I'd been looking for this picture for a wee while and I knew I had it stashed away somewhere on my hard drive It's a very good example of a doped fabric over a wooden framework type cyclecar body. Those old glass photographic plates make for such lovely clear photographs and there's just so much detail that can be seen on this particular cyclecar. The make is unknown apparently though I do wonder if this is a totally homebuilt example of the breed.
Excellant!! Any idea what's going on with the rear hub? It looks like support bars for the fender, but what is the big hub? External brake drum?
Seen at Retromobile Paris in February (they had a cyclecar section this year). The last cycle car is a Voisin - more famous for the sort of stuff in the final photo!
Voisin was a genius What make is the lovely wee silver car in the first four pictures? I haven't seen one of those before. That drum thing on the rear wheel of the fabric bodied cyclecar, - I think it's a flat belt pulley to allow the cyclecar to be jacked up and used for driving other machinery such as a saw bench & etc.
Careful.......I posted a couple of pics of this one........They shut down the thread???? still not sure why it's so OT?
I saw it in person a few months back. It's got HotRod written all over it. Look at the styling, the wheel placement, the stance, etc. It uses piano hinge for the doors and trunk, that's how straight and flat the sheetmetal is. The hinge is the whole length of the doors and trunk.
Sancta Rosa - I can't find the notes I made with the photos but the engine and fuel tank is marked TWN - it was definitely a German vehicle so I take this to be Triumph Werke Nurnberg. This was a factory established by Siegfried Bettman, a co-founder of the British Triumph motorcycles company. They did make cyclecars at one point - so it's likely that this is one. BTW - I have a wonderful book on cyclecars called "Minimal Motoring" by David Thirlby (a Aviator's Guild member. This is club I run for owners of the Blackjack Avion - see pic below). I think it's out of print but if I can locate another copy I will send it to you. 88Daryl88 - I've noticed that too. I think it relates to any suggestions that US hot rodders were influenced by the European coachbuilders and "supercars" of the 1930's.
TWN? Well it certainly is a very interesting little cyclecar and there's lots of things about the design I like. Now that is a lovely kind offer Blackjack 'Minimal Motoring'? - sounds like a book that would be just the thing for me. Books about cyclecars aren't that easy to find unfortunately and I would be delighted to be given such a useful reference. By the way I love the racing tricycle in the picture, - very nice indeed
88Daryl88 - I've noticed that too. I think it relates to any suggestions that US hot rodders were influenced by the European coachbuilders and "supercars" of the 1930's. [/QUOTE]
Now this was something I found which I thought was really amazing, - a folding electric cyclecar from the 1920s......... A U-tube video clip can be found here, - it's delightful, - I want one! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dENBYI3j3eE
That's a really cool website I liked this blue 3 wheeler best. It's Morgan-like only I don't think it is actually a Morgan.
With the proper "Grant Application" you might be able to get government money to build a 2010 version of one of those.
A few months ago there was a feature on the Bloody Mary that really sparked my interest in cyclecars as I imagined a downscaled version of that really great car. Was suprised to see all the stuff you could google up. Anyway... got too many irons in the fire right now...but someday
I don't know how you'd scale down Bloody Mary, that thing is tiny. Here's some movies of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHC7_vV6zDU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-cjh_EnY0A&feature=related
I like that one too... It IS very Morgan like, with the sliding pillar suspension up front and the 2 speed chain assembly out back...(but with one chain missing!) I've always liked Morgans, but I don't know enough about them to absolutely ID this as one or not...
I think it's French and is a 'special' cut down from something I can't readily identify. There were several French Morgan-like clones built by various makers during the 'Heroic' period of cyclecar history.
This mill too big? A Tatra thread just started today. Gary http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=484366&highlight=tatra
Gee Wiz let's not start on Tatras, I spend too much time on the HAMB now. They are one of my favorite cars I've never seen. They make some wicked cool stuff. I have many pics from the museum, sent by a friend.
Rytecraft, I believe? Sorry to be pedantic ... I know that Austin Sevens were at that time often fitted with small wheels and appropriate bodywork to create miniature vehicles for promotional purposes, miniature lorries to advertise all kinds of businesses, etc.
Thanks for posting these I don't remember seeing them b4. That car is one that just stuck in my head. I think it would make a great project...part sports car part hot rod...Just a real neat car !!!
Hey there, just joined up because of this thread, I've been searching for cyclecar stuff myself, thought you'd be interested in a couple of links I've found, a scanned copy of the 'Cyclecar' mag from 1912 is on line at http://www.bodley.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/toyota.tcl?full?toyota.18470?n=2?i=1?size=screen also an excellent reprint of the 1913 publication 'how to build a cycle car' is available at http://www.theoldbicycleshowroom.co.uk/how-to-build-a-cyclecar-1951-p.asp it has plans for building a wooden framed cycle car!
synchro, that is too cool; thanks for the links. I've bookmarked the site for future reference. I had ideas of building a replica of my old kart that was my first hands-on experience as a hot rodder back in the early '60s (albeit with a 350cc Jawa motorcycle engine in place of the original B&S), but after following this thread, I might look at building a cyclecar inspired rod with the modified two-stroke twin under the hood...
That 1912 Cyclecar magazine is brilliant! Though I was amazed by how many makes of cyclecar in the adverts in that magazine I'd never heard of before. One of the cyclecars in the Olympia Show pictures I have seen though; - the 'Duo'. There's a lovely restored one in a transport museum here in Auckland, New Zealand
Those links are fantastic, synchro. I just found this Chater Lea on a Steampunk blog: http://austeampunk.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html Description as follows: "... it's a 1909 chater lea cyclecar with a 1925 ish blackburne tomtit V- twin aircraft engine. I bought it as just a chassis with the engine in and have been trying to complete it for the last 18 months. I have been buying and collecting parts and had a lot of brass brackets waterjet cut then blacked to give them the " correct " look . The rear body is wood covered in canvas and dope and coloured with fence paint. I made the bonnet and scuttle on my friends english wheel and used a lot of rivits . It's nearly there now just the oiling system for the engine to finish."
Whoops! I see Sancta Rosa already posted that pic. Oh well, it's worth another look. If a Hamber biult a cyclecar it'd look like this.
Hi, that Chater Lea is a great little cycle car, I'm very interested in restoring/ building a cycle car, perhaps a 'Jappic' replica. Finding details on the 'Jappic' is difficult as it was destroyed in a fire not long after it was built. Cheers, Steve.
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