Velocar cyclecar semi-replica.

I wouldn't want to make waves by asking the authorities, but why in the world is there so much more regulation on a garage made vehicle if it has 4 wheels instead of 3?
I love the 3 wheeled concept and intend to build something (eventually) along those lines as well.
The laws put a 3 wheeled car under motorcycle laws and a 4 wheeled car under standard motor vehicle laws, but the safety of either would be equal depending on the person building it and the quality of the build, not how many wheels it had.
 
I think it's one of those areas where the rules of logic no longer apply ;)
Some of the reasons are more than likely historical, but as for the rest it's anybody's guess.
 
One might simply ask why is there so much regulation period?
The answer is that beaurocrats & legislators need something
to do that will justify the inflated paychecks they've voted
themselves.
 
I would have thought that a four wheel vehicle is inherently safer than a three wheel?
Legislation is all about giving jobs to people that don't want to 'work'.
All these pen pushers would make the world a much better place if they got a real job.
 
Your right, but the auto industry has lobbied heavily to keep
inexpensive 4 wheeled vehicles off the road.
 
llo,
I introduce myself, my non Olivier, I'm french.

I am passionate about the cyclecar Colombe and Villard.

I am fortunate to possess a in Body "Norman" is pictured in this section (the red) as well as documents that I posted on a french website ..

I undertook research on these two brands cyclecar and a rescencement.
Actuelement I count no Colombe,Colombe products knowing that three wheels a little over a year (1923-1924).
Hand against Villard product to about 300 three-wheel Janville in the Oise late 1924-1935.
I count 18 actuelement Villard including two in Belgium, one in Germany and one in new-zeland.
There should one state to states but I have no track.


If some of you know a Colombe or Villard, or documents, photos do not hesitate to contact me.

Thank you very much Olivier
 
Bonjour Olivier,
Welcome to our forum. When you are able (after three posts) please share photos with us and if you would please also share your experiences with your Norman. Lucky youU
SB
 
Oliver,
I have been very impressed with the French cyclecar plans posted by intrepidwheelwoman. The aviation influence is apparent.
 
Hello Oliver. Welcome to our forum. Though I have built a vintage-styled motorbike, I also now have a growing fondness for cycle cars. I do not know much about the Colombe or Villard. But now that I have heard of them here, I plan to research them. I plan to someday build my own cycle car, of my own design. So I am always trying to learn as much as I can about them. I hope you enjoy these topics as much as we do.
 
I found a photo of a Colombe cyclecar at speed yesterday which cheered me up no end. These little cyclecars were quite successful in competition, but apparently they were chain and sprocket eaters under racing conditions.



Just to refresh the topic I'm building a Colombe-like cyclecar, but because there will be differences here and there due to the mechanical parts I will be substituting coz I've got them to hand already I'm going to call mine an 'Intrepid'.
So far I have constructed the basic chassis and started work on the springs and spring mounts, but getting ill over the past few months (AGAIN!) brought playtime to a close.

My daughter has been very encouraging and wants me to complete this project of mine so I've decided to keep pottering on with it. After my experience with the local cyclekart guys I've decided that they are too much of a fussy old boys club for me to bother about so I'm going to forget about them and simply get on with my own projects the way I want to.
I will be having a clearout of everything that has been hanging around for far too long though and just taking up space. It's a pity that you all live so far away as there might be one or two nice bargains to be had.

]
 

Attachments

  • INTREPIDLogo.jpg
    INTREPIDLogo.jpg
    38.4 KB · Views: 182
Last edited:
I can see how that would be rough on chains, with the front doing the pulling and steering. Maybe a chain for a derailleur bike would have enough flexibility to be reliable on the Colombe replica. Are you still considering natural woven bodybork?
 
wheelbender6 said:
I can see how that would be rough on chains, with the front doing the pulling and steering. Maybe a chain for a derailleur bike would have enough flexibility to be reliable on the Colombe replica. Are you still considering natural woven bodybork?
Click to expand...

