HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-06-10, Page 12PAGE 12. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10,1992.
JOIN THE RACE TO WIN PRIZES IN THE CITIZEN’S
RUTABUGGY AND FUNCAR CONTEST
at the Blyth Rutabaga Festival and Brussels FunFest
Build this car or a car of your own design and enter the race
GO CART
INSTRUCTIONS
Begin the chassis
The chassis consists of six
pieces: two longitudinal battens
that run the full length, onto which
are screwed four extra battens of
the same size. Two of these are
attached at the back-giving a wide
area for the crankshaft bearings -
and the other two are screwed at
the front to give extra width and
rigidity to the chassis. Mark and
cut out all six pieces, then glue
and screw the three pieces for
each side together. Clamp
chassis halves together, mark the
position for rear axles and then
drill the holes. It's important this is
done accurately.
Install rear axle bearings
Separate the two chassis
halves and insert the relevant
bronze bearings into the axle
holes, one on each side of each
chassis member. Glue bearings
into holes with epoxy resin to
prevent them from "creeping” out.
It doesn't matter that there's a gap
in the middle between the two
bearings in each half of the
chassis; what's most important is
that the crankshaft is supported
by four bearings. (Hint: you can
use lubra bronze bearings on this
cart; when oiled, the oil
penetrates them and will lubricate
the shafts for a very long time.
However, we recommend oiling
twice a year.) When handling
bearings be careful not to damage
their surfaces. Also, when
inserting bearings in each half of
chassis, insert the axle intended
for that side, as this will help keep
bearings aligned while epoxy
resin is setting, and accurate
alignment is essential to smooth
running. (Note: these bearings
are the only ones that really
require glue, the others are a tight
push fit.)
Install axles
Cut out rear cross member.
Assemble axles in the rear of the
chassis and crank mechanism.
When all is correctly in place, glue
and screw rear cross member in
place. The front axle beam has
two stub axles glued and screwed
on. To add strength to the joint
between front axle beam and the
stub axles, cut out halving joints in
the stub axles (and drill the axle
holes), and then glue and screw
them onto the axle beam. Cut off
the tops of stub axles at an angle
to provide good foot rests for
steering cart. To add further
strength and to keep the driver's
feet off the front wheels, glue and
screw mudguards into the sides.
These also give strength to front
axle beam and should insure that
stub axles aren't torn off when
cart traverses rough ground. Cut
spoiler front and glue it onto front
axle beam. Fix front axle beam in
place by fitting front cross
member beneath chassis. Pass
coach bolt right through front axle
beam and through front cross
member; add a washer before
doing up bolt.
SUPPLIES
Saw
Drill
Wood glue
Epoxy resin
Oil
Loctite® 601 engineering
adhesive
Optional: methylated spirit
BILL OF MATERIALS
Description Size In Inches Quantity
Timber:
Chassis 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 29 2
Chassis 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 17 . 2
Chassis 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 9 2
Front cross member 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 6-3/4 1
Rear cross member 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 14-1/4 1
Crank handle 1-7/8 x 2-3/4 x 6-1/4 2
supporting blocks
Cranking handle 1-7/8 x 2-1/2 x 21-3/4 1
Crank bar 1 x 2-1/4 x 23-1/2 1
Front axle beam 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 15 1
Front axle beam 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 7-3/4 2
Seat 1-7/8 x 1-7/8 x 3-3/4 2
Plywood:
Front wheel mudguards 1/2 x 6 x 8-1/2 2
Front spoiler 1/2 x 5-1/4 x 15 1
Rear spoiler 1/2 x 5 x 17 1
Seat 1/2 x 12 x 13-3/4 1
Seat 1/2 x 4-1/2 x 13-3/4 1
Seat 1/2 x 4 x 4-1/2 2
Doweling:
