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Aerocon Boa Type S
Overview
The Aerocon Boa Type S was built in Ventura, California in 1978-1979. The Boa has an aluminum monocoque chassis and fiberglass body which resulted in a curb weight of 1800 lbs. . The drive train was positioned in a mid-engined configuration that resulted in a front/rear weight distribution of 47% front and 53% rear.
The Boa has a 101 inch wheelbase and a total length of 178.5 inches, which was about 4 inches shorter that a Corvette in the same period. The car was 66 inches wide with a front track of 53 ¼ at the front and 54 inches at the rear. Factory wheels were 14 inches in diameter and 5 ½ inches wide running 70 series tires. Most cars were equipped with Western wheels
To avoid full compliance with smog laws, the Aerocon Boa was sold to customers without an engine and transmission. The customer was recommended to install a 4 cylinder Porsche 914 of VW equivalent engine, along with a VW transaxle. The customer was guided to installation shops who could install the drive train into the new Aerocon Boa.
The price of the car was $17,000 without the drive train, which equated to the cost of a new Corvette at the time. Total production of the Aerocon Boa was 15 units, based upon factory correspondence in 1979.
The chassis construction described in another article here was similar to the Jaguar XKE monocoque body from the firewall to the rear of the body. Those quarter-barrel shaped rockers were a structural element and contained 4 rectangular sections that were welded to the bottom inside edge and the outer top edge that comprised the side panels you had to slide over to get into the seat. The center tunnel was also a structural element as was the box that contained the mounting for the rear differential. The front support structure was small square tubes that contained the engine and front suspension mounts. The front tube structure was bolted to the firewall
The later Lotus sports cars were composed of essentially a box element at the front and another that supported the dash and door hinges at the A-pillar. The B-pillar was the location of another box member as was the rear most element. The side rails were continuous extrusions bent before hardening. Everything was joined by screws and glue. The glue didn’t extrude from between the joints due to the presence of glass beads in the mix.
The modern Morgan chassis is much like the Lotus; all aluminum. Morgan continues to use ash in the construction of the aluminum body. The ash is the support for the aluminum skin.
Only electric cars are using an aluminum or steel platform construction. Not sure why no other automobile manufacturer hasn’t adopted a platform sandwich construction with an internal combustion engine and the usual types of drive trains, because the platform sandwich can be made much more rigid than a ladder or tube frame and can be mass produced. I believe Frank Kurtis was the first to use a platform sandwich along with a rectangular ladder frame in his 1948 sports car.
I built 15 production chassis before 1978 I believe that Dave Saunders designer owner of Aerocon projected 16 production vehicles
I own BOA771010. Mine came with some interesting literature and pictures, but is missing the rear transmission cover and the t-tops. I can’t find out where the t-tops are from? Camaro or Firebird? The fuse box is also a mystery? I have it running and moving. It sat for the last 15years so, I working out wiring gremlins and rebuilding brakes etc. If you have any info that would be super helpful. I am having a blast bringing it back to life.
Thanks ~ Scott
thanks,
– -Chad
Amherst
MA
I am the person that fabricated the BOA at Aerocon was the chassis manager, learned the “Custom Sheet-metal Trade from Stan that became invaluable to my success in the aircraft air frame manufacturing.
Sincerely,
Jerry
Hi, I just bought #14, how many were produced?
I just bought BOA# 771010. Which I believe is the the tenth production car. I would love to more about my purchase. body is great. Missing t-tops. has vw engine. Has original seats, rims, bumpers etc.