A
Arnold Hite
Guest
David,
You may remember that I put my Amphi in a pool a few years ago at
the Charlotte Motor Speedway annual car show in Charlotte, North
Carolina. It was a big hit. The marketing people later told me that
show had the biggest attendance ever. My car was on several billboards
promoting the show and there were lots of local newspaper and radio
interviews. I suggest you try to partner with a car show or at least a
pool company to get a little support for your efforts. These folks can
help with the logistics of building, filling, and disassembly of the
pool. In my case a local fire department came three times with a small
pumper truck to fill the pool.
There are a few things to consider. First, above ground pools must
be on perfectly flat ground otherwise they are unstable. My pool was
setup in the speedway pit area. It seemed really flat to me but it was
not. The slight grade for rain runoff caused the pool to be 2-3 inches
higher on one side than the other. This caused the pool lining to pull
away from the frame during the first filling and the whole pool emptied
in about 30 seconds. Luckily the pool was only half full and Amphi was
only a few inches off the ground. Still, when all the water rushed out,
Amphi tried to go out too. She pushed up against the pool wall. No
damage done.
We attempted to compensate for the gradual slope before attempting
the second filing. Even so, it was decided to leave the pool about 3/4
full to minimize stress from the uneven ground. Too bad because this
hid the Amphi from small children who were too small to see over the
pool wall.
Another thing to consider is that your car will be on display
without a driver or passengers. You will notice that this causes it to
ride with the bow unusually high. I finally put about 100 pounds of
bricks under the hood to level out the car.
Finally I was worried a little about sinking. My car leaks a
little and since I would be in the pool for almost 4 full days I was
worried. I installed a bilge pump with sensor to keep the car
relatively dry. That worked great. The bilge came on about every 10
minutes and would run for about 10 seconds.
The whole experience was so great that ever since I have been
looking for a used pool to buy. I also have my eye on an antique fire
truck to help fill the pool. Good luck with your project. I look
forward to seeing your pictures.
Arnold Hite
Johns Island, SC
>
> Message: 1 Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 11:16:51 -0000
> From: "David Chapman" <david@manbus.com>
> Subject: Amphicar in a swimming pool
>
> I've just bought an above ground pool - approx 18ft x 12ft x 4ft deep
> so big enough for Amphicar !
> Well it's got to be tried once as it would make great photos but how ?
> I could of course build the pool around the car and just fill it up
> but the water supply at my house is not great - just half inch pipe -
> so pool will take at least a week to fill. I don't think there is any
> straightforward way to lift the car into the pool so only way I can
> think of is support the car on blocks - build the pool around it -
> fill the pool - somehow remove the blocks so the car drops in and
> floats - then drain water out when photos have been taken.
> Anyone think of a better way ?
> Also, anyone know what the displacement is of an Amphicar ? I think I
> only need to fill the pool about threequarters full and then as
> Amphicar is lowered in the level will rise to the top but to be
> accurate I need to know how much water in gallons or litres the
> Amphicar displaces, I did have the formula to work this out but can't
> find it !
>
> David C
>
>
>
You may remember that I put my Amphi in a pool a few years ago at
the Charlotte Motor Speedway annual car show in Charlotte, North
Carolina. It was a big hit. The marketing people later told me that
show had the biggest attendance ever. My car was on several billboards
promoting the show and there were lots of local newspaper and radio
interviews. I suggest you try to partner with a car show or at least a
pool company to get a little support for your efforts. These folks can
help with the logistics of building, filling, and disassembly of the
pool. In my case a local fire department came three times with a small
pumper truck to fill the pool.
There are a few things to consider. First, above ground pools must
be on perfectly flat ground otherwise they are unstable. My pool was
setup in the speedway pit area. It seemed really flat to me but it was
not. The slight grade for rain runoff caused the pool to be 2-3 inches
higher on one side than the other. This caused the pool lining to pull
away from the frame during the first filling and the whole pool emptied
in about 30 seconds. Luckily the pool was only half full and Amphi was
only a few inches off the ground. Still, when all the water rushed out,
Amphi tried to go out too. She pushed up against the pool wall. No
damage done.
We attempted to compensate for the gradual slope before attempting
the second filing. Even so, it was decided to leave the pool about 3/4
full to minimize stress from the uneven ground. Too bad because this
hid the Amphi from small children who were too small to see over the
pool wall.
Another thing to consider is that your car will be on display
without a driver or passengers. You will notice that this causes it to
ride with the bow unusually high. I finally put about 100 pounds of
bricks under the hood to level out the car.
Finally I was worried a little about sinking. My car leaks a
little and since I would be in the pool for almost 4 full days I was
worried. I installed a bilge pump with sensor to keep the car
relatively dry. That worked great. The bilge came on about every 10
minutes and would run for about 10 seconds.
The whole experience was so great that ever since I have been
looking for a used pool to buy. I also have my eye on an antique fire
truck to help fill the pool. Good luck with your project. I look
forward to seeing your pictures.
Arnold Hite
Johns Island, SC
>
> Message: 1 Date: Mon, 16 Jan 2006 11:16:51 -0000
> From: "David Chapman" <david@manbus.com>
> Subject: Amphicar in a swimming pool
>
> I've just bought an above ground pool - approx 18ft x 12ft x 4ft deep
> so big enough for Amphicar !
> Well it's got to be tried once as it would make great photos but how ?
> I could of course build the pool around the car and just fill it up
> but the water supply at my house is not great - just half inch pipe -
> so pool will take at least a week to fill. I don't think there is any
> straightforward way to lift the car into the pool so only way I can
> think of is support the car on blocks - build the pool around it -
> fill the pool - somehow remove the blocks so the car drops in and
> floats - then drain water out when photos have been taken.
> Anyone think of a better way ?
> Also, anyone know what the displacement is of an Amphicar ? I think I
> only need to fill the pool about threequarters full and then as
> Amphicar is lowered in the level will rise to the top but to be
> accurate I need to know how much water in gallons or litres the
> Amphicar displaces, I did have the formula to work this out but can't
> find it !
>
> David C
>
>
>
