Let's Talk Cyclecars

The Maggot is excellent, powered by 2 MAG Vee twins and built thru lockdown, it even has more chains than the GNariel. It was next to me at Prescott and attracted even more attention. We just need the Hornet to come out and play again.

 

Prescott 2021
https://youtu.be/gn97QE3-_KM
Go to 2.33 there you can see the GN Spider in Action!
Have a nice weekend

 

@jadea were you running the GN in your Avatar? Either way can we have some pics of your car!

We are building a GN for my boss at work.

 

Hi Outback, yes that is my avatar but I don't think there's much about it that would help anyone building a GN. Only the chassis, steering box, back axle, suspension and a few other things are GN. I did post photos way back, I think 151/152 or thereabouts, if the pics are difficult to retrieve or people want more recent ones I will upload some.

Now I would really like a more or less original GN, I borrowed and looked after one for a time and kind of fell in love with it (when it wasn't driving me crazy!) The engine and bevel box are the core GN essentials do you have them? Richard and Annie Scaldwells GN you posted pics of is beautiful, as are all their cars, I guess we all want to get our hands on their JAP V8!

As a matter of interest Maggot has an Austin 7 chassis, but my own bragging kudos would be that, like Hornet with it's 2 HD engines he only has 2 crankshafts while I am probably the only car with 4, that is until the 4 Rudge engined Bolster copy arrives on the scene, then our nightmares could all manifest!!

 

More pictures are always welcome.

 

I will go back & look but 4 crankshafts are always worth seeing again!

Yes we have original GN components, there are actually a couple going together!
Mates of mine built an 8 engine (victa 125cc) 'go cart' i guess called a cyclecar,

I haven't seen it run however!

X2!!

 

The first picture is at a past & rather wet Prescott, the second shows it (minus front engine) next to the Riley, just to give a better idea of scale, it's not very big. Assuming the other photos upload, they probably don't need explanation (I'm better understanding and dealing with ancient mechanical technology than modern, I'm not really cut out for this cyber world!)

The car is known as KN IV, it was put together at the end of WWII by Kenneth Neve who was a schoolmate of John Bolster and also a past VSCC president. It's quite historic in its way, having much history & is generally very popular, perhaps not with my neighbours. Kenneth devoted a chapter to it, his 4th competition special car together with his earlier pre-war specials in his book 'A Bit Behind The Times', that's well worth reading.

Trawling back through this thread I see it has popped up now & again and there have been requests for more information about it but I have been an infrequent visitor here & had missed them, however if there is still interest I can (and do) go on about it ad infintum and there are plenty more images. I am pleased that some of you are interested even if it's not strictly a cyclecar.

 

Thank you,you made my day.

 

The Riley does make it look rather small, but regardless of size it is rather good looking.

 

What a lovely car, I did see footage of you going up the hill too!
Such a privilege to have a car with such history!! we ev

I am onto an C4 Amilcar with the plan to put a Riley 9 engine & gearbox with a duval style offset 2 seat body.

 

I would love to hear more about the drive train. What engines are those? From the exhaust it looks like V4 or maybe a square four??

[QUOTE="jadea, post: 14164224, member:
Trawling back through this thread I see it has popped up now & again and there have been requests for more information about it but I have been an infrequent visitor here & had missed them, however if there is still interest I can (and do) go on about it ad infintum and there are plenty more images. I am pleased that some of you are interested even if it's not strictly a cyclecar.[/QUOTE]

 

[/QUOTE]

The engines are Ariel 4G, the pre-war square four, linked by a chain to each other from each of the back crankshafts. Originally a double sprocket and chain conveyed power to a Burman motorcycle gearbox and from there to another double sprocket at the geometric pivot point for the rear suspension and then by chain to the solid rear axle.
I have replaced the Burman with a Norton Dollshead gearbox and recently introduced another double sprocket between the back engine and gearbox which reduces the thrashing of the previously rather long chain and has enabled me to fit a starter motor there. Bump or push starting has become increasingly inconvenient! The second pic shows 2 crankshafts and central camshaft. You can see the gearbox in the cockpit photo, I have just moved the gear change lever from outside to inside the cockpit too, getting a little crowded in there!

 

Found this online. I know nothing about it other than it looks like it could be lots of fun!!

