Big Daddy Roth Trike

[stray catalyst]

I bought this as a project, from the kids of the guy who's apparently been building it for decades. Now I've decided on the possibly unrealistic goal of using it to go to an event, on the second of May... slightly less than a month from now!

It's a Big Daddy Roth trike, built onto a 1971 VW rear end. The motor was rebuilt, and has dual Weber 34 ICT carbs - I don't know if he increased bore, stroke, etc, but when I took the heads off I was astounded to see NO carbon - this engine has only been started a couple of times since the rebuild.

The brakes were rusted solid, but the master cylinder seems to work when I disconnected the lines, so I've bought the slave cylinders - one of the projects I hope to accomplish this weekend, along with diagnosing the starter problem, buying a variety of smaller parts, installing the exhaust, installing the engine cage, and patching up the wiring harness.

This is what it looked like last Autumn, when I bought it. The fenders aren't original, but I'll probably paint them and mount them until I can find something better, or fabricate something out of stainless. The gold metal-flake color is going to be painted deep purple, as will the fenders - gold is a color choice that hasn't withstood the test of time. The wide-5 wheels are being exchanged for some nice new stainless rims.

Stray Catalyst

 

[mkparker]

Hey buddy, I thought I recognized that name! I saw this first on Volksrods. Glad to see you're still workin' on it. From your last post over there I thought it was going away.

 

[stray catalyst]

I'd originally planned to sell it, but all I got were lowballers - "Give it to me free, tow it to my house, and thank me for the privilege" kind of offers, so I'm finishing it and riding it - if I get tired of it later, I'll sell it then. At this point, I hope to have it as a roadworthy and legal vehicle in the next month - which, with my low budget, may not be possible, but I'm going to try to take it for its maiden voyage on the 2nd of May. In between now and then, I need to do a number of minor repairs, make a seat (which I'll replace when I have the money, as I've seen some REALLY impressive upholstery from one of the vendors at another trike site), renew my motorcycle license, register it, and get it inspected...

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

Well, a mixed bag of news.
I installed the brakes, with a few minor difficulties. I still need to replace one brake line that wasn't feeling cooperative at the same time as I wasn't feeling patient. I also installed the exhaust (with the exception of two studs, which I'll buy and install by next weekend) and the engine cage, as planned - should have known things were going too smoothly.


The electrical system... oh, where to start.

The guy who built this clearly wasn't an electrician. Wires were butt-crimped, twisted together with tape, soldered and left to bounce on the metal parts of the frame, or connected with quick-disconnects... and that was all in a single wire. Wires would change colors as many as half a dozen times in a single run, with circuits being done with whatever wire came to hand first. I spent a while swearing in every language I know, and have now started rewiring the trike. I have the body off, and am concentrating first on rewiring the instruments, ignition, and lights on the body - I'll get the engine harness, gas gauge, brake lights, and the rest before I install the body again. Fortunately, it's a simple electrical system - no radio, AC, or other accessories, just lights, horn, and engine. The original fuse block was mounted directly behind the front wheel, to better catch any road crud and rainwater coming off the wheel - that's one of the things I'll be changing. I'm thinking seriously about mounting an ammo box, with the wires coming in grommeted holes in the base, to keep the fuses, relays, and the like safe and dry.
So, with any luck, I'll spare this trike the painful electrical problems that tend to plague old VW's, by completely replacing the wiring harness with custom work, and split-looming the wires to protect them from chafing and other forms of damage. Now's the best time, while I have the body off, as I'll never have better access to all the wiring than I do now.

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

I've finished rewiring the body of the trike - replaced all the questionable wires, ziptied or spiral-wrapped the harness together, and removed the cut-off-and-hanging-loose remains of whatever wiring was there before the previous owner butchered it. I also removed the fuse box and flasher relay from the trike frame - I'll make an enclosure for them to live in, and reattach it. The frame is a project for the weekend - once I have that half of the wiring harness repaired, I'll install some split loom over it and attach it to the frame - everything can meet at the fuse box. I'm going to have to replace the oil pressure gage, as it's a mechanical-pressure one, and I don't see any reason not to switch it over to electronic - there are already enough places where VW's like to leak oil, no need to give it another opportunity.

Here's a "before" picture of the dashboard area...

And here's the same place, AFTER I rewired it.

Stray Catalyst

 

[Trikerjim]

Stray that thing brings back a lot of memories...I'm so glad your taking on the project and not letting it die. Just remember, back then those things were like the "dune buggy" kits, nobody expected them to last very long, so some of the workmanship wasn't that great...Good luck and please keep us posted.

 

[stray catalyst]

I used to work for a company that made racing sailboats - the fiberglass work on this is sturdy, and was meant to last. The wiring... well, the fiberglass is great.
From my perspective - the kit was made to last, but the builder might not have realized that. All the parts look good - solid welds on the frame, neat fabrication, not a hack-job like some of my previous kit cars. The parts that were built by the owner were nowhere near as high quality as the parts built by Big Daddy and/or his minions. I'm hoping I can get this built and road-worthy by the 2nd of May... 22 days to go.

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

Today I picked up the brake line and exhaust studs. The brake line fit, and is installed - the exhaust studs didn't fit, or perhaps the old studs are broken off in the hole - I hope not, though. I'll have a chance to examine those more closely over the weekend.

