Let's Talk Cyclecars

Frank Seeger's Anzani powered cyclecar and a Bentley at VRM 2013.Some one suggested that it was David and Goliath!Frank pic.

 

The gent on the left is Vincent,organizer of the Vintage Revival events.On the left is the Japanese gentleman that flew his C-6 Amilcar from Japan to France to be part of the weekend.he is shown receiving The Spirit of the Event award.

Picture via Joris and Rutger of www.PreWarCar.com

 

To all :Why have all you Patriotic Americans IGNORED that most 'American' of small autos; CROSLEY!!! (3spd gearbox/750cc 4cyl/ sub 150lbs"wet"/ short wb/narrow tread sure fits the size/wt criteria,if not yr of mfg, [but modern cycle engines don't either!]Of course SCCA H/mod racers used up a lot of them, but there were thousands used in refer units & ground power units, so there must be at least as many available as '20's/'30's era JAP motors.(will run up to circa 8k rpm stock)! Oh, as to running gear;modern golf carts use a differential very simular to the original Crosley & the original 4-bolt pattern hubs had 12" wheels, but were the same pattern as Nash 13" rims & Studebaker Champion 15" (for those of you who want the "tall/skinny" wheel/tire look.) & I won't get started on American Bantam, or other small domestic makes. Sorry about the "venting",but such an obvious donor being ignored just 'got' to me! For the NZ Sister: I like the way you think & solve problems; this was the way early American hotrodders did & for much the same reasons; sort of "think twice(or more) & cut (accurately) once" because the parts cost too much to be wasteful, & the results usually have a certain 'elegance' of their own due to "out of the box" thinking by the builder! Kudos, Sister, I think we all look forward eagerly to your epistles!! ...drtrcrV-8

 

Dirt Racer,I don't think it's a matter of patriotism.It's a matter of taste.Actually ,I prefer the Crosley power plant to say,.... a RUBY or Amilcar flathead engine.I prefer the body shapes of the European cars to the American offerings.Again,it's not about patriotism,it's about personal preference.Certainly,no one on this thread is critical of anyone else.This is probably the least constrained thread on the whole board lacking the presence of self appointed moderators.

Your point is well taken and appreciated.Please show us more...

BanjeauX Bob

 

Point taken,Banjeaux Bob : I was frustrated & needed to vent;'nuf said. Now, about Crosleys: Many applications: Westbend 4stroke outboards were often Crosleys standing on end; after Crosley ceased production much development for marine use, as well as race engine development,not only in USA, but in Italy & elsewhere, eventually producing over 60HP in race form. I don't want to go on for several pages: please Google 'Crosley' then '3/4 midget racecar history' then 'SCCA H/modified history' then "history Thermo King Refrigeration units/ gasoline powered', Also Fageol & 'The Crosley Owner's Club'. I would also mention James Broadwell & his Jabro 750 Specials of the '50's: there were plans available that used primairly Crosley parts modified for competition(He even split the front beam axle to have ifs on the cheap!) Some of the early racers, wanting a somewhat streamlined outer body,(& before fiberglass was commonly available & Aluminum panels were expensive) formed the basic body shape with ribs of small emt conduit, formed chicken wire over the conduit, interlaced paper-mache(strips of newspaper & waterbase white glue), & when dry painted the shell with concrete base paint resto; cheap,lightweight,easily repaired &(depending on the builder's skill)reasonably attractive body. This technique declined as commercial fiberglass bodies became available. In case you hadn't guessed by now, my 1st car was a Crosley, fun on the East Coast on secondary roads, but not practical in California due to the greater speeds/distances involved. It requires an almost "full-race" Crosley motor to venture onto the freeway system, even with a lightweight body, & the small shape with minimal crash protection vs the daily commute crush is, at best, suicidal. (A Jabro makes a Lotus 7 look like a stretch limo!) I hope I've piqued someone's interest: as I noted before, the whole motor ready to run weighs less than 150lbs/the transmission is the size of a large coffee can/ most of the car components are readily adaptable to 'specials' fabrication,etc. ...drtrcrV-8

 

Hi drtrcrV-8. Would you like to put something together on the Jabro 750 Specials for the Specials thread?

 

Renault used in the Paris to Madrid race. Marc pic...

