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Hi, I'm a bit late in on the thread but I would suggest trying to get hold of "Racing and Sports Car Chassis Design" by Michael Costin and David Phipps, it's an oldy and out of print but I got mine off ebay a year or so ago, so you can still get hold of them.
There is some very good and practical info on how to build a space frame, materials, alignments etc... the info is actually useful unlike a lot of the new chassis books which are rather wooly when it comes to specifics.
As I am not able to progress the trike much I have got back onto my other project.
Today I brought the electric tractor into the house to make it easier to work on.
Since the transaxle broke I have fitted a stronger one and a bigger motor and lengthened the wheelbase about 10".
I now have to sort out the motor wiring, seating and relocate the gearstick from behind my left knee! The I can get some bodywork done on it and maybe some lights and then look at getting it road legal.
Thanks for the towing advice. Just a thought for your trike. Check out 'Race and Rally Car Source Book' it's a few years old, maybe a lot now. as I can't find my copy. That had a section on building a single seater with an alluminium and balsa sandwich body chassis. I think it was called The Mono(or Mini)pin Also sections on suspension design. Good luck
Race and Rally Car Source Book by Alan Staniforth . Foulis Haynes. mine is 1983. The car was a Monopin. It may be out of date but there is a lot of good stuff in it.
OK, it has been a long time since I posted on this thread, illness, lack of income and needing to renovate my house for my wedding took a little bit of the priority.
The Project became an expensive toy that couldn't justify itself so I had a rethink.
When I start working again I will need a van, though more like a mobile tool box crossed with a board trolley from a DIY shed to be honest. I will only be working locally so maybe 15-20 miles a day on electric.
I decided to look at my trike and re-purpose it.
The photos show the design sketch idea, the mock up in the work shop and a 1/10th scale model. The model also shows it carrying 8'x4' sheets on the back for scale and to check it can carry my maximum payload size.
I then managed to get some more parts together and started to build the chassis.
I notched the MGB cross member so that it sits over the chassis rails and then re-located the MGB steering rack so that it pointed forwards to a VW T25 steering bevel box.
I have finally solved, I think, the windscreen issue and bought a Leyland Lynx bus windscreen that is the right size and electrically heated. It was cheap, but I don't know about replacements so I'd better not break it!
The project also developed a new name, EVan-Tricycle, as a nice play on words.
The main build thread is here, on my other forum where I will be getting the help on the electric drive stuff.
However, I will be looking for advice from here about getting it road legal and insured.
Having been busy planning on getting back into paid work I have started the progress of being self employed again. Along with all the paperwork I had to do I also decided to phone up Adrian Flux to see if they would consider insuring my trike for business use.
Their simple answer was 'Yes!' and I got a provisional 'Ball park' quote of just under £400, fully comp and with business use.
That was the final hurdle I was concerned about. Everything else, like the MSVA, is only following rules and not messing about but insurance would make or break the viability of the project.
Right, that means I can crack on with the build, and setting up in business will make it easier to get another big bottle of MIG gas from BOC.
I am building a prototype which is similar but I am using the front axle and steering mechanism off of an old riding mower, and it will only seat one person. I too am using the rear end of a motorcycle for the drive wheel and the brake. My first build is designed for lower speeds and on a budget, hence the lawn mower axle for steering. My first prototype will use a wooden frame to save money. I had a junk motorcycle and riding lawn mower to canibalize for the first experiment.
I do hope you're going to cut holes in the chassis members so it looks like the technical lego mock up...
Very interesting change of direction - and nice to see you back in the saddle again.
Thank you, I like the idea of the chassis holes but that would make the chassis lighter and I really need the low down weight for stability.
I have been working on the chassis when I can and have started slowly spreading the rear of the chassis to accommodate the width of the motor and rear swing arm.
It is good starting to put stuff together properly now. The only practical 'snag' is that I can't weld too much of it together as it will be too big and heavy to get back up the basement stairs!
A quick recap: I have changed from a light weight reverse trike for fun to a trike van for work with the cab right over and ahead of the front axle.
Now I have changed to a quadricycle as I acquired an axle cheaply and I think I can keep it below the 550kg weight limit.
The chassis has been laid out with an MGB front axle and now and MGB rear axle. The motor is an 11" fork lift truck motor that will now be under the seats of the forward control cab. The chassis is a backbone of 75x50 steel box that will be incorporated into the structure of the rear load bed.
I have started building the rear of the chassis to sweep over the axle and carry the leaf springs.
I will most likely be acquiring the cab from 'Beryl', a Bradshaw FB2 load carrier used by my other half at work. She has finally died due to terminal chassis rust, wear and tear and dead batteries.
The windscreen and front panel will need to be changed to fit my Lynx heated windscreen but it saves a lot of building.
Well, it is a small spurt of activity as I have had a little time between jobs, and it also allows me to procrastinate about my wedding arrangements (only 4 1/2 weeks to go)!
