You know what concept I’m oddly fond of? The concept of good enough. I don’t really know why, but I find a lot of appeal to solutions or situations or objects that were obviously done just well enough to be acceptable, and not a bit more. And maybe that even pushes the limits of “acceptable” to some points of strain. Today I saw an example of this that is so achingly beautiful in its goodenoughitude that I felt I had to share it with you. So, you know, prepare accordingly.
It has to do with that image up there; our own lovable curmudgeon Adrian sent me a tweet that showed something that was initially cryptic. At first glance, it looks like a 1957-1960 Volkswagen Type 2 pickup truck, with a box-shaped structure on the rear sprouting what, at first glance, looks like some sort of jet engine exhaust.
Seriously, look:
Should've bought a bigger truck ????????#VWWednesday pic.twitter.com/DDDM1qLnKB
— Lord Haydock (@MarkHaydock5) April 9, 2025
But wait, that can’t be it? I’d surely have heard of an experimental VW pickup that ran on jet power. And what’s that bulge next to the nozzle thing? And wait, it says TEAM LOTUS on there. We’re not looking at one vehicle here, we’re looking at two!
This is what is going on here:
Or, to make it more clear:
That’s not an exhaust nozzle, it’s the nose of what seems to be a Lotus 20 Formula Junior car, I think, likely from 1962 to 1965 or so. Incredibly, these 36 to 40 horsepower Type 2 pickups were used as car haulers for a lot of these smaller race cars, perhaps most famously wearing Porsche livery of some sort:
And lengthened, in the case of the one you see up there. That, I suppose, is the full-assed way to put a racecar onto a VW Type 2 pickup: make the whole damn truck longer.
But the other way, the good enough way, is to just do what Team Lotus driver Peter Arundell did, and just let the whole nose of the car stick out the back, through what looks like a nice elasticated hole and with little bulges just for the front wheels, even.
The whole thing reminds me of a dog sticking its snout out a car window, happily smelling the world as it whizzes by,
Arundell drove a Lotus 20 Formula Junior car in a sort of semi-official capacity, starting with a Lotus 18 loaned to him by Lotus founder Colin Chapman himself, and was part of the Lotus Formula Junior team, but not quite at the level where Lotus would provide, you know, real transport.
The funny look of this setup must have attracted a good bit of attention, because there’s toys you can buy of this rig:
I mean, is there any better way to know you’ve made it than being immortalized in a toy?
See, that’s the lesson here: sometimes half-assing it is even better than full-assing something, because often, it’s just more fun. And also, and this is an important lesson, sometimes good enough is good enough.
Model isn’t correct: Missing the rear box overhang over the (VW) engine compartment. But cool they made a model of it anyway 😀
In the words of the great Greek thinker Mediocrates “Eh, it’s good enough”
This article has been up for at least twelve corn-fed American hours and yet nobody has likened the resemblance to celebrated character actor Jim Carrey emerging from the rectum of an artificial rhinoceros.
At uni I was taught the engineering concept of “appropriate quality”. If making something “better” doesn’t bring functional improvements it’s too highly specified and wastes money and time.
This is why when I lightened my drift MX5 I refitted the modified bumpers and front wings (fenders) using cable ties where the bolts used to go. It’s lighter, can’t rust and the body stays on up to at least 100mph. Appropriate quality.
It also why I lost my shit last month when I saw that a drawing for a straight length of coolant hose had been given geometric perpendicularly tolerances for the cuts at both ends. Measured with a jig and cut with hose shears is the appropriate quality. Asking for more is stupid.
True, but I suspect that as an Englishman you’re forcibly haunted by the ghost of Colin Chapman if you neglect your engineering parsimony.
He is a constant source of inspiration and I will, of course, also fake my own death to avoid prison. And also make each part do the job of two, as well as adding lightness.
I’d pay good money to watch you berate Muskrat about his “micron precision” Cybertruck body panels.
My strategy for senior management is to agree with everything they say, but then do the job properly anyway.
To me, it looks like a bird hit something, got stuck, and was just like, “Ah crap I did it again”.
Imagine getting a race car to a race track in nearly the slowest way possible.
I also love the phrase “Good enough is good enough” I work with several perfectionists, I was married to a perfectionists and am currently married to a perfectionist who is in perfectionism recovery.
Perfectionism destroys relationships, families and people and yet is seen as a good thing in people, taught to children and valued by society. Hard no. I have seen too many relationships ruined by perfectionism, Children struggling with mental health and actually failing school because they cannot function because of their parentally forced perfectionism. “Good enough is good enough” !
