Let's Talk Cyclecars

I have never seen this casting.

 

Normally pattern makers would put larger fillets and radius in the corners of the casting so it's possible this casting is a homemade part.

 

It doesn't look cut down from anything. I suspect someone made it in a homebuilt effort to boost the chassis' rigidity.

 

Hello,​

Velocar or cycle-car?
But, cute anyway!

Ciao,
Zoran​

 

...another more:

The same fellow, the second auto:

Something modernised?
Zoran

 

...cyclecars are alive?
All films are a little too long, but some details could be seen:

Zoran

 

... the first variant had simple front suspension and steering! Something as Bedellia?
Zoran

 

Yes, I was also looking for some detail of the mechanics of it.

 

Thank you for the replies however, as I think that to really discover where these castings come from will be a matter if elimination, rather than positive identification!



Currently the chassis and castings are to be found on an AC engined, MG K3 bodied Frazer Nash.



Here.





b





The chassis rails are very narrow for this car as shown here.







And again here.







And therefore, I was wondering if the chassis may have originally been this car?







I have found an advertisement in Motorsport advertising a Frazer Nash Special for sale, saying that it is built up using parts of an Eldridge Special. The advertiser is Booth and Croft.



Could this be the car?



Thank you once again.



Alex

 

Well I am back. Started at page one and ended up back here. Had a few diversions along the way. Took the link to the micro car museum, been and had a look at the cycle karts and all other sorts of wonderful things. Now not only do I want to build a three wheeler but also a four, a two, a one and even one with none. Just one problem. I have sold my business. So no longer do I have lots of lathes and mills and drills and all sorts of wonderful things for metal fab. The up side is I have lots of room. Not for long though. Went out and bought a new inverter welder for stick and tig welding today. So now I need a new bandsaw, a mill, bought another lathe last year and I am keeping that, so a few other odds and sods and I should be right. Let the games begin. Possibly should build a cyclekart first, just for a bit of practice.

 

The Old Motor recently ran a post on the 1908 Grand Prix de Voiturettes held in Dieppe, France. The voiturettes were a predecessor to cyclecars but had higher weight limits, both in taxation and in racing regulations. One oddity of the regulations for the Dieppe race was an attempt at equalizing cars with different numbers of cylinders by limiting bore sizes, with stroke left free. It didn't work and the race was dominated by single cylinder cars with freakishly long strokes. Definitely worth a read: http://theoldmotor.com/?p=139175

 

No, it is very unlikely that it is based on that car. Other than the chassis rails being roughly the right size, nothing lines up. The cockpit is in the wrong place, the suspension is completely different. The steering is much lower on the Eldridge, so the castings don't line up either. I looked through Boddy's Story of Brooklands. There is only one car listed as an Eldridge Special. Very interesting car. It had a supercharged 1.5 liter side-valve Anzani engine with a DOHC conversion. Eldridge entered two Eldridge Specials in the 1926 500. Here is a photo that shows the front of the chassis of what appears to be the car driven by Douglas Hawkes.

Notice that it is underslung.
Here is the other:

Hope they remembered to remove the pliers & wrench before the race...
Neither car finished.

 

"The Beast of Turin". Here is a new video of it running at Goodwood.

There was supposed to be a movie about it to be released this yeat; anyone have an update?

 

My son jst showed me this new video at Easter, oh what a noise !

 

... no need for rev-counter? Just to count puff of smoke or fires from cylinders!
Zoran

 

I saw this speedster on an old Model T forum while looking for something else. It was described as a Chevrolet, but the chassis doesn't match any Chev I could find. The rear motor brace (A-frame) visible in the rear ¾ shot does look like it is from a 490. Any ideas what chassis it is? It looks like a great speedster base.

 

definitely chevrolet 490 with quarter elliptic springs

Kume

 

...something as on attached photos?

If modified in modest way, it could pass as over-grown cycle-car on steroids!

Zoran

 

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Hello SR100 and thank you on interesting input about voiturettes class racing. ​

They were magnificent machines, some developed from so-called baby-cars and some were developed into baby-cars (this term was probably used later, influenced by Peugeot-Bèbè, from the same class). Such cars were built in a style of ordinary bigger automobiles (often more modern), but much smaller in size: quite sophisticated compared to cycle-cars...
Of course, almost all of successful racing specials were quite different from production family voiturettes, having single-cylinder engines with 100 mm bore and much longer strokes. Maybe, only Sizaire et Naudin was similar in racing and touring variant (I think that term sports-car wasn't used in those years?). Being less competent in racing, cars with 4-cylinder engines were more successful in development to ordinary small cars, even to excellent small sport cars as was Bugatti T-13...
In any case, nice fun for designers, manufacturers, racers and motoring public for a few years, before The Great War started and brought new preoccupation for people...

Ciao,
Zoran​

 

The reason I ruled out the 490 is that the rear springs are in line with the chassis rail. 490 rear springs are similar to the fronts, at an angle to the rails The 490 chassis photo below shows it clearly.

The early Saxon roadster, amongst a few others, had similar leading quarter-elliptic front springs.

 

Looking closer at the pictures of the speedster, it looks like the same chassis, but they flipped the spring mounts on the frame rails (and swapped them side to side) to move the spring mounting above the rails to lower the ride height.

 

------------------------------
SR100,
Beautiful chassis - I would like to have it in my backyard (if I have backyard) - good base for something to build on it!
Zoran

 

yep 490
John Gerber successfully raced a 490 bob tail in the early 20s before switching to a lighter T chassis in 25 but kept the chev 4. motor. The quarter springs on the 490 are quite heavy and not really light/cycle car material.

 

I think Tom pegged it. I missed the flipped rear springs. I was hoping it would be something lighter.

 

that casting, it seems to keep the sterring box and the brake cross shaft tied together and stops the brake cross shaft from binding up under chasis twisting,
it may have been fabricated from parts then the welds ground down to give the impression of a casting ,, a friend build a Mk6 bentley special and made the bulkhead from 1/4 and 1/2 inch aluminium sheet welded them all together then ground the welds off , he is always getting asked where he got it cast

 

Well we didnt make it ,, i have been busy on the Jappic , with the hope of getting it to the Vintage revival meeting at Monthlery this weekend , but a while ago it became apparent that this wasnt going to happen ,
in some ways its good as i know that i would rush to get it running and those parts would proberly remain on the car forever ,
but im going to miss a fantastic weekend ,, but it will happen again in two years
so now i can relax (just a little) and get back to making nice detail parts for the car , without any pressure , but a deadline can be a good thing

 

Keep at it Mate. We know it's going to be worth the wait.

 

does anyone have info on the Spaeke cyclecar. I think it had an air cooled V twin .

 

No info, but great looking car.