Draft Cycle Works

Monday, May 21, 2012

Dune buggy progress

... A lot


rear subframe with adjustable kafer bar


rear access hatch and electrical supports


1992 camaro steering column shortened installed and a variable length intermediate shaft was made up of various junkyard items


the dash molding has begun and includes an angled gauge pod


the hood is finished and clearanced for the fuel tank.


headlights are mounted through the hood so they tilt out of the way


wheel adapters are finished


audi rear middle two point seat belts will be used all around. I've had a tough time junk diving for these things since they're only in 96-01 Audis and there's only one per car. they are very compact and simple to mount. auto locking when retracted.


I have also purchased some summit racing sport seats (which all need mods to not damage themselves and work properly) and rostra heaters instead of fighting with the nasty fiberglass buckets that came with the car. a nice sale on the seats made the decision a lot easier. the seats however seem to be get what you pay for. The lever that tilts the seat forward for rear seat access doesn't work because the cable is too loose and the scree that holds the cable onto the hook tears the seat when used. I found this out and had to call and get another set delivered. they were the same way but not damaged yet. I immediately flipped the screw to the other side and shortened the cable for the lever. They're nice seats for the price but you have to be willing to do some work I guess.


I wish I would have been aware of the very forward position of the shifter prior to painting up the chassis. its a long reach and at this pointing just going to angle the stick back a bit. I hate doing it that way but later on I might cut the tunnel and move the shifter back 4-6 inches.


I have learned along the way that pretty much nothing can be based on the fiberglass body because its not at all symmetric and most likely  warped from sitting over the years. its going to take some love to get it all settled right with the frame.


I have started pulling wire and getting everything ready for finishing. the engine is installed and the rear suspension all buttoned up.


Since im using a single carb setup with long runners, I have to do something about carb freezing. VW had heat risers from the exhaust, but I wanted to try setting different. Ill toss up a separate post about this.


When installing the engine I found out that it had never met this transmission before, because the flywheel is for a 12 volt and the transmission is out of a 6 volt. The 12 volt bellhousing had a little more clearance for a larger flywheel so I had to grind away at a few spots to make everything fit. Very easy mod.


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Engine Swapping

Firstly, it feels great to get back to bikes. Its been a while working on the car and I miss the simplicity of the two wheeled genre.


Im working on adding 30 hp to Rock Flute by transplanting the engine from Bat Vagina (the long bike).  Ever since I put the flute together I've wanted my hotrod engine in it and I plan on getting it finished for the 2012 WHCM.  At last years meet I had just gotten the bike on the road and the clutch was nearly gone.  I wasn't able to push the bike at all through the twisties down there. at the end of the meet I could barely take off from a full stop. 


This year with 50% more power and a strong clutch, this bike will be a blast. 


I was going to repaint the engine aluminum but I think it might look nice with the black and polished fins.

Overall a pretty straight forward swap with a pile of tuning.


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Saturday, May 19, 2012

T-minus 24 Hours

Here we are Saturday morning after some sleep.  It's coming together well enough, but until I manage to start and ride it I won't know if I rebuilt the trans correctly.


Friday, May 18, 2012

Last Minute Prep

It'll be a year since the vw bike ran this Sunday.  It's also a big brit/euro bike show near my house.  If I can't ride it there I fail completely.  Here she is at 8:06 pm Friday night.  Gonna be a long weekend...


Sunday, March 18, 2012

More BMVW Trans Bushings

Fitting a new 2nd/3rd gear bushing to the output shaft.


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

BMVW 4th Gear Bushing

The aftermarket bushing I got for the BMVW trans 4th gear needed finish machining.  That meant turning the OD to size and cutting the oil grooves in it.  I made this mandrel to hold it in the lathe and set to work.  It came out ok but the ID was a bit too large out of the bag and I can't do anything about that.  I may try making one from scratch but this one will work in a pinch.  It's better than the worn out one I removed.



Saturday, March 3, 2012

Dune Buggy Wheel Adapters

Been working on some wheel adapters for the dune buggy.  First one is done and looks great.  Turns out it needs the center hole opened up a bit more to clear the spindle, but that's simple enough.