Morgan inspired cyclecar

Ah, I see that Moosh has restored photo service. Excellent.
So here are more pictures of the canoe, the Harley Davidson windshield I picked up at an auction for a few bucks and under the front end is the golf cart axle.

A couple of middle of the night thoughts are that I may need more depth to the body for comfortable seating, so was thinking I would need a spacer or extension of some kind to raise it up some. Was also trying to figure how I would have access to the engine if it is pull start and to any other part of the chassis for maintenance, etc.

So was thinking that the spacer/extension could be fixed to the floor of the chassis and the upper part of the extension could curve and conform to the shape of the upside down canoe. The body sits down on the extension and at the gunnels attaches to the extension via something secure, but unlatch-able (is that a word) so that the whole body could be lifted off the chassis. Will give that a lot of thought. The front left section could be hinged and lift up just like the hood on a car to give easy access to the engine for pull starting. Could also route an extra long pull cord so that it could be started from the cockpit. Would need to set up a cable system for the choke if starting was from the cockpit. I want for the engine to be forward of the cockpit and for the gas tank to be under the radiator cowl, with the "radiator cap' to actually be the gas cap. Was thinking that an OMC outboard gas tank would work nicely if it were sitting up on a platform so that gravity feed to the carb could work. Those hold six gallons... put a petcock into the bottom edge of the tank. That would help put some weight to the front along with the engine to help balance out the weight front to back. The other reason I want the engine up front is so that I can have something like a dual exhaust with one exhaust pipe running outside the body along the cockpit as on the Morgan. At the exhaust manifold Y could be a diverter valve (if there is such a thing) so that the exhaust could pass along a pipe to the inside of the cockpit in order to provide some heat if the body could be fitted with a top of some kind to keep out the weather. So the exhaust would go into one pipe or the other or in between to both and in that way the heat could be controlled from none to all there is. Fun details to be worked out as they come.

Yesterday I drove to Duluth with my neighbor to stop at a tractor supply, lumberyard and Harbor Freight. Duluth is a hundred miles away so it is kind of an all day outing for two old farts. Jim needed some lumber & night crawlers and I wanted to pick up Van Sickles tractor paint for my "kindalikeawhizzer" and a 212cc Predator at Harbor Freight on sale for $99.00. I also had a 20% discount coupon, but they wouldn't let me use it on a sale item... one or the other. Dang, that would have cost $80.00. I asked for a senior discount, too, but no deal.

So the decision has been made to use the 212cc engine for the cyclecar and attempt to match it to the motorcycle gear box via chain, sprockets and jack shaft. Engine up front and transmission just forward of the rear wheel. I'll figure out how to do that when I'm doing that. A jack shaft can be a foot or more wide if need be. There's a way.

Next week take photos to the license bureau and see if I can get a title to the motorcycle. Then shift focus to winter preparation, putting things away for the duration and moving "kindalikeawhizzer inside the trailer where I can work on it through the long winter. First snow will be in a couple of weeks. Still have to pull the dock and shut down the electric pump at the well. Wish I had a heated garage to work in. Wouldn't mind living in a heated garage, actually.
SB

Intrepid,
Thanks for the compliment. Best part of the sidecar is Anniimoosh. When we get up to speed her ears lift up like little wings and go even faster...

Rick,
Some years ago someone gave me a snowmobile that needed to have the carb rebuilt. I was never interested in it as I had Indian ponies at the time and liked getting around that way. Gave the snow machine away. I did have a snow machine engine I used to power a "joker" winch which is a home made tractor like woods machine. I was using the winch to move logs and the engine blew up which startled the old bear. Ha! It was 16 hsp as I recall and not all that big. Yes, a lot of power. One might work nicely, but for now I'm going to pursue the 212 Preddy and motorcycle gearbox as you have suggested. If I learn that I need more power I can always switch engines. But thanks for the heads up and if another machine comes my way I'll look at it in terms of re-purposing. There are so many options and ways of doing things, isn't it great?
SB

What a deal! I'm sure you'll think of something. I guess you don't get much snow in that part of the world. What is the engine? 2 stroke? How many cc's?
SB

Lots of power for a cyclecar or motorcycle. Is that pull start or electric starter?
SB

Not progress exactly, but parts are always nice for show and tell. A couple of weeks go I picked up the 212 Predator on sale for $100.00. Bought the torque converter for 138.00 (actually more like 168.00 with shipping). That just came today so I had to haul out some parts for pictures. In the background is the axle which was intended for a golf cart. Steve convinced me to pick one upwhen he did at a very good price off of ebay. That was a couple of years ago when I wanted to build a cyclecar, then didn't, the did...now am going to.

Still trying to figure out how in the world motorcycle wheels with drum brakes are going to be attached to the axle. Glue, magic dust?

Today am ordering a 22mm. Mikuni carburetor from a forum member and then I'm putting everything away for when there is a bit of money for a few upgrade parts for the engine... not for some time yet.

