Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Copyright
2006
Everett Moore
In designing our cars we must, first, con- Olds continued this design into produc-
sider the purpose and exactly where they will tion, while Ford’s Quadricycle was only used
be driven. Unless you are designing a street to prove that a gasoline engine and four
legal, licensed vehicle, your prime purpose wheels could provide a means of transporta-
120
13
16
R cylinder, it changes linear speed while the
crankshaft speed remains constant. The
movement of the piston is the slowest at the
top and bottom of it’s stroke and the fastest
when the crank is at right angles to the cylin-
Fig. 3
der.
our example, the tire OD is 20.5 in. When In the steering mechanism, just the oppo-
going straight, the tread width (with “0” toe site happens. Treating the tie rod as a con-
in) is 46 in., both front and rear. If we meas- stant linear motion, we see how the steering
ure it in the turn,, we see that the tread arm is affected most when at 90o to the spin-
width at the rear measures 44.5 in. while the dle. As it passes 90o in either direction it’s
front measures 47.5 in. rotary motion starts slowing down in refer-
Look at your street car. Turn the wheels ence to the linear motion of the tie rod.
full to the left. Now, look at the wheel config- If we were to build a front axle with the
uration and see an example of this. steering arms at right angles (90o) to the
Remember, we said the kingpins were 40 spindle the previous paragraph would apply,
in. apart. Lets say, for example, that you con- only both front wheels would move the same
structed your front axle to these dimensions. amount.
You might assume the steering arms extend-
This is the configuration shown in Fig. 4.
ing from each front spindle to be at right
While the tie rod moves, both spindles react
angles (90) to the the axles. This would mean
the same. The front wheels, while always
that you, also, made your tie rod 40 in.
remaining parallel to each other, will turn to
This would result in a front axle setup
where the front wheels were always parallel, a different turning radius, resulting in one or
resulting in their centerlines not intersecting the other scooting sideways, resulting in tire
the rear axle centerline at the same point, wear.
when turned as previously done. Refer to With both steering arms positioned
Figure 4 on the next page for an illustration. inward and a left turn is made as in Fig. 3,
What can be done to achieve the front the left wheel will turn a bit sharper than the
wheel configuration as we see in Figure 3? right wheel and thus, maintain the same
46
101° 101°
74
Fig. 5
While I’m sure there’s some Einstein for-
mulas that would give us the angle we need,
13
120 R
16
From the beginning, the Ford Model T Our design is based around a Peerless dif-
had about the simplest and most economical ferential available from Northern Tool. The
steering boxes made. Restorers have almost area where a sprocket would normally go has
depleted the junk yards of this item that was a 4” pitman arm attached. This can be altered
very popular with the home builders of past to a shorter arm if desired. Anyway, here’s a
years. simple 2:1 steering that helps a bit. Try it —
It utilized a planetary gear arrangement, you’ll like it!
located just under the steering wheel, that
provided a reduction. Still a bit “squirrely” to See the illustrations on the next page —
some, it was a far cry better than a straight,
go-kart type, shaft/pitman arm with no
mechanical advantage.
3.00 4.00
Secure to frame
1 3
R DIA
2 8
1
1 R
8 1
9 3
DIA (x2) 2
32 4 (ref)
3
R (x2)
8
3
2
4
Make from 3/16" steel plate
Fig. 1
.156
Fig. 2
Figure 1, above, depicts Pete Burger’s these slow-moving cars. When I built the
neat way of making the camber adjustable on Quadricycle I, at first had “0” caster. The
a typical “homebuilt” front axle. The top of steering was a bit squirrely and didn’t want
the kingpin is supported by a 5/8” ball type to track forward. I adjusted approx 3o posi-
rod end. By adjusting the nuts holding it, the tive caster and it made a world of difference
camber can be fine-tuned as desired. with the car going “hands off” for quite a dis-
All the homebuilts, including my own, tance.
have accepted the camber that resulted in the I added a feature, shown in Figure 2, to
finished axel. With the play in the kingpin Pete’s idea. By making the top mounting hole
and wheel bearings, it’s easy for the front end off 5/32” to the rear of car, we get 3 degrees
to look a bit spraddle legged. positive caster. Try these ideas, you’ll like
There’s a lot of differing opinions as to the them!
need for camber and caster adjustment on
Fig. 1 Fig. 2
tion. 3
4
DIA
The dimensions were measured
from actual hubs and are approxi-
mate.
