Building a Morgan 3-Wheeler Replica

[McShagger510]

Nice going, you'll be in the wind in no time.

As for the plate defects, you could always visit the complaint dept. in cell block 'D'!

James

[okayfine]

PMK lent me his DIY alignment setup and I put it on to see what's what.

Original camber I'd set by eye was L .8° - R .7°. I set each side to 1.1°.

Original caster was L 4.4° - R 1.7°. I set each side to 3.8°.

Unfortunately I did not take a toe measurement before I adjusted the caster. That adjustment changed the toe. How much, I also don't know. Measured toe when I started was 2" toe in, and that can't be right.

Toe was difficult for me to figure out how to set. It seems easy, but what do you reference to? You could set toe so that it was in spec but pointing to the right. Advice welcome. I ended up placing a metal pipe along the flat side of the chassis/body and running it through the front suspension and got the wheels close to that "straight" point. Then used the alignment setup to set the fine toe adjustment. Ended up with 1/8" toe in measured via the two tapes (front and rear of the wheel). This gives me a toe reading at the spindle of 1/16" in?

The alignment setup is dead simple to replicate, so I took some pictures and will go by some metal. Boxed up PMK's setup and will post it back to him, dropping it off in the 3-Wheeler.

[two_68_510s]

Must be sublime to drive your own beast around.

[duke]

Toe was difficult for me to figure out how to set. It seems easy, but what do you reference to? You could set toe so that it was in spec but pointing to the right. Advice welcome.

My view with setting toe is that even if you set it pointing a bit to the left or right (as long as it's not to drastic), once you are actually driving the car, you will be correcting any misalignment with the steering wheel. That is the case with the fronts at least. With the rear it must be set centered with the chassis or it will pull to one side while driving.

That is just how I do it when setting my car up at home. It would be interesting to do a home alignment and then take it to a shop (I know, that is not a possibility in the case of a 3 wheeler) and see how close it is when compared to a laser system.

[okayfine]

Must be sublime to drive your own beast around.

It is a kick in the pants, I'll tell you that.

My view with setting toe is that even if you set it pointing a bit to the left or right (as long as it's not to
drastic), once you are actually driving the car, you will be correcting any misalignment with the steering wheel.

True. I'd hoped to get it tracking straight enough that I wouldn't need to lean on the R&P. It's made for lightweight applications (specifically Manx-esque VW dune buggies) and my pile should weigh a lot less than that. Don't want to stress it, especially with the kickback.

Took it out and about and the kickback has lessened somewhat, though it is still present at times. Not SURE it's really lessened, or if I'm just having the "butt dyno" effect of having adjusted it, so it should be better. I'll give it some more miles, check the tire wear, and see.

[PoorMtnKid]

Glad I was able to contribute to this project. The kit is very simple, what did you end up using for turn plates while spine the castor?

[okayfine]

I had some very thin nylon cutting sheets for the kitchen. We didn't end up liking the super-thin sheets to cut on, so they got replaced. I, naturally, hung on to them. Cut 'em in half, put them under the wheels, it worked well.

[bertvorgon]

Toe is the difference between the front and the back of the wheel. What you usually do is scribe a very fine line in the tire center, or as close as possible. Then, you measure the width at the front of the tire, then at the rear of the tire. You then determine if you have toe out or toe in, depending on the difference at the front.

Toe out will cause wandering, but will make turn in better. Toe in helps with stability and general tracking.

Unequal castor can cause a lot of wander and possible some shake issues, a shop should check that.

[PoorMtnKid]

hahaha "spine the castor"......Damn I phone

[iniazy]

Nice work.

For some reason all your old pictures are gone.

[okayfine]

Yeah, the page I had them hosted from goes down periodically for indeterminate periods of time. I demanded, and received, double my money back...but since I paid $0 in the first place....

[okayfine]

My cheap-o helmets didn't come with peak visors, and the store is having difficulty ordering replacements. So, naturally, I made some myself.

IMG_5705.jpg (192.61 KiB) Viewed 4700 times

Nothing to write home about regarding the welding, except that the material is .050" sheet, so I'm pretty happy with the results. Getting painted black at the moment.

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Bombed around T.O. today in the 3-wheeler. No problems, keeps up great with traffic. Maybe even a little too great. Found myself doing 3500rpm in 5th on a street with a 50mph limit. Oops. Lots of people also seem to change lanes so I'll pass them, which I happily oblige. Also picked up AAA's M/C coverage for towing. Hopefully that means I'll never have to use it.

[hang_510]

awesome!

ill get my 70 down there on a sunday and we'll take a ride past the rock store.

[McShagger510]

1897 Leon Bolle Voiturette

[dodgydan]

hay how 'bout some new pics of your ride seen as all yer old pics vaped.
thanks. it looked like a great project. its always a joy to build it yourself and overcome obstacles. and getting
comments, advice, and ideas from others makes it easier and sometimes entertaining.
thanks for sharing.