rustyaccord : 1975 Kohler K321AQS drift trike

[baracuda]

I cant wait to see it once it all sorted out, these things look so fun.

[rustyaccord]

Instead of setting off fireworks this Independence Day, I decided to start work on my frame. This will be the hardest part of the entire project because if the frame isn't straight, driving it is going to be a bitch. Anyhow, the material I'm using is actually 1.25" square tubing with .125" wall. It's solid! The major drawback besides weight with this stuff is that it's been powder coated which makes for a mess while cutting and welding on the stuff.



I didn't have access to a MIG welder at the time so I used my grandpa's old Lincoln Electric stick welder. It's old enough to still have copper coils which I guess is a better system but easier to burn up than the newer ones. I'm not really sure how it works.



As you can clearly see, my arc welding skills have gotten pretty rusty since high school. I'll just blame it on the electrodes I was using...




The engine will sit on top of that little platform, that way I can sit it on top of the axle so it doesn't flip while it's sitting still. That's as far as I got until I figure out what size of front wheel I will be using. I also need to build the mounts for the axle which will stick out about 8 inches from either side of the completed center section. There's still some things I need to think through and test out but getting this section finished has remotivated me to start working on the whole thing a little more before school starts in a couple months.

Thanks for reading.

[rustyaccord]

I finally quit procrastinating and took the crank in to the machine shop a couple weeks ago. There's a CarQuest in town that still offers machining services despite being owned by Advance. I told them I wasn't in much of a hurry to get it back and he told me it would probably be done that week. So much faster turnaround than the privately owned shop I took the block to. I'm getting excited to get this beast running again and hopefully it won't blow this time!

I never really got around to fixing up the old cylinder shroud pieces since they were in such bad shape (rusted, bent, cracked, etc.). I was going to run without them but thought against it since these old Kohlers run pretty hot so I decided to practice some sheet metal work. This new piece is a single piece design instead of two and it fits so nice! All it needs is some paint and it will be perfect.







Since the ignition system has been sitting outside for the last 20 years, it needed an upgrade. The Bosch blue coil is for any old VW, and paired with two kohler condensers, it provides better spark than the stock system ever did. The thing about using an automotive coil for this setup is that it has a higher voltage capacity. It provides a smoother idle and when the plug starts getting fouled and the gap starts to increase, the coil can still provide a good spark.



I've also been thinking about building an exhaust for it. I never really liked the current setup since that 3/4" muffler is such a bottleneck plus it's super loud. I'm thinking I might be able to weld up a box with some baffles in it and maybe two of those 3/4" mufflers as an output. I'm not really sure. Might be an excuse for some more sheet metal work.

[rustyaccord]

Well here she is folks! I started her up last weekend and got the carb tuned. I cannot believe how well and smooth that old Kohler runs. Now I have been presented with another dilemma: stick with a trike setup or go ahead and build a 4 wheeled cart? A trike would be cool but I highly doubt a bicycle wheel on the front would hold up to the abuse/weight of a 150 lb, torque-happy engine plus my 250 lb self. I originally wanted to avoid having to build a steering system but I'm thinking that may not be as bad as it sounds/looks. If I go the 4 wheel route, my grandpa already has wheels/tires I could use so that would save about $300 once you figure in the cost of a new or rebuilt bicycle wheel and go kart slicks. What say you, populace of CB7T?

I apologize for the poor sound quality. We had a big Patterson fan running in the background.



And now for some reason the vid isn't working.
Here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24VK1xkqhl0

[rustyaccord]

Made some minor progress over the last couple months. I decided against the trike and am going with a conventional 4-wheeled cart. I have the frame about 2/3 of the way done but there's still a bunch of work left to complete. The design of the steering system is the main issue at this point as I'm not really sure where to start.