Indian Hiawatha

[fasteddy]

Pete, It does in a way but the cars weren't as fancy. Mr.Otis and I did it all over again a couple of weeks later but I was leaving the mall as he was driving in so when he decided to do a simply spectacular sliding and tire burning entrance into the mall which was in anyone's book a 10 after his victory win, he was met with a mall full of officers from #3 Traffic looking for the person who had been spinning their tires back and forth.

Included in the bunch was Officer Really Not Friendly. I never saw John again but I did hear that the lawyers fees matched the charges he was facing and he was walking for a couple of years.

I back off about 3/4's of the way back and it was a good move. I sold the car to friend of mine who wrecked it a couple of weeks later and didn't show up at the mall for a month and a half. I was slightly less popular than a skunk at a garden party because of a continuing police activity.

Discovered Mini Minors and a friend who's dad owned an engine rebuilding shop decided "we" should see what could be done to make them run better. He, with his dads help and the local foreign car speed shop supply and my ever helpful banker did.

They didn't stand out like the Meteor and we had a lot of fun with them. Managed to annoy the constabulary for a 100 mile radius for a few years with some fellow Mini owning friends then settled down and did adult things.

I'm the last one of the crowd, Number three traffic is a restaurant and the area is now full of multi million dollar mansions. The mall is still there and doesn't look any different though the stores change. Do Google drive by's to see what is happening. always fun and saddening at the same time to see everything change.

Steve.

 

[fasteddy]

Calipers have a universal mounting so any brand will fit. I copied what I did to the first tri car frame so if it worked on mine it will work on yours.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Have been contemplating the lights and am considering a copper jewel light I made some years ago for I know not what build. It was originally inspired by sitting in traffic behind a modern Harley with all the bells. whistles and saddlebags and saw this in my head and then made it using copper water pipe fittings, three led flashlight units and three stained glass jewels as used in making Tiffany style windows and lamps (I had a stained glass studio at one time in my life). Never used it and just now set it in place on the Hiawatha for a session of creative staring. The middle light could serve as a standard tail light and with some help from someone more knowledgeable than me maybe the two outboard lights could be turn signals. Voltage would be 7V @ supplied by two 3.7 v. Lithium cells in series. Even though the led units were originally powered by (3) 1.5 volts AAA batteries the 7 volts doesn’t blow the leds out and

gives nice bright light. How to make the turn signals flashers I don’t know and besides, I’m still staring…
What do you think?

 

[curtisfox]

kooooooool ! I like it...........Curt

 

[fasteddy]

Perhaps buying one of the pre made signal light sets and wiring it into the system. Substitute your lights for theirs.

Steve.

 

[silverbear]

Good idea about the turn signal lights. Did some looking and found 6v-12v bike turn signal flashers on Aliexpress...a pair for $6.62 with shipping. Don't know for sure that I'll use the copper lights, but it will be something to play around with. The flashers were about a third of what it would have cost through Amazon or ebay. Thinking about making copper jewel fender running lights with amber or clear glass jewel lenses... since I won't be using the Hiawatha fender ornaments. They would dress it up and add to the copper bits elsewhere. Or instead of running lights they could be wired in with the rear turn signals. Or not.
SB

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

Another bit of copper bling, the matching patina is a go for it. But you asked for it SB.
The copper St. Bernard tool box can is already tying up rear rack acreage. The Hiawatha having Art Deco styling, a pair of copper plumbing tail lights bracketed to the seat and chain stays, port and starboard.
Kicker would be if you don't have more of those jeweled red lenses. Think rocket engines/

Tom

 

[silverbear]

Tom, you may well be right. It is crowding things on the rear rack and I’m not sold on the idea. Some more staring is in order, I think. Maybe I’ll use it on my quadricycle. Not that I do much riding around in the dark anyway. ..
SB

 

[Tom from Rubicon]

SB, I am a big fan of staring. Beer in hand. Multi-tasking I call it.
The other day FB market place had a Terra Trike square frame $600 half an hour away. Do I need it? More likely for the misses. I got a free like new 24" full sprung MTB that was left at the township recycle.

Neighbor brought me a Royce Union MTB for repair. Said he wouldn't go more than $200 to get it rideable.
His buddy told him it was worth big bucks.
I told him in the 90's they were $100 new. Pivot point came undone as in pieces missing. That why I got the job.
I can machine the missing parts.

Tom

 

[silverbear]

So Tom, did you bite on the Terratrike? $600.00 is cheap unless it's a wreck.

I moved the light assembly back some and did some more staring...

