Car conversion to 3 wheels

[Ryland]

With tandem seating you don't have to move the driver that far towards the center if you have the rear passenger sitting more in the center line, this would give the passenger more leg room without making the car much longer but it would cut the frontal area down quite a bit.

Either way, I like the idea of using the factory doors because doors are a pain to build, you can of course chop and pull the rear of the doors in a bit if you want, but you also need to look at what the ideal taper is.
I also like the idea of making the body out of bass wood or spruce and cover it with fiber glass, it's a really strong way to make a structure and easy to work with because you can cut and glue the wood to the ideal shape before the fiber glass cloth goes on.

[MTrenk]

Eric, you're thinking more like an engineer than you give yourself credit for
-> Considering your market
-> Ease of construction (for time, design, feasibility, and monetary reasons)
-> Keeping cost down and price reasonable a DIY project moneymaking potential

As far as safety goes, pretty much all passenger vehicles from the past 40 odd years are designed to understeer, so that when a driver makes a mistake, it is likely that the car will end up hitting something head on, fully utilizing the crush zone. Front end collisions are safer than any other because car companies have designed their cars to work in this way. This is a response to America's complete lack of required driver training.

Food for thought:

The VW


The Morgan



The Aptera


I approve of all of these designs, and read all of the articles about them as soon as they came out. :P

[master_of_disaster]

Nice pics Max!
I really like the VW one. Got my heart pumping.
I am actually suprised that I have not seen any pic out there in the 'net' that is close to what I'm envisioning.
I have not seen one chopped off front end of a car with the back converted to one wheel.
Surely somebody has done it before but maybe hasn't posted it in the internet (?).
Now the problem is the inertia of starting a big project.
Money is not a problem (yet), the tools are there, the garage is clear and ready, next step is to buy a running clunker.
Eric

[master_of_disaster]

Originally Posted by Ryland

With tandem seating you don't have to move the driver that far towards the center if you have the rear passenger sitting more in the center line, this would give the passenger more leg room without making the car much longer but it would cut the frontal area down quite a bit.

Either way, I like the idea of using the factory doors because doors are a pain to build, you can of course chop and pull the rear of the doors in a bit if you want, but you also need to look at what the ideal taper is.
I also like the idea of making the body out of bass wood or spruce and cover it with fiber glass, it's a really strong way to make a structure and easy to work with because you can cut and glue the wood to the ideal shape before the fiber glass cloth goes on.

Not bad ideas, Ryland.
I'm not planning to use the donor car doors, though, since they are pretty heavy.
I'm trying to go really light and roll cage or fiberglass are good options for the rear body.
Roll cage for me seems safer, but, unless covered with something, makes the passenger exposed to the elements. The fiberglass option will let you do an enclosed passenger body, though, not as crash proof as roll cage.
Decisions..decisions...

[MTrenk]

Fiberglass will not protect you enough. Rollcage will if you know how to build one. =P
A carbon fiber rear end would protect you enough. #expensivebutworthit

[Frank Lee]

Fiberglass won't protect him from what?

Seems to work for Corvettes... without roll cages even.

[MTrenk]

Fiberglass won't protect him from any sort of accident at highway speeds.

[Frank Lee]

He better get a Yuckon then.

[MTrenk]

There needs to be some sort of structure equivalent to a metal frame. What are safe racecars build out of? Metal and Carbon Fiber.
However, he could be well off with a minimal metal frame, and composite shell.
From my experience, the most effective type of frame is a hybrid of composite monocoque, and metal structure. By replacing bracing (diagonal tubes) with composite panels of equal or greater strength (carbon fiber), you actually achieve a stiffer, stronger frame than either straight metal or straight composite.

[freebeard]

food for thought:

The Blackjack ZERO


XR3 Hybrid Personal Transit Vehicle: A 125 mpg Plug-In Hybrid Three Wheeler You Build From Plans


protective monocoque:
AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 1

AutoSpeed - Building an Ultra Light-Weight Car, Part 2