silverbear
The Boy Who Never Grew Up
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
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