Scurrying around doing last minute things outdoors before snow comes and freezup. Then the focus shifts to the "kindalikeawhizzer" project sitting indoors on a workbench in what was my bedroom. Looking forward to that.
SB

Here are some photos for self inspiration. First four are of different 1930's models of the Morgan. I like the roundness of the first two. Windshield of the second appeals to me as it is similar in general shape to the Harley windshlied I plan to use. I like the canoe-ish tail on the next two. Number four is interesting because it has a stepped chassis which would solve some of the problem of the Grumman not being deep enough for a comfortable sitting position for a geezer. It it were stepped it should keep the shape of the Grumman true and yet give me more leg room. I think that's the answer.

Last photo is from 1969 and is of a 1951 (if I remember right) MGTD which is the first car I did real mechanical work on. Later I painted it a canary yellow and did the upholstery in black. It had the steering on the right. I loved driving that thing and realize now how reminiscent it is of the Morgan.
SB

Well done, Rick!
SB

Ludwig,
Thanks for posting these photos. I wonder why it is I so much like the old looking ones. And there's something about having the wheels outside of the main body with either their own kind of bulbous fenders (maybe with tear drop headlights on top) and sweeping back into running boards... or smaller fenders like a hot rod. So cool.
SB

I'm in 'getting ready for winter' mode here in the north country. Several snows have come and gone and the ground is not yet frozen. Putting things away including more firewood has been the main focus. Some fiddling with the "Kindalikeawhizzer" project in the 'was a bedroom now my work space' which is little more than a work table. That bike is the big winter project.

And in he background is the cyclecar. I have been to the licensing bureau and while it sounds like a lengthy process getting it titled and ready for licensing I've decided to go that route, fill out the forms, pay the fees, provide the documentation and do whatever it takes to first make the Harley Sprint roadworthy as a motorcycle and then as a cyclecar.

And every so often I take a break from other work and do some creative staring at the Grumman canoe or the crusty old Harley. And pouring over old photos of cyclecars from years gone by gives both inspiration and ideas for how to proceed. I'm still committed to using the canoe for the body. It would be nice to build a body from scratch, but I have to be realistic. I don't even have a garage to work in and will be limited to fair weather mostly in the summer months. My outdoor work area is a picnic table with a vice attached. Still, a lot can be done even without a spiffy garage, tool boxes on casters with a million drawers for everything. It is surprising really what you can do with a welder, side grinder and some basic tools.

This morning I was feeding a log to my wood stove and looked at my old copper boiler that I use for kindling, birch bark and such for starting a fire. You know how it is... you look at something you've seen daily for years and all of a sudden it becomes something else in your mind's eye. You've done it, too, when at a flea market or garage sale and you see a brass soap dish and your brain sees a possible air filter for your bike or maybe a light housing. We've been programming our brains to see certain shapes that we can adapt to our machines.

Anyway, I've been looking at lots of cyclecars lately and am always on the lookout for what I might be able to apply to my project. And it happened. My copper boiler became part of my cyclecar! I could see it suddenly as the "radiator" cowling for the front end of the body. I emptied out the kindling and took it out for a look see at the Grumman. Yes, I could make that work! And polished up that old copper would look great.

The aluminum body of the Grumman has so many dinks and deep scratches from it's life as a canoe carrying people through the boundary waters... being dragged over rocky shore lines, banging through rock filled rapids... well, even though it would polish up and look passable from a distance I want for this to look as good as I can make it within my budget and capabilities. It will get some bondo work, sanding and probably get painted a deep green color... forest green or British Racing Green, something like that.

I've also been figuring the dimensions and proportions. The overall length of the cyclecar will be a little over 9 feet. From the stern to the back of the cockpit (marked with the orange tape measure is 5 feet. Within that five feet will be the rear wheel, engine and CVT from the Sprint. I measured the sprint and from the tail light to the down tube at the triple tree (where the serial numbers are is 4'4" so there should be adequate room behind the seat for the drive line.

The rear of the cockpit is 30" wide and I will leave that dimension. Forward of that the body will be drawn in to match the dimension of the copper boiler which measures 11" X 21". From the rear of the cockpit to the front of the radiator cowling is 32". Where I have the spring on the clipboard is about where the steering wheel and dashboard will go. I should have plenty of leg room for my six foot frame. My feet may go clear into the copper boiler. The end that is now the bottom of the boiler will face ahead and will get cut out, leaving some border area two or three inches worth and some kind of decorative mesh screening will be fixed in place. A brass screen of some kind would be nice.

That's it for now. The little Harley Davidson plate might be screwed into place near the top front of the copper boiler.The Harley that never was...
SB

Is a bit over 9 feet too long do you think? The last foot or so of the stern is so narrow that it does not allow much room for the driven wheel, but it will go back as far as possible. If the frame of the sprint was sectioned I imagine that a foot or possibly more could be shaved off the drive line. Engine would still be behind the seat.

As I have it the cockpit does seem too far forward, so I I could pull it back as far as possible.

I had wanted to keep the engine and CVT as close to the driven wheel as possible and utilize most of the Harley Sprint frame. Since I want to license it as a motorcycle and the donor is a Harley Sprint... by then it will be titled and licensed before making any cuts to the Harley frame. I could shorten the whole machine and give myself more room for the engine and CVT if the engine were behind the fake radiator cowling. It would mean then a long chain from the engine to the rear wheel sprocket and I'm guessing then a jack shaft or at least idler would be needed. Engine and cockpit location are pretty defining of what the cyclecar will look like so I'll give it long thought and welcome opinions.
SB