4th generation of my trike

[irondad01]

Thanks for the kind words. Like DeathBySnuSnu said earlier, it's hard to keep the wheels from turning in our heads. I've toyed with the idea of a Formula 1 style trike with a front wheel drive donor car power train in the rear. An A-arm type front suspension. I don't think it would be very practical. Too low so you would not be seen and get run over. Plus for my style riding this VW is much better.

I pretty much finished the welding on the body. There might be a few little things to do. Then I played around with an idea I had.



I put this together. It's a pan and a piece of exhaust pipe and a few other pieces.



It's supposed to look like an air intake. I don't think I'll put it on. It's sort of practical in that it lets more air into the engine but it adds another thing that could vibrate and break. I also thought that area would be a good spot to roll up and tie a canvas tarp to use to cover the trike when we go camping.

 

[grandpanystrom61]

Looking so nice as all is getting finished up.

My dad told me to always keep a tarp with my bike. It was so if I ever got caught in a rain down pour, or you have to sleep where you are that night. Used it a few times for those heavy rains, but always made it home. Well if things do run a bit warm you do have an idea to get a bit more air flow.

 

[LarryA]

yes , that deck area would make a good area to tie down a bedroll, tarps etc. maybe a couple of side rails to tie to...here's what i did.

 

[irondad01]

That rack looks great. I may go with something like that.

By the way, Yogi Berra said when you come to a fork in the road, take it. He didn't say take the sign.:laugh:

 

[LarryA]

LOL, my brother-in-law was in the scrap business.....got many of my materials from him.

 

[irondad01]

These were the fill pieces I had to put on the frame. They cover the area under the seat.





The side pieces are welded on and the top one is bolted on.



I spent today moving things around to get to the corner I had my paint room in. I'm getting close to cleaning up and painting. That will be kind of boring and time consuming but it has to be done.

 

[irondad01]

I haven't done much to the trike. I did get all the holes drilled to mount the fenders. I've been working on my paint room.



It's pretty much ready to use. I have a little more to do to mount a fan in the window to keep the fumes out of the house. When I built my street rod it worked really well for painting and fiber glassing. It's a little dark in there even with a light so I might paint the walls white to brighten things up.

I need a bigger basement for all the stuff but I know if it was bigger I would have more stuff.

 

[irondad01]

Not much worth taking pictures of is going on. I've been wire brushing paint and cleaning the frame. I went on a buying spree today. Primer, body putty, and sand blasting sand. Once this part is over the fun begins. Putting things together for the last time picks up the spirits. It seems the darkest hour in a project is when everything is scattered all over the place. You just have to work steadily through it.

 

[grandpanystrom61]

It is also the brightest hour for some, as the paint room is bright with the lights and soon as all is done it gets put back together.Now if the weather will work with you it could be a enjoyable leg of the project. We all hope it turns out as you want.

 

[irondad01]

The weather sure is going to work with me because Phil just up the road from here said an early spring! :clapping:

 

[irondad01]

Today I spent hours sand blasting. I can say with great conviction that it's my least favorite job so far.



I have the main frame done. It just needs a little sanding here and there and a good cleaning. I have part of the front end and the trailer hitch frame to do. The rest of the stuff that needs blasted can fit in my blast cabinet.

I would blast, then shop-vac everything up, dump it in a bucket and blast again. Sand in every place that's possible to have sand in.:gah:

 

[grandpanystrom61]

Yes that is true, more time spent getting ready and than cleaning up, than time spent doing the actual task. A true good paint job has a few key factors to it, one of my dad's most important step was "getting it ready to paint". I remember hours spent wet sanding a truck one winter. It was such a beautiful paint job in the end. Keep at it our friend.

 

[irondad01]

No pictures but I have the main frame upside down and the bottom painted. I'll let it set for the weekend then flip it over and paint the top. I also painted the trailer hitch frame that the body sits on in the back.

 

[irondad01]

I got the frame flipped right side up and painted the top side. While the paint was drying I messed around with making my chrome unshiny.



