Let's Talk Cyclecars

Some great GN and Frazer-Nash images found here...

www.lightviewphotographic.co.uk

 

Great link Bob!

 

Superb photography. I would have expected this one to be in amongst them - maybe it's in hibernation? Anyone UK-based know?

 

Gotta love a car that has the rear view mirror bolted to a cylinder head.

And a squirt can to oil the valves----

Herb

 

Let's see how these post...

 

Love the megaphone exhaust on that "spider" car.

On a more modern note, I pulled a new project out from the depths of my buddy's shed today -a Secma Scootcar. Hope to get it running so I can use it as a grocery getter/parts runner.

Shortly after digging it out I started wondering how I could shoehorn an airhead motor into it, but then I remembered I recently saw an ad for a couple of Villiers motors -one of which runs in reverse Anyone familiar with the 50's & '60's Villiers? Are they easy to work on and are parts available? I know they were used in a lot of stuff.

 

To Onelung


as far as i know and was told by one of the top uk areo engine chaps ..that it does not exist anymore ..it kept braking the chassis as it was too light ... these pics look as they were taking in about 1999 at mallery park .. as i have pics of this too that i took ...and they look the same ....

there is a pic some were on the net of this car at a speed trial or hillclimb ..were the rear tire is deforming from the cornering and torque of the motor .... will try find it ...

ox5 engines are the business ..... the next aero project is one of these for
sure

 

Does this count as a cyclecar?
http://imageevent.com/okbueno/mopic;jsessionid=tt2ydtzn61.goose_s?p=34&n=1&m=-1&c=10&l=0&w=4&s=0&z=2

 

Villiers engines were produced in the tens of thousands and there are still parts available for them. They were found in a lot of British motorcycles, scooters, mopeds, microcars, lawn mowers, etc, etc.

Being two-strokes, they're basic, with a Capital B.

 

That looks like a bundle of fun.... Would like to see the front wheels a bit further forward. A modern interpretation could use the business end from a twist and go scooter like a Suzuki Bergman....

 

That would be an excellent idea, but you might to have front wheel steering. Interesting use of aircraft components (wheels, tyres, etc) in the original.

 

Thanks Liberty ... I can well understand the chassis being a little overwhelmed by the OX5 - on one of the veteran car rallies here in Oz we got a good look at a 1 cylinder le Zebre whose chassis would have been much the same as this aero engined beast. I have always thought of the (original) as a motorised bath chair: not at all substantial.

 

No need to ask as it's been well established by now that nobody here gives a toss, cyclecar or not. Thanks for the post - good stuff!

 

Maybe a Villiers engine squeezed into one of these...?

 

Yesterday I went in a yard to get a windshield for my daily driver and was surprised to find there in one of the shed 3 Messerschmitt 1 of them was a cab and 2 other microcar that I've never seen before, 1 kinda looks like Roger Rabbit car except it's a 3 wheeler at first I thought it was an amusement park ride until I saw it's steel and has a motorcycle engine. Unfortunatly no pictures allowed, I'll have to sneak back there...

 

Run across in an attempt to suggest a possible answer:
http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2010/04/15/going-four-wheeling-with-the-messerschmitt-k-106/



Wholly OT, I found this appealingly weird 1935 Steyr in course of the same process:

 

Found the weird 3 wheeler:
http://hydro-carbons.blogspot.com/2011/12/3-wheel-wonder-brutsch-mopetta-1956.html#.UP5-FPL-vgw
It 'states 14 ever produced, maybe it's a replica? Otherwise that would be my first real rare barn find, unfortunatly it's not a Bugatti...

 

The Brutsch is well enough known:

and an image search.

 

Hi All

this pic was on this forum and a few others i think .. does any one know any more info .....

thinking of making something very close to it ......

and thoughts would be great ......

think it would be a great bit of fun ....

cheers for now

 

Not to me, I've never heard of that thing, plus I'm really not into micro cars.

 

But you SHOULD buy it, pretty neat.

 

Thanks for the Villiers info!

I don't know anything about it, but it sure looks like fun. Go for it!

And that Brutsch is awfully cute. You definitely need some stubble and a pipe to offset its cuteness.

 

I thought you gents might like this photo from an issue of The Automobile magazine in 1914 telling abut the Coey. The company also made full sized cars about this time also.

 

A nice image from Marc...

 

Been making mock ups of the engine mounts and in the absence of the correct forward mount mag mount and chain case I will be making my own

 

As I've just had to go through having brake bits (shoes & drums) cast for the Sizaire I'm inerested to hear of your process Ade: we took the traditional method of wooden patterns and casting. Same for you?
I hear about "3-D printing" but have yet to be convinced it's anywhere near becoming the "normal" way to reproduce parts.

 

I'm noticing that people who are into it tend to fetishize 3-D printing. I'd suggest that a sensible way to use 3-D printing would be finding fits into established techniques, e.g. printing casting patterns rather than actual parts.

That seems to be exactly what Dzuari is doing here.

 

My bits a very simple , I draw the parts up in then use a laser cutter to cut the parts out of 3 mm mdf particle board , this is just for testing if everything is good the drawing is then sent to the local water jet cutting company and then made in 3 mm steel ,

3d printing can be used to make patterns for investment, lost wax type casting , it can also manufactor metal parts in a sintering type process , I see a massive future for this process , you can buy a basic machine for under £1000 but the skill is in the drawing

http://www.3dprint-uk.co.uk/ or you can use a third party to do the work for you

 

There are a couple of excellent videos there...thanks!

 

Senechal cyclecar in Moroco...