LocostUSA.com

Glad to hear that it's getting close, i'll keep an eye on here for more updates.

If there is something I can do to help, let me know although it sounds like you have things handled.

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trying to design a DD friendly, road legal, MR BEC.

Machinist has finished re-boring two of three R-falcon boxes with bigger 58mm bearings. I will post pics over the weekend. Gonna get these units re-assembled soon..

why the bigger bearings?

also glad to see this is continuing.

Still want one if they can be proved to be middy friendly.

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trying to design a DD friendly, road legal, MR BEC.

Perhaps a spray on coating to seal off the pores? It would give you good coverage and be easily replenishable.
There are several, I would consider http://www.permatex.com/products/product-categories/gasketing/gasket-sealants/permatex-copper-spray-a-gasket-hi-temp-sealant-detail
Any sealant that came off would be so soft that it would become more of a lubricant than a blockage.

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"There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one.
For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is ..." Randall Garrett

What weight advantage - with sealer - does carbon have over aluminum, or is it for marketing? All it takes is one unhappy customer with a leaky unit to undo whatever marketing advantage it has. Why not start up production with aluminum and test carbon on the side?

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Midlana book: Build this mid-engine Locost!, http://midlana.com/stuff/book/
Kimini book: Designing mid-engine cars using FWD drivetrains
Both available from https://www.lulu.com/

Sorry everyone about the delayed response. My grandmother passed away this mother's day weekend.

ill answer Timmay's question first as best as possible:

I decided on bigger bearings just because I wanted make it little more robust; it will handle the radial loads from the power through the shafts better. I did test the box briefly in the car down the street and it performed well - not a lot power or speed, just 40 mph. bigger bearing more peace of mind. I will say box needs mounting adjustments. currently, the box is a litte too close to the engine, and sliding yoke doesnt have enough travel. this may have caused the input shaft in the bearing to loosen a bit; this also attributes to the angles of the propshaft and input shaft on the box - some harmonic vibration could have loosen it too . anyways thats about it

ok thanks for the update and my condolences are with you and your family.

keep us posted, this looks like a great box and i'd love to have one in my build someday!

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trying to design a DD friendly, road legal, MR BEC.

Glad to see you are still at it. BTW. I noticed in the above photo that the bearings you show are sealed or have dust caps. If you are including any lubricating fluid (Hypoid gear oil or auto trans fluid) within the box, you should order the bearings without the dust caps and seals.

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Chuck.

“Any suspension will work if you don’t let it.” - Colin Chapman

Visit my ongoing MGB Rustoration log: over HERE

Or my Wankel powered Locost log : over HERE

And don't forget my Cushman Truckster resto Locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=17766

KB58 wrote:


Hi Kurt,

I've chosen the CF because of cost and you're well aware of of its benefits from your mid-engine Mini project. If everyone recalls, I assembled a prototype back in 2009-10 which used an 1/8" steel covering that was supposedly CNC radius bent/formed but it didnt quite come out correctly, expensive too. I had an aluminum billet mold/die made in 2011 in order to make the cover out of CF/Kevlar. The die was made by a local machinist using the same corner radius drawings as the aluminum bearing housings. The CF is easy to lay-up and cure with the vaccum process. I alternate 3 layers of CF (3k twill weave) and 3 of Kevlar, and two final layers of CF which brings me to 1/8" thinkness using adaquate bag vaccuming. Of course, I don't own an autoclave to do it professionaly but the results i've seen so far are acceptable - this stuff is ridgid and hard to break or crack. Plus the CF and Kevlar fabric is cheap compared to metal and cnc bending/forming process. With my die/mold I can make up to four CF covers a day. I cut the CF with a wet title saw which leaves smooth cuts (no burrs) and no dangerous CF dust in my lungs . .

When assembled, it offers a very tight snug fit, however the CF is pourous and during testing it eventually leaked.
I attempted to seal the insides using an expoxy gas tank sealer ( the same stuff I used on my home-built tank) but it didn't turn out as successful. I'm comtemplating using another, and better, expoxy call Hysol DP9430 by Loctite. I used this product to bond the alum oil drain/fill plugs to the CF cover - this stuff works great. Manufacturers use it on those high$$ bicycles to bond parts together.

rx7locost,

Dust cap seals are still in to keep material out as i work in the garage . Once I'm ready to reassemble i'll pop them out with a razor blade.