I used a green Scotch Brite pad and some WD40. These are my gas caps. I did the chrome on the front shocks and the little hub caps in the center of the rear wheels too.

I have to get some truck bed liner to coat the floor boards and under side of the fenders next. I'll soon have to get some tires to make it a roller after I paint the front end.

 

[irondad01]

The main frame was cured enough to take out of my paint room.



I got the floor boards covered with bed liner. You can also see I started reassembly. I put the first piece back on, the vin. tag up by the neck. I have the front end all painted and drying. The rear calipers got cleaned up and a fresh coat of paint.

You can see the old front tire that I took off. I have to get a new one ordered. I have gaskets coming for the engine to set the valves and change the oil. I also have a seal coming for the input shaft of the trans. I think it was leaking a little. It's the original from 1973 so no shame for it.

 

[irondad01]

When the mail came today the seal for the trans. was in it.



The seal goes behind the throw out bearing on the input shaft. I scrubbed the trans. and then removed the old seal. It was tough getting out without doing any damage to the case but it's all back together now. The trans. is ready to go back in the frame.

 

[irondad01]

Looking at the transmission picture I remembered that I had done away with the rubber mounts and made it a solid mount when I put it together 12+ years ago. I did it because it was such a short distance from the shifter to the trans. that I thought the torque twisting would knock it out of gear or mess up the shifting some other way. The VW boxer engine is balanced really well so vibration isn't a problem.

On the output shaft where the CV joint bolts, above the allen wrench, you can see a small magnet that is used for the sensor for my speedometer. It's an Acewell and works great. You can calibrate it so it is very accurate.

 

[irondad01]

Thanks everyone for the likes , comments , and following along.

Today I took my wheels and got new tires on them.



I really wanted a more aggressive pattern but to get that in the size I need I would have had to go to a winter tire. The compound would have been a lot softer and I think the summer heated roads would have torn them up. These are all- season ones.

I'll probably start to put the front end together next. That will put some weight up front so I can begin to hang stuff on the back like the transmission and shocks. I really need to get a front tire so it's all stable.

 

[irondad01]

I put the front end together as far as I can without a tire.



I brushed the chrome on the shocks with a Scotch Brite to take the shine off.

I mounted the shocks, transmission, and axles in the rear.



I can now start to put the plumbing for the clutch and brakes on. You have to think a couple steps ahead so the stuff you need is painted and dry when you need it.

 

[Rickus Dickus]

Progress

I keep peeking in on your progress. It's really, really nice. I especially love the front forks. I'm currently trying to get my and my wife's Yamaha's converted to trikes and in fact removed the second fender from the mold today. Once they are done I'm pulling my friends VW trike out of the corner and start on it. Your build is giving me ideas I can do for little to nothing using what we have lying around. Of course, I need to first see if the engine case can be saved. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

[irondad01]

Thank you. I've been following your builds too. Very impressive work. On mine I've found that you can do complicated stuff if you break it down to the basics and do one thing at a time. The main thing is get out there and do something.

Keep up the good work.

 

[irondad01]

Brakes and clutch all plumbed and bled.



I got the shifter assembled and put on and adjusted too.



This is my clutch and brake setup. Dune buggy master cylinders, about 8 to 1 ratio on the arm, and the pedals came from Walmart. They were the pegs the kids put on their BMX bikes on the axles to do stunts with.

When I went out to get the paper my new front tire was out side my door. I guess that will be next.

I can't believe it just passed 50,000 views on this build. Thanks everyone.

 

[grandpanystrom61]

I am glade I got to keep an eye on your work. This thread has a lot of good idea's and awesome metal work, thank you for sharing with us.

 

[irondad01]

Thanks, I'm not sure about mad metal skills, my wife thinks I talk and act like a mad man most of the time.:xzqxz:

 

[irondad01]

She's a roller.



I got the front tire mounted and on. It's a Continental TKC70. I also cleaned the engine some and put it on. Now that it's hanging on the back I will change the oil and set the valves and a few other things.



I did a little painting on some front end stuff so it can cure while I work on the engine. I'll soon have to get my paint for the body ,tanks ,and fenders.