Let's Talk Cyclecars

Thank you for the link SanctaRosa, I can't read French, but the plans translate well without knowledge of the language.

 

1900 CC BAC Special G.L. image

 

Amilcar Jean-Jacques image

 

The plans are from a French magazine named 'Systeme D' and over the years they have published a considerable number of small vehicle related plans. There isn't a great deal of material on-line, but back numbers of the magazines themselves seem to be easy to find on ebay and other on-line trading sites.

My French has suffered severely from lack of use over the years, so I'm hoping that by the time I've built my cyclecar it will be much improved

 

images from www.lecyclecaristebelge.be

Red Amilcar
Marc's Lombard and cloth bodied Salmson
again Marc's Lombard and Bugatti

Notice how they use the Lombard as a serving table...

 

Three Wheeler

 

GN named "Thunderbug".... this shot gives you some sort of scale as how small these are. G.L. image from Loton Park.

 

Red Bug or other...

 

here is a link to my flikr page it has a few scaned copies of plans for cyclecars and midget racing cars

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55288722@N00/sets/

 

John Dearling's GN Ariel Special,1922/1938 2 litre "KN IV" . G.L. image from Loton Park 2013

 

1229 CC ,1929 Morgan Super Aero. G.L. image from Loton Park

 

Thank you for the daily cyclecar picture pick-me-up Bob. I really missed that while I was without an internet connection.
A comment on the 'Red Bug' buckboard by the way. The French 'Systeme D' cyclecar uses exactly the same method of using a flexible wooden chassis to provide basic springing and smooth the bumps. I must say that I much prefer the French approach though as the overall appearance is soooo much more attractive. And safer too; - the lady passenger on the Red Bug is looking pretty darn apprehensive about riding on a bundle of planks without any bodywork to speak of.

Ade, thanks for sharing the link to your flickr page, - you have some interesting plans and articles there. The 'D-Ultra' cyclecar plans are of particular interest to me and I've salted them away for future reference. If Model Engineer magazine had kept on with publishing this sort of thing I might've not cancelled my subscription when I was 20 something.

 

Sanford by Marc

 

Fabric bodied Salmson by Marc

 

Is that a multitude of Square Fours in there?

 

Would that be a "Rectangle Eight?"


Herb

 

Yes,I found some images showing the side of the car.... to follow in a future post.

 

Ariels. Image via VSCC www.vscc.co.uk

 

More from Loton Park. VSCC image. www.vscc.co.uk

 

Two square fours! Oh that would be so rare.

Very interesting to see the fabric bodied Salmson as well.

 

i think the square 4 engine had only a single pipe on either side until 1953 , i wonder how it got past the VSCC eligability police

 

there are rumours of a frazer nash/gn special with 4 rudge motorbike engines . currently under constuction

 

Wow, that's taking, 'Rudge it, don't trudge it,' to a whole new level.

 

Hi sister,
I was browsing through your scanned pages of that wonderfull book on how to build whatever makes you happy, - excluding flying machines, which is a real pity.
Scan 61 is slightly out of centre. Would it be possible to get that one in the same quality as all the others? Please !!!
Great you share this with us, and looking forward to hopefully see some new creations when visiting future events.
In the meantime: Pictures taken at Monthléry in May 2013

 

Unfortunately they aren't my scans and despite much searching I haven't been able to find an actual copy of the book itself
Otherwise I'd only be too happy to rescan a page for you, but (sigh) I can't.

On another note, the tail on that blue car looks positively dangerous!

 

Someone posted this on Facebook today:

A cursory search reveals, "Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Bobsled Race, Zissou and Madeleine Thibault in bobsled, September, 1911; gelatin silver print, signed, 12 x 16 inches"

http://imgur.com/gallery/0OABovz

 

What a great photo. Madeleine looks like she's holding on for grim death though.

Here's another old plan that someone might find useful and a source of inspiration.

 

There's nothing like seeing images of yourself and your car on a site to encourage you to join in rather than lurk in the shadows, so here I am!
Yes they are two Ariel Square four engines powering this GN special which might make it's qualification to still be termed a cyclecar questionable, but it is entertaining and engaging. The engines are the 1000cc pushrod pre-war iron item, the 4G, but just because Ariel chose to only supply two exhaust pipes per engine that didn't prevent it's original constructor, Kenneth Neve a VSCC past president, from improving on their original arrangement, probably before Ariel themselves did. UKAde you can be sure that despite the car having been in the club for more than half a century the eligibility police were not going to let it through unmolested, they still made me work at it.
In banjeax bob's last picture of the car at a soggy Loton Park Hill Climb last week I am the little one, the two larger guys provided the starting power (oh and intelligence, I have to add that in case they read this because their muscle power will be needed again, and brains!)
The BAC special shown in the following and other pics is a new car on the scene and is worthy of much more interest on this forum, it is powered by a French BAC vee twin of about 1900cc built for bicycle pacing soon after the Kaiser war.
Needless to say I have a boring amount of photos and information on KN IV the Gnariel if there is any interest in such a strange and unpredictable beast.
There really is some great stuff on this forum, I am proud to be seen on it and to be part of it


Jade

 

Feel free to bore us anytime with photos and information about your Gnariel

 

I agree. I'd love to see boring amounts of photos and information on KN IV the Gnariel!!