"Morgan" Build

[VCW346]

Always been fascinated with Morgans.  I have seen plenty of kits using Moto Guzzi donors.  Being a Moto Guzzi nut I decided to give it a go ground up since I cant afford the real deal nor a kit.  Picked up a good running EV1100 donor for a $1,000.  Rode the donor around last half of the summer.  Loved it, but kind of sadly started chopping it up.  I have no plan.  Not one measurement planned other than I want total length less than 11 feet.  The rest of the build will be dictated by shape, feel, etc.  What doesn't work will be hacked off and re-imagined.  Using plastic tubing pulled into shapes to dictate curves etc.  Borrowing cockpit dimensions from most cars and getting basic seat to steering to floor controls etc. to a comfortable dimension.  Basic plan is to remove motor and stick it out front, hack the  motorcycle frame in half and use the rear end for drive.  Had a drive shaft manufactured.  Frame is steel with a mustang II suspension kit.  Body tub is wood and will be clad in aluminum.  It will run on 4.5" wide tires on 18" rim on the front and will use the Guzzi rear.  I wanted narrow front tires for appearance sake.  It has huge brakes.  Way bigger than I will need for an 800-900lb build. 

donor bike tear down started





wiring harness was surprisingly difficult





motor out.  needed cleaning up but its a gem. 





imagining the basic layout utilizing children as drivers





laying out the frame with 2" X 3" rectangular tubing





using a wood body and base to allow for the shape I want without having to figure out how to bend steel tubing





decking the tub with 3/4" inch plywood and hanging the front suspension





utilizing some old black walnut for the floor to give it a pretty wood interior.  Side wall interior is a combination of walnut and fake leather





interior sidewall shows the trellis wood and leather pattern





found an old truck hood that will fit.  just resting in this picture to get a visual of how it will sit.  used a variety of things to prop it in place so ignore the extras you see :)

[Alfetta]

looks like a super fun project...
keep sending photos, i love to see how other peeps tackle things like this.

[AJ Huff]

This is awesome! Love seeing your steps.

-AJ

[frank22]

This looks awesome! Cool

[huub]

that will be a fun ride !
my lomax three wheeler has a 2.40 meter wheelbase and handles like a go-cart.
it has 32 HP , so with a healthy guzzi engine it should be fun.

[VCW346]

that will be a fun ride !
my lomax three wheeler has a 2.40 meter wheelbase and handles like a go-cart.
it has 32 HP , so with a healthy guzzi engine it should be fun.

i think my wheelbase will just be slightly longer than that.  The overall length is yet to be determined.  Im not sure if i am going to wrap the whole rear beetleback style?  or I may just leave the whole rear swingarm and wheel exposed.  wrapping around the rear will obviously make it a little longer overall.

[John Warner]

 

Something like this is on my To-Do list, has been for a very long time.

Are you aware of the Triking Brand?

Worth a look . . .

http://trikingsportscars.co.uk/

A Sump Extension is a good idea, with a Baffle as well, otherwise the Engine can be starved of Oil on those long, fast, sweeping bends.

As for the rear, my preference is the 'Barrel-Back' style, neat way to carry a spare Wheel also.



.

[VCW346]

A little update.  Now that weather is nice I can work on the trike again.  Decided a blend of mahogany, steel, and leather would be fun.  So, exterior has a square steel tubed skeleton.  Some sections will have cheese grater steel allowing you to see thru it, other sections will be covered in mahogany but the steel structure exposed, and then my old truck hood.  Fuel tank will be dual Jerry cans.  One on either side of the car.  Im going to leave the back open and not enclose it.  At least for this version.  There is always version II.......right now everything is just kind of temporarily tacked in place until I finalize things.  Cock pit will have quite a bit of work to be done yet.  I will add steel tubing and coverings to give it a more subtle and curving shape.  But, It is definitely taking shape.

[John Warner]

I like it!

If I ever get round to building one, I think I'd go for the 'Cedar-Strip' method that's used for Canoes.
You can achieve a stunning finish with that method.
Lot of work, but well worth it I think . . .

[VCW346]

John,

i have seen the triking brand.  i chose to just do a one off.  mostly due to a very small budget.  and wanted my own take on it.  something fun about just winging it and making it work and being able to get done and say i did that.  so far i have $1000 for the purchase of the bike, about $1200 for the full front suspension, brakes, steering, $500 in steel, $500 in misc other parts.  The wood I had on hand and was salvaged from a house i demolished. 

I have built a few cedar strip canoes.  i ripped down and bead/cove a bunch of mahogany and was going to do precisely that originally for the hood and was was to be the beetle back.  but then i randomly found this old truck hood and completely changed gears.  the side panels of the car i decided against strip method just because the curve was so easy and gentle and had no complexity that it simplified the process.  plus i kind of liked the larger widths having done so many strip boats before. 

tonight I planed some more mahogany down into 4" wide by 1/4" thick and bent them around a wheel and glue laminated them to hold shape for wooden fenders.  I thought about using an old steam bending box i have used for boat building in the past but you can never quite get the shape to hold exactly.  so giving this a go to see how it works out.

[John Warner]

Keep up the great work!
Looking forward to seeing the finished article.
No rush . . . but hurry up!!   

[VCW346]

mocking so many things up right now. all going to need to be torn down to do finish work, sand, paint, stain etc.  tried making fenders by laminating a couple of pieces together but didnt get a good bond.  ill try again with epoxy this week.

in the meantime decided i didnt like the solid wood just under the hood.  tried cheese grater metal only.  liked it but thought i could do better.  went with this instead.....