It's a little less crowded... but still feels too big. Don't know if I have any more ruby jewels, but I could dismantle the unit in the picture and make it in to two smaller lights to mount just forward of each side of the axle as turn signals. Maybe 3" long and have one jewel left over to make into a third shorty to mount just under the back end of the rack as a tail light. That might look good.
SB

 

[fasteddy]

I had the same idea then read what you were talking about. Perhaps one on either side below the rack where the front curved fender brace meets the fender and one in the rear under the rack as you mentioned for the brake light.

Steve.

 

[curtisfox]

Just come ti mind, how about reducers to smaller tube, just a thought...........Curt

 

[silverbear]

Curt, the problem with that idea is that the led units I use fit right inside that diameter of copper pipe. I discovered that one day while browsing the aisles at a local tractor supply and the lightbulb in me head flickered at these cheap little led flashights being both the same shape as copper pipe and looked like they might be of a close to the same diameter. I checked and the flashlights just fit inside. Woohoo! And that was the beginning of copper jewel lights…. So, I need to stay with that diameter or find other led guts. Looks like Harbor Freight is changing over to a different flashlight manufacturer as I just bought five of them at a about $1.25 each. They have 9 led bulbs inside and are quite bright for a tail light.

 

[silverbear]

Steve & Tom,
Back to the drawing board. The three light unit is too big and becomes a major feature to draw the eye without deserving it... better to be minor attractions instead of a main feature.
However, I do like the mating of copper with the faceted glass jewels as they harken back to a time before plastics when things were made of real stuff. Rich materials… glass and copper, which could have been fashioned into lights way back when even if they weren’t.
To picture the lights in a shorter form I cast my gaze over to the 1934 Elgin build which has a smallish copper jewel tail light.

It is just temporarily zip tied in place as that build isn’t finished yet either.

Yes, it is remarkably similar to the three light unit. Using the single unit I visualized what it might look like either as a rear turn signal or a tail light…

That should work…

And mounted to each side of the rear rack they should work as turn signals…

…and it even has a small bolt already there holding the rack to the fender which could also hold the turn signal. I think I like the idea enough to take apart the three light unit and give it a try. And at that point it will be time to do some more creative staring to see if it looks like what I imagine it will. And if it doesn’t then it is time for plan C. At the moment I don’t have a plan C, but there is always a plan C waiting in the wings…
SB

 

[silverbear]

Curt,
This is the little flashlightI have used in my tail lights. It takes three 1.5v batteries normally, but works well with just one lithium cell at 3.7 volts or two in series at @7volts.

Cut off to make it shorter, it fits nicely inside the copper water pipe. I’ve seperated the units and will need to fit pipe ends for each unit..

The faceted ruby lens makes it into a nice tail light. The glass disc is wrapped in copper foil, tinned and soldered to the copper pipe. And that’s how you make a copper jewel light.
SB

 

[curtisfox]

KOOOOL! They do look nice, nice small lights..........Curt

 

[PeteMcP]

All that creative staring worked out nicely. Thumbs up for the smaller copper lights fitted each side. Leaving the rack clear to do what it does best.

 

[silverbear]

Thank you, Pete. Giving a long look now and then has it’s benefits. I’ve ordered two faceted jewels in clear glass for front turn signals and picked up copper fittings for them along with end caps for the back lights. And I think I’ve figured out how and where to mount them all, hopefully next week. And of course I always reserve the right to change my mind and move on to plan C if need be. Severe winter weather continues here in northern Minnesota with lots of snow, bitter winds and sub zero temps. Minus 16 last couple of nights, so it is good to have something to tinker on in a warm basement. Next month I should be able to have a fire in the garage shop and get back to work on the electric recumbent tadpoles. I don’t what I’d do without having projects. I’ve been thinking about my electric motor assist sail canoe and dreaming about open water. Summer is coming. We old fellows need our toys to help keep us out of trouble.
SB

 

[silverbear]

A bit of an update is in order as I wait for spring thaw and an opportunity to get to work again in the garage/shop. I’m still waiting for the clear faceted glass lenses to arrive any day now to that I can finish making the front turn signals.

Photos show lights without clear glass lenses and attached to the fender struts via red colored zip ties
The rear lights have been separated from the manifold shown earlier with the turn signals attached to the rear fender struts also with red zip ties which seemed like the simplest and least intrusive way to mount them.

The tail light location is yet to be determined….

…whether forward just behind the driver’s seat or further back and at this point don’t know what is best… possibly to the underside of the rack…
SB

 

[PeteMcP]

Best not to further rob the rack of valuable stowage space. Your call SB, but mounting the lamp under the rack as per your last pic gets my vote..