 

Thanks for the pix. How are the 2 cranks linked, i.e. are they geared or chained together in sync or at 90 degrees or? Same question with the 2 engines. I've seen some videos of GN's racing and they look like a terror to drive. My Morgans have really quick steering and require very close attention just street driving. Tons of fun!!

The engines are Ariel 4G, the pre-war square four, linked by a chain to each other from each of the back crankshafts. Originally a double sprocket and chain conveyed power to a Burman motorcycle gearbox and from there to another double sprocket at the geometric pivot point for the rear suspension and then by chain to the solid rear axle.
I have replaced the Burman with a Norton Dollshead gearbox and recently introduced another double sprocket between the back engine and gearbox which reduces the thrashing of the previously rather long chain and has enabled me to fit a starter motor there. Bump or push starting has become increasingly inconvenient! The second pic shows 2 crankshafts and central camshaft. You can see the gearbox in the cockpit photo, I have just moved the gear change lever from outside to inside the cockpit too, getting a little crowded in there! View attachment 5144319 [/QUOTE]

 

Ariel Square four motors are essentially 2 500cc parallel twins geared together at the crank. The simple gearing means counter-rotating crankshafts which (in theory) should make for a very smooth running engine.


The other question is about the downdraft carb setup? It looks like you have some custom counterweights and other goodies in those motors..

 

[/QUOTE]

Fred, basically you should think of the engines as 2 Triumph 500 twins sharing one enlarged double crankcase, these and other engines like the Daimler V8 were all designed by the same person, Edward Turner. As Bruce's photo shows, the cranks are mated with a pair of gears and so counter-rotate. When the rh piston of the front crank is at tdc, the rh piston of the rear crank is at bdc, so 180 degrees separate, each piston is at 180 degrees to the other piston on the same crank, if that makes sense.
I run the second engine at 90 degrees from the first but it doesn't really make much difference how you set it, running them together as a 'big bang' setup is a possibility.
GNs are pretty engaging to drive, with this kind of power you don't sleep at the wheel. The solid back axle makes for interesting cornering, especially in the wet (I do live in England!) and the quick steering, half a turn of the wheel lock to lock, is neccessary to stay on track.
Here is anothe pic with Richard's Jap v8 GN and the Napier Bentley, a real aero engined monster behind it. Morgans are great!

 

...great stories about micro-monster-autos!​

Would like to see and hear one in life!

Now, a little theory about the Ariel Square motorcycle engine - some pictures with sketches, diagrams and photos are attached. Great engineering and cute engines!

Well, my favourites: just behind aero-engines in automobiles, the second place is for double-engined automobiles and the third place is for motorcycle engines in automobiles... There are examples where all three variants are used in combination, no matter if in cyclecars, bigger specials or veteran-vintage monsters...

Ciao, Zoran​

 

... the bigger picture of crosssection!
Z.

 

Here is a video of the GNAriel running the hill.

 

That would be fun to build.

 

Okay, silly question ('cause I'm not too familiar with cyclecar brands)- is this an amalgamation of parts, or a specific brand of cyclecar that someone has thrown a set Model A wheels on?

 

looks too nice to be a homebuilt. I'm going for a vehicle built by an outfit who probably built several.

 

^^ do I read right "Dodge??" Know where that is from?

 

All I know is the picture was taken at Brooklands.

 

Love the looks of this little hot rod...

 

===========================

Well,​

That photo is taken at Brooklands, during the 95th anniversary of the first British GP..
But, that is not the original DODGE or any other original vintage racing car! That is scaled-down replica, built as CYCLEKART, similar to some that a few members presented here like to build.
If you pay attention, you could notice that wheels are taken from the light motorcycles, mostly honda 90 and that engine is in the tail, mostly Honda 200 clone, with TAV variable transmission (belt and pulleys)... In the same way is built classic Renault GP racer, red car in the background, in the left corner.
Members from British CycleKarts GB were invited to the celebration!



https://en-gb.facebook.com/groups/CycleKartsGB/

Small autos, great fun!

Ciao, Zoran​

 

Thanks Zoran. I didn't know cyclekarts had taken off so well in the UK. Here in the states it seems to be all on the west coast and in the north east. I quit building mine because I couldn't get any interest going in the south east and didn't want to have to drive 2000 miles to participate.