I have built a trike. With a425 caddy engine and front wheel drive power train in the rear of the trike. Was wondering how you made out with the Manitoba safety(I am in southern Manitoba also). Been to the inspector once but more to come. Thanks
Originally Posted by
Easyrider54
Thanks, Lucky.
Originally Posted by
Easyrider54
Caveman50, I have spent considerable time studying your Reaper already! In fact, it was a little bit inspirational, in that when I first started researching home built trikes, my intention was to build one using my 1996 Subaru Outback Legacy for a donor car. I googled "Subaru trike", and up popped The Reaper. I spent many hours on the net reading, and in my shop measuring, working on a concept drawing. Turns out that the Subie engine/tranny makes a really nice tidy mid-engine package. The resulting concept drawing revealed that you can end up with a trike which doesn't need to be any longer than 9' overall length, and about 36" high (one of my objectives is to make the trike as compact as possible).
Then I got to thinking...what are the dimensions of a Northstar? Turns out they are surprisingly similar to those of the Subie. The distance from front axle to the front of the engine are Subie-22", Caddy-24".
Width, Subie-32", Caddy-34".
Ground to top of engine, Subie-34", Caddy-34".
(All measurements are approximate...). But the Caddy Northstar has 300 horsepower!
I have just been looking at The Reaper again, and I do like your suspension! I have read lots and lots of build threads/blogs/articles, and most opt for the easy way out and use the donor car sub-frame and suspension, aka "the easy way out". I haven't decided yet (because I don't have to) but trust me, I am familiar with yours, and something similar is definitely a possibility. I appreciate your offer for advice, and I hope you meant it, because I intend to take you up on it!
Glen