Dymaxion in motion To me, Buckminster Fuller was the lifehacker of his time. He designed structures, homes, vehicles all with a kind of robotically detatched elan. The man was brilliantly out of step...but his stuff worked, it did what it was supposed to do, and well. The Dymaxion vehicle had a flathead for power, and as far as I know, a conventional drive system. Aerodynamics and to a very small extent rolling resistance would have been responsible for the improvement in performance and economy. The fuel economy would almost certainly have been a steady-state figure; for example a rock-steady 40 mph, or 50 mph. In a CAFE loop, or ordinary driving, the number would certainly be lower. __________________ "So, what do you little maniacs want to do first?"

03-22-2011, 12:13 PM	#14
BigBlockBuck Newbie Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 64	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Is it just me or does that shock strut in the cut away look kind excited?

03-22-2011, 12:41 PM	#15
beatnikontinental Grenade Inspector Join Date: May 2001 Location: kontinentalsville - austin, texas Posts: 399	Re: The Dymaxion in motion The next time you are in Austin - go check out the Bucky archives at the Henry Hansom Center on the University of Texas campus - they have some amazing material in the archives along with some really cool Norman Bel Geddes papers, models, etc. That place is incredible - A Gutenburg Bible? The first photograph ever taken? yeah, they have those. http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/exhibitions/permanent/ __________________ www.kontinentals.com www.lonestarroundup.com www.dayofthedrags.com

03-22-2011, 03:07 PM	#16
Russ Gaylord Fontana FNG Join Date: May 2007 Location: Home Posts: 45	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Good but expensive book....got it for Christmas and have really enjoyed the work of such an amazing man. http://www.artbook.com/9780956433930.html

03-22-2011, 04:19 PM	#17
flamingokid Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Olathe,Kansas Posts: 1,052	Re: The Dymaxion in motion I want a Dymaxion house,that is too cool.

03-22-2011, 07:04 PM	#18
paperdog Alliance Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: MINN. JUST NORTH OF TWIN CITIES Posts: 4,911	Re: The Dymaxion in motion Thanks made me think of this from "chaddilac" oo oo oo memories Attached Thumbnails __________________ Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.....

03-22-2011, 09:06 PM	#20
narlee Grenade Inspector Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Western Washington Posts: 238	Re: The Dymaxion in motion I saw it at the Automobile Museum in Reno, pretty cool. Too bad it got the bad press from the accident plus the timing of trying to start in bad economic times made it an uphill battle.

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