Urba Centurion #4

[ME_Andy]

Have caution with the waterless coolant. I was curious until reading this:No-Rosion Products Technical Questions and Answers

[GreenHornet]

Originally Posted by changzuki

Nice job on the visual of your future build GreenHornet.
You've mentioned it elsewhere, but the sky is the limit when working with fiberglass over foam. And it is, wonderfully, light-weight!
-
~CrazyJerry

Thanks CJ I was surprised actually how well balanced the car looks by extending out the rear. Before I started modifying the original Centurion sketch I thought it might look awkward with a longer tail. The best part about sketching things out it only costs me time.

When I first got the car back to Oregon a few ecomodders mentioned fabricating a boat tail for it. At that time I definitely considered the possibility of extending the back a little because I wanted to rework the rear hatch anyways. After sketching it up it now seems like a no brainier. Looking at the side profile I kind of get the XL1 esque vibe
The best part of this exercise is its all doable with basic tools due to the ease of working with foam and fiberglass. Anything is possible with these cars with a little money and a lot of time

[GreenHornet]

Something I just learned today and a little bit of a bummer is the Oregon headlights height law which states that they need to be between 22 and 54" from road height.

Here is the link found under the section What are legal bumper heights? = https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/docs/...ndoutcolor.pdf

So customizing the front bumper area with headlights is a no go since they would sit to low to the road surface. I am going to have to find a better solution that is road legal and still enables me to eliminate the flip up lights.

Back to the drawing board once again literally lol

[skyking]

make some really powerful aimed "fog lamps" that supplement the flip ups. Do most of your driving by day using those "fog lamps" . Problem mostly solved.

[GreenHornet]

Originally Posted by skyking

make some really powerful aimed "fog lamps" that supplement the flip ups. Do most of your driving by day using those "fog lamps" . Problem mostly solved.

Ya I was just looking at some LED bars that actually have hi and low beams. This may solve the problem. They are pretty thin and I would only be required to have one of these being 3 wheels. So my thought is to mount it centered where the cars hood starts to rise. I can fiberglass it in right there and use some polycarb to keep the shape correct. I need to do some measuring to make sure it would fit. Not set on this but it may be an option and then redo the bumper with some fog lights as you suggested.

Here is the link to them = NEW 5D Lens Cree LED HI LOW Beam Light BAR 20 Inch 120W Truck ATV SUV VS 126W | eBay

[GreenHornet]

Yesterday the radiator that I will be using with my 2 cylinder Kubota arrived. I new it was going to be small and without a doubt going to be smaller than the Centurion radiator. However I was still utterly shocked lol This thing is not even in the small category. I would put it in the micro category. I am curious now as to how tiny the 85cc radiators are. Despite the lack of size I still think this unit will work superbly with my grand strategy. The radiator fits right into my weight savings plan.

Enjoy the pics

[Xist]

Banana for scale?

[deejaaa]

[GreenHornet]

I have been slowly collecting parts for the rear 3 wheel conversion. The motorcycle donor I will be using comes from a Triumph Speedmaster. They use a 15x4 wheel which will allow me to mount a Continental ContiEcoContact EP. These cars are used on the Smart car fortwo = Continental*ContiEcoContact EP

I really liked the idea of going with the Triumph Speedmaster to keep an all Triumph parts bin. Over the next few weeks I will be purchasing the rest of the parts needed from the Speedmaster to complete the transformation.

GH

[GreenHornet]

There is quite a weight savings going with the Triumph Speedmaster 3 wheel conversion. Another reason I went with this donor was because it utilized a chain drive. The chain drive is simple to maintain and lighter weight vs the Goldwing type setups that I have played around with in the past. Utilizing a chain drive gives you the ability to adjust gear ratios at will. This strategy was used in the famous 376mpg Opel car back in the day = 376 MPG | The Story of the 1959 Opel P-1

I like the flexibility the chain drive affords in adjusting the gear ratio to suit my needs. Most cars are limited in there gearing range. This setup will help me dial in the best final drive ratio for the little two cylinder Kubota.

Going back to weight savings the Triumph Spitfire actually has pretty light weight components in the rear as far as traditional cars go. Also there are quite a bit of aluminum race parts available to lighten the load further. These aluminum parts are not cheap and the dollars really start to rack up fast as you begin transforming the rear end with all of these beautifully light weight components. I would have eventually transformed everything into aluminum and spent a fortune in the process. So the alternative to spending a small fortune on the Spitfire rear end was the 3 wheel option.

I figured I could actually cut more weight with the 3 wheel option and do it at a fraction of the price. The other reality is that the Speedmaster also offers aluminum components such as the rear swingarm at a fraction of the Spitfire alloy parts prices. Aluminum sprockets for the Speedmaster are widely available and aluminum fully adjustable shocks can be had for $200. You already have a really light weight dual piston brake caliper in the rear so no need to mess with that.

I have yet to determine how much weight savings will be had with the Speedmaster setup due to the fact there is still some key components to obtain but so far it is looking pretty substantial with the opportunity to further sweeten the pot with alloy parts in the future. Once I get all the parts on hand I will update this post with some pretty good weight comparisons.

GH