Mad scientist, building a R3-powered sports car

[barbagris]

Had a Phoenix trike way back in the early eighties,pretty nasty quality looking back now but still good fun with a 1500 motor and twin Weber downdrafts......just hated not being able to cut through the traffic even then.

I very nearly bought a JZR "Morgan lookalike" trike here. One of three that gained their papers. But I was VERY unimpressed by the chassis. What I always liked about the Lomax and Zero was that they have 2 wheel drive. Still! - just a dream now unless I find one in a barn somewhere on historic plates.

 

[JackMcCornack]

Now there's a thought (actually combining two thoughts): use a longitudinal FWD transaxle, rotate it 180 degrees, and put the R3 motor behind it, for a mid engine FWD tadpole trike. I remember Formula V used a reversed ring gear in a bug transaxle and they seemed to survive alright.

 

[mark k]

Right you are, Idk, reverse is...reversed.

Problem is, cars typically have the final drive pinion on the right side of the ring gear, and the R3 pinion is on the left. There are three possible solutions I know of:
1) Turn the auto axle over, left-to-right. You need to block off the vent, and emptying the lube will be a hassle, and on most axles it will raise the driveshaft.
2) Use a front axle (or front diff, for independent suspension versions) from a four wheel drive vehicle. They already go backwards.
The problem with both these solutions is it puts the drive shaft on the driver's side of center (for left hand drive cars, like in the US and Canada and such) which does encroach on cockpit space a bit. Leaving us with...
3) Design a new rear plate for the output shaft, and an adapter to connect the drive shaft directly to the transmission output shaft. The way it works on an R3 is there's a drive reverser built into the back of the engine, to accommodate the needs of the final drive in the wheel. In theory, this should be relatively easy (that is, relative to the difficulty of reversing the rotation twice).

 

[Mike188]

Welcome from South Australia.

 

[mark k]

Ooh I love that Rocket III engine! I make DIY sports cars and parts for other homebuilders (google <Locost cars> or go to <kineticvehicles.com> to see what I'm up to) and I fell in love with the Rocket III powerplant, so I bought a bike that had been rear-ended and after riding it a bit, am fully convinced it's too much bike for me, but it sure would be great in a 1200 pound replica LeMans racer, circa 1960.

 

[mark k]

Hello just found this web site and joined to share info on R3 powered cars. I built one and finished it a year ago. I used a 1966 badly rusted MGB for a donor car. I did not reverse the output direction of the transmission, I just flipped the third member over. I have no reverse. I've put 1400 miles on the car last summer with no problems. The car is styled after the early Lotus 6, and the body is made from aluminum. The car weight is 1050 lbs. I sort of followed the LOCOST frame design. The engine is running 2 fake weber IDF carbs on a homemade intake manifold. I did not have the original FI for the engine. If I can figure out how to attach pictures I will post if anyone is interested. MK.