Good enough is extremely important in engineering as well. If you design something to be better than it needs to be, you often end up with a product that is more expensive, heavier, etc.
Unfortunately, good enough has a negative connotation.
I had a friend I had to abandon because of this sort of thing. He thought he had a particular talent for attention to detail but he was really just singularly focused on things that didn’t matter. He was an electrician and he caused many delays making sure the wires behind the walls were all parallel but still overlooked important stuff like making sure the stove was turned off and wouldn’t start a fire before if he turned on its breaker. After a while I got tired of just agreeing with everything he said to avoid an argument and stopped talking to him.
Oh wow, good example. I can tell you from experience that a perfectionist spouse was awful. She was so worried about everything in the future that had to be perfect, they could not relax enough to be a human.
Yep… “you’re not finishing the back of that?” “nope, it gets nailed to the wall”
So much this, there are a few things I am passionate about and want perfect, the rest? Good enough is good enough.
Often, I find that some of the most creative people are the ones who take “good enough” to the next level. Then there are the habitually lazy people who don’t actually do a good job at all and make the comment: “Good enough for Government work”.
I’m intrigued as to how they got the car down from the back of the van (and back up on to it).
Probably had some long ramps that tucked under the car.
Weve done similar with trailers that dont have attached swing ramps.
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NG1zK9VJZx8/WFsoSwgHb5I/AAAAAAAEf5E/9qXGZI2z7Yw7jD4032PnRU2gF3_9KA19QCLcB/s1600/dutch-gp-1966.png
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ce/d5/ea/ced5eae90413012cd90a4d421279edb6.jpg
Lovely. Alternatively for an even worse CoG https://www.reddit.com/r/classiccars/comments/3x7fzg/stuart_lewisevans_unloading_his_cooper_500_from/
I love how you can see that English that’ll do attitude on display right before the birth of British Leyland here.
I worked for Art Bunker at his Porsche+Audi dealership in the early 70’s, the parts manager had been at the Wornal location when this transporter was being used. It’s pretty cool!
This article was definitely just good enough.
That’ll do, rig…. That’ll do.
Wow Jason really Phoned It In here…
But is it just good enough?
To be fair, this thing probably had a power-to-weight ratio no worse than any large truck of the time. Those were the days when a European HD truck was lucky to have 100hp under hood to haul a heck of a lot more weight than a flyweight racing car (less than 1000lbs for these) on a VW pickup. Nothing moved much faster than 45-50mph in those days, and a lot slower uphill. We are *incredibly* spoiled today. Plus what are the chances the Lotus mechanics didn’t tune up that flat-four a tad?
So I would call that rig pretty perfect for the job. If not QUITE as cool as what Mercedes used in those days. Need a racecar across the continent yesterday? They had the right tool for the job in 1955: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ec5bgEUEr9GDWSyx5
That badboy would do 105mph with an SLR loaded on the back, powered by the engine from a Gullwing. Had to be terrifying. No SLR on it the day I was at the Mercedes Museum and took the pic, sadly. Must have been out having fun somewhere.
Leno has a replica of this truck. Hauls his Gullwing on it
LOL – of course he does! Does his have a Gullwing engine in it?
I think, IIRC, it has a modern(ish) Mercedes engine
I am in love… with all of this; good enough, the race car, the truck, the toy version…
“sometimes half-assing it is even better than full-assing something, because often, it’s just more fun.”
I feel so seen now!
Jason should do an article on ‘temporary measures‘ – a repair or fix that was never intended to be permanent, yet somehow years go by before it is remedied (if ever).
This is akin to half assing it, but can be applied multiple times to a single vehicle.
Hell, my ’65 Pontiac Tempest was more temporary measures than factory original by the time I sold it
That would be called a “bodge”.
Don’t remember where I first heard it, but I’ve been saying the mantra of “Not just good; good enough” since my college days 25+ years ago. Not always the best mantra, but does remind me that most things only call for “good enough” and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to make everything the best.
I worked for a highway contractor in a much earlier life. There the motto was “Good enough for government work”.
I say/hear that almost daily.
Our family motto is: “If it’s stupid but works, it isn’t stupid.” Got that from a drill sergeant as an alternative to “Field expedient.” It has stood me in good stead lo these many years. I especially love how it takes “expedient” and stretches it out to something requiring more effort.