Running behind schedule a little with the gearbox but moving forward. Tomorrow i'm expecting the overdrive gears to be finished up by C&C EMD specialist. I sourced them to cut out the internal splines for the overdrive "drive" gear in the r-falcon. Eventually I would like to broach or outsource to a broaching process but that option isn't cost-effective yet. The EDM wiring cutting process can acheive some very tigh tolerances so i'm anticipating some good results. Once I get the gears back I'll get them heat-treated/hardened

I've updated my web site with some specs on the R-falcon (the specs are fluid and may change slightly).

Gear back from the EMD wire shop. before on the left, after on the right

Update:

*Overdrive gears have been shipped to be heat-treated (induction hardened); I'm waiting the status / shipping date.


* Any BEC owners in the North/South Carolina? I'm looking for a tester immediately. I have a special incentive for the tester.

Over the past several days I've been thinking about the reverse unit and pricing once again. I developed a business model that supports a reasonable initial price-point and offer services that hopefully will make potential buyers happy in the long-term. So I will overview the
R-Falcon features and business model:

R-Falcon Features:

*1:1 Forward, 1:1.25 overdrive and reverse (dog-meshing for forward, overdrive is just gear-to-gear - doesn't support dynamic shifting on the fly)

*Aluminum bearing housings /w carbon-fiber/Kevlar cover

*Epoxy sealed unit - this guarantees no leaks after some unsuccessful attempts to use O-ring seal on the CF/Kevlar cover to the aluminum housings. Purchaser/owner will not be able to disassemble the unit due to the epoxy sealing which is further explained in my business model below.

* Supports up to 250hp/120 ft torque when using the Robinson Industries Heavy-Duty output shafts (28mm x 13 spline vs the oem 25mm x 13 spline) - I contacted Bill Robinson about becoming an authorized reseller of the heavy-duty output shaft and we're going to partner-up. The only issue is finding the prop adapter to match the bigger spline profile. They make the counter-sprocket for the bikes but I need to source the prop adapter - I may have a source in mind.

I recommend purchasing a resilient torque shaft for the front (engine to unit) to mitigate the BEC "clank" experience. I've driven my car with a FR2000 Eurotech box, my prototype and the R-Falcon; I still seem to have that experience occasionally regardless of the reversing unit.

Business Model:
1. Buyers can purchase a new reverse unit for $1100.00. The units include everything necessary to integrate with the BEC car except for two prop flange adapters (separate purchase).

2. (Optionally) buyer may purchase a gearbox "rebuild kit" services $250.00 + shipping. This will allow the buyer to have the unit service rebuilt by us due to bearing wear or other issues. It kind of gives you a warranty/insurance. $250.00 will include:

Inspection of the unit
New bearings pressed in
New CF/Kevlar cover
New oil drain/fill bungs
New shift mount boss oil seal
Original shift mount boss will be retained
Original fill/drain bolts retained
Original internal shafts and gears are retained.
Original shift lever retained

Box is resealed, tested and shipped back to customer. Customer needs to retain original shipping box/crate.

I think this model is fair and is competitive in pricing with the "other" units out there. Again, the rebuild service is optional and can be purchased anytime, and it does allow one to extent the service life of the unit, protecting the initial $1100.00 investment. The "guarantee no leak" is the main directive behind the new business model

Finally, we will not offer refund/warranties on the unit (as other don’t offer due the nature the use) but we'll offer "No DOA (dead of arrive) time period" clause/terms of use.

Thanks,

Ryan

great news!

So the box will be shipped without adapters? that's fine for me personally.

The rebuild service sounds decent. will there be a way to change the oil without cracking the case? (that way preventative maintenance won't be an issue)

Still looking into being middy capable? Because I'm sold if that's the case. I'll just create/buy my own sprocket adapters and run the box that way.

Thanks for the update and I hope things continue to work out for you so that this product can come to market!

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trying to design a DD friendly, road legal, MR BEC.

Timmay,

As far as your Mid-engine project, have you considered mounting the engine longitudinal in the back? An accusump unit or drysump would eliminate potenial oil starvation. there is a youtube vid where someone installed a busa engine this way . Of course spacing may be an issue..

Engine counter-sprocket --> chain --> to rear end sprocket is cool, however, i'm scared of adding a reverse box in between .

Moreover, I have a design for a mid-engine reverse unit like the ones used in the mini-BEC buggies out west

Oil Draining/Filling:

The unit has two plugs/bungs; on top for oil fill/breather, on button for draining. Oil can be changed without dissasembly

BTW here's a link to a Speed calculation tool created by Chris Gamblin in the UK. I modified it to include the R-Falcon:

https://sales.powergearperformance.com/bike_ratio.xls

I have and it wouldn't fit inside of my target wheelbase.

I understand your concern and if you think it would need