On the next page, we have pro-
vided a list of Worksman part
numbers and the current prices.
The phone number goes directly to
their order desk, where you can 3 1
order direct with your credit card. 3/16 keyway
4 4
With 3/4 Id Ball bearings - 3.5 wide hub With 3/4 Id Ball Bearings - 3.5 wide hub
Part No. 326A (w/out tire & tube). . $49.33 Part No 329A (w/out tire/tube) . . . $52.34
Part No. 173 3/4 x 1-3/8 replacement Part No. 173 3/4 x 1-3/8 replacement
flange bearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.28 flange bearing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $3.28
_______________ _______________
With 3/4 bore w/3/16 keyway - 3.5 hub With 3/4 Bore w/3/16 keyway - 3.5 hub
Complete with Kevlar tire and PR tube. Complete with Kevlar tire and PR tube.
Kevlar, Diamond Tread, Heavy Duty, Tire Kevlar Diamond Tread Heavy Duty Tire
Heavy Duty Puncture Resistant Tube Heavy Duty Puncture Resistant Tube
Note: Worksman Cycles has been in business for years, manufacturing commercial grade
bicycles for industrial use. The wheels they manufacture are of much higher quality than the
import wheels we have been using. The free-turning wheels are equipped with much better
bearings and have 11 ga (.120 dia) spokes cross laced with adjustable nipples. Their power
driven wheels come equipped with hubs, featuring a 3/4 dia bore with 3/16 keyway.
In addition to the 20 and 26 inch wheels, etc shown on the above list, they have 24 inch
wheels, also, available. Their tires are available in white-wall, however they are not Kevlar
belted.
1
DIA
4
4 Holes,
Equally spaced
Adapting a Worksman hub P/N 326A (20") or P/N 329A (26") to Jimmy Woods' Design.
The above drawing shows the details of an adapter plate to fit a sprocket to wheel. This
arrangement would mount flat sprockets to a Jimmy Woods’ design drive wheel. This
assembly should adapt the Worksman wheel to all existing Woods carriages.
Plain sprockets, made to be welded to sprocket hub can be found at Surplus Center. See
our Links page for a link to their catalog. The No. 40 sprockets come with a 2” dia hole. This
requires the adapter being mounted to wheel with flat head, socket head capscrews.
The new, Dual Drive
Wheel that Worksman is
willing to make for our Spoke holes Worksman Hub - Driven
requirements, in shown in 3
2 Keyed Inserts
DIA
Fig. 2. This has a 3/4 wide 4
insert welded on both
sides. The keyways are
aligned in welding fixture
to assure the key stock will
line up and go all the way
through the hub.
Remember, when using
this hub, we must allow for 3
4
3
4
the spoke protruding 3/16 keyway
5
2 places
approximately 5/32 beyond Fig. 2 3
8
the width of the hub.
I believe that 1-1/2 inch Above, in Fig. 2, we present a cut-away drawing of the new
of keyway exposure in each wheel that Worksman is willing to make for us. This new hub
of two rear wheels should has 2, 3/4 wide inserts giving us 1-1/2 inch total keyway contact
handle the average power which should be sufficient for power transmission to rear
we apply. And for those of wheels. Please note: To get the price given on page 6, they
you who doubt this, on must be ordered in pairs.
11
1 (ref)
16
1 DIA
11
1 DIA (ref)
16
5
3 (ref)
8
Make from Worksman wheels 78SA (26") or 1008A (20") by removing bearing cups.
Weld in keyed insert made from Surplus Center 1" shaft coupling, Item
No. 1-1563-E, by machining OD to match ID of hub (1-11/16 ref) and cutting
length to match width of hub (3-5/8 ref).
Fig. 5, above, is the detail drawing of the around hub as shown. To drill these plug
1 inch dia modification. Fig. 6, next page, holes, a right-angle attachment will be neces-
continues our discussion about modifying sary for your drill to reach through the
hub for a 3/4 inch dia keyway axle. In this spokes. These attachments are a common
illustration, we are showing only one Surplus and inexpensive item at most good hardware
Center coupling. Note how it fails to span the stores.
entire width of the hub. For ease of welding , To use this modified wheel, a spacer or
we recommend 4 plug welds, equally spaced washers can be used to expand the area of the
3/16 keyway
Spokes
3
DIA (ref)
4
3
2 Plug weld (4 plcs)
4
Make from Worksman wheels 326A (20") or 329A (26") by removing bearings.
