Projects My GN Cycle Car tribute build

Cleaned up version. Better, but still not totally happy.

 

How high will the back of the seat be on your body? It looks rather high in relation to the car. A bit below your armpit would have been right in the idiom but it might feel wrong to our modern sensibilities. Something to consider is to have separate seats which rise out of the body, so they can give a more familiar kind of support while allowing an elbow-high body. Likewise I think the tailpiece needs to be lower and slope down a bit: more like the tail of an implicit aerofoil and less like a spoiler (remember that the dominant graphic image of speed a century ago was a teardrop, not a bullet or wedge.)

I think losing some visual mass at the rear will give you the proportional breakthrough you're looking for. Give it a try?

 

I'll give a try. I did raise the seat back out of a sense of security. I'll have to check, but I believe it was at the top of my shoulder. The radiator must fit in the rear tail section, so that was another reason to keep the tail section high. I was keeping it tall enough to mount a typical Ford 32 coupe 20" x 20" radiator.

 

How about a horizontal or near-horizontal radiator? It could even go between the frame rails, under the fuel tank. A bit vulnerable there, though, so might need a mesh stone guard or something.

 

I think I can lower the tail section by pushing the radiator slightly below the rear fuel tank. There is no way they will approve a fuel tank in that location, so if I want to make it road legal I will have to have another, and use that for looks. If I can, I'll draw up another side view latter today.
The sweet spot for me is having about 46" from the seat bottom to where my heels rest. This leaves my kness at about 30" off the ground and about the same height above the cockpit opening as in the GN. Reducing this distance causes my knees to rise rapidly to 33" - 34" which is also more uncomfortable. The issue of having that length is the body proportions are off, and it now seems that I would still need more room for the pedal play, making the cockpit even longer! I could possibly extend the cockpit inside the the engine compartment leaving the length of the bonnet as is. I'll also look at dropping the engine to reduce the driveline center line or tilting it slightly to reduce the floor height. As is, the driveshaft/pinion angle seems good at 2 - 3 degrees, so tilting it a degree or two may help. In my situation every inch of space counts, and I really need to optimize every aspect of the cockpit layout. The other annoying thing I discovered last night was the fact the the steering column is situated right where the pedals would be, but I'm sure it could be located between the clutch and brake pedal. This is quite the challenge trying to fit my 6'-6" frame into the cyclecar like body. Reducing the tail section too much might make my look like Mr. Potatoe head, but I think I can drop it a couple of inches. Relative position of my head with that of the body.

 

Been digging out from snowmagedden. Was -31C the other morning and then 30 cm plus of snow. Crazy, and then plus 2C this morning and rain.
I think I have the seat location nailed down finally (I hope). I dropped engine down so that now there is only 4" ground clearance, but driveshaft angle is now up to 7 degrees which I think is max for typical u-joint. I may still have to intrude into the engine bay, but it will be minimal. I'll also keep floor below top of trans by couple of inches which will give me more clearance for steering column. Pedal linkages will be a challenge, especially if I keep the mechanical brakes, but we'll figure it out. I still need to determine max suspension travel of rear axle to make sure seat bottom clears driveshaft and pumpkin. Hopefully, in the next weeks I can start mocking up the chassis.
Buick with pedal footwell into engine compartment for comparison purposes.

 

More inspiration. This came up today: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/legal.824567/
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ycle-loosely-based-remington-lakester.391632/

 

^^^^ WOW!!!! Thanks for posting those 2 links. Love those little single seaters. Now got the bug to build a bug

 

Cowl steering can do a lot to get the steering column out of the foot well.

 

Been swamped with cleaning up snow and some other things. Everyone is saying it is the worst winter in 20 years. Machinist called today, and my block passed the pressure test. That is great news finally since I dropped it off last August. One minor crack, and one one poorly done helicoil. Crack is a non issue, and he'll replace the helicoil with a keensert. He will start some maching next week, so I need to select some pistons, likely .060" over since it already has been bored 0.040" over. Time to start ordering parts! Heading to the Toronto international car show next week which will be a nice break.

 

Ordered a bunch of parts from Speedway and MACs and will drop them off at the machinist on Monday. The original rods are all good, and the crank will need a regrind as there was some scoring on the journals. Apparently, the crank is the 85 Hp version vs the 100 Hp which I thought was std for that year. Will ship the cam to Pete for an ISKY 1007B profile on Saturday. Things slowly coming together on the engine, but I need to focus back on the chassis. Still in the depths of the polar vortex with record cold temps and snow. Was -23C in the morning the last few days.

 

Picked up a used Helmet style dizzy along with the wire loom tubes which is what I really wanted. Still might use the helmet dizzy as I really like the look, but noticed the timing cover is not the same mounting pattern. Damn...I thought I just needed a different drive spacer. Tubes are in really good shape.

 

Good to see I'm not alone in a three-wheeler mode, Jack. Mine's hardly hot-rod based, however, favoring modern light-weight motorcycle hardware hidden under Morgan-like bodywork with a touch of Kurtis Kraft. Think of it as "So, Harry Morgan, Frank Kurtis, and Soichiro Honda walk into a bar . . ." I'm deep into the parts-collecting phase of the project -- rear suspension and drive, front spindles, hubs, brakes, wheels and tires, with the engine and trans selected. Prototyping and design are a few weeks away.

 

Most flathead guys want the two bolt distributors and covers, so finding a trade should be easy. If nobody speaks up, put an ad in the classsifieds.