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

I've now rewired the frame, and re-installed the body on the trike. I also picked up a .30 cal ammo can to use for the electrical box - the .50 cal cans are way too large for this. I'm scrapping the corroded fusebox entirely and replacing it with a self-resetting circuit-breaker panel I have left over from a previous battlebot project - neater, more elegant, and it has room for me to expand the electrical system if I feel like adding a radio, or any other electrical gizmo, in the future. All the wiring leads to the right part of the frame, but I still have to modify the ammo can (holes for wires, holes for bolts, brackets for the circuit-breaker panel and relays, etc) before I can install it - but once that's finished, I should have the whole electrical system rebuilt and ready to run! I'm also picking up two new tires to mount on the new stainless steel rims - no more rusty wide-fives for me. 20 days left until my deadline - hope I can make it!

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

I've modified the ammo can, and mounted it. The circuit-breaker board is installed in it, and most of the wires lead to the can, but I haven't hooked everything up yet. The tires are mounted and balanced on the new rims, but I haven't installed them yet onto the trike. The ammo can has bolt-holes for mounting, an opening for the wires, the screw-holes for the circuit-breaker panel, and drainage holes. I also replaced the cable between the battery and the starter - leftovers from an electrical vehicle project in the past - that cable was one of the possible points of failure, as the crimped fittings came off with a gentle tug. I still have an hour or two of wiring to do, to complete the electrical system - but it's well on its way. No pictures today, I'll post some when I have more progress.

Stray Catalyst

 

[Trikerjim]

Hey Stray, Glad your making progress on the trike. I know electrical work gets boring to me real quick, but it sounds like your knocking it out pretty well. I thought you might want to check out this website that I deal with a lot buying my pinstriping supplies. The owner has a lot of Big Daddy Roth stuff that he aquired over the years. They also have a book that shows and tells about the trikes, bikes, cars ect. Keep up the good work and check him out. Real nice people...

Xcaliber Corp. Pinstriping & Lettering Supplies

 

[Papa Zook]

Thoroughly entertaining Stray! Thanks for the updates and pictures. Ive been reading that the Ed Roth vehicles and art are getting pretty collectible.

 

[Trikerjim]

Hey Stray, check this one out..

View attachment 110

 

[stray catalyst]

More progress.
I installed the new rims (complete with fairly new tires, courtesy of a friend from work) and the handlebars, plus associated controls - brakes and throttle. The new rims make a lot of difference - the old wide-fives dragged down the look quite a bit.

So many things left to finish... I still need to fix the front brakes, the horn, the speedometer, the clutch petal, the seats, finish the electrical work, register it, inspect it, and get back my motorcycle license - 18 days to go!

Stray Catalyst

 

[Ozarkryder]

Really like keeping track of your progress. You have come a long way in a short time, great work!

Are those flares over the tires big enough to qualify as fenders?

 

[John Luciano]

I would love to see it make it to Americade that gives you an extra month . Reall is a kool looking unit. wireing looks like my 1980 gold wing i bought. the guy left every wire at least a foot longer than it needed to be. any one need 500 feet of auto wire in 10 different colors <LOL>

 

[stray catalyst]

I would love to see it make it to Americade that gives you an extra month . Reall is a kool looking unit. wireing looks like my 1980 gold wing i bought. the guy left every wire at least a foot longer than it needed to be. any one need 500 feet of auto wire in 10 different colors <LOL>

I would have loved that - this guy only had four colors of wire, unless you count the "spliced" wires of five or more colors EACH. At this point, I still have to do about two hours more wiring - hooking up the power leads to the fusebox, tucking everything away in its own spiral-loom or split-loom, testing, etc. seventeen days to go...

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

Really like keeping track of your progress. You have come a long way in a short time, great work!

Are those flares over the tires big enough to qualify as fenders?

The flares are actually nowhere near the tires - trick of perspective. I talked to one of the state cops who attends the same dojo as me, and he told me I'd need something as a fender - but pointed out that the law doesn't specify how LARGE it is, just that it's there, so I could use a piece of metal the size of a paperback book over each tire if I felt like it. I'll probably rattlecan the ugly magenta ones to be about the same color as the body, for now, just so they don't stand out so much as an eyesore, and I can still ride it without spending half my time beside the road arguing with the police.
I've found a guy who wants the adapters from the previous wheels, and will trade me the air cleaners I need for them. One more item off the shopping list! I've also found a local motorcycle junkyard that has the size of tire I need for the front, with enough tread to get through an inspection, for small change... Aside from registering the trike, and getting my motorcycle license, I believe I have all the more expensive parts (ie, anything over $20) taken care of now. I also picked up the foam and velcro for the seats this evening... Seventeen days to go, and I might actually make it, in spite of my budget!

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

Hey Stray, check this one out..

View attachment 110

That's VERY pretty, and I love the paintjob - but it has a different nose from mine. It might well be another Big Daddy Roth trike, but it's not from the same molds that made mine. I actually haven't done a lot of research into his other vehicles, though I've read some articles about him and his early work in various VW magazines.

Stray Catalyst

 

[stray catalyst]

Are those flares over the tires big enough to qualify as fenders?

From the front, you can see that the flares aren't anywhere near the tires - but from the side, it looks like they'd work. I'm afraid I'll have to paint the horrible fenders and use them - when I repaint the whole trike, I'll bondo and prep the fenders so they look better, but at this point it's just triage painting.

Stray Catalyst