Car problems and an idea about a new trike!

[BikerGran]

Been having problems with starting with Doris (my Maestro) so she went in to the garage for a new starter - oh boy they had such problems finding one!  Then on bonfire night I saw Steve (my mechanic) and he said he had one coming on Monday - trouble was, it didn't turn up.  When he phoned they told him it had gone to Ipswich by mistake!!!    Poole - Ipswich, not much difference there!  Still it arrived on the Tuesday and was fitted and Doris came home.  Started lovely for a few days then yesterday I turned the key and all it would do was click!  I got the RAC out and the patrolman said it was a faulty starter, he managed to get it started so off I went to Steve again.
He phoned the factor while I was there and surprisingly he had two starters to fit!  I must have created a demand!

Anyway while I was waiting for my daughter to pick me up I popped in to a newish place next door to Steves, called 'Hotrods and Harleys'.  I'd noticed a Boom type trike there the other day so I thought it might be worth having a word (not that I want that kind, but still).
They weren't interested in building a trike from scratch but a bloke there came up with an idea which I thought was not half bad - he suggested I buy an already built mini or metro trike, and just get the engine/box swopped for an auto!  It might not be quite as simple as that but it sounds like a bit of a plan so I'm on the lookout for anything that might be suitable.

By the way I'm not sure why they have that name, I didn't see anything there even faintly resembling a hotrod tho there were some Harleys!

[klogan45]

Yep, thats a good idea BG. Its not too bad swapping an engine, the mechanics should be able to do it quite quickly.
You will need to have the gear cable extended though coz it's got to come from the rear to the front. Speedy cables can do the job, make you a new one of the right length for about £90. You can extend it by joining a second cable to it but may not be worth your while. I joined two together though. Needs a bit of drilling and tapping, so it can be done. I bought the second cable from fleabay for about £10 including postage. You may want a new extended cable as you use the trike more that I probably will, and anyway its something less to go wrong.
Hope that all works out for you. There are sometime auto mini trikes on fleabay so maybe just a bit of remodelling the frame would be easier.
Regards
K

[BikerGran]

There was one in the local Freeads but sold by the time I phoned!

Found a place that builds trikes I quite like the look of but too many ££££££ for me!

http://www.wildcattrikes.co.uk/2.html

Car problems and an idea about a new trike!

[BikerGran]

There's a metro trike on Ebay

Metro trike

Ugly as it is but change the riders seat and the rear seat/carrier arrangement...

But what about those box section bits round the bottom?  Reckon they're structural?  Looks a bit of a pigs ear but it says it's been through MSVA.

[Manky Monkey]

Looks like they're just running board mounts Bobbi. He seems to have all the necessary MSVA paperwork there, (he's even posted a photo of it all), so it's presumably kosher, though Id've thought the front corners of those running board frames might fail. Not my kind of style but it's certainly a good base to build whatever you want from.

[BikerGran]

If that's what they are they would have to go!  Anyway I can't do anything about this one cos I'm away this weekend when it finishes, and I'm not sure about it anyway, just collecting ideas and opinions.