Voiturette à pédales à fabriquer

I wonder if the Bugatti Tank racer was a conscious influence on the streamlining designs in some of those old French vehicles.
 
I'm sure it was Allen. An awful lot of French light vehicles seem to copy that shape so I guess it must've been the hot trend of the day.





 
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I like that hi-tech starter. I wonder how many broken arms
happened using it. Also what sort of suspension it has, since
there doesn't appear to be much wiggle room in the wheel
wells.
The body is a perfect airfoil. At what speed do you suppose
it becomes airborn?
 
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Otero said:
I like that hi-tech starter. I wonder how many broken arms
happened using it. Also what sort of suspension it has, since
there doesn't appear to be much wiggle room in the wheel
wells.
The body is a perfect airfoil. At what speed do you suppose
it becomes airborn?
Click to expand...

Actually, if you carefully follow the prescribed steps in starting this Bugatti, and you crank with your thumb on alongside your other fingers, it's really not that dangerous. I have a book that outlines it here someplace.

Not too much need for suspension if the track you're racing on is really flat, but I bet they felt the bumps nonetheless.

I imagine the aerodynamics might have affected traction somewhat adversely but I'm not sure how much.
 
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I fear I'm a bit short on style, but the monstrosities I ride
are uniquely mine.
 

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When I was young I owned many an old British car that had a dodgy battery, BUt they always had a crankhandle. Starting with a crankhandle is nothing to do with strength it's all about technique. After years of practice I think I could still do it now despite my age and disability.

Cyclekart tribute to the Type 32b







Engine and transmission.
 
Interesting drive, it looks as if they've used a torque
converter in place of a differential. That could work
I guess??
Oh, I see; that's a drum brake. Sudden stops are
probably out.
 
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Otero said:
Interesting drive, it looks as if they've used a torque
converter in place of a differential. That could work
I guess??
Oh, I see; that's a drum brake. Sudden stops are
probably out.
Click to expand...

There's no diff, the drive is transmitted on one wheel only that's keyed to the axle. The other wheel is free to rotate on the axle shaft.

This is a handy alternative to a diff. It's first world championship was won on a Rolf Biland sidecar outfit (in 1974 I think).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viscous_coupling_unit
Click to expand...

Interesting. I wonder how much one of those costs?
 
They're not too costly, but I don't think it would
be easy to adapt for an axle. Yeah that's definitely
a brake in the pic, but it does look very like a torque
converter at first glance. It's been a while, but I've
seen torque converters for around $40.
 
Ludwig,
Just spotted the link you were referring to; That unit
is quite different than the converters I'm familiar with
which are meant for small engines. It does appear to
be an alternative to a diff.
 
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