Here are a couple of pictures of my new chassis. Still plenty to do but I thought I'd share the progress with you all.


chassis front


[img][/img]

There is certainly a lot of work gone into that.

Can you remind me what the overall aims of the project are, I expect there are certain targets you have to meet?

My aims are 80 MPG and fun. I reckon it do be both. 22 BHP in 230kg will give acceptable acceleration and plenty of grins. I bought a MCC Smart in 2001 and people would look at it as if an alien had just driven past. I'm aiming for the same kind of reaction.

That looks superb, sir!

not sure you have enough triangulation there?



Looks pretty decent to me!

Hi smart51.
I like the work you are doing there .Are you still using the Piaggio engine? if so you might be interested in the 500cc unit I will be taking out of my three wheeler.
It may give you more fun than the 250.
I am replacing it with a Kawasaki zx9.
The piaggio engine has only done 112 miles so is brand new.I have all the wiring and instuments etc.
Regards Denis.

Looks great! Is it just a single seater?

One seat for simplicity. The front suspension has to handle all the roll and due to the super light weight, the driver is about 1/4 of the running mass being sat on one side would make the car lean all the time. A central driving position gives balance.

Thanks for the offer Kipper. I did toy with the idea of the Master engine but the idea is high MPG. The 500 offers 51 MPG and the 250 gives 82 MPG (official figures). Your 42 BHP trumps my 22 though. I estimate around 10 seconds 0-60 depending on the scooter's gearing. Almost double the horsepower would be fun.

With a little more added to the front, it's starting to take shape.
[img][/img]

CooooooooooooooooooooooooooL at last someone with the gumption to "dare to be different" my hat is off to you matey that is wicked and totally agree on the small engine as I reckon big bhp is just for those who can't use it anyway.

Love to know how you get on getting it on the road as I really do think that's the muttz doodahs

Here's a pic of the front lights. The trouble with the phone's screen is that the pictures look sharp until you upload them onto a PC.


front lights

Awesome! missed this thread first time around. Looking forward to seeing it progress . I'm planning on making a 3 wheeled single seater when I have the time (diesel)

I did not notice the curve to the side rail first time round looks very nice.

quote:

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Originally posted by smart51
Here are a couple of pictures of my new chassis. Still plenty to do but I thought I'd share the progress with you all.


chassis front



chassis side

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I've made a little more progress and the sides are finished, save for the last 2 welds. I've run out of gas.

I know it's a light car, but the welds at the pivot of upper wishbones are going to see a lot of stress; have you done any calculations to make sure this is going to be ok?

Chassis looks like a labour of love though, you must be getting fed up of fishmouthing small tubes by now!

The sprung weight on each side is about 55kg laden or 120 kg laden with the rear wheel in the air . There is about 400 mm2 of weld on each top wishbone mount. I'm happy enough that it is up to the job.

I am glad the fishmouth cutting is done though. There are a lot of little tubes on that thing.

Hi there Smart51.
It would seem our builds are running in parrallel, really nice work you are turning out.
What are you using to cover the framework?
I am just going to cover the main chassis with alloy and do some grp moulding for the front nose section and rear after the roll bar.
Regards Denis.

It's going to be covered in some sort of fabric just to keep fingers and the worst of the weather out. I'm not sure what yet. Perhaps spandex so that it can be stretched over the frame with minimal sewing.

I might be wrong but I thought MikeRJ was talking about the wishbones themselves.

The ones I've seen of that design have a tube from the shock mount to the hub mount to spaceframe the whole thing.

Right, I get it now. I was also going to put a tube across the length of the wishbones so I calculated the bend in the arms under shock load. It was less than 0.1mm, if memory serves, in a several g drop onto the front wheels. My only concern is the short length of tube that the bushes push into. I don't mind if the wishbones fail in a crash (better for your legs than pulling the frame out of shape). I'll be keeping an eye on them to make sure they don't pull out of shape in use.

Anymore progress on this wee beast?

lots of little bits. Nothing much that will show up on a photo. I'm in the process of making some cycle wings. I've got hold of a tyre 2 sizes bigger than the ones I plan to use and covered it in parcel tape, than laid fibre glass over the top to make the carcasses of them. Once I've trimmed, filled and painted, I'll post a pic.

How's it going with the exo trike?

OK, black is officially the hardest colour to photograph and the reflector means I can't use the flash (or all you see is red glow!)

cycle wing with reflector

Compound curves are really hard to apply filler to and keep them "flat". A lot of sanding was needed. Thankfully I discovered spray filler which is a life saver.

Black is also the colour that will show all blemishes.

