New chassis? New chassis! Hype?

[decryphe]

Yesterday my Youtube feed did give me an interesting video to watch.

And here's the source for this:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/F...83332.html

What am I to make of this? Could this be used for putting a car on the road? Is it more suited for building a race car? Who would be willing to do a group buy?

[Power_uP]

I want to know what it's made of. Until someone gets one to analyse, then for all we know it's 4/5 of the correct size and is made of kitchen foil.

[banpei]

I've seen it several times in the app groups I'm part of, so here's my 2 cents:
The chassis is lacking a frame number. This means it could be legal if you reuse an existing frame number from an existing car. In the US it's even more difficult as you need in addition to the frame number a valid VIN. For the AE86 this is basically nearly the same.
In most countries, you would need the proper paperwork alongside the frame number and/or VIN to register the car. You can only import a car if it has the correct paperwork from the country of origin. This means in general, you can only reuse existing frame numbers if you have the correct paperwork and thus a fake is hard to create. (there are some shady countries that could be the origin, so it doesn't rule out fakes for a 100%)
Even if a fake could be made, the price for a chassis is 9000 euros if you buy 10 of them at the same time. However, they lack:
- engine
- gearbox
- rear axle
- wiring loom
- dashboard
- interior
- head lights
- tail lights
- bumpers
- windows
- window mouldings
- probably a gazillion knickknacks I forgot
Finding all the above in good enough condition would probably set you back more than the car would be worth when you sell it.
And my final point is that the car was 3D scanned to create the reproduction parts. However, the quality of these parts fully depends on how good these parts were to begin with. If they aren't 100% straight, copies will also be crooked.

[decryphe]

That's all correct, so it could only be of interest if somebody has a rotten shell but all the other bits.

Best way to find out if it's any good might be to order just a rear quarter panel or a fender or something, and measure it out. Should I do that?

Also, thoughts about using this for a race car? I'm thinking crate engine, T3 suspension, maybe IRS kit, etc.

[Ivan141]

These chassis would be most valuable for motorsports IMO. Crash your rally car, no big deal, get a new chassis.
If you have a rotten donor with decent enough parts it could also be a cheaper way to restore, if you can get around the frame number issue.

One thing that is a bit disingenuous is that the 86 shown in that vid is a real one, built by Toyota, that the owner got dipped at that factory.
The dots on it are for 3d scanning. I dont really see how you can recreate an entire chassis without taking it completely apart since many parts are
multi layered and invisible from outside.
Have heard some say the factory is legit, and they already do similar stuff for other cars, but I'll believe the hype when I see the first china-made 86 chassis.

[r.ave]

isn't it the same company that makes those Escort MKII bodies? (mainly for rally purposes)

[decryphe]

(10-23-2024 12:39 PM)r.ave Wrote:  isn't it the same company that makes those Escort MKII bodies? (mainly for rally purposes)

Looks like it. I also stumbled across Escort Mk1 bodies, that would also be a cool option for rally/track purposes. Also, J40 and J70 land cruisers, Defender 90 and I saw a VW T1 prepped for 3D-scanning in a photo.

The FJ40s look great in pictures, some seemingly arab company gave good reviews on the J70 parts, so this could actually be rather legit, especially for non-road-use.

Have you seen these Escorts in reality somewhere?

[banpei]

(10-23-2024 11:54 AM)Ivan141 Wrote:  One thing that is a bit disingenuous is that the 86 shown in that vid is a real one, built by Toyota, that the owner got dipped at that factory.
The dots on it are for 3d scanning. I dont really see how you can recreate an entire chassis without taking it completely apart since many parts are
multi layered and invisible from outside.

I agree. Think of the inner pockets of the 3 door AE86:
https://flos.ie/product/inner-pocket-ae86/
How are they going to recreate without taking the car apart?

[Power_uP]

I don't know if the same company is involved, but I know that when the mk2 Escort pattern was made they had to destroy a few Escorts in order to create the tooling. Perhaps a similar method was used for the AE86 shell.

[r.ave]

(10-23-2024 03:50 PM)decryphe Wrote:  [quote='r.ave' pid='178460' dateline='1729679964']

Have you seen these Escorts in reality somewhere?

In the UK they go through quite some shells in rally.
I believe Frank Kelly has been in need for a few new shells in the past few years.
Not sure if his come from the UK of China