The 'planning committee' is still working on the drive details Wheelbender, but one solution I did think of was to use a wider chain on the sprockets which was an old Trials rider trick I heard about some years ago.

Yes wicker/basket weaving is still very much in my thoughts to use as a bodyshell building system. Could be good therapy for me too as I could quietly work away on it even if I'm not having a good day with this illness I live with.
The problem is of course to find a supplier for the raw material as last time I tried I came up empty.
 
Small stirrings and progress. I was able to buy an 18inch Honda drum brake front wheel which I intend to use at the front of my delta trike cyclecar. I already have rims, spokes and hubs which I'll will be using on the rear axle. Bicycle wheels are all very well, but when it comes to finding wheels with drum brakes, wheels from lightweight motorcycles are cheaper and easier to find.

A pair of Villiers carbs in slightly down on their luck condition have come my way at a cheap price which is something I never say no to. Once upon a time Villiers engines could be had for $NZ10.00 a wheelbarrow full, but not anymore. Seems they've become 'collectors items' as opposed to being cool wee engines that are great fun to mess about with.

Time spent in bed while I was ill has been useful in that I've been able to puzzle out some design ideas for building the front suspension. Trying to completely replicate the Colombe type drive system has to be a non-starter because I don't much fancy trying to piece together the necessary U- joints and hub centre steering that such a system requires. When I was a younger woman I didn't mind climbing over mounds of scrap steel in order to look for an elusive part. And of course because the parts were for a simpler breed of vehicles from the 1950s and older they were much easier to build a design around and they were also cheap to buy because they were old and nobody wanted them.
Now though scrap steel prices have soared here in NZ which means that nothing gets to lie around for long anymore. And being parts from the 1990s onwards they are incomprehensibly difficult to work with even if something halfway useful can be found. The lovely old motor parts I cut my engineering teeth on are now scarce and collectable and folk are asking silly prices for them even when they are in distressed condition.
Sooooo what I'm going to do is mount the engine on or about the front wheel and use a belt drive to obtain forward motion. The old and somewhat grainy illustration is of a Blake Sociable which is a truly obscure make from the 1920s. What I particularly like about it is that the Blake is a front wheel drive delta trike type cyclecar with the engine ahead of the wheel and it is belt driven. This should work very nicely for my Intrepid Cyclecar semi-replica and to my mind has the advantage of having all the 'works' in one place. The other advantage is that the cyclecar body shell now is clear of all motorising gubbins which means that I can lay out the pedal drive mechanism with plenty of room for my feet. :)
 

Attachments

  • VilliersCarbs.jpg
    VilliersCarbs.jpg
    25.9 KB · Views: 196
  • BlakeSociable.jpg
    BlakeSociable.jpg
    149.8 KB · Views: 186
  • Honda18InchWheel.jpg
    Honda18InchWheel.jpg
    56.8 KB · Views: 298
A good, stout wheel is a nice find. I rather like the Blake Sociable. The whole front wheel and motor assembly would turn as one unit, is that right? Will you be able to use the foot start and will it face forwards for easy starting?
SB
 
silverbear said:
A good, stout wheel is a nice find. I rather like the Blake Sociable. The whole front wheel and motor assembly would turn as one unit, is that right? Will you be able to use the foot start and will it face forwards for easy starting?
SB
Click to expand...

Yes. yes and yes Silverbear :D

The front wheel and the motor assembly turns as one unit which is going to make setting everything up a whole lot easier. The foot start can indeed be used which is an important design requirement for me, both for the joy of making use of your gift and also because of the ease of being able to start the engine without unnecessary heroics. And the engine will indeed face forward for easy starting (and cooling too).

Previously the engine was going to fit into a cupboard on the right hand side front of the bodyshell, but that made things very cramped to fit the pedals and chainwheel in so that my feet could actually operate them. By making use of the Blake Sociable design the 'works' are much more accessible and are now uninvolved with the car body itself.
The chassis as I've built it so far is fine and will require no further modification which is a plus and potentially will allow for alternative drive experiments by being able to swap out the front wheel assembly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top