Cy-Car: Testing

TESTING: Toyota Pick-Up testing of complete drive line components

Cy-Car TigerCat 3V2 Testing Program “Starting with the dis-assembly of the standard 1985 King Cab” Start Date 9-1-08 An early decision was made to test the proprietary Cy-Car drive line parts in as many ways as possible. Because none of the parts required to mount a “V” Twin Harley engine to an automotive type drive line were available from the general market we knew that we would design and make our own. There was going to be a number of required items to make this connection between the engine and rear wheel take place. I will list them in order engine to wheel: 1 Engine a. 1st engine to install, Harley 80 cid. 2 Engine to Clutch / Oil Tank housing adapter, aluminum casting, proprietary a. Starter ring gear 3 Clutch / Oil Tank, aluminum casting a. Clutch plate b. Throw-out bearing c. Engine out-put crank stub to transmission spine to spine adapter, proprietary 4 Transmission a. Toyota 5 speed from two wheel drive pick-up truck b. Toyota automatic from two wheel pick-up 5 Propeller shaft, torque tube, modified Toyota 6 90 degree gear box (PTO, power take off), aluminum casting, proprietary 7 Primary belt sprocket, proprietary 8 Secondary wheel sprocket, Harley Davidson 9 Swing arm, aluminum casting and fabrication, proprietary 10 Rear wheel, aluminum casting, proprietary This is a long list of designs and fabrication to test. It will take over two years to complete and have each item signed off as acceptable. But the most important starting items were 1,2 and 3. Because these were the most important items it was decided to purchase a used Toyota Pick-up truck to be used as a test bed. It was just by luck that a member of the “Club of Finger Pointing Designers” had just such a truck in which his teen aged son had over-cooked the engine. So for $125 we purchased the truck and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the truck was in great shape, even though it had over 250,000 miles on the odometer. And we got an automatic three speed to test in a later car.

All weight removed including the 350 pound engine. Do you think the Harley will pull it?	Can you believe $125 for this little gem?
We turned the truck over to “Glen the Fab Guy” and he quickly removed the engine and gave it away to a local “Mini-Stock” racer. The extra un-needed parts were removed to make it lighter where possible. This truck was to be equipped with an 80 cid. 45 horse power “V” twin Harley and we did not want to over burden the engine with useless weight. We then removed the right side of the instrument panel to install a gravity fuel tank (which would be serviced from outside at the cowl). Bumpers were removed along with passenger seat and center consol. The driver’s seat was inspected and allowed to remain. Fire bottles were installed in the cockpit and engine bay.

An inside look at the “gravity feed fuel tank” installed into the instrument panel at the upper right. Look, no rust in 250,000 miles, an original Oregon truck.
At this point the truck was parked and work began on the construction of the prototype TigerCat cycle-car, because we only had enough parts for one drive line. The Toyota testing program was put on a side burner until a second drive line was made available. The decision to begin the truck program was made at a time when we were moving along at a slow pace. But the decision to move directly into car prototype construction will now allow us to test a lot of systems and parts at the same time around the first of next year (2009).

Someone told me that this a good replacement engine for this Toyota, but we are going to stick with the H.D. - Carl L. Myers