When a crazy idea becomes reality

[Diana Welch]

Bright Satin looks good because of the sheen. You won't need to worry about moisture and smudge at all. You've got a good idea

 

[Diana Welch]

Photobucket is back up again

The spiky things are pins that hold the panels together. So far I have fixed in place the base and two strips. The top front and rear are yet to be trimmed and fixed into place.

oh and here's a shot showing an old tatty (Ferrari) wheel offered up!

Just because.....

Looking good.I would have to say that the design is really unique

 

[David Cooksey]

Cool! down your way in a couple of weeks to 'Deva Dubs and Rods' at Shrewsbury

Oh, are you a rods man or dub man? I have a 66 beetle that I've put a 1.4 turbo diesel engine into.....

 

[David Cooksey]

right, photobucket is back!

I've started to put this thing together. I haven't finished the top panels yet, but the lower ones are done.

and here is that light I mentioned.

It is just resting there in the picture. The final position will be set in more


I really like it, can't stop smiling when I look at it! lol

 

[SwissGuy]

I really like it, can't stop smiling when I look at it! lol

Believe me, you're not the only one...! [emoji12]


Gesendet von meinem K00E mit Tapatalk

 

[sludgeguy]

Yuo do not disappoint! It looks simply amazing! The light is spot on perfect as well.

 

[Diana Welch]

Looking good! this car wheel is a beauty!

Yeah. It's looking great. That's definitely a heard-turner.

 

[Boris]

Oh, are you a rods man or dub man? I have a 66 beetle that I've put a 1.4 turbo diesel engine into.....

Both really! Love them both! We attend lots of shows, this weekend we are at the Peterborough Hotrod Show, next weekend the now Great Yarmouth Fun Run and then Deva Dubs! My wife has a trade stall that we take to shows most weekends through the summer, Deva is just for fun though! I would love to see that beetle!!

 

[Diana Welch]

Both really! Love them both! We attend lots of shows, this weekend we are at the Peterborough Hotrod Show, next weekend the now Great Yarmouth Fun Run and then Deva Dubs! My wife has a trade stall that we take to shows most weekends through the summer, Deva is just for fun though! I would love to see that beetle!!

It's nice that you can attend a lot of shows. Is Deva Dubs near the Shrewsbury?

 

[David Cooksey]

Both really! Love them both! We attend lots of shows, this weekend we are at the Peterborough Hotrod Show, next weekend the now Great Yarmouth Fun Run and then Deva Dubs! My wife has a trade stall that we take to shows most weekends through the summer, Deva is just for fun though! I would love to see that beetle!!

Cool!

If you want to see more on the beetle, It's all here:

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=1200578

 

[Boris]

Cool!

If you want to see more on the beetle, It's all here:

http://www.volkszone.com/VZi/showthread.php?t=1200578

Very well done!!! ...As I expected!!

 

[David Cooksey]

Started to make the internal structure today. I'm not sure why, but I only took one photo of it. Basically I've made "bulkheads" that the seat base will sit on. The bolts to the frame will go through these. This means that the weight of the rider will be directly on the under-frame so there is no danger of the body deforming. Hopefully that makes sense! lol

Next I started on the rear top piece. I'm sorry but I cant take a picture of it now without the light! lol

I'm spending a full day on this next week ( I normally only get half an hour or so on it before I start work ) so expect some major progress!

 

[sludgeguy]

Wow, just freaking WOW!

 

[Diana Welch]

Started to make the internal structure today. I'm not sure why, but I only took one photo of it. Basically I've made "bulkheads" that the seat base will sit on. The bolts to the frame will go through these. This means that the weight of the rider will be directly on the under-frame so there is no danger of the body deforming. Hopefully that makes sense! lol

Next I started on the rear top piece. I'm sorry but I cant take a picture of it now without the light! lol

I'm spending a full day on this next week ( I normally only get half an hour or so on it before I start work ) so expect some major progress!

Wow. A really crazy idea that turned out to be one of the smartest ones

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Loving this, and I have a serious soft spot for those lights:

 

[David Cooksey]

I've spent a bit of time on this last week.

It was time to make the frame.

I started on the wheel carrier. This is just a rectangle of tube that the wheels fits inside. That way, the wheel is supported on both sides of the spindle. Now I could have just made it rectangle......but, well, thats not my style.....

To the tube bender!

I'm using 3/4" thin wall steel tube. One of the bends is too tight to make with the above machine so I've used the hacksaw to help bend it.

The cuts are then welded up and the welds ground down. I prefer to make lots of small cuts rather than a few "pie cuts" as it gives a smoother result. The above photo shows about half the cuts I used.

The other end of the wheel carrier was made into a point

The whole carrier looks like this

 

[David Cooksey]

Two connecting tubes were welded to this carrier to support the sidecar and to connect it to the bike

Here the sidecar is just resting on the frame. I haven't fixed it to the bike yet, but it shows the final height.

The fixing point needed a bit of thought. It needs to pivot to allow the corners to be taken without the sidecar wheel lifting off the ground, but also needs to be strong. I also don't want to permanently fix it to the bike. I've decided to bolt a bar to the bike rear frame and that the sidecar frame will be attached to.

Sidecar geometry is important if it is to ride nice. There are three things to consider:
1) The tracking, ie, how parallel the sidecar wheel and the bike rear wheel are.
2) The lead, ie, how far forward of the bike rear wheel the sidecar wheel is
3) Wheel angle from vertical

As it happens a good friend of mine ( and one of the most talented engineers I know) used to race motorbike sidecars back "in the day". He was good. Very good. He has raced both circuits and road races ( Isle of Man TT for instance). So it was Alan I turned to for advice on sidecar geometry.

So here is his advice

1) tracking : a couple of degrees toe in
2) between 150mm and 250mm "lead"
3) vertical is fine.

Of course if I get it wrong "it will handle poorly above 30 mph".......er thanks Alan, I think I'm good!

 

[David Cooksey]

I went to my local rocket sidecar parts supply store to get a bracket to mount the bar to the bike frame. ( what do you mean you don't have one of those in your town?) It turns out they must have had a run on these brackets because they were all out! So I had to make my own...

3 hours it took me just to make this bracket! 3 HOURS!!!!
It is stainless steel though But really, 3 hours! I couldn't believe it when I looked up at the clock. lol

 

[Fv2]

This is turning out really well, alot of effort, skill and patience I don't have.

The only Alan I can think of in the sidecar world is Alan Founds.

 

[David Cooksey]

This is turning out really well, alot of effort, skill and patience I don't have.

The only Alan I can think of in the sidecar world is Alan Founds.

Thanks
No my mate is quite a bit older than Alan Founds........sorry Alan but you are! Lol. He raced in the 1980's and 90's