Weld in keyed insert made from Surplus Center 3/4 shaft coupling, Item
No. 1-1563-C, by machining OD to match ID of hub (1-3/8 ref)
axle not covered by the welded-in coupler. least, serve as inspiration to come up with
There are more variations possible, but your own custom design. If you do, please
we have presented the more basic ideas. send us the details so we can share it with
Hopefully, these will fulfill your needs or, at others.
20 x 2.125 Wheel with bearing cups 26 x 2.125 Wheel with bearing cups
See Fig. 3 for detail. See Fig. 3 for detail.
Without tire, tube & strip Without tire, tube & strip
P/N 1008A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$59.89 P/N 78A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$59.89
_______________ _______________
— More on Steering Geometry — ply mounting the lever arms so they each
by Bob Kapela point exactly to the center of the rear axle (on
our cars, approximately 15 degrees), it would
We have all read various articles about make a dramatic improvement in the steer-
steering geometry on our self-built vehicles. ing. Here is how it works: Due to the geome-
Words like "camber", "toe-in", "caster", and try of the Ackerman setup, when you turn the
lately, the "Ackerman principle". In my opin- wheels to the extreme in either direction, the
ion, because of our (limited) ability to make inside wheel will be turned up to (10) degrees
super precision setups, and the slow (12 to 15 more than the outside wheel. This allows the
mph) speeds of our vehicles, there is only one inside wheel to freely-turn in a smaller circle
principle that we should always use when than the outer one. This greatly reduces the
building our vehicles, and that is the strain on the steering gear, makes the turn
"Ackerman principle", and this is why: (first, easier for the operator, and makes the turns
it is assumed that you have constructed the much smoother. This is a very simple thing to
front axle properly, square and tight, with do when setting up your steering and costs
reamed kingpin bushings so there is no nothing, it is highly recommended.
"slop", etc..)
When you are at the point of attaching the Camber, toe-in, and caster
lever arms to the spindles to make the wheels on vintage vehicles:
turn, it is a natural thought to position the
lever arms straight back, because it "looks "Camber" is where the spindles are "cam-
right". Now, when you have the tie rod bered" in about (2) degrees, that is, the front
attached and turn the wheels, both will turn wheels are closer together at the bottom than
the same amount of degrees. they are the top. The idea of cambering is to
However, when you decide to make a turn, reduce steering effort, as the center of the tire
the inside wheel must travel in a smaller cir- at the ground will more closely intersect an
cle than the outer wheel. If you were turning imaginary-line drawn through the spindle
on snow, ice, or sand, for example, and looked bolt (or kingpin)-
back at the tracks after you turned, you
would see that the tracks were not "undis- "Toe-in" is used to offset the wearing action
turbed". One or both wheels skidded or of the camber on the tires. The tires are setup
dragged a bit through the turn. If you were to be slightly closer together at the front than
on blacktop or concrete, the tires may squeal at the rear.The term "gather" is sometimes
a little, or you can notice that one or both used instead of toe-in.
tires are being "pulled" away from the rim
during the turn. About one hundred years "Caster" is where the king pin (spindle bolt)
ago, an early automotive engineer named is setup with the bottom inclined-slightly for-
Ackerman (among others) found that by sim- ward. A straight line drawn through this will
2.000 .500 R
.900
.325
15 degrees
— How to improve an existing Azusa 11/16. Drill this out to .750 dia. x 3/4 deep at
go-kart steering spindle — each end. Into this hole, press a bronze bear-
ing 5/8 x 3/4 x 3/4 long at each end. This will
In the last issue I promised to address the be a snug fit with our new kingpin.
“sloppy” spindle that a lot of us are using. We This would be a good time to add a grease
learned how to make an alteration to add the zerk fitting. So, drill and tap a 1/4 - 28 hole
Ackerman Angle to the steering arm. Now through the side of the spindle tube, about
let’s try to take out some of the slop in the 1/2 way between the new bushings. Now, you
kingpin. can lubricate the kingpin.
As Bob Kapela stated, the body of most If you’re using the Northern garden cart
Cat 5 bolts will mike a minimum of .006 wheels on your spindles, there’s so much slop
undersize. This, added to the misearable lit- in the bearings, coupled with the undersized
tle nylon bushings, is horrible. spindle, there’s not much we can do here.
