Velocars and other interesting vehicles.

[silverbear]

Allen,
You're showing your age. Some of the young people reading this have never heard of a Corvair, let alone Ralph Nader. Be nice to have a picture of that Corvair & bumper sticker... ha!
SB

 

[happycheapskate]

You could get a ready-made tandem recumbent trike and put a Staton kit on it. Then it should pass as a bicycle in plenty of places, especially with the motor not running.

http://www.terratrike.com/images/trikes/tandem/TandemAction.png

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

This is one of my favourite websites. http://www.bright.org.uk/

The 20 Pound (Sterling) Car is a wee bit large to be called a Velomobile as it's in actual fact a small cyclecar, but there are more than a few interesting ideas to be had if you read through the whole series of articles. It was essentially designed to be built with ordinary handtools which has to be a plus.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

And there is this vintage cyclecar plan which was published in a German magazine. Measurements are metric.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Last plan page for the German cyclecar.

 

[Ludwig II]

We do tend to overlook plywood these days, but used properly, it's an immensely practical material. I've seen a single sheet of marine ply used as the platform and chassis for a kneeler sidecar, as an example.

 

[fasteddy]

Thank you for the plans and the 20 pound car. They will be very useful indeed when the time comes.

Plywood will have a major place in the build. We have a couple of excellent plywood suppliers locally.

Steve.

 

[happycheapskate]

Plywood is good for small surfaces that don't bear any weight and never get wet.

 

[BarelyAWake]

Jus' as a BTW - even cheap, low-grade ply can be made significantly stronger & permanently waterproof with a saturation of an epoxy such as West Systems, or my personal preference the less expensive & more flexible equivalent MAS epoxies.

Good stuff & easy to use, I'd recommend a smooth nap paint roller for application & sponge brushes for "tipping" (smoothing the application, removing bubbles & contaminants) & the slow cure variants as they're easier to work (kick times), provide deeper penetration & as they all should set overnight for full cure I've found little effective difference between slow/fast save inconvenience

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

Plywood is cool

Thanks for the information about epoxy systems BAW

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

More Mochet

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

I don't know if the French still do it, but it used to be that 50cc powered cars with pedals didn't need a license or registration. One of these cars was the 'Veloto' which is very much descended from the Mochet, I thought these photos of a Veloto chassis would be of interest as they are very much in the Velocar mold.

 

[Ludwig II]

The licence qualification exists, I'll see if I can find any new production vehicles.

"Voitures sans permis

Microcars (also known as voiturettes or quadricycles) require an AM category licence. This is available after a seven-hour training course to drivers over 16 years old. Microcars have:

a maximum of two seats, an engine size up to 50cc (petrol engines)
a maximum power of 1 KW (electric cars) or 4 KW (other forms of propulsion, including diesel)
a maximum speed of 45 Km/h, a maximum unladen kerb weight of 350 Kg
a maximum load capacity of 200 Kg"

 

[Ludwig II]

I don't care how old it is, I want one!

 

[Ludwig II]

I think the info I put in above is an old document, now it's 5kw and 45kmh speed. A quick surf reveals the microcar is regarded as a self propelled coffin by many in France, and atrocious value for money when you can buy a 4 seat car in good condition for less than a new microcar, made from cheap plastic and hope.

 

[Ludwig II]

A brief summary of the old Sans Permis from a french site:

" From Rovin D4. " " Everything is mini in our lives ... " From Rovin is a manufacturer of tiny cars call "microcars". These are actually the ancestor of our cars without a license, then these cars ENJOYED favorable tax and a very low price compared to a small car entry level. In return, we had to accommodate a motor ridiculous, roominess for garden gnomes and a very stripped finish. Rovin From his specialty will make and sell its cars between 1946 and 1958. D4 presented here was produced from 1950 to 1953 to 1200 copies, this is the most "upscale" range, almost a car compared to what De Rovin had left previously. mechanics is composed of a twin 462 cm ² expanding ... 13 horses! Please note that the "beast" could reach 85 km / h, still had to be very rash to try it! 's copy was photographed in its own juices and dated 1951.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

No complaints about this article being in French because It's not that difficult to follow it if one puts one's mind to it. A rare and genuine design for a velocar published sometime between the wars.
It's more than a little different in that it's rear wheel steer and front wheel drive, but that's just the French for you. Weighs 40 kilos, is for two passengers and is wood framed with a paper mache bodyshell.

 

[Intrepid Wheelwoman]

And.........

Speaking of rare books and the like I would be very very keen to get my hands on a copy of this one......

 

[jose Pinto]

[/QUOTE]

hello, this is velocar something pretty fantastic, thank you for sharing these relics friend
jose pinto

 

[fasteddy]

The dream wheels.

Steve.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=1854462&d=1359755571