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Another angle view

 

Is that the original Bubble or did you make a new one? It's really nice and clear

 

I gotta ask, have you ever jumped in the Futurian and driven it to Saturday coffee? I would love to see the looks it would get going down the road.


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@Moriarity how long are you loaning it out to that museum?

 

Even before that...
Bill Mitchell's XP-700, way back in '58! (Roth's "Beatnik Bandit" was still years away. )
Bill used it as his personal car for a year.

In October of '59, the double bubble canopy of laminated plastic received a coating of vaporized aluminum to deflect the sun's rays.



From the rear, you can see the ventilation vents, periscope rear view mirror, and definite '63 Sting Ray styling.
(Remember this was 1958, and actually made from a production 1958 Corvette.)

 

Woh!!!!!......

 

Custom bubbles are actually pretty easy to make. I dreaded making the one for the Mysterion repro but I found a company in LA that all they do is blow bubbles, mostly hemispheres for advertising. I made the 'mold' for the top by simply cutting out the bottom profile of the bubble in a sheet of plywood and building a frame on top of that. For the Mysterion I also had to add a couple of arched dams to ford the little side pop-outs in the final top but that was a simple task. Main requirement is that he frame be extremely sturdy and stand high vertical loads. this is easily done with strategic placement of vertical 2x4s. The company mounted my pattern in what looks like a 100 ton press. They then heated a sheet of plastic in a big oven, placed the plastic on the cloth covered bed of the press, lowered the pattern and squeezed it onto the plastic and literally blew it up with compressed air. I eventually had three of them made, two in the first go-round then went back to have the 3rd blown. Ruined the first one building the car, ruined the second one when the top blew off the finished car a I was driving it to a photo shoot on an open trailer.

It is easy but not cheap. Expect to pay $600 to $800 depending on size. Also demand to be there when they blow it so you can observe the technique. Plexiglass is very tough and resistant stuff but when the surface is under internal stress, ANY solvent that touches it will craze the surface. A piece of sheet plastic from the store with no internal stress can be soaked in lacquer thinner and come out looking like new. However a poorly blown top will craze instantly if a drip of solvent hits the surface. When they blow the top demand they blow it FAST while the plastic is still hot and rubbery. This eliminates induce internal stress. If the blow it slowly and the plastic is cooling and becoming rigid while expanding, that is when the internal stresses go nuts. The Mysterion top requires a paint job of light blue candy. I used catalyzed urethane clear tinted with HOK cobalt blue tint. Luckily the solvents in urethane paint don't attack the plastic.

 

16. is called the "gas bubble" it started out as a 1963 Plymouth Fury convertible, the guy who made it said when he bought the car it needed a windshield, and a new convertible top, so he thought it might just be easier to put a bubble on top, LOL

 

From Bangkok Dean

 

"Golden Ray" Studebaker...
http://theoldmotor.com/?p=153899

 

Mysterion