Jonathan Stephenson's Lego Technic Cars

> Jonathan Stephenson's
Lego Technic Cars

Lego Technic Corvette Replica of the '98-'99 Chevrolet Corvette. Features include V8 engine with fiber optic spark plug wires, rear-mounted 4-speed transmission, 4 wheel independent suspension, flip-up headlights, and parking brake.

Lego Technic Mustang Replica of the '94-'95 Ford Mustang. Features include V8 engine, 4-speed transmission, 4-wheel suspension, adjustable seats, impact-absorbing bumpers, and parking brake.

Background

I'm a firm believer that Legos are the best toy in the world. The fact that it's the only toy from my childhood that I still play with is evidence of that. I got into Legos at about six years of age, and a few years later when the first Expert Builder kits came out, I was all over them. I started with the GoCart and got most of the kits through to the big Dune Buggy. I was into cars and by 12 or 13 I realized that as neat as the Auto Chassis and Dune Buggy were they were deficient in two main areas. They needed bodies and front suspensions. There was a reason Lego never made a front suspension using Expert Builder pieces and I ruined many of those 2X2 swivel pieces finding that out. However, with the help of Superglue, I did build a number of reasonably successful designs.

By about '86 I was getting busy with high school and spent most of my hobby time with my other constructive car hobby, building 1:25 scale model cars (and keeping my 1:1 car running). I didn't touch the Legos for a long time until in '94 I had some free time and got a hankering to haul out the old Legos and build a helicopter. I was really happy with the way it turned out. It had blade pitch control with joysticks (like the old kit), variable speed tail propeller, clutch disengage, and two-way adjustable seats. I was impressed with some of the new Technic kits, but wasn't really motivated enough to invest in any. Then the Supercar came out. When I saw it, bells, whistles, light bulbs and fireworks went off in my head. Finally they had built a kit that came close to realizing the full potential of Legos. It's an incredibly brilliant design. However, I bought it half for the car itself and half for the pieces to use in my own designs. I'm the last one to want to bad-mouth the Supercar, but in the aspect of realistic automotive replica, it leaves some areas for improvement. The suspension doesn't ride at all like a real car's. It rides way too high for a mid-engine sports car. The chassis beneath the interior is too deep. The seats seem too small in proportion to the rest of the car, especially the wheels. It's got a lot of body for a Lego design, but it's still basically a chassis. And aesthetically, in my opinion, it's overall kind of a goofy looking car. After building both of the kit's designs and paying proper homage to their brilliance, I disassembled them and was finally armed with the proper pieces needed to fulfill my 12 year old mission: to build a realistic full-bodied Lego car with a front suspension.

I built the Mustang chassis over the space of a few weeks and had to wait a few months before building the body in January '97. I was happy with the Mustang, but knew I could build an even better car. I tore it down and built the Corvette over about a month in January '98. I've got some ideas for other cars. I'd love to build a 4X4 truck, a front-wheel-drive car using the Flex System to control the transmission, and any car using the Flex System to control a brake mechanism. However, I don't think I'll be ready to do anything for awhile. I haven't been inspired to take on any new Lego projects. (11-2000 udate: starting to get motivated! New Supercar!) It doesn't help that to do anything new, I'd have to lose the Corvette. Besides, I'm still building those model cars. By the way, if you have any Lego cars of this type on the net, please email me your address.

Lego Links

Here are some links to sites that have either large scale technic vehicles or have good master lists of sites. There's a surprising lack of these types of projects on the web. If you know of any good ones that aren't on here, please email me.

Lewis Valentine has an extremely cool Aerorig 18 wheeler (actually 10 wheeler) and a lot of other neat things.
Dennis Bosman has the biggest, most impressive large Technic vehicles I've seen. The man must own about a billion Legos.
Fredrik Glockner has some very cool cars and other Technic things, along with some computer illustrated instructions for suspension ideas.
Ben Williamson has a Technic car with a nice adjustable air suspension (with instructions even).
Paolo and Diego Campagnaro modified the 8865 kit into a V10 monster racer.
Master Grade Lego Models - A cool concept for a page. As of 12/99, it hasn't been updated much, but it does have some pictures of a cool f1 race car under construction.
Expert Builder Megaprojects - Features several big models at a time, some Technic. The archives section includes a certain red Corvette.
Everything Lego
Adequate.com Lego Maniac Guide
Lego Maniacs on the Web
Cool Lego Site of the Week
The following are sites that were cool, but are temporarily (hopefully) homeless. If anyone knows of a new address for any of them, please let me know.
Squiggy's Lego Page - He had a really neat Hot Rod and early '60's Corvette.
Chris Pelly has a couple really cool Technic vans.

, last updated January, 2000

Use of the words Lego, Ford Mustang or Chevrolet Corvette or logos in no way implies any affiliation or sponsorship by those companies!

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