Let's Talk Cyclecars

No details...they were just dropped at my door with nothing else but the clothes on their backs...

 

Ok, the red one is identified as a 1935 Singer.The other one is called the Lubeck Teardrop.

 

I don't know if this has been posted before. One of Grataloup.

 

There were such shops up until about 95-100 years ago. Most of them served a regional, instead of a national, market. As the Model T's price dropped, there was little market for the DIYer. (Same story as the cyclecar...) They either went out of business or shifted to the Model T accessory market.

 

cyclekart

 

Messerschmitt KR201

 

1950 Reyonnah

 

marc pic

By French artist and designer Paul Arzens. The large car sits on a pre war Buick chassis and is called "La Baleine" or "The Whale"The vehicle is presently resting at the Schlumpff Museum.

 

Those two are too cool.Do you suppose the top comes off?

 

Those cyclekarts look like fun but cannot be registered for street as I understand it. I've wondered about home built cyclecars and registering them especially with wood frame and cable steering.

Can anyone respond about that?

 

"Hulot's Holiday"
If you haven't seen this movie put it on you bucket list. Lots of scenes with the cyclecar.

 

Keep your eyes peeled for a period catalogue from brown brothers they have 600 plus pages of all sorts of car motorcycle and cycle parts

 

Any more info on this on, Bob?

 

This was in Bruce Weiner's collection but now it lives at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville.

http://www.rmauctions.com/lots/lot.cfm?lot_id=1057154

"This is yet another one of the myriad of one-off microcars produced during a time when it was still possible to set up shop and build a car for the road with little governmental or regulatory interference.

The Grataloup is cleverly designed and built with a high level of craftsmanship and mechanical competence. It was discovered in a Citroën garage in Biarritz, on the southwest coast of France. The garage owner had met Monsieur Grataloup, who lived in Bagnères-de-Bigorre, near Lourdes, a short distance to the east, and it is understood that the car was used as a daily driver by the ingenious Grataloup.

A disparate collection of parts make up the drivetrain. The motor is a British Villiers MK IX, allegedly out of a BSA motorcycle. The Roman numeral designation was used by Villiers pre-war, and the Mk IX series A dates back to the late twenties. A separate gearbox from a French Renée Gillet is driven by a chain, and a separate starter motor is driven by a leather link-belt. The clutch is connected by three belts, and there is a chain drive to the rear wheel. Suspension is by leaf springs, transverse in front and longitudinal at the rear. More BSA parts are used throughout. For the enthusiast in search of absolute rarity, the French Grataloup represents a true once-in-a-lifetime offering."

 

+1

 

Thanks for the back ground. I copied the picture from the museum web site years ago. I liked this car out of all the ones he had. Simple but stylish. Full weather protection and enclosed wheels. Effective rear body treatment with the single wheel. A great design, made more so because it wasn't a factory but an individual.

 

As for requests for more information on this one.....no ,I cannot help.I think it is a home built and the photograph may all that remains of it's existence.

 

Here is some more on artist Paul Arzens...
http://designethistoires.lecoledede...233-wo-projet-de-voiture-de-paul-arzens-1951/

 

in the UK the Grafton is registered on the street ,, it has wooden chassis and cable steering ,, shhhhh I will tell you a secret its a modern build not a period car built from build your own cyclecar book

 

Bedelia.Image via G.L.

 

This is my hands down favorite thread on the hamb. I put my 34 for sale for a minute to try and buy the GN basket case for sale on ptewarcar but cooler heads have prevailed and I realize I don't have the money to swim in that pond. Still love all the pics though

 

Amilcar special built in Japan featured at www.PreWarCar.com

 

Unidentified engine from Igor Bietry,French media personality.

 

1922 Salmson AL3.Marco pic

 

Another from Marco.I do not know what kind of car it is.

 

That'sd interesting use of a Menasco Aero engine, mostly because
Menascos were all designed to operate in the inverted position, with the crankshaft on top (for prop clearance). the shot of the engine makes it appear that its been turned upside down (from the usual Menasco orientation) and shrouded to direct air over the cylinders (that big old hole in the nose, where the grill adn radiator should be), as Menascos are air cooled.

Menasco engines all carried nautical names, the Pirate (366 ci) is a four cylinder, the Buccaneer an inline 6-banger...etc.

A menasco Pirate oriented as installed in an aircraft...

 

This picture is from another thread on the H.A.M.B (Truly Extinct Makes) but I think is worth mentioning here.



this car is called the Cornelian, which was arguably the very fist monocoque, four-wheel independantly suspended race car in the world, and this picture shows Louis Chevrolet at the wheel when he drove it in the Indy 500 (though I forget the year)

This picture is in the book "The Golden Age of the American Racing Car" written by Griffith Borgeson (RIP) published in the 60's, (which my parents gave to me on Xmas, 1969)

 

I love these cars and I occasionally see them on the vintage circuit and shows in Europe. I have not read all the posts in this thread but I suspect somewhere someone talked about the current status of the cycle car building mostly in the USA. Although it appears that there are just a handful of people actually working on them there seems to be a growing audience and hopefully someday they may become a minor movement again with more venues and races.
My car is a loose interpretation of a 1930's era Alfa Romeo. I scratch built it using 17" Indian Moped wheels driven by a 212 cc hf ohc engine with a torque converter that gives me more off the line and top end speed than needed to get into trouble from time to time. It is used at least once a year in the 4th of July parade and is a curious dust collector in my shop the other 364 days. Oh I should add that the hf designation on the engine stands for Harbor Freight (HA!), I didn't opt to put the top of the line Honda with electric start only to drive it once or twice!
If I wasn't in the middle of an endless project building a real replica of a 1936 Alfa using the chassis and engine from a 1955 XK 140 Jaguar I might entertain building another cycle car just for kicks.
Dave

 

Very impressive Dave. Welcome to the thread. I see you've been on the HAMB for quite a while, hope to see more of your projects.

 

1921 Scott Sociable