Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

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Nahguavkire

I know there are a few forumengers who would know such things so I'm hoping help will be at hand...

Say I wanted to undertake a wildly ambitious project to design and build my own car from scratch (or near enough), where would I start with my reading list for chassis and suspension design/ engineering?

I'm thinking tubular spaceframe with mid mounted engine and rear wheel drive.

I know there would be an extremely good argument for pilfering existing suspension setups from something else and just building a chassis to meet the suspension mounting points that otherwise would be in whatever car I've taken the suspension from (I've seen people mention RX-8 and 350Z as good donors for this) but I'd like to do as much homework as I can to be able to make as informed a decision as possible before committing to choosing donor suspension.

I've also had people recommend the best way to go about such a task is the LFGSS (@amey) approved method of starting with the tyres and working inward.

I'm reasonably competent with Revit as I use it for work but the specifics of engineering a chassis in Revit would be a little bit out of my comfort zone at the moment (I'm determined to learn!)

So... please direct me to the Sheldon Brown of building your own sportscar...

(A comprehensive and long winded build thread will ensue provided I can get past the early planning stage on this one!)

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hugo7 in reply to @Nahguavkire

Not dissuade you, but have you considered a kit car? You could then go for some mild modification of that as a starter.

Sure someone here has a 'busa kit car. Maybe @Brommers or @bq (TBH I only recently realised they were two separate people).
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SimonM in reply to @Nahguavkire

https://youtube.com/c/BuilderCreator

I follow and watch quite a bit of this guy on YouTube. He is doing exactly what you describe above, space frame, mid mount etc. Might be worth having a trawl through to see if the work he's doing is within what you think it would take?
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Fixedwheelnut in reply to @Nahguavkire

A good series of books that were a bible for motor vehicle apprentices back in the day is 'The Fundamentals of Motor Vehicle Technology'
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fundamentals-Motor-Vehicle-Technology-Hillier/dp/0748705317

Also have you considered VW Beetle or other early air cooled models that were often used as a base for kit cars as the chassis/engine, gear box and running gear is all a rolling chassis that other bodies can be built on, hence so many beach buggies and dune buggies were built around them.

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