One Of Tremulis's Other Prototypes Found

[Phantomrig]

I was messing around on the net and found this.

http://thenewcaferacersociety.blogspot. ... on-is.html

[Tucker Fan 48]

Very cool.

I was however a little disappointed when you said prototype and there was no story with it,
(i.e. taken out the back door, special frame, secret project, Mel Koeppen, etc.).

photo identifying Mel Koeppen.JPG (1.47 KiB) Viewed 1708 times

[Ohio AMX]

Very cool find. I had a Cougar like that!

[Phantomrig]

Very cool.

I was however a little disappointed when you said prototype and there was no story with it,
(i.e. taken out the back door, special frame, secret project, Mel Koeppen, etc.).

photo identifying Mel Koeppen.JPG

[cicero]

The current engine and transmission is type 3 VW. Type 3's were the squareback, notchback and fastback. The fuel injection was very temperamental. The transmission is '69 or later because it has CV joints. The flat four fuel injected engine and the transmission used in the later buses and the 914 were considered Type 4 and were completely different than the type 3. Looks like they made some sort of extensions between the transmission hubs and the CV joints.They would have had to flip the ring gear since they turned the motor facing forward.


Has anyone contacted this guy yet?

I wonder how much documentation is on it in it's original configuration still exists? It would be nice to see it restored back to it's original layout, even if it was just for display.

[streamliner]

A VERY cool car and one that captures much of Alex Tremulis’ dreams dating back to 1951. That’s about when he first started to get the gyro-stabilized bug, while at Kaiser-Frazer. He gave a speech at an SAE meeting where he proposed that perhaps four wheels were two too many for the ultimate car design. From that point on, he pursued his dream of producing a two-wheeled, gyro-stabilized car for the masses.

The Gyro-X was yet another innovative idea, again severely underfunded, that couldn’t get its legs (or wheels) under it. Alex often said he’d sunk more ships than were built, and again, this was no exception. Conceived by a gyro wizard, Tom Summers, Tremulis incorporated all his styling cues into the aluminum body:





I also found the video while messing around on the net, gave the guy a call, and sure enough it’s legit. After toying with the idea of myself giving it a restoration, and trying to figure out the best possible outcome for the car, you’ll be pleased to know that it is now in the very capable hands of a Pebble Beach Concours award winner, with the intentions to get it back to its former two-wheeled glory. A somewhat daunting task for such a small car, but I’ve got lots of photos and letters to help its new owner along the way.



Interestingly enough, this car’s ability (or stability) to drive while being gyro-stabilized played a large part in the direction of the restoration. Yes, it worked as designed, and was driven on the California public roads to what must have dumbfounded onlookers:





No doubt, when completed, this is going to be one wild ride!!!



ps: That's Alex's Cougar parked next to the Gyro-X in the linked photo...

[WQ59B]

Wasn't Tremulis also behind the '61 Ford Gyron ?

[streamliner]

It took Alex Tremulis over a decade to finally convince someone (Ford) that a gyro car was feasible, but it also proved to be a very controversial project in Tremulis’ Ford career. Events in its development would signal the end of the road at Ford for both Gyron designers, Syd Mead and Tremulis. Thank goodness for us all!





Here’s the preamble to Tremulis’ Gyron presentation to the Ford brass. Mead provided the storyboard artwork for the presentation as well as the displays for the Gyron’s showings.



For Syd Mead, a HUGE red flag was raised when Elwood Engle came to look at the fiberglass body of the Gyron. He took a cursory glance at it, and then with a heavy blow from his foot, kicked off two fins or pods that were on the body. He commented, “There, that’s better”. The designers were furious, and at that point it was clear that he didn’t fit in with the stifling corporate world at Ford. He left Ford to a consulting career and was finally free to come up with so many of the futuristic visions that still amaze us after so many years. He’s still at it, as good as ever.

For Tremulis, his insistence on building the Gyron proved his downfall. In one heated argument, Tremulis’ boss made it clear that there was no money to buy a gyro for such a frivolous project. An irate Tremulis exclaimed that if a multi-billion dollar company can’t come up with the funds for a gyro, they should fire him (Tremulis’ boss) and free up the funds to advance the art. Not a good career move! Tremulis was put into the Truck division, a place where Ford would send you when your time was up. He designed the 600hp turbine, “Big Red”, the largest clay ever built at that time, but left Ford shortly after to pursue his own consulting career.



Unfortunately for the Gyron, it was put on display in the Ford Rotunda. The plastic roof of the Rotunda was being repaired when the materials caught fire and burned the Rotunda to the ground in less than an hour: