BS Red Tape! My latest dream car may stay 1:18 Scale

[evolutionmovement]

WARNING: STRANGE CONTENT AND BORING RANT

If I didn't feel at here and Rome only, I'd move. MA is such a PITA. I spent 45 mins with the RMV trying to figure out if the three-wheeler I designed could be classified as a motorcycle since I can't pass as a car (windshield needs to be safety glass and I can't get safety glass for a Cessna 150). Nobody knows what the damn rules are, but once I build it I have to bring it to a guy to asses the roadworthiness and to get it classified. In some states this would be a motorcycle classified vehicle with a helmet law and motorcycle licensed driver exemption - perfect for me - but not here. So I'm building a 1:18 scale model of the thing so I can show someone before I start building.

Originally I wanted to build a car with styling loosely based on a P-51, but that would entail more than my lack of experience was willing to take on, so I changed it. Now it's a Cessna 150 fuselage with a mostly Miata front end (wheels sticking out like a Formula car) and a Honda Goldwing drivetrain/rear end. Once it's registered I can do what I want to it. Mostly. However, building it without glass and trying to convince the guy that a closed roof vehicle isn't going to have glass isn't probably going to fly (bad pun intended). Short of cutting off the roof and trying to put it back on after (uh, yeah sure) I may have to find someone to register it in a more libertarian-minded state under their name, then sell it back to me so I can register it here as a custom motorcycle. I'll have to transport it both ways, pay their excise tax, fees, plus my own when I register it, plus sales tax. Saving money on gas was never so expensive. The things I like about the Cessna (other than aluminum monocoque that I'll reinforce) is the big, flat dash with tons of possibilities and all the space behind it to figure out HVAC and all that plus that the seats are side by side instead of tandem like my original idea.

I'll post pictures when I finally finish this model. Right now, I have the body mostly mocked up (wood filler over foam insulation) and I need to figure out what to do with the wheels as the ones I have from another old model, I don't like. I might have to make them myself. I have to say, though, all the research and building this model is kind of fun. Now if I could just stop dreaming of driving this thing around until I find out if there's some way I can weasel a motorcycle registration I'll be all set.

[206er]

why would you go with a miata front end? use something double wishbone. struts on the front of a vehicle like that isnt going to be as clean or easy to set up, or handle as well.
you could for sure get it titled in NV, there are a few northeast states that have some pretty lax laws, you might try looking up their vehicle laws a little bit. not sure if theyll have them online or not.

thought you might like this thing...
http://www.jockeyjournal.com/forum/show ... ght=morgan

[evolutionmovement]

I need the cheap spindles and and manual rack. I am making my own wishbones if they can be legal. No production wishbones I've seen on an enveloped body would be clean or long enough and Caterham/Birkin/Whatevers are expensive. I wanted to do pushrod actuted coil overs inside the bodywork, but I think it might interfere with the front subframe and headlight turning rods coming off the steering column (so the inside headlight rotates in a turn past a given steering wheel angle - 15 degrees, for example) so the outside coilovers that won't be terribly clean either, but I have a budget and I'd rather be able to allocate for the details that make it look and feel like it wasn't built in a shed by a mechanic. This is to be a practical nearly-daily driver and I'm completely rethinking how cars are built (some of that out of necessity, but it will have some really unique features). At a later date, I may be able to convert it to pushrod coil overs in the front anyway, but I can live with it if I don't.

I'm really hoping I can register it as a motorcycle and avoid the hassle of having someone else register it for me out of state and 'selling' it back to me as a custom motorcycle. I need to finish the model so I can show these inspectors to give them an idea what they'll be dealing with. Telling them it's an old Cessna fuselage with a Goldwing drivetrain and car front end probably won't help me in any way other than calling my sanity further into question and getting me flagged by Homeland Security or something. The only things I can't accomodate for car registration are the glass windshield (and rear windows if I need them glass) and meeting car emissions (since it's a motorcycle engine). No one could tell me what standards I would have to meet other than date of engine manufacture, but this might not be a problem as people can register new street rods and not meet the new emissions. None of that matters if I need a glass windshield since it's just not practically possible. The plastic windshield would beat every DOT windshield requirement easily, save for long-term UV exposure, but I don't care if I have to replace it every few years. My glass windshields need to be replaced with that frequency anyway due to sandblasting and rocks from trucks. And this windshield I could make myself. Probably.

That boattail's awesome! Like a sport-back Morgan Trike. That's closer to the thing I'd build if I didn't live in a place with so much rain and cold.

[206er]

hmm what do the VW trikes get registered as?
the aircooled dub would work for a powerplant if you wanted to go fwd, flip the ring gear around and have the engine out in front. 911 style cooling fan exposed behind where the nosecone of the cessna went would be cool as shit. there's your solution to reverse gear as well with an automotive trans. you'd just have to grab the knuckles off a subaru, something fwd, or even a 4x4 IFS truck, most of those are double wishbone already and have cool looking fabbed tubular control arms available from the aftermarket. your track width might get a little too big though but custom control arms and axles could solve that. 4x4 quad front suspension would be sweet as well. also going fwd would open up a lot of space in the cockpit and greatly simplify the rear suspension.

you'll probably want to get into learning TIG welding if you havent already, and start amassing fabrication tools. TIG, tube notcher, bender, chopsaw, belt sander, bandsaw, etc etc. there's a lot of pretty serious fabrication involved with a project like that.

[evolutionmovement]

VW trikes are motorcycles. The problem I have is that I have a closed cabin, doors, car controls, and side by side seating which works against me classifying it as motorcycle. They also said something about 1.8 being too big for a motorcycle (!) even though I told them it's a Honda Goldwing motorcycle. I'm not sure they knew what they were talking about since they also asked me if it was under 50cc (!). Yeah, I'm going to power an 1100-1300 lb vehicle with a moped engine.

The engine would have to rotate backwards and I'd use a Subaru instead. I do have that soare turbo motor. I don't know if you can just get a reverse starter for a VW to get it to counter rotate. I know some engines have issues with offset wrist pins. Actually, the VW motor would be able to be front mid engine and I could add ducting to the replacement cowling for cooling. But I also wanted something water cooled as a heater/defroster that works is absolutely necessary. I thought of the quad suspension, but I don't know about dealing with the weight and I doubt it will be big enough either. The front is going to be pretty wide both for handling and visual balance (I may or may not add a small vertical tail fin off the center of the cockpit to the rear for visual balance, to add a third brake light, and an intake for the engine air).

2+1 trikes understeer much more than a 4 wheeler (though they tend to hold higher g's, they're less balanced) so fwd is a definite no. I've thought of 3wd, but that's just too damn much complication. I miss rwd and and one of the reasons I'm building this is for steering feel, so manual rack and no drive to the steering wheels. My original idea entailed a smaller vehicle powered by an S2000 drivetrain in the front running out to the rear wheel. I wouldn't live through the first week.

I have a good amount of tools, though I need a better drill press and a band saw, plus I have a friend who restores old sports cars who has a ton of stuff. I'm going to have someone else do the welding. I don't want to experiment on this and I want it done in aluminum for weight and corrosion (electrolytic and otherwise) issues. I also have an uncle who welds exotic metals for a defense contractor, so I'll rely on the experts. The better these welds look to the inspector dude, the less hard he's going to be on me in general. However, I may use steel for the front suspension as the difference should be less than 20 lbs and the strength and simplicity will make it worth it. Plus I plan on bolting the whole thing (think tubing like in a Maserati Birdcage or even the original plane's engine cradle) to the front bulkhead where I can keep an eye on and fix any possible corrosion between the two metals.

There will be little to no overhang on the front (the front of the tires will be about even with the tip of the vehicle's nose) and very little in the rear (the tail will end at a taper past the partially-covered rear wheel). The front bodywork will be about the same size and of similar shape to the original cowling, but reshaped to be lower and more pointed at the front. No grille for better aero. The radiators for the engine will be fed through double NACA ducts (something like a Countach's side duct, but with double feed holes) on the side behind the doors.

The cabin itself will have plenty of room. I may be able to fit a third jump seat sideways in back depending on how much I need to pull the engine in since the Goldwing has a long damn wheelbase. At the least, I'll have more luggage space than my Mazda with the seats up - plenty of room for cross country luggage. At least, that's so far without any actual fuselage or bike to play with.

The simple interior cage I need to see about getting done in alloy (I'm not trusting the airframe to completely handle all these new stresses alone). The fabrication I'll do will be mostly hand forming and riveting skin, leather and alcantara upholstering, wiring, and plastic work for the flush sliding side windows, gauges, and light housings. The only thing that's a complete mystery is actually attaching the bike as I really need to get the two deals together to begin to have a clue. This part really bothers me as at least I can get an idea of what I'm looking at for the rest of it to a degree that I'm comfortable tackling, but the biggest part I only have a vague idea on.

I plan on having to adapt my plans as I go, but I have seen some similar projects (including a Goldwing rear-ended one) and that makes me optimistic. Who knows, maybe I'lll find the finished model is hideous and I'll ditch the whole idea before I have to even worry about the windshield.

[206er]

the thing with the VW is that you can flip the ring gear on the diff, causing it to spin the wheels the other way. the engine spins as normally, but everything after the pinion gear is spinning backwards from stock. its done so you can turn the whole drivetrain around to run as a mid engine setup. this is commonly done in kit cars, formula vee, and any mid engine application really. you could also set it up as fwd in theory.

[evolutionmovement]

Interesting. Too bad more engines didn't do that so easily.