The peel! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07ub5rBdrE4 The Miser http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKq-CwLCWd8&feature=related Dinarg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVxDFUSd894&feature=related And best Peel 50 video ever http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/tiny-apeel
Holy sheet, I was thinking how cool it would be to drive something like that. I'm not so sure after seeing these pics, I like my balls where they are!!
That'd be my mate Richard Oakes of Blackjack Cars. You can have any Moto Guzzi engine or any VW air cooled flat 4. In both cases it drives through the front wheels using a Beetle transaxle and VW Golf driveshafts and hubs.
And then there is this, a car cycle I guess. Has a 2300 Ford motor in it. And I have always thought something could be done with any 1500 or 1800 Gold Wing motor. They already have a reverse.
I just glanced at a thread about odd/unusual suspensions....there was an odd on from a highboy....then I galnced at this one...and there's not much frame forward of the engine in either...I wonder how well that would work (?) Anyways that's a neat gizmobile
Hi guys, I'm new here but I've browsed these forums for a while now. Just had to swing by to comment on this thread. Now I've seen the Hornet at a VMCC (vintage motorcycle club) rally & I've seen Thunderbug a couple of times at VSCC (vintage sports car club) meetings. My recollection is that they are both owned by the same chap, Mark Walker who's part of the Walkers Crisps (potato chips) family. He's a brilliant engineer and he built both cars (I use the word "cars" quite loosely). Hornet is really a hugely powerful buckboard! I asked Mark about Thunderbug. He admitted that it wasn't desperately competitive but it just made him smile every time he started it, as a 4.2 litre V twin would! My fascination with these cars is the fabulous patination of age, constant use and the sheer, simple brutality of them. Hornet is my dream car, quick enough to keep up and mad enough to be one hell of a blast to drive! I've got all sorts of ideas floating round my head for a single engined version of the beast. One day, one day! Brooky.
I'm surprised nobody posted a link to this webpage....... http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2006...tboard_motor_car_0.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig It's very much a cyclecar of the wood, wire and string kind and I've always liked the look of it because of its overall simplicity. This is another old plan of the same kind....... http://blog.modernmechanix.com/2010...baby_autos_prize_1.jpg&Qiv=thumbs&Qis=XL#qdig
The "Smart" cars have been in Canada for several years. They should only be allowed on bicycle paths. Follow one on the highway and watch it get blown around by each passing truck.I have a picture of one embedded in the grille of a Kenworth. They may be o.k in theory,but we live in real life. It is fast becoming sport here to turn them on their side.Kind of like cow tipping. Smart,are the guys who don't buy these things.
Nobody has a problem with them in Europe, and there are plenty of them on the roads here. Mind you, I doubt I´d feel very safe in one if every other car was a ridiculously gigantic SUV. I probably find SUVs as stupid as you do Smart cars! There are a few with Hayabusa motors in them too.
So when did Smart cars become cyclecars? Whenever I hear the word 'cyclecar' mentioned I think of something like this........
Think "soap box" racer and you´re not far off. It appaeras that it pivots for steering and suspension in the centre. What happens under deflection of only one front wheel is probably best not to think about. I like the bungy cord rear suspension.
The reason I mentioned them in the original post is that the concept is similar: Small, basic transportation designed for nothing more than running errands in an urban environment, or transporting one or two individuals to a mass-transit hub (rail or bus station). Cycle cars are not well suited to most areas of the United States, but that doesnt mean they cant be fun. Better yet, most states dont regulate them to the same extent as true automobiles, so theres a lot more flexibility for the hobbyist - no searching for the appropriate historical document with which to defraud... er, persuade the authorities. -Dave
great- this thread had to come back up... i had almost forgotten about my desire to build one, now i'm all riled up again i'd think it wouldn't be too much of an issue to drive one around here (Portland, Oregon). "alternative transportation" is one benefit to being in such a tree hugging city. there's a few electric "cars" that aren't registered. hell, my daily driver's tags expired 10 years ago... (car sat in a barn for ages, title mess, but i'm still driving it) wonder if'n it'd be better to narrow an A banjo (i've got a few of them around), or do something like a servi-car rear (which are expensive)... have plenty of harley wheels that'd work... have a shovelhead with clean papers that'd work... damn, damn, damn. too many projects, too many desires, not enough time.
Hi Dave, thanks for the clarification Even though I've keen on cyclecars for most of my life my particular interest these days lies in ways and means of providing simple low cost transport for folk who don't have much money to come and go on. A Smart car gets a tick for being small and basic, but it would still be a too expensive option in terms of initial purchase cost for many low waged people. As for myself I use a very vintage looking Hercules adult tricycle made in India for getting around, but its vintage appearance is only skin deep as it is driven by a 24 volt electric motor hub. Where I live here in New Zealand is a rural pasture dairy farming district and my tricycle is excellent for getting around the township itself and also for shorter trips out into the countryside. I've hauled some serious sort of loads with my tricycle so it's a completely practical form of transport and it also doesn't cost me a cent in registration charges. It's absolutely easy to park and the cost of electricity is virtually nix. The one let down is that it's not so great when it rains so I've been wondering about building myself a more enclosed three wheeled vehicle. I walk with a stick so I'm not into any kind of lowslung vehicle that I would have to fold myself into and the way I see it the more car-like something is the less likely it would be to get nudged off the road by the huge logging trucks and milk tankers that thunder through town on a regular basis. Going back to the vintage era I thought I'd build something like a 1920's Pedelux for myself. Still bicycle based, but it looks like a car and would keep me dry in the rain
It's a centre pivot steering system with a central spring. Quite a few of the early European cyclecars used this simple type of steering which could become alarmingly dangerous at speed. Most cyclecars of this type tended to be narrow tracked with tandem seating such as the French built 'Bedelia' cyclecar.
damn, think "radio flyer wagon" at high speed. ever ride one down a hill? they become quite unstable real quick... during a turn, the front pushes and they topple over real good. sure is a simple setup, though i was thinking along the lines of a go-cart steering setup... though not sure how well a 3/4 turn lock to lock would do on the street, even in a very light weight cyclecar. just keep seeing a broken wrist on a good pothole or curb.
This looks like fun, - it's an 'O-We-Go' cyclecar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2zFYgPQb5mM&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlGNb50Kiok&feature=fvsr
I've been pipe dreamin about a Morgan style reverse trike for a few yrs. now. Here's a photoshop rambling using a chopped Model A grille. I just brought home the eventual motive power for this build a week ago. A Kaw. Vulcan 1500. The important points being big CC, shaft drive, water cooled, carbed 2 cyl for simplicity, and spoked rims. The plan is for a tube frame grafted to the swing arm structure and move the engine up under the hood using an extended drive shaft.
Too modern and totally not tradional, but maybe some food for thought here... http://www.zcars.org.uk/mini/index.htm
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