You can replace the 5/8” kingpin bolts But, at least, the kingpin is tightened up.
with a shoulder bolt of correct length.
The existing spindle tube is drilled at — Everett Moore
24.00
90°
90° 30°
22.00 22.00
33°
27°
22.00 22.00
6.00 15°
15°
3.10
— BRAKES —
from Art Chevalier
The photo above shows Arts first design We’re getting photos from others who are,
on his front wheel brakes. also, adding front wheel brakes. They will
be featured in latert issues.
For his disc brakes, Art used salvage
brakes from salvage Cessna aircraft.
How we get “Standards” were all alike in the matter of wheel spacing.
The United States standard railroad gauge of
Does the expression, "We've always done it 4 feet, 8.5 inches is derived from the original
that way" ring any bells? The US standard specifications for an Imperial Roman war
railroad gauge (distance between the rails) is chariot. And bureaucracies live forever.
4 feet 8.5 inches. That is an exceedingly odd
number. So the next time you are handed a specifica-
tion and wonder what horse's ass came up
Why was that gauge used? Because that's the with it, you may be exactly right, because the
way they built them in England, and English Imperial Roman war chariots were made just
expatriates built the original US Railroads. wide enough to accommodate the back ends
of two war horses. Now the twist to the
Why did the English build them like that? story...
Because the first rail lines were built by the
same people who built the pre-railroad There's an interesting extension to the story
tramways, and that's the gauge they used. about railroad gauges and horses' behinds.
Why did "they" use that gauge then? Because When we see a Space Shuttle sitting on its
the people who built the tramways used the launch pad, there are two big booster rockets
same jigs and tools that they used for build- attached to the sides of the main fuel tank.
ing wagons, which used that wheel spacing. These are solid rocket boosters, or SRBs. The
SRBs are made by Thiokolat at their factory
So.....Why did the wagons have that particu- at Utah. The engineers who designed the
lar odd wheel spacing? Well, if they tried to SRBs might have preferred to make them a
use any other spacing, the wagon wheels bit fatter, but the SRBs had to be shipped by
would break on some of the old, long distance train from the factory to the launch site. The
roads in England, because that's the spacing railroad line from the factory happens to run
of the wheel ruts. through a tunnel in the mountains. The SRBs
had to fit through that tunnel. The tunnel is
So who built those old rutted roads? Imperial slightly wider than the railroad track, and
Rome built the first long distance roads in the railroad track is about as wide as two
Europe (and England) for their legions. The horses' behinds.
roads have been used ever since.
So, a major Space Shuttle design feature of
Roman war chariots formed the initial ruts, what is arguably the world's most advanced
which everyone else had to match for fear of transportation system was determined over
destroying their wagon wheels. Since the two thousand years ago by the width of a
chariots were made for Imperial Rome, they horse's ass.
Issue No. 50 Engine and Wheels Page 39
— Front Wheel Brakes —
Chain drives, properly-sized and installed, maintenance engineer at Ford, I could get a
are a very reliable and inexpensive way to $50,000.00 project approved for a new con-
operate a power transmission system. Setup veyor chain installation, based on a the meas-
your drive correctly, maintain it, and enjoy urements of a couple of 10 link sections of
the rewards of trouble-free operation for your chain alone. That is how reliable and recog-
efforts. nized this test is. To further explain this, for
example, your size #40 chain has 1/2" (.500")
(For effect, I will describe some extreme pitch. The chain, usually, wears faster than
situations, found in industrial operations, the sprocket teeth, which remain at proper
that operate mostly non-stop, for extended .500" pitch longer, unless the sprockets are
periods.) very soft. As chain-wear progresses, it's true
pitch distorts , measured across several links
You should only have to readjust your from .500" to .505", then .510", etc..There
chains once per year or season. If you find comes a point when you cannot properly
that your chains need adjusting frequently, adjust the chain to make up for this wear. As
this is something you cannot afford to ignore. you tighten the chain, it will start to climb up
It could mean that your drive is under-engi- on the sprocket teeth. Replace long before
neered and needs upsizing from size #35 or this.
