Let's Talk Cyclecars

I think he is or at one time was on the HAMB?

 

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Hello, 100!
You are quite right! ​

I am sure that even with a modern design it would be quite dangerous to pull a trailer with an adult as a passenger behind anything, in modern city traffic. Maybe, only behind a bicycle (three or four wheels) with pedal-power, assisted with some electric-motor, up to speeds of around 18-20 MPH ~ around and a little more than 30 km/hour. Here in Bern, we had a lot of city blocks with speed restricted to 30 km/hour and a lot of special lines and paths for bicycles, including special traffic signalisation and lights for them.

Such strange vehicle with a trailer could be used there, with a limit up to 25 km/hour. The same - it could be used in pedestrian zones, with limitation up to 5 MPH... But, I wouldn't be sure in such construction even if it is allowed by the law. So, something as "normal" two-seater for two of us pensioners in a style of cyclecar or veteran car, with a combination of pedals and electric-power could be socially and legally accepted... The simplest: Red Bug buckboard, or something more luxurious Mochet Velocar? Probably reconstruction of my present pedal-powered quadricycle! (photos attached)

Good thing is that Europen Union brought Directives with a lot of variants and categories for some factory-produced or DIY small motorised vehicles on two, three or four wheels - defined and classified by power, speed and weight or size...
It seems that money should be the only problem for such an affair!

Ciao, Zoran​

 

Here's a recent video from this year's Chateau Impney hillclimb event held in Droitwich, UK. Later in the video there are a quite a few of the cyclecars which have featured earlier in this thread.

 

These tail lights came on my car. One of them is broken. I’ve not been able to find them on any of the aftermarket sites I have. I’m sure they were bought here in the states; probably made in China. They come with a “black box” with all the circuitry.
Any one seen these before?

 

Two Benjamins 18.5.1923 Bol d‘or
BNF GALLICA

 

I just found this side,wonderful crazy!
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2008/12/cars-with-propellers-essential.html

 

Found this while looking for something else:


I couldn't find a picture of the car or whether he did enter the race, there were 16 entrants, but only 11 starters. He wasn't one of them. By the following year, his interests had switched to aviation. He was said to be attached to an east coast naval aviation facility.
Oddly enough, I couldn't find any evidence of a 'cycle class' in any of the Montamara Festo races.

 

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Hello, Fred!​

Maybe to try some combination from this webpage?

http://www.electricscooterparts.com/turnsignals.html

Some of the turn-signals look quite classic and could be also used for position lights and for stop-lights with some adaptation?

Ciao,
Zoran​

 

Fred- Those look like common truck trailer clearance lights. Look up Signal Stat, Peterson, Trucklite and companies like that. Should be easy to find. Make your own cover. Good luck.


Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I found that scooter site during my first search and the idea to change mine for a different style was an option. BUT:

They are truck clearance lights and I finally found the makers name on a similar looking bulb. That led to a new search term and finally I found them. Got 2 of them for 12 bucks delivered from Amazon. Hard to beat those guys.
Thanks for the tips.

 

This Rosengart looks like a toy car,you can buy it but the price is a little bit optimistic .
https://www.prewarcar.com/237190-rosengart-lr2-torpedo-sport-luxe-1929

 

I hadn't seen the side view before!...only this one. Thanks Rolf

 

Austin Seven engine with Cozette supercharger.

 

Kawasaki Z1300 powered roadster. I had thought of something similar with a CBX 1000 engine.

 

yea the CBX is a prettier motor - worthy of a bit of exposure

 

I'd had the idea of a Z1300 turned north-south in an Amilcaresque chassis – but of course it was a shaft-drive bike, so it would require some modification to the gearbox. Not impossible, as I recall; and it would fit the '20s/'30s phenomenon of very small sixes. And while I generally disapprove of liquid-cooled motorcycles, this unit would be perfect for the job.

Reverse gear remains substantially unsolved: because what a bike-engined car really needs is not only a reverse gear but also an overdrive or even two, to compensate for the shorter gearing necessitated by the greater weight of a car. All that built into a final drive unit would be brilliant.

