Going down a hill quickly

[Matt_S]

Are you going for ZK or FW bodywork?🤣

[Mark (smokey mow)]

2 minutes ago, Matt_S said:

Are you going for ZK or FW bodywork?🤣

😀 I haven’t yet worked out how I’m making that yet!
 

The favourite will probably be to sculpt something from polystyrene to make a mould form and then skin with fibreglass and a flowcoat so it looks half presentable from a distance.

[Quinten]

How about https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185890501024 ?

[Mark (smokey mow)]

15 minutes ago, Quinten said:

How about https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185890501024 ?

I like it 😎 only issue is that my car is so small it’ll pretty much fit in the nose cone.

 

wheelbase is only 1.3m and track width 950mm. It’s tiny 😀

 

[Marcus Barlow - Show and Events Co-ordinator]

So does the Colin Chapman phase subtracting weight makes you faster apply to these machines or does more weight help downhill speeds?

[Kingster]

On 08/05/2023 at 17:30, Mark (smokey mow) said:

With that all done I trial fitted the steering rack and column as I was a bit worried about the angle on the UJ, as it was it seems to work ok which is good news.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that steering column will never pass IVA 😁

[Mark (smokey mow)]

20 minutes ago, Kingster said:

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that steering column will never pass IVA 😁

It’s ok, there’s so much bracing to the front of the chassis I don’t think it will ever bend.

 

id be more concerned with the fit between the the microcar steering column and the BMC wheel boss. It turns out you can get dissimilar splines to fit if you use a large enough hammer.

[Captain Colonial]

It’s only the complete directional control of the racer, nothing to worry about but you could always use some super glue if you’re concerned.

 

Alternatively, you could try the old trick of mounting the wishbones upside down…

[Mark (smokey mow)]

As the sun has been shining today I thought i’d take the opportunity between teams meetings to put a couple of coats of paint on the suspension arm. 
 

I briefly considered powdercoating but didn’t want to be accused of going OTT with the build 😀 so a rattle can finish will have to do.

 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

Great use for the washing line, hope your wife was out at the time. 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

4 hours ago, Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO said:

Great use for the washing line, hope your wife was out at the time. 

I’ve had a lot more eye rolls with this project than usual. She thinks I’m completely mad.

 

[djm]

@Mark (smokey mow)

Today was the 2nd White Horse Soapbox Derby & Engineering Fair in my home town Westbury (Wilts). One of the longest and steepest tracks in the country apparently. 400 metres long 18.4 per cent gradient with speeds up to 50 mph.

The winning car "ACCELERAMUS" below did it in 29 seconds.

I spoke to the guy after the race and he said he had bought the car several owners down the line from the original builder who was Czechoslovakian and had built 30 of them. He had travelled from London for the event.

Dave 

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

44 minutes ago, djm said:

@Mark (smokey mow)

Today was the 2nd White Horse Soapbox Derby & Engineering Fair in my home town Westbury (Wilts). One of the longest and steepest tracks in the country apparently. 400 metres long 18.4 per cent gradient with speeds up to 50 mph.

The winning car "ACCELERAMUS" below did it in 29 seconds.

I spoke to the guy after the race and he said he had bought the car several owners down the line from the original builder who was Czechoslovakian and had built 30 of them. He had travelled from London for the event.

Dave 

 

I’m not sure I feel that brave yet! But love the design of the kart.

 

The Colchester course is 300m with and elevation change of 12m so about 4% in comparison.

 

By my calculations finish line speed should be between 25-30mph depending on how good my pushers are.

[djm]

Here's a link to the website https://whitehorsesoapbox.co.uk/

Just to clarify the 18.4 per cent is the maximum gradient with 8.4 per cent being the average. What is nice about this event is that it is also a Engineering Fair aimed at getting youngsters into engineering, although having said that the largest marquee was the bar!

Here are a few more photos of some of the other competitors. I like the use of the bicycle forks on the yellow car.

 

[Mark (smokey mow)]

I was hoping to make more progress on the build today but on a run up to Cambridge to drop off my trailer with its new owner the tow car decided to leave me stranded at the side of the road. A ride home in the tow truck of shame meant I only had time in the end for a few hours this afternoon.

 

I couldn’t resist pressing the bushes into the front wishbones, and then attaching the shocks, which are (very)cheep Chinese motorcycle shocks. The spring rates are harder than I’d want but hopefully they’ll do the job.

 

in the spirit of over engineering everything I made the seat pad. A quick rummage in the fabric scraps box and I found some suitable vinyl for the cover. Nothing like a bit of luxury. The straps are to secure it in the chassis so it doesn’t fly out on the first jump.