#41 to size #40 or larger. If you are already at
size #40, and still have problems, you have to Other factors that accelerate chain wear
do additional troubleshooting to see what is include: combinations of a very heavy
causing the problem. Where did you get the machine or one that has more than normal
chain? If it is very inexpensive chain from resistance to rolling (this would usually cause
some hard to pronounce country, this could be engine overheating), a machine carrying a
the problem. "Made in America" still means heavy load, pulling a trailer, extended opera-
something; use high quality, name brand tion in sand or soft ground, machine is over-
chain. Is the chain dry and shiny and does it powered, or engine not running smoothly.
kind of "snap" around the sprockets? This
indicates that the chain is dry and needs Again, avoid half or "offset links", remem-
lubrication. The proper way to relubricate a ber that a chain is only as strong as it's weak-
chain is to remove it and soak it in medium est link.
weight oil overnight. When re-installed, how-
ever, centrifigul force may throw some oil on Chain takeups or tensioners are meant to
your driveway and the underside of the keep tension on the slack side of chains only
machine.When you have the chain off, hold it beween periodical mechanical adjustments.
in your hands and see if there is significant They are nice, but not a cure-all and certain-
slop between each individual link. This will ly not meant to compensate for unlimited
indicate the amount of wear. Lay the chain chain wear and stretch.
down full length and count the number of
links. Then, compare the extended length of Check your sprockets. In industrial use,
the chain section with a brand new section Engineers commonly specify sprockets with
with the same number of links. The extra hardened teeth. They resist wear and main-
length of the old chain will soon tell you tain proper profile for much longer than plain
if/when it is time to re-chain. When I was a spockets (double this life). They are readily
Everyone that builds a vintage-type repli- and tight? Is the brake linkage reliable? Is
ca, like ours, is proud of the accomplishment. refueling convenient? The list goes on and on.
No matter if you followed purchased plans I wish we had standardized-guidelines that
exactly, modified them to fit your needs or we could all follow, maybe that will come
used your own ideas from start to finish; you sometime.
should keep in mind that a "robust", good
looking machine being your goal, you should There is one law of nature with which I
also stay within certain guidelines, to ensure think we are flirting and that is the law of
that the history of your machine is always a gravity, in our application, it is the center of
pleasant one. gravity and inertia. I am not a physicist, but
my imagination goes to work if I see a narrow
There are a lot of building parameters for track machine, with a seat high above the
which to be aware and designers that present engine, and (to fit two adults more comfort-
plans should use these parameters. They ably) the seat widened beyond the vehicle's
include, but are not limited to, wheel tread design. A person, alone, operating a machine
(width), seat width, seat height, maximum like this, sitting close to the outside, clipping
steering angles, maximum-operating speed, along at a good pace, suddenly turning
brake arrangements, etc. These parameters sharply, has inertia that wants to keep going
help to assure that we build a safe vehicle, forward. Just be aware of this and build
but there are many more where we simply accordingly.
have to use our good judgment: How good is
our speed control (throttle) setup?, Does it I am building my third machine at this
have a positive-return to idle? Is there a "kill" time, and am implementing improvements
switch, easy to access? Is there an fire that are not on the second one, and, certainly
extingisher on board? Is the steering smooth not, on the first one. I, frequently, refer to the
1.000
.600
1.625 Dia
1.000 DIA 7
1 (ref)
1/4 std keyway 16
Driving Insert
Make from Surplus Center X1B Hub, Item No. 2343
A
.80
Outer Pilot Ring
Hub
Driving Insert
Section A-A
After assembly of driving insert and hub,
A line drill 4 - .250 Dia holes as shown.
Press in 4 - 3/4 lg Roll Pins flush with inner diameter.
A Hub
Grease Seal
Above is an assembled wheel, cut-away at They come in kits, which include 2 wheel
the spokes. You will note the conical shaped setups plus the master cylinder assembly,
disk that clamps the spokes firmly to the hub which even includes the brake pedal!
with 8 - 5/16 bolts. The results in a wheel that
would match most originals for strength. More about hydraulic brakes in a future E
& W newsletter.
2. The entire wheel including shrinking and I realize that we have moved up and
fastening the rim is approx $110.00 beyond the garden cart wheel beginner’s car-
riages and are talking about a carriage that
3. The tire, tube and rim strip should run
could cost over $2,000 to build. But compared
under $50.00 each.
to other hobbies, we’re still in the economic
This gives us a total of $214.00 per wheel
ballpark if you consider what some people
ready to mount onto your carriage.
spend on golf, hunting, fishing, boating, ham
radio, photography, flying RC and real air-
We did not factor in the shipping cost
planes, etc. My problem is I like to do all the
which will vary depending upon where you
above on a Tiddly-Wink budget!
live. The biggest shipping is the UPS from
Witmers, located in Pennsylvania.
