SITTIN' IN STYLE

Building this trike has been more fun than I could have imagined.I owe a debt of thanks to my brother Bill for his help with the main welding.He spent 8 hours with me the first day to manufacture the frame and attach neck.Also for helping me to learn to do some myself.It's not as hard as I thought it would be.Thanks also to our friend (and local trike builder)Bud for all the phone calls and questions he's answered.And thanks also to my husband Wayne ,for letting me "shop" for parts in his garage.He might take away my key if I'm not careful

So far,I've done a LOT of body work. I cut the nosecone off the body and have put in countless hours with fiberglass and bondo.It looks like something now.

I made my own pedals .I have the master cylinder(made the bracket with about 3 calls to Bud) all ready to go on the frame.The shift box(took the original out of an old bug.Found out I could have saved a lot of time and bought a new one ),is mounted and the rod adjusted.Sitting still I have all gears.The body mounts are done .We're in the process of rebuilding a motor  for our trike and when it's done I get the old one. Of course the upholstery is done.I couldn't find a trunk I liked so I'm in the process of making one.Watch for more pictures.It's getting close now!

I'm keeping track of time spent because I'm curious how long it takes for a beginner to build a trike.I'll keep you posted!

The brakes and new wheels are now on.I have all new brakes lines and hoses.The bowden tube is on and the clutch cable installed.I had to run two guide wheels to get it where it needed to go.The pedals are permanently mounted.I made a clutch stop and also stops for the backs of the pedals to keep them from falling back too far.I modified the shifter and installed a glass doorknob for a handle.The battery box is in place.The trunk is done also.I finally took the plastic off the handlebars and waxed them. It made a huge difference!The biggest difference was the first coat of paint on the frame.the foot pegs are on and the fuse box is ready to be wired. That's next.Then the gas tank and the rear cage.I need the motor on for fitting that.In addition to these things I have been working steadily on the body work.It's half in primer now and the big stuff is done.I'm not too far from paint now.I've been drilling holes for the lights as I go so I don't have to drill into new paint.Catch ya soon with more progress!

April is here.The body work is now pretty much done.The holes for the seat snaps have been pre-drilled.The chromed out motor looks so nice on there,we decided to go ahead and do mine now.Ordered the parts last night.We had the new motor running and it's all timed and ready to go.The bumper cage is cut and ready to be welded.I've done a preliminary plan for the wiring.The only thing I've had a hard time with is the master cylinder res.It keeps leaking. I've tried several different things and slowed it down but I haven't got it stopped yet.The body is back on the frame to figure out where I want the lights.I got to sit on it and try out the new foot pegs.They are perfect!Now we'll detour a little bit and get the motor out of Wayne's trike and the new one in.I plan to have most of the wiring done by then.Watch for more!

The  new motor is in Wayne's trike. We had to modify the crash bars to fit the new oil filter.Was a little scary cutting them in half but they turned out pretty nice.My motor has been torn down and I have most of the chrome on. Gardening season is here and I'm busy in the shop so time is short. I plan to have it done this week so it can go in this weekend.So far it's gone really well.Got it apart in about an hour,cleaned it up and did some painting. Crash bars are ready to go on and the gas tank is mounted.The body work is done and ready for paint.Wiring is next.

May is almost over now. I haven't been able to spend the time I would like to but I have made huge progress! The motor is done and in.The crash bars are permanently on.I laid out all the wiring on the underside of the body and fiberglassed tubing on for them to run through.All the rest of the holes have been drilled for lights etc.

I fianlly got the master cylinder to quit leaking. Turns out the problem was the new one didn't have an o- ring to seal  the bottle.Took and old bottle off the shelf put it on,it works,enough said.

The holes are all drilled for the dash panel in both the body and the plexiglas cover.(More on that later).

I had to do some creative mounting for the rear mudflaps to prtect the wring for the marker lights.They're ready to bolt on now.

Most importantly....It's painted!!!

Now I can finish the wiring on the frame side and put it all together.All I need is time. We sell asparagus and it's growing like crazy.So is the grass.Limits time on the trike.

July

The trike is now done.I had to make a few changes but for the most part it is exactly as I envisioned.The tailights I had didn't work because of the size of the sockets,so I got some nice led's.I like them better anyway.The front master cylinder was no good so I got another one.Now everything works fine.

I had an issue with the wiring,I kept blowing the fuse for the tailights. I found out the lightbulb fell out of the speedo and was shorting out. They're on together on a toggle switch.I was VERY aggravated trying to track it down but I was also glad to know it wasn't anything I did.I also had trouble with my oil pressure gauge and found out the sender was bad.That was pretty easy to figure out.

I sent the paperwork into the state 2 weeks ago so now I just have to wait for the inspection.I have put 9 miles on it so far.One of the advantages to living in the country.

So enjoy the pictures and hope to see you on the road soon.!!

I had to change the carb and the starter .They went within a day of each other.Now it runs great! 43 miles and counting. Still waiting on paperwork so I just go up and down the block.I changed the rear fender mounting and like it a lot better now.I think it's time to stop now. everything seems to be fine.