LITTLE TOAD! RRBBO#14 Class 2. I'm out. :(

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Joined
Nov 17, 2012
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Location
Broken Hill, Australia
So I don't have a title yet obviously, but a name may come to me at some point.

I do have a pile of parts and some lengths of steel tube...

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More as it happens...
 
Those tires are 245/50/15 full race slicks, but they don't measure out as being that size, they actually measure out as 275/40/15's:

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The Hoosier race slicks are known for fudging the sizes a little to get the best results in a class. These can be run in a sub 10" width class because they are "245's" but really they are nearly 11' wide...
 
I did some testing in the lead up to the build-off.

The build needs a filler strip to widen a 15x6" wheel, tried to test hand bending some 16 gauge steel, it didn't work, just came out all lumpy and it wasn't really thick enough anyway.

So I needed to order a filler strip rolled to the right size, so that led to cutting a 15" rim apart to get an accurate measurement of the inner diameter, tacked the spare full enclosed guard on my angle grinder to the bench to ensure a straight cut:

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That meant I was able to get an accurate measurement to take to the sheet metal roller place after the weekend, but during that Saturday I stumbled across a solution while building pot belly heaters for family members:

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I ended up with a 4.5" section out of the middle of a tank, it was too big in diameter for the rim but I split it at the seam and wrapped a ratchet strap around it, and it looked like I should be able to make it work, so I stopped there and just put it on the shelf to wait for the build-off to start.

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There was another part that I was going to get ordered from the rolling place, but if I didn't need that piece maybe I could find a way to do it myself too?

Tacked a bolt and a split 14" rim to my workbench, inserted some 1/2 x 1/2" square tube and started bending it around:

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It came out pretty good, reasonably round, but a bit too big, it gave me confidence I could make one the right size with a smaller die though, so again I stopped there to wait for the build-off to start.

I was only testing ideas, but I know some might think I gained a slight advantage, so I am doing nothing on the build today so that the time I used that day in testing will come out of my build time now that the build-off has started.
 
So it's gonna be like a dragster quad? I could see that being hard to get inside the house....:D Like the 3 spoke sketch there.

I'd say just work on it because we all want to see it finished but I can also see it being especially important for a past winner to stick to the rule book.
 
O boy o boy o boy . Another would ride in the making.
I seriously contemplated a simpler build, but then someone shared one of my old builds on Facebook and I saw how much people responded to it, so time for another crazy one!
So it's gonna be like a dragster quad? I could see that being hard to get inside the house....:D
I never actually said quad... ;)
Actually, to be honest a quad would be cool, but plans so far do not include 4 wheels, it may be more, it may be less, depends on time.
I also have props to build that fit with it, so really glad we have the extra time this year! :thumbsup:
I'd say just work on it because we all want to see it finished but I can also see it being especially important for a past winner to stick to the rule book.
I figure it is just easier to wait a day and avoid any issues.
Past winners and Forum Moderators seem to be under the microscope sometimes... :21:
 
That pot bellied heater is 'hot'! Looks like another fab-RaT-cation build from the mind of LTJ is in the works! RaT oN~!
Thanks OJ!
Already cool stuff happening here!
Skip, always good to have you around the forum!
Now this is something that I will totally watch & enjoy!
:thumbsup:
Looks like another fun build to watch. Glad to be back here.
Welcome back!

I hope I can live up to what all you guys expect now! :21:

Very little progress, in the middle of a bit of a house clean before we settle in to full winter mode.

Got these cut, only need 5 I think, but after @Chad T's post got me thinking, I might need 10, still deciding on that...

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That piece of box section welded to the bench behind them is how I ensured an even cut, just rested the cutting blade on it and spun the pipe in front of the grinder.
 
If you were thinking of doing a tadpole deal with a wide tire in the back like somebody mentioned I think that would be as cool or perhaps cooler than a 4 wheeler. Only thing that made me think that was the pic with two tires in it. Either way it's gonna be cool.
 
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If you were thinking of doing a tadpole deal with a wide tire in the back like somebody mentioned I think that would be as cool or perhaps cooler than a 4 wheeler. Only thing that made me think that was the pic with two tires in it. Either way it's gonna be cool.
Tadpole is the plan, the quad would be cool though!

Good to see your workspace has improved so less holdups from cold winds etc in the (upside down) summer build off:praise:
Oh yeah, loving the little workshop! :banana:
Wish I had done it years ago!