I hope you agree that the wait for this
issue has been worth it.
Another expense not factored in is the
machined-adapters for the driving wheels.
This will depend on whether you machine
your own, have a friend do them for you or go
Any questions? Please email me.
the expensive route at a machine shop at
Everett Moore evmoore80@msn.com
$50.00/ hour.
The above drawing depicts a “tool” I made to surface. I, also, have used it to change front
mount my tires to the rim. Since I have a tires on a riding lawnmower and mount tires
140# anvil, I simply designed it to fit the on bicycle type wheels. This handy little tool
hardie hole (square). Otherwise, a flange works so well I only wish I had made one
could be welded to mount to some other solid years ago!
Issue No. 50 Engine and Wheels Page 52
— Extended Hub Caps to Fit Witmer Hubs —
2.0
1.5 2.0
1.750 x 18 Thd
The drawing above depicts an extended holes to accept a spanner wrench for ease of
hub cap necessary to clear the rear axle. installing and removing hubcaps.
Besides, they look more correct than the flat
If you use a different rear axle arrange-
brass hubcaps made for buggys.
ment, it might not extend far enough not to
These are machined from a piece of 2” dia use the regular brass hubcaps available from
brass stock. For simplicity, we use two blind Witmers.
— Getting Started —
by Bob Kapela
Do you want to build and enjoy a replicar? make a note of certain articles for future ref-
Maybe you have read all of Everett's publica- erence, and keep it handy. Experts tell us
tions and have followed the group's progress that we do not retain a real high percentage
through the E-mail messages, etc., and of what we read, and time dilutes that even
maybe you have even obtained plans, but just more. There is valuable information available
haven't "broken ground". If it is any consola- in the publications, with many good articles
tion to you, be assured that many others, and photos of machines, completed, and in
including this writer have had initial reser- various stages of construction. Sit down
vations before putting the first two pieces of beforehand and make a written plan, stating
steel together. After "breaking the ice," your goals in building your replicar. State
though, it starts to get more interesting and what kind of machine you want to build, how
you will find that building your replicar you are going to power it, and the general lay-
starts to stimulate your thought processes to out. This can guide you to a good start and
the point that you can't wait to get back out you can refer to the plan throughout con-
in the shop and make some more progress, struction. Most small businesses, and all
everyday. large corporations have written plans of
Do it right. Even if you have read every action and goals. If this group were to some-
issue of "Engine and Wheels", do it again, day organize and form a club, we would have
— "Provenance" - "Place of origin" — small group of people that build replica cars.
Bob Kapela Who can foresee the future? What if this
changes if the right conditions happen? We
Watching "Antiques Road Show" a few could organize into a national club, become
days ago, my interest picked up when I charter members of it, publish a monthly
noticed a pattern in the expert appraiser's magazine. Who knows?
valuation of an item if it had "provenance". My point is: include provenance as part of
An example would be a Civil War pistol; by your vehicle's history. Get a nice heavy duty
itself it may be valued at, say, $2000.00. With folder from one of the office supply places.
provenance, like an included diary or photo of Put any pictures you took during construc-
the original owner, together with the person's tion or plans you used to build the machine
or military unit's history, the value placed on inside the folder. If you were in a parade(s)
the item may double. and there was a picture of you and your vehi-
How does this apply to us? We are still a cle in a local publication, put it in. Above all,
A quick fix is to add more weight to the If your engine is driving a hydrostatic
shaft. Use a double groove pulley for extra transmission, you may not experience as
weight. If shaft length permits, add a chain much trouble, since the belt and driven-pul-
sprocket in addition to the pulley. With a ley is adding to flywheel weight.
sprocket of about 6 inches diameter, it should
Gerry Williams is at
the tiller while yours
truly hitches a ride. I
have so many grand
kids in the area that
want to drive
Grandpa’s cars, that I
had to thumb a ride!
