Test Drive

It's done.  Sort of.  Everything works.  Now it's time to take it all apart and make a few changes to the chassis, steering and fuel system to make it right.  Before it comes apart to paint the chassis, I took a ride around the back yard.  Look closely, the dog is in the passenger seat.

Roll Bars

I fitted the roll bars tonight.  Been a busy week building a dash board and wiring.  Rebuilt the upper fire wall and mounted the electronics.  Installed the speedometer, ignition switch, kill switch and battery disconnect switch. The little stuff takes the most time.

Where has the time gone.

2013

2015

It will be 4 years this fall that I bought the CX500 parts bike and started building the chassis.  2 and 4 years have passed between these pictures.  It's about time I get this thing done.  I've got a check list of things to do before DMV inspection.  Hopefully by the end of summer

2011

carbon skin on the boot lid

One layer of carbon fiber over the fiberglass.  Easier than painting!

Fiberglass, Carbon Fiber and epoxy

Got the hood made this weekend.  Six layers of fiberglass cloth and one layer of carbon fiber on top.  I got enough carbon fiber to cover the trunk also.

Starting on the hood

Sheet metal portion of the body is roughed in.  Time to turn my attnetion to hood. 
Step 1: Make a mock up out of masking tape.
Step 2: Step back and say, hmmmm, that'll work.
Step 3: Get buisy building a mold for fiberglass.

Body sides

I hung the body sides today.
.040 aluminum, pre-painted black.
I can almost feel the wind in my hair.

The trunk!

This was a challenging task.  I've never worked with fiberglass.
I prepped the mold with release wax and PVA.  8 layers of 6oz boat cloth and 1 gallon of marine grade epoxy over 5 applications.  It took an hour to release it off the mold.  trimmed the edges and i got a trunk.

Junk in the Trunk

The seat is done and it's time to move on to the trunk lid mold.  I built a foam mold by stacking 2" polyurethane foam boards on top of a hard board base. I glued the layers of foam together.  I carved the rough Shape of the trunk with a hand saw and smoothed out with a DA sander.  I sealed the foam with water base poly.  Fiberglass cloth and epoxy is next.
This part of the build has been challenging, as I have never worked with foam or fiberglass.

Mid August 2013 Progress

• Lights mounted
• Fuel cell mounted
• Front hood support bent and welded in place
• Shifter linkage built
• Blinker switch mounted
• Current weight: 640 lb.

Bits and pieces

This week I installed the new coil overs.  Built the gas pedal, hooked up the throttle cable.  I made a throttle stop, for fear of my lead foot snapping the tiny little throttle cable.  Made a bracket for the choke cable and hooked it up.

Flip it over

This  weekend I welded on the floor pan.  I used stainless steel sheet salvaged from a wrecked milk tanker.  Also got the brake pedal mounted and brake lines plumed.

CycleCar sees the Light of Day

It's been over a year since I've done any work on the CycleCar.  I moved 85 miles away from the shop and life has gotten busy.  Had a few days over the 4th of July weekend.  I drove up to the shop.  Em and I pulled the chassis off the wall and reassembled it.  Next, I got to work on the steering.  The rolling chassis is now rolling and steerable.  I've made a commitment to work on it every weekend for the rest of the summer. 

The chassis is done!

• 40 lbs have been added to the chassis since the last pictures.
• Rack mount is done.
• Spindles now have steering arms.
• Control arms are done.  
• Final drive mounts are done.
• Vintage '70's Sweet Rack has been lengthened 8".
• Brake rotors have been turned down for clearance.
• Brake pad spacers done.
• Hubs trued on the lathe.
• Lots of other stuff I forgot about.
• Lots more to do.

CycleCar: The rolling chassis

It's up on 3 wheels.  Front end is done except for steering arms and the rack.  Rear end is done except for bracing and additional spring mounts.  Up on the scales it weighs 480 lbs.  104" wheel base and 62" track.

Front end coming together

Building spindles

Spent the last few nights building the spindles.  Got the scrub radius just where I wanted it.  Got one lower a frame done.  Finally the first views of what the wheel base and track are going to look like.  The next few nights I got the A frames built and mounted the coil over.  Stuck the engine in just for fun.

19" Model A wheel holding up the right front for the first time!!!!!

Front suspension half done.

Little by little.

It's coming along a little bit at a time.  The only thing that doesn't change is Jake.  Whenever work is being done, he's there keeping company.

CycleCar: Mid January progress, 2012

Trailer hub, honda rotor and 5.5" adapter

I"ve got a few more jobs finished.  New tires are mounted.  Accord rotors have been mated to 1200 lb. trailer hubs.  5x5.5 adapters bolted on.  The rear wheel bearings felt a little rough, so I ordered new ones and got the final drive back to smooth operation.  I got the first of the swing arm mounts done and got to see the chassis being held up by the rear tire.  I picked up the front end and walked it around like a 10 foot wheel barrow.

Rear bulkhead done

Bad bearings

Cleaner final drive

Front wheel, 19" model A

CX500 swing arm attached

And it Begins. The CycleCar Build

Mock-up

Emory can just eyeball it.

I'm working on my welding tan.

Started by bending the tubing to the shape of the body.  12' radius for the sides and 12" at the back.  Did a mock up on jack stands to get overall length and height.  Cut the frame rails to length.  Emory and I spent Christmas in the shop.  We got the basic chassis fabricated.  Got the rear motor mounts done on New-years Day.

Jake's thinking how he's going to chase me.

Up on the lift.

Rear motor mounts done.