 

Considering that many of that type of motorcycle are geared for top speeds well over 100 mph a simple reversing box would probably be sufficient for street use.

 

This team built a track day car running a Honda race-bike engine through a 4x4 transfer case. It only works for transverse installations and still has no reverse, but drop the period body of your choice on it and go.

 

I bet that white body in the background is going on that chassis. I wonder what transfer case they used?

 

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Hello,
It looks to me as a body for FIAT 126 PL!
(rear-engine 650 cc, inline twin, air-cooled, 23 HP - in original)
Ciao,
Zoran

 

Simple! Turn the engine north-south and adapt a conventional gearbox to the shaft drive output. I used a Toyota 5 speed in the H-D powered street dragster that I posted photos of some time back but anything from something like a Miata etc would work. My H-D deal relied on the Toyota box for all drive functions but by connecting to the shaft output you end up with almost endless gear ratio combinations. I also have a Z 1300 Kaw engine and was planning to build a mid engine roadster using a VW transaxle to get reverse and the capability for independent rear suspension. If you spent the time to build a shift mechanism (open wheel road race style) for the VW box and hooked drag race style air shifters (one for up and one for down) to the Kawasaki once more you have endless ratios. You could also do a paddle style shift mechanism for the Kaw box using the air shifters, select the appropriate gear in the VW box and have short ratios for around town and the VW's overdrive high gear for the highway.

Roo

 

They said it was a 126bis (I don't know the difference between a bis & a PL). I finally found the page where I first saw it (no longer online, but available on archive.org, my secret weapon)

Here's the transfer box, it's a Range Rover unit turned sideways. They are running a shaft that encapsulates the drive sprocket into the transfer case. I wonder if you could find one that had the right gearing to implement Dawie's two-speed idea. In this case, they didn't need to. With a supercharger, the bored out blackbird engine put out 300+ hp in a 500kg car...

The sprocket enclosure before it was welded onto the shaft.
No finished car pic, the car ended up with suicide doors and ugly flares.

 

IIRC the thing at the bottom right of this inverted view is some sort of drive damper:

It shouldn't be hard to take drive from there.

 

Motorcycle engines have been used for quite awhile in Legends racing. Maybe some ideas from there?

https://thekneeslider.com/a-street-legal-motorcycle-powered-legends-race-car/

 

On another thread
Any ideas on this one

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/can-you-help-identify-this-old-project-car.1116710/

 

To all a nice weekend
https://patineto.smugmug.com/Cars/Tini-Taini-Micro-cars

 

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Hello, SR!​

I had 126 PL for 11 months and covered 26000 kilometres, mostly across and around Belgrade, but also two long holidays at Adriatic Sea Coast! Small car, but cute and practical. Son was 8 years then and could have a seat at the rear and I pushed my seat totally back, making 3-seater of it... Nowhere place for any luggage, bur friend gave my special plastic trunk for the top, so it was OK for holidays or going shopping...

PL is an abbreviation for Poland where they were built for a few years... Then appear version BIS, which had some improvements: the engine was still two-cylinder inline, but water-cooled (satisfactory heating of cabin too) and in a horizontal position. So, there was a place for smaller baggage over it, especially with a folding backrest of the rear seats. There was "third doors" over engine, so practical way for putting and taking baggage from the car...


FIAT 126 PL



FIAT 126 BIS

I wanted to buy one but it was more expensive than YUGO that had all the mentioned possibilities but in quite higher class... So, I bought YUGO 1150 cc 55 hp and later YUGO 1300 cc 65 hp...

Not of very importance...
(but, could be a good base for modern cyclecar, without standard body and new in a style of Hanomag Komissbrotte?)

Ciao,
Zoran​

 

At one stage I put quite a lot of research into a custom bike with the 126's 652cc twin on a CX500 gearbox. The problem was that the 126 was never sold here, so getting hold of an engine and subsequently spares would have been difficult.

As for the two-speed-and-reverse auxiliary gearbox for bike-engined cars, the one which most readily springs to mind is a Model T gearbox, until you look up the gear ratios! I wonder if the basic architecture of a Columbia axle could be adapted.

 

A.T. pic

 

A.T. pic