Soapbox racer

[classicpower]

Hi, this is what i´m building for my nephew.
For him is a great satisfaction to help with the build and i enjoy to teach him basic fabrication skills.

 

[mike13u]

Thats great stuff. Wish i had someone to teach me at that age. Thanks for shareing and keep the pictures coming.

 

[Abbott]

How cool is that? Very!

 

[classicpower]

We try to recycle as much as we can, the rear wheel is from an old pocket bike i had laying at home and the front ones will be from a small quad that was about to be sent to the scrapyard by the shop next door.
The front is going to run a severe negative camber and this way he´ll learn basic set-up too...

 

[t100]

that's pretty cool.

don't forget safety. no gloves when operating rotary tool such as drill, mill, lathe.

 

[classicpower]

that's pretty cool.

don't forget safety. no gloves when operating rotary tool such as drill, mill, lathe.

Of course, he´s aware of this, no gloves plus no goggles means no work that day...

 

[Jack Olsen]

What t100 is saying is that he should not wear gloves working on a drill press. If the leather gets caught, it can twist his fingers off.

In your shoes, I'd get him some ear protection, too. I wish I'd used it when I was young.

But enough safety nagging. This is a cool project. I can't wait to see more.

 

[Travis E.]

Depending on what kind of soap box you are building check out SFVISBF (San Fernando Valley Illegal Soap Box Federation) there are also some videos of races on Youtube.
Let me know if you have any question as i have built a few. Here is the last one i built.

 

[classicpower]

The boy is wearing gloves because the piece he´s drilling is well clamped, i´m beside him and he is not allowed to do anything else than following my instructions.
In any case thanks a lot for your comments about safety, it´s never enough....

 

[classicpower]

Depending on what kind of soap box you are building check out SFVISBF (San Fernando Valley Illegal Soap Box Federation) there are also some videos of races on Youtube.
Let me know if you have any question as i have built a few. Here is the last one i built.

Thanks a lot, we´ve visited this page in the past and he´s mad about your soapbox (the world is very small )
I PM you my e-mail , would be great to have some more pictures. our idea is to build a threewheeler but he wants a body similar to yours.
We´re going to fit the front wheels tomorrow.

 

[t100]

What t100 is saying is that he should not wear gloves working on a drill press. If the leather gets caught, it can twist his fingers off.

normally the bad injuries are happened when the spindle/drill chuck catches the glove. it's considered lucky if only fingers are gone.

it's cool for the young dude wants to work. I TA at school, most of them(17-22yo) all they want to do is sitting there dicking with their cellphones.

 

[classicpower]

This hurts!!! Poor dummy....

 

[classicpower]

Hi, today we´ve been building the steering, that´s bending steel rods with the aid of the torch and cut them to measure to get steering arms, also trial fitting the rear brake.
tomorrow we´ll try to finish and test it over the weekend
The race is in a short and not very fast place, with some really thight slow bends, that´s why i try to keep the frame as short as posible and the three wheels.

 

[Rockford514]

COOL project,and the look on his face priceless

 

[Jack Olsen]

I gotta say: LOVE that kind of negative camber!

The boy is wearing gloves because the piece he´s drilling is well clamped, i´m beside him and he is not allowed to do anything else than following my instructions.
In any case thanks a lot for your comments about safety, it´s never enough....

Not to over-dwell, but you should never wear gloves while operating a drill press -- no matter if the piece you're working on is clamped or not. The danger is the glove brushing against the bit and getting wrapped (with fingers) before you have a chance to shut it off.

 

[Rockford514]

Good or Bad I rest my free hand on the kill switch.

Back to the build,more pics

 

[jeepnut24]

LOVE the negative camber... That thing needs a motor!

 

[classicpower]

Thanks a lot for the comments, today we have fitted and adjusted the rear brake caliper and get some measurements for a second crosmember at the front.

Unfortunately for my nephew the next days i want to start the conversion of my CB650 into a cafe racer and try to finish my Lambretta after a two years restoration, the engine is now ready to be fitted after a complete rebuild, so we´re going to stop working in the soapbox until next weekend.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

.

That would make a great hard-tail chopper...

 

[Test Tech]

Good or Bad I rest my free hand on the kill switch.

Back to the build,more pics

I absolutley agree with Rockford514, the killswitch is the right place for your free hand to be. It makes it quick to shut the drill press down, and gives you a place to put it away from the rotating tooling and the work piece that make unexpectedly leave the vice/clamp.

 

[Frank]

I bought a pedal kill switch for mine. Its only on while my foot is on it. Keeps both hands free.

 

[classicpower]

We´ve finally tested the reverse trike today, after changing the rider position.

And a slow motion video.

 

[NASTYZEN]

Cool trike design. What's even cooler is that your taking the time to teach your nephew. Keep up the good work,show us more.

 

[onemore]

Great project, keep the pictures coming. All the more reason why I want to clean out and organize the garage.

 

[Vettman]

Great memories and experience you're creating!

 

[classicpower]

Thanks mates, there´s only one more weekend before the race, we´re going to take a video from the streets that will become the circuit and i´ll show him the right path, this way he will memorize details from the neighbourhood that will help to trace the curves, things like "when reach this tree start braking and turn at the next one"
Next weekend trace similar curves that i´ve found and during the week he will paint it ready for the great day.

 

[srmofo]

I know its a little late in the game, but wouldnt slim wheels/tires give more speed over those knobby offroad tires?

 

[sscustom]

great work cant wait to see more

 

[classicpower]

I know its a little late in the game, but wouldnt slim wheels/tires give more speed over those knobby offroad tires?

Sure it would be fast, but the philosophy on the build was to recycle as much as posible and spend the minimun $$$, and being the surface of the track bumpy tarmac this fat wheels will act as a kind of shock absorber.

 

[classicpower]

Soapbox painted and ready for Sunday, only one more day of testing then cleaning and fitting the stickers.

 

[sscustom]

Soapbox painted and ready for Sunday, only one more day of testing then cleaning and fitting the stickers.

sweet ride there .came out realy nice ,is that a pocket bike whel at the back?

 

[classicpower]

Just came back from the race, our result:
Fourth in three wheels category
Sixth overall
Best build trophy
plus an interview at the local radio station, not bad for a rookie...

 

[Rickochet]

That is just plain C-O-O-L!!!!!!! You are teaching this young man skills that he will use for a lifetime!

 

[NASTYZEN]

Wow! Congrats! That is really cool.

 

[metal1313]

i would add taller, narrower wheels like hybrid bike tires(narrow, but with a decent tread and a little tacky). that should gain him some speed and a little more control.

i would also cut a saddle into the drum to give him a little more grip and comfort on it. perhaps a stock motorcycle seat pan would work