Hey all! Just joined so I thought I'd make my introduction.
47 y/o disabled family father who used to ride anything on 2 wheels here. A few years back I blew out my spine at work. After surgery and months of therapy, I'm able to get around and enjoy life (instead of working the 60-90 hrs/wk I used to work). One big limiter is that my doc told me I'll never get back up on 2, due to how you have to handle them...the fusion device in my back could pop out. So, after a bit of this and that, I thought about trikes. I've decided that I'm going to build a trike as my get-around.
I've been looking at a lot of them lately, read a lot of reviews, and have come up with an idea, but no solid design yet. My THOUGHT is to use an old 2.2l out of a Chevy S10 with shortened driveshaft and automatic transmission (due to the fact I have almost no feeling or strength in my left leg to hit a clutch pedal), and build a mid-engine trike. I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has on this idea, since it hasn't even hit paper yet. I want to build something with a wide rear stance, but where I won't sit too low, with a nice rake on the front.
As far as abilities, I was trained in Germany and have my journeyman's license as an industrial electrician from there, but spent most of my time designing, building, installing, refurbishing and maintaining heavy, automated equipment. While I may not be the world's greatest welder, I am a First Class Grinder...lol
~SD
47 y/o disabled family father who used to ride anything on 2 wheels here. A few years back I blew out my spine at work. After surgery and months of therapy, I'm able to get around and enjoy life (instead of working the 60-90 hrs/wk I used to work). One big limiter is that my doc told me I'll never get back up on 2, due to how you have to handle them...the fusion device in my back could pop out. So, after a bit of this and that, I thought about trikes. I've decided that I'm going to build a trike as my get-around.
I've been looking at a lot of them lately, read a lot of reviews, and have come up with an idea, but no solid design yet. My THOUGHT is to use an old 2.2l out of a Chevy S10 with shortened driveshaft and automatic transmission (due to the fact I have almost no feeling or strength in my left leg to hit a clutch pedal), and build a mid-engine trike. I'd really appreciate any thoughts anyone has on this idea, since it hasn't even hit paper yet. I want to build something with a wide rear stance, but where I won't sit too low, with a nice rake on the front.
As far as abilities, I was trained in Germany and have my journeyman's license as an industrial electrician from there, but spent most of my time designing, building, installing, refurbishing and maintaining heavy, automated equipment. While I may not be the world's greatest welder, I am a First Class Grinder...lol
~SD
