New Zealand. Pacific Rim RatRod Build/er

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Mukura

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Hi,

Just quickly : I picked up one of those chinese cargo trikes a few months back - I rode it 65km the day I bought it. I've used it for work a couple of times, mostly these days I just look at it figuring out what it's really meant to be... The other day it hit me - a rat rod pickup quadricycle - more or less.

So here I am. Here's a pic of what my trike looked like new.



I bought it second hand, and have since swapped out the seat, sold the handle-bars & rod brake set up. One of the spokes on a rear wheel is broken, so I've put an alloy rim on the front and taken a spoke from the original front wheel... I've been looking at kids pedal karts thinking about just bolting the front end on, swapping front wheels for 20" bike rims and then working out some tinwork... but then I saw this :



http://horsepowersports.com/1932-ford-gravity-racer-for-sale/

...and the bar was raised.

I'm going for a Rat, so I probably won't get sooo carried away, but I've started to get more realistic. I've got a lot on my plate this year - rolling into winter now, and won't realisticly get to commence the build for another 12months or so, but am starting to do the research now.

In the meantime, I have several bicycles, and motorised bicycles to "process" ...er I mean tidy up, chop up, whatever the case may be, to claim back some space and recoupe some costs on a couple of builds I'm spending the next year on.

Last October I qualified in my trade, at christmas I quit my job, and am surviving out on my own so far - I'm a fairly busy person, I try to make the most of my inbetween job time, doing my inbetween job. Before I started my trade I dropped out of art school three times, something to do with rebellion and institutions... anyway, I think now in my not so young anymore but not so old yet phase that I'm finding a balance between art / work etc... I'm no where near a pro fabricator or anything, maybe almost a novice, but I'm managing to swing it to get my hobby to break even (translate - free rides), and am learning a bunch of awesome stuff all the time.

Mostly sums it up... you can probably find the odd post/profile of mine on motorized bicycle, motored bikes, moped army, muscle bike forum, ratrodbikes... I don't post a lot, but am working on getting the balance of research and sharing down too.. Cheers, thanks for this forum, your time taken to read, and write.

M
 

Doc Sprocket

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How very interesting!
Welcome to the forum- delayed as it may be, I look forward to the details of your build. I'm all for different and unique builds, stretching the boundaries of what's considered "normal". On this forum, typically the projects are motorized. Whether electric or gas, or even other means of propulsion. That said, we're quite receptive to pretty much anything you can dream up and build. Would you be motorizing you rproject, or staying with human power? I'm intrigued.
 

Mukura

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Ha! Small world seems to be the order of the day... I'm in Hamilton. Sold a bike to a guy on TradeMe today, who I'd met five or six years back in another town. He must've said three times what a small world it was. I didn't argue either.

Mind you I thought this thread title might attract some local attention. Thanks for dropping a line. Like I said in the earlier posts I'm a way off from building yet, just doing some research. I discovered a site called manz dot co dot enzed the other day, they seem to have some cool kart supplies... am looking to keep it all pretty low budget and off the shelf, weldless if possible too.. I'd like to make a project that anybody with a spanner and a saw could make... Any pointers to good parts places is appreciated. Did a mitre 10, Bunnings mish on the weekend, pretty basic selection of stuff when it comes to axle saddles - I found more interesting stuff in the gate hinge and bracket section...

anyway I ramble, been trying to reply to the guy before you, and reading up on the law.. apparently the long and the short of it is you can rego a kart under 50cc as a moped, and if you do it before july it doesn't have to be entry certified... having said that, I rego'd a homebuilt scooter last year and they didn't even look out the window at vtnz to see if it existed - and they let me make up my own engine and chasis number.. crazy stuff. Also it was rego'd as 1963 (oldest part), and evn though it's first rego is 2010, somehow it's still slipped through as a classic vehicle - translation, dirt cheap road legal fun... could go get the plate now and just keep it on hold untill I build my micro-kar(t)

I should finish that draft post actually.

Ok. Cheers.

:auto:
 

Cam

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Yes the legal side in nz is very confusing, almost like they can't make up their mind!

Saeco offer a good range of driveline components, so does the local tip i have noticed!

Whats happening in july, if you dont mind me asking?
 

sexyvicta

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yeh i've rego'd mopeds in the past. You just tell them a chassis number and a make/model/year etc and give them some money haha

whats this about entry certification tho? thats guna suck.

A good place to get parts is your local rubish dump shop. Heaps of lawn mowers, push bikes etc. They even had an old IT yamaha and a vespa frame/body when i went a couple weeks back

edit: lol didn't read your post cam. haha asked/answered the same things
 

Mukura

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Cam, July they are bringing in entry certification, same as if you dropp a V8 into a Bambina. So - if you have a spare hundy or three you can go in now and get a bunch of plates for your future projects, or you could do what I'm thinking and paint any of my future bikes the same colour, and stamp in the same chasis number. I think I pay just under a hundred for 12mnths on my custombuilt, lower acc levy, and minus the additional mbike saftey levy, I save about $80 a year over an average scooter.

I was at the tip on the weekend, saw a mobility scooter for $120 as is.. fairly sturdy steering mech, but a bit out of my range this week. Cheers for the heads up on Saeco, I'll be checking that out.

Update on the project in general. I picked up a 12v kids quad for $20 a couple of weeks ago, stripped it. I've not tested the electrics yet, but could be handy. I also found comprehensive plans for "Red Bug" Briggs & Stratton powered roadster from a pdf sharing site, think its called Scribd. Short version, is a wooden base, bicycle wheels, pretty do-able for your average fulla.

So yeah, slowly picking up parts, and ideas. I'm thinking that I'll still focus on pedal power, and I've found out I can power up to 1.5kw electric and ride on footpath, so may go that way if I do want to use this to pop down to the greengrocers/butchers etc. Keep it nice and quiet. Might keep it H-Town and pop a speaker box in the tray, so probably not worth bolting on a thumper and drowning out the music.

In the mean time, I've got a spare rear axle off the stripped quad, and a couple of 12" bike wheels, looking at knocking up a simple trolley for the kids at the local day care centre where my mrs works. Any how, got a day off today, recovering from a cold, so have a bit of tidy up to do in the shed, should crack into it.

Cheers for your replies guys... will look at starting a build thread in the near future, start adding up some actuall progress pics and whatnot, will keep you posted. Ta
 
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