I had a big weekend working on my Sister and Brother-in-laws cars, wheel bearings and front brakes on a fairly new Nissan Micra to start with, ended up finding the original drivers front wheel bearing had been badly machined in the inner race, massive ridges that must have been there from new, very unimpressed.

Then on to the probable exhaust manifold leak on an '03 Corolla with 300,000+km on it... Had a quick look and while there was the pulsing/puffing noise that you would expect from a manifold leak, I realised it was only running on three cylinders... :confused:

Turned out that the spark plugs were not fully tightened last time they were done, (It wasn't me!) and cylinder 1 had actually destroyed the threads in the alloy head and shot the plug up into the coil pack, the coil pack then melted, the ceramic on the plug cracked and dropped into the cylinder, it was all just a total mess!

Long story short, we tapped a new thread out to 18mm in the head and screwed in a Recoil, probed around down the plug hole into the cylinder with a magnet and then a screwdriver with tacky grease on it, pulled out all the junk, fitted up new plugs and away it went better than it has in a couple of years. (Plugs were changed a couple of years ago, probably been losing compression since then! All the other plugs were loose too, but thankfully the threads were not too damaged and they cleaned up OK.)

Massive win to save the engine, but it did take a toll on me, rather worn out...

So decided today to just sit inside, rewatch some Malcolm in the Middle and build the front wheels so at least I was making progress!

Started with this:

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Part way:

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Both done!

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I really enjoy building wheels, very satisfying!

Decided I may as well knock the old 1/2" wheelchair bearings and axles out and fit the new 15mm ID Go Kart ones:

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Of course I didn't have any 15mm crush tubes for between the bearings, so seeing as my new belts for the lathe arrived today from the USA I may as well set it up and make some!

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Hmmm, seeing as the lathe is out, I should machine those washers for the back wheel, save me having to unpack it all again:

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I suppose should check the sizing is right, so trimmed up some 3" exhaust tube to fit over them and arrange the 5 pipe pieces around it:

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That looks good, I should roll that piece of 1/2" square tube to see if that whole plan works:

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Cut to size:

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Looks good!

Accomplished far more than I set out to do today, sore and tired, but worth it! ;)
 
I really enjoy building wheels, very satisfying!
Don't we all :) I remeber when people told me "you can't be a good bicycle mechanic if you can't make wheels", so I thought that this is some kind of wierd voodoo-like magic. Then I made my first wheel and it took me half an hour, and love doing it ever since.

Accomplished far more than I set out to do today, sore and tired, but worth it! ;)

Totally worth it!
 
Tadpole is the plan, the quad would be cool though!

Love the tadpole plan. You could call it "Baby Frog"....:D

I really enjoy building wheels, very satisfying!

It's the best. Sanding hoops not so much. The wheel building always seems to go by too quick. Good to see lots of progress....:thumbsup:
 
Don't we all :) I remeber when people told me "you can't be a good bicycle mechanic if you can't make wheels", so I thought that this is some kind of wierd voodoo-like magic. Then I made my first wheel and it took me half an hour, and love doing it ever since.
:21: Oops! Didn't mean it quite like that! It is fun though!
Love the tadpole plan. You could call it "Baby Frog"....:D
The only problem with Baby frog is that every time I saw it or said it that "Baby shark" song would be going in my head again! :crazy2:

Internet is going crazy slow today, but no real progress to show anyway, mainly went on a bolt and nut shopping run and got some acid to remove the galvanizing on the wheel parts, will get pics tomorrow.

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Results of the bolt run yesterday:

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Also picked up some Hydrochloric Acid to remove the galvanizing on the rear wheel components ready for welding, usually I remove it with a sanding wheel or something, but @The Renaissance Man shared a video with a guy using Muriatic acid, and it looked easy, so decided to try it.
Easy to tell when the gal is removed, it stops bubbling anywhere near as fast:

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Before and after examples on Gal pipe and standard steel tubing:

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All the parts done, rinsed, and already covered in flash rust, use old rubbish tools like I did if you do this:

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A quick wipe to remove the rust and then a wipe with a little WD40 to keep it clean and then assembled the parts as they will be in the rear wheel:

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A handy tip to anyone who tries the acid trick, if using a cheap PVC style bucket like I did, don't take too long, mine was eaten into a little bit by the end, still plenty thick, but I imagine leaving it in there for a day would have it eaten through...
 
A handy tip to anyone who tries the acid trick, if using a cheap PVC style bucket like I did, don't take too long, mine was eaten into a little bit by the end, still plenty thick, but I imagine leaving it in there for a day would have it eaten through...

If it was the sixties the answer to the problem with the bucket would be simple
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