That is a brilliant finish, and I like the profile of it too.

quote:

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Originally posted by designer
Black is also the colour that will show all blemishes.

That is a brilliant finish, and I like the profile of it too.

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A chap at work turned these up on a lathe. Another guy happened to have a polishing mop with him. Here's the result.

Indicator extensions

Have you ever seen a Bird Cage' Maserati, lots of small tubes!!!

Great stuff , the only build I would consider in the future is a 3 Wheeler...........


[Edited on 16/2/11 by Surrey Dave]

How's the trike coming along? any more pics?

After a sudden burst of work recently, the trike was ready enough for a quick road test. Here it is from the front.


Front without covers

and from the left


FRH corner without covers

and the right


RHS without covers

It still needs cycle wings, a few covers and wing mirrors fitting. Oh, and a seat. First impressions are that it shifts off the line and that you feel, well, exposed. There isn't a trace of self centring, but is this a problem? I've looked through the MSVA manual and steering isn't mentioned. Do they check for self centring at MSVA?

That front is a work of art!

Thanks! It was a bitch to paint. I kept finding obscure bits that I'd missed.

Looks like a space-buggy (which is good!).

Frame looks mint.
I once had a scooter when 14 points stopped me getting a car, after several miles and fully warmed up, the gyroscopic clutch (or whatever it is) wouldnt half slow it down, once cooled it was off again.

Not seen this thread before so I'm coming on to it fresh, I have to say that frame is a stunning work of art. As mentioned it does bring into mind the ol' Birdcage from Maserati, but it makes a bog standard triangulated frame look really pretty.

Quick question - how do you change the radiator if it ever gets holed?

Apart from scratching my brain over that I echo others comments - looks fabulous.

quote:

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Originally posted by MikeR
Quick question - how do you change the radiator if it ever gets holed?

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It's getting close to finished now, so here are a couple of pics now the cycle wings are fitted. Its only when looking at the photo that I've noticed the mirrors and instrument binacle are a bit wonky. It looks OK in the flesh, so I think I'll leave it.


Front with cycle wings

Side with cycle wings

Thanks to VOSA Derby my trike has now got a MAC. I just have to persuade the DVLA to give me a number plate and I'm on the road. The 100 mile round trip was good too, except for the rain.

more pictures required, especially now that it has passed,... congratulations

Well that's the DVLA inspection over. Just the wait for the plates now. I asked the guy if there was any chance of the getting the registration number today or tomorrow. I had to argue with my insurer's underwriter to get them to extend cover on a chassis number this long. They told me they would cancel tomorrow if there is no reg number. DVLA man's boss said, next week at the earliest. You've got to love the DVLA. Or something.

edited to correct the iPad auto'correct' (which I hate with an increasing passion)

[Edited on 8-1-2013 by smart51]

What a fantastic build - love it! As a matter of interest, how/what have you painted the chassis with?

I originally painted it with zinc galvanising spray and lacquer. Partly to protect against rust and partly because it looked like aluminium. It rusted badly on its first drive out. So I scrubbed it with a paint removing pad and used rattle cans to repaint. A real PITA job.

Mms, yes, I can't wait! Did you use normal car paint from the cans?

How much does it weigh now it is finished?

Yep. Halfords Finest Ford Moondust Silver.

The MSVA man declared it to be 237kg by weighing it one wheel at a time. It will be roughly right. I was aiming for 220kg to match the 22 BHP. It's a bit over, but using car uprights, stub axles and brakes off a production car will do that.

Some local scrotes tried to nick my three wheeler a couple of weeks ago. I got round to looking at it in detail at the weekend and they've bent the chassis where the steering column bolts on, plus damage to fibreglass, plastic and paint.

It's been kept outdoors under a cover for nearly a year since I lost the use of the neighbours garage, which means I've got nowhere to fix it. Plus it would cost as much to fix as I could hope to get in a sale so I've decided to call it a day. The insurers are going to write it off.

Noooooo that's such a shame will the insurance company take it away and scrap it?

They're going to send someone round to value it. Good luck with that. The plan is that they will take it away and scrap it in exchange for a cheque. Quite a small one probably.

Such a shame. Surprised this thread hasn't had more reaction to be honest. Someone gets their daily driver keyed and that thread fills up, yet a significantly more damaged scratch build doesn't get much attention (that's not to say a keyed car isn't awful, it'd have my blood boiling)

If the insurance company's offer is very low could you try selling through ebay as spares/repair/parts etc? Is fixing it out of the question due to not having somewhere to work on it? I'm sure there was a hell of a lot of hours and sweat went into building it, I just hope something better comes your way than a tiny cheque and it being scrapped.