There are thin adapters to go from a three bolt cover to a two bolt distributor, but I doubt there are any to go the other direction.

I do gotta tell you, the crab cap distributor is WAY easier to work on. And you could still use the tubes up above if you want.

 

I thought I would give a quick update even though progress has been slow. We purchased two used cars that took me away from my project with multiple repairs, and my back went out last week again. Engine is being machined as we speak, with all major engine components procured and at the machinist. He'll assemble just a short block. Hoping to cut steel this weekend for the frame and start mocking it up.

 

Looking forward to your next update. Hope your back feels better - that’s a b*tch sometimes to get right again.

 

Finally...

 

Machinist said he was able to "save" the block as one of the bores was almost out of spec (tapered bore) for my 0.020" over the existing 0.040" overbore. So I can keep my 0.060" pistons. He said it takes three different increments for the 0.020" over. Cross hatching looked really nice. Machine was serial #1031 which began at #1000, so it was an early production unit and it was made "locally" in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. Next is a slight clean up of the deck, then the valve seats, and then access holes for the adjustable lifters. Those piston bores look so small compared to some of big blocks he was working on.

 

Thought I would give an update of sorts. The day after my last post I had what was to be minor surgery with what I was told was to be 4-5 days of recovery. Things didn't go according to plan, and my minor surgery had a minor complication. In the end it is only now that I'm kinda feeling back to normal, but I still have lingering pain and just saw the surgeon again this morning to make sure everything is good. We'll see in the next few weeks, but being sidelined for so long meant all other kinds of work around the house just piled up which I'm just starting to tackle. In between all this, I saw the machinist about a month ago and the engine was supposed to be done by end of July. Reality is that isn't going to happen either as I just dropped off some more parts today and it looks the same as my previous pics. I'll try to give regular updates as things warrant but there is so much other stuff it will be slow for a while to come.

 

Thanks for the update, sorry to hear about your “minor complication” and hope you continue to heal and feel better. We’ll be here when you are able to resume this project.

 

Thanks. Actually last night was the first night I didn't wake up in the middle of night with pain. Great news, I stopped by the machinist again yesterday and he actually started to install the valve guides! Now he is trying to figure out how to remove the bushing for the fuel pump push rod.

 

Some minor progress. The two different length fuel pump rods I had purchased from Speedway were plated and non-concentric. He polished them to get them to fit into the bushing which I had also purchased from Speedway, but that is when he noticed they weren't straight! I'll likely end up using the original. Stopped by yesterday and he had just finished drilling out the holes for the lifter bores using a large vertical drill press and jig. Glad he did it like that instead of using a hand drill as it looks to be a bit awkward to reach the casting where it needs to be drilled. I might be able to get another block so I can start my mockup as I would like to get the frame started in the next couple of weeks.

 

Again only some minor progress. Talked to machinist and told him to do what could by 15 Oct as I was pulling everything due to promises made and not kept. He did get another block for me to use as a mock-up, but promised twice to have it ready and twice it wasn't, so I got tired of all the delays. That did motivate him a bit as he has said he will have it assembled by then, and he started to dig out my parts as I was leaving. Nice guy, but being by himself, he has way too much to do, and other jobs take priority, but it has been more than one year since I dropped it off. We shall see. I'm heading down to Hershey, PA on Tuesday to see what I can find for the build. Looking especially for a nice sized headlight, and perhaps some other lights, as well as old gauges, etc.

 

Was at Hershey this week and managed to find some lights, gauges, and a steering wheel. Was hoping to also pick up a speedo and tac, but most decent speedo were spendy, and many were of the rotating cylinder type which I didn't car for. I already had a canteen like that and had seen one used as a coolant overflow bottle, but I had never seen one with the canvas carrying case so I picked it as it was only $15. The headlight is the perfect size, and has the finish/patina I'm looking for. Not a bad deal for $15. The two smaller lights will be mounted on the cowl similar to the GN. I may fab up some copper hoods for them later on when I'm ready. If anyone knows what that steering wheel came out if please let me know. There was nothing else like it the meet.
I'll likely be back next year. I will be picking up my engine this coming week done or not. Getting excited again...

 

Machinist called last week and had an issue with one of main bearings. I posted on Fordbarn and it seems the crank grinder just ordered the wrong ones. Now waiting for the correct rear bearings, but hoping he can finish the engine in the next few weeks. I'll need to start ordering a ton of stuff to finish the engine, as he will just do a short block assembly, and I will do the rest myself.
Picked up a nice brass fire extinguisher today to compliment the interior.

 

Correct rear main crank (NOS) bearing arrived yesterday. Will be dropping by machinist tomorrow to check things out. I'm leaning towards building something closer to the 3D model in my avatar. Thoughts?

 

This is kinda neat as well. I like the exhaust treatment and saddle bags.

 

...Of the two versions depicted I prefer the 3d (post#116) version...I love art but the Big Exhaust work reminds me of a youthful update to the original vision but they had fun as in Mad Maxed it...I don't think it is particularly complimentary...

@Ziggster the P#116 3d model is your Avatar?

 

I'm finding that it will be a fine balance to stay true to the prewar (1914) "original" Richard built and what I see as a bit of an evolution towards a late 20's/early 30's era interpretation in the 3D model. Yes, the same image is in my avatar.

 

I would vote for your 3d rendering as well. The other is fun and has some great features but some are too exaggerated IMHO. But build what moves you the most. I’m following either way.