 

Dawie; Most of what I have on James Broadwell & the 'Jabro' cars is available (& updated) online:I've saved most of the plans, articles, motor hop-up suggestions, (& misc. publications) from when I was involved with Crosley "stuff", but my hands-on physical involvement was primairly in the late '60's, excepting some recent poking around online concerning later developments & applications of the motor. Why not 'go-for' original research instead of getting it second-hand filtered through the 'fog-of-time' of the past 50 yrs? Online is probably more accurate,except for my printed material, than my memories: "The older I get, the faster I was" applies not only to racers, but to researchers as well. I'd be glad to share my material with others, but with the caveat that motor/fabrication theory has 'evolved' over the past half-century, & that my material displays 'then thinking',( & taken with a grain of salt),to be considered 'history', not 'gospel'. I do agree; knowledge of what 'they were thinking' can & does provide a starting point for 'current' projects'. I'd be glad to share my motor 'mod' data; it was based on then current 'hop-up' or race suggestions combined with 'broke-student' financial restrictions & local 'junk-shop' scrounging for the recommended parts, pestering a local 'racer' for an old Harmon-Collins 3/4 race camshaft, securing a Weber single bbl carb from an 1100 Fiat in a wrecking yard, using 'Isky' Chevy 'pink' inner valvesprings('drop-in' & considerably stronger) wildly 'ported' head/block(time replacing money) home-made 'header'. Note: no 'balance' work, stock cast flywheel,Rpms like a modern 'rice-rocket';I was very lucky not to have exploded the flywheel/clutch,as 'scattershields' had not yet become popular. Yes, the usual complaint: "Too many projects,not enough time!!" ...drtrcrV-8

 

Now that somehow seems to look familiar...
Rallye des Ancêtres Compiegne, 2007

 

The car is a 1904.The pics I posted are more recent.Surely the same car.

 

Full marks for your powers of deduction Bob ... go to the top of the class.

 

Lung,were you living in or just visiting Europe at the time? You have shared other images of France before.

Bob

 

The Dutch Vintage Sports Car Club has some good images of Vintage Revival Monthlery at

www.dvscc.nl/vintage-revival-2013-monthlery/

 

LInk to lots of interesting cyclecar forum arranged in Marques Its in French but loads of great period pictures

http://tricyclecaristes.forumr.net/f14-sujets-sur-diverses-marques-de-cyclecars

 

another interesting thing i have found today was this chamberlain cyclecar , a one off special possibly seems to have some austin 7 content

http://www.choppertownnation.com/photo/1925-cyclecar-chamberlain-chassis?xg_source=activity

 

How about this little Lombard from the picnic May first at the Pund Estate? Marc pics...

 

'twas a 4 month visit: 'twould be nice to be able to do it more often, but financial reality being what it is...
The Rallye des Ancêtres is held yearly and is for "teuf teufs" up to the end of 1905. It's an excellent shake-down for vehicles participating later in the year in the London to Brighton - and the weather is almost 100% guaranteed to be (much) better than southern England in November.
Being France, the accompanying victuals are beyond belief ... morning "tea" stop might have had tea somewhere, but I don't recall seeing it!
Here's another voiturette [not a cyclecar...]

 

Ade, that's the first iteration of the Chamberlain special - a racing car which finished up with a somewhat unique supercharged engine of Bob's own design and construction. The car, in that later form, still exists.
More on the "Chamberlain 8" as it became known... here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjhearn/162807113/
http://forums.autosport.com/index.php?showtopic=76384&hl=bob+chamberlain
Bob Chamberlain is worth Googling as he not only designed and built tractors for the Australian market, he was also responsible for bringing the 90 horsepower Napier "Samson" back to life. That car/recreation - whichever title one chooses to use - is in a museum collection in Western Australia. Here it is at Prescott quite some years ago.

 

Some more from the Christophe Pund picnic.Marc pics. What do you think of the patina on this thee wheeler?

 

Steve Miller sings "I'm gonna buy me a Mercury". Bob sings "I'm gonna buy me a red BNC" !

 

I love little coupés.

 

Here's Marc's son driving the Sanford at Monthlery.

 

A home built three wheeler...

 

I like the expression on Marc's face, when he tries his best to keep a third wheel of his Sandford on the ground! That is what happens when you let your son behind the steering wheel.
Considering the red BNC, it belongs to a young man in Belgium. I racall the story on prewarcar some years ago, when he bought it in Portugal (or was it Spain?), and it was transported down the stairs from second (first?, third?) floor by the Chipendales (renowned group of bodybuilders having shows in cabarets). Must see if I can still find it on the prewarcar site!
I do very much like the patina on the 3-wheeler !!! But what do you think of the 'special' paint on the Morgan below? The blue car is a GN-Salmson.

 

Ghost paint! I'm surprised someone would apply such a modern technique to that kind of car.Then the G-N with butterfly wings! Ok,I asked Marc about that BNC too many years ago.He said it had been hidden away during WWII and ,then,recently disinterred.Now I get some more of the story from you.Thanks.

 

Almost looks like Frank Seeger's Anzani powered cyclecar.

 

I really don't remember if this has been posted before.

http://blog.modernmechanix.com/prizes-for-home-built-baby-autos/

 

Almost looks like a coffin on wheels...too cool!

 

...

 

Rootie,I love those little cars!