— Amish Buggy Brakes — about this and learned that, yes, the Old
Order Amish, who use steel tires on their
At the present time several builders are buggy wheels, do place the hydraulic brakes
concentrating on the use of hydraulic brakes on the front wheels. The reason being that
on our replica carriages. Bob Kapela and I the weight transfer lessens the ground con-
are using the brake kit intended for use on tact on the rear wheels and they simply slide
Amish buggies. They are high quality and as sleigh runners.
relatively inexpensive, with the additional However, on buggies used by the
feature of fitting the wood spoke wheels men- “English” and others, equipped with rubber
tioned earlier in this issue. tires, the brakes go on the rear wheels. With
In my study of these brakes, I was sur- rubber tires, the front wheels would transfer
prised to see a lot of Amish buggies have the too much braking torque to the front axle and
drums installed on the front axle, as opposed possibly damage the fifth wheel, where the
to the rear. Some of you who live where the axle pivots to steer.
Amish are prevalent or who have seen the It is interesting where we “rocket scien-
Harrison Ford movie, “Witness,” may have, tist” have to go to learn what’s really happen-
also, noticed the placement of brakes. ing!
In a recent conversation with Eldon This is something to consider for those
Witmer, at the Witmer Coach Shop, I asked who plan to add brakes to the front axle.
Right
Right Tail light
Head Alternator Stop light
Lamp
Light SW
Fuse
Engine
Starter
Starter Solenoid Fuse
Stop Light SW
To Mag.
Spare Fused Circuit
Horn Fuse
S
M B
+ -
A
Horn SW Battery
Ignition SW Left
Left Tail light
Head Stop light
Lamp
Wiring Schematic
So modified, the hub would now fit onto a used, machine a dummy outer bearing as
go-kart type rear axle, where the outer 2 depicted in the drawing above. This elimi-
inches are machined to .750 and threaded. nates the tight machining required by the
These axles provide a least expensive way to pilot ring.
make rear axles. (Caution: Don’t use one from
Northern as they are imported, poorly made Without words, the assembly drawing
and then painted, making them oversized. below shows the dummy bearing in place.
Use an Azusa axle, available from
Manufacturer’s Supply) What you’re seeing here is from future
plans that will incorparate an enclosed rear
We feel an improvement is presented on axle, complete with hydraulic brakes.
this page. Simply, leave the outer race intact
and in place of the outer pilot ring previously At some stage of building a replica horse-
Fig. 1
their being dimmed, however, sufficient to switch is a motorcycle shop that carries a lot
function as tail lamps. of aftermarket products. They will, usually,
have an inexpensive switch, designed for
When the brakes are applied, a SPST motorcycle operation.
switch is closed. This shunts out the 4 ohm
resistor and delivers the full 12 volts to the
tail lamps, making them brighter.
Advanced Wiring
Techinques
for Replica 0.450 ø
0.220
Antique Cars
5.59
11.43
1.670
42.42
TURN SIG
HEAD LAMP RY 1 KILL ENG TAIL LAMP
ALT
TURN
SIG SW I A START
TURN SIG SW
S
HORN R
FLASHER B
AM
TURN SIG START
HORN SWITCH SOL'D
FUSES
LIGHT SWITCH TURN SIG
HEAD LAMP TAIL LAMP
BATTERY
Fig 1
4 Ohm
Fig 3 Fig 4
A
Refering back to Fig 1, you will notice
that all ground connections are depicted a tri- I
angle symbol. In an all metal body car, most R
of these connections could be made to the
S
body itself. However, many of our carriages
Proper eye protection has to be our num- A magnetic switch, outwardly, operates
ber one concern. We can still function with the same with one exception: it has an elec-
nine fingers, but without our eyes, it’s white tro-magnet that is energized, when the
cane time. Eye shields and goggles are rela- switch it turned to ON. The switch contacts
tively inexpensive — get plenty and have are held closed until you turn the switch off
them at each work station, readily available. or — loss of electric power de-energizes the
magnet, thus breaking the contacts. This
Besides having eye protection, getting switch will remain OFF — until you purpose-
into the habit of using them must be devel- ly turn it on again.
oped. We are, usually, enthused about what
were doing and it’s easy to be concentrating Second to a magnetic switch, use self-dis-
on the job at hand so hard that we start mak- cipline and always unplug your saw when
917 Roper / AYP Later, you find that you can get it running
with a minimum of expense for a new fuel fil-
143 Tecumseh ter, spark plug(s) and replacing the kill wire,
as the old wire had a worn spot in the insula-
358 Poulan / Weed Eater tion, allowing it to contact the tractor frame.
You have a smile from ear to ear. So does the
200 Tecumseh Two-Cycle guy you bought it from. With his $20 he has
stocked the fridge with his favorite brew and
Sears carries a large amount of repair his wife is now happy!
parts and, if you have the model number, you
can go on line and look at assembly drawings Well, in real life, things don't always go
and order needed parts. They are not always that good. However, the point being made is
cheap, but at least they have some of them. to never pay more than you can recover, if you
bring home a pile of junk.
