Making a mockery

 

I made 23" paper wheels and taped them to a wall (touching the floor), with their centres 66" apart, then using an old, school Epson projector, projected an image of a Bédélia and gradually adjusted its size until the cockpit fitted my outline with the wheels as close as possible to the spread of mine.

The Bédélia was a long, narrow car, with wheels at the corners. It cannot have a 66" (or even 72") wheelbase without quite a lot of compromise, which meant that I played with several versions by over-laying in "Paint" and also simply cutting and sticking the old fashioned way. And I projected my results in the same way.

(I really should find a way to flick-book-animate these, as the subtle changes look great taken in quick succession. Get in touch if you know how that's done)

I made adjustments by over-laying alternatives, moved things around, scribbled changes and annotations, etc.

Once I had established some cockpit measurements and had some idea of where chassis rails should be, I made a largely flat-faced 3D mockup in correx and cardboard

The engine of the original Bédélias was in the front, but as my engine (in common with most cyclekarts) is in the back, I have the opportunity to turn that space into a rather snug foot-well. However, being an already snug car, as it was, this will not be a very much smaller compartment than it originally was. Having my feet in there means that my main mass can be well forward of my rear axle, which will be good for stability. I have lowered the base so that I will be sitting 4" from the ground.

But the downside to not reducing the size of this box, and of not very greatly altering the size of the cockpit is that there is a danger of the original proportions being badly distorted. But I have played with this a lot and am fairly confident  that it can be made to work.