Cranking handle 3/8 x 10-1/2 1
Rear spoiler 1/2 x 5 2
Seat support pillar 3/4 x 5-5/8 2
Seat support pillar 3/4 x 4-1/2 2
Hardware:
Road wheels 9-3/4 diameter 2
Road wheels 8-1/4 diameter 2
Spring dome caps 1/2 diameter 6
Spring dome caps 3/8 diameter 4
Spacers 1-1/8 o/diam. x 7/8
I/dlam. x 3/16 thick 2
Steel axles 3/8 x 4-1/2 2
Coach bolt 3/8 x 5 1
nut and washer
Plain bronze bearings 3/4 o/dlam. x 1/2
i/diam. x 1 long 9
Plain bronze bearings 3/4 o/diam. x 1/2
i/dlam. x 5/8 long 2
Plain bronze bearing 1 o/dlam. x 7/8 i/dlam. x
1 long 1
Steel pin 1/2 x 7-1/4 1
Steel pin 1/2 x 3 1
Steel rods 1/2 x 8-1/4 2
Steel rod 7/8 x 2-1/4 1
Steel tubes 3/4 o/dlam. x 1/2
i/diam. x 2-1/8 long 2
Steel strips 3/8 x 1 x 2-1/2 2
Install seat and handle
Bore four holes to take the seat
dowels in top side of chassis and
on underside of seat. The holes
should be slightly larger than
.diameter of dowel. Cut dowel rods
to length, the back ones longer
than the front. Glue and screw
seat together as shown in plans
and, when it's set, fit dowel rods
and seat onto chassis. (The
oversize holes allow the seat to
be fitted at an angle, and when
rods are glued, the assembly
becomes rigid.) Rear spoiler can
be bolted on and is detachable. It
is held in place by two dowel rods
that fit onto blocks on back of
seat. Mark and cut out the
cranking handle. But before
shaping the shaft and cutting out
slot for crank bar, drill the holes
for the dowel rod grip, pivot rod
and crank bar rod. Now cut out
two support blocks that go either
side of the crank handle. Clamp
these together and drill the holes
for pivot rod. Insert a bearing in
each block.
Build crank assembly
Mark and cut out crank bar. Drill
the hole at the front for steel rod
that will link bar to crank handle.
For the connection between crank
bar and crank, first drill a hole,
following plan, in the rear of the
bar to the outside diameter of the
single large bearing. Cut away a
section of bar as shown on plan
and carefully drill the two holes
specified in both bar and cut-away
piece. Now cut the large bearing
in half in order to put it around
crankshaft. Oil the bearing and
clamp it in-place with crank bar
and cut-away section. Insert the
two screws and tighten them until
the bearing is clamped. Don't
over-tighten; as the bearing
“settles in,” it may be necessary to
tighten the two screws just a bit
more. On the other hand, if you
find the screws clamp the bearing
too tightly, insert a small piece of
packing between crank bar and
cut-away section. Also, to prevent
the bearing from slipping out, cut
two circles of plastic tube, slit
each through on one side only,
and slip them over crankshaft on
either side of crank bar. At the
front end, the crank bar is fitted in
slot provided. Insert a bearing in
the hole and one in the holes on
either side of crank handle. Oil the
bearings well. Now very carefully
insert steel rod and hold it in place
by clipping two spring caps on
either end. Insert bearings in the
pivot hole of cranking handle; oil
them well and insert pivot rod
from one side. Fit a piece of
plastic tubing on either side of
crank handle to keep the bearings
in and to keep handle in the
middle of support blocks.
(Pushing the rod into position and
dropping plastic tube in place is a
fiddly job because there is so little
room to get your fingers in.) Once
this is done, clip spring caps onto
the ends of steel bar.
Install wheels and
complete
Clean rear axle ends and the
inside of crank where the axle
ends go. Methylated spirit is
recommended. Don't touch the
metal surfaces with your fingers
after cleaning, or you'll leave oil
deposits that will hinder bonding.
Apply LoctiteSB engineering
adhesive liberally to axle ends
and assemble. Follow glue
maker's directions. Push front
axle rod into the predrilled holes
in stub axles (after chamfering
axle on both ends). Slip wheels
on and push spring clips in place.
If you paint the cart, use non-toxic
exterior-grade paint.