You'll find riding lawn tractors in one of
two conditions: 1) It will run, can be started Now, if you’re looking at a push mower
Engines removed from push type mowers I first learned of the flywheel/starting
or even new engines designed as a replace- problem from corresponding with a builder
ment engine for these mowers all have the who was using a Tecumseh engine. From
blade coupled to the vertical engine shaft, other input, it seems they lead the list in cost
with an adapter and cap screw into the end of cutting measures to be able to compete. I
the crankshaft. The attached blade acts as an realize that many of you are using Tecumseh
added flywheel on the engine. Remember the and I hate to bad mouth your choice of
model airplane engine you had (or may still engines. If this case, I have no first hand
have). You didn't dream of starting it without experience with this brand engine and am
the propeller attached. The propeller acted as merely reporting information that I have
a flywheel. If you put this engine in a model received from others.
boat, a small flywheel had to be added.
I consider Kohler the Cadillac of small
Some engine manufacturers, in order to engines. You'll even find hydraulic valve
make their engines cheaper, have lightened lifters on them. Couple this with solid state
up the flywheel and use the presence of the ignition timing and about all the servicing
rotary blade to complete the flywheel require- necessary is the normal — check the spark
ment. Now, when we replace the blade with a plug(s), air cleaner and oil. No point or valve
small V pulley, we are not adding much "fly- lifter adjustment required!
wheel." To compensate, always use a cast iron One more thing before I close this article
pulley and, if the length of the shaft permits, —Alternator output — on engines thus
add something in addition to the flywheel, equipped, you'll find 3 amp; 10 amp and 15 or
such as a larger cast iron pulley (unused) or more amp alternators. When judging a used
even a large brake disc - anything to add "fly- lawn tractor, look to see if it has an electric
wheel." clutch to stop the cutting blade. Since this
requires more current to keep the clutch
This is a good place to discuss brands of engaged, it is common to find the engine,
engines. Today, we are blessed with a huge also, has a higher output alternator.
selection of engines from which to choose.
From my own, personal, feelings generated There's more that could be written on this
from experience and input from other such as subject. However, with these few bits of wis-
this recent email: dom, I think I save more for later.
3
totally collapsed and allowed the rear axle to
dig into the pavement, would the carriage 4
have remained upright, skidding sideways to
mph is satisfactory.
a stop?
I, personally, think it’s time to rethink our
A bicycle-type, spoked wheel is designed
sense of values, when it comes to using the
to take a great radial (perpendicular to axle)
Northern garden cart type wheels. Yes, the
load. When a bicycle or motorcycle turns, it is
Worksman wheels cost more, but not nearly
leaned into the turn, proportional to radius of
as much as a trip to the emergency room at a
the turn. This allows the load on the wheel to
hospital! I would give odds that had James
remain radial, with little side load. However,
used Worksman wheels, the spokes would not
when the same wheel is placed on a 4 wheel
have pulled from the rim. Their stronger rims
vehicle, there is no leaning, when steering;
might not have folded-up either.
therefore placing a side load on the wheel.
Would this have prevented a roll-over?
When the speed of the vehicle is kept rea-
Possibly, and certainly not, by the rear axle
sonable, the side load will seldom exceed the
digging into the pavement! Our carriages,
strength of the wheel. However, when speed
like the originals we copy, all have an exces-
is increased, the side force on the wheel
sively-high centers of gravity. This, coupled
increases on a non-linearer curve. This is
with a relatively narrow tread width, gives
why the leading designers in our hobby are
the perfect formula for a roll-over, when turn-
constantly preaching against building “fast”
ing at excessive speeds.
carriages. We all agree that a maximum of 12
— Yes —
Women
May Have
Influenced
Today’s
Automotive
Design ! !
Men’s Shirts
http://www.premierclothing.com/Menswear.html
http://www.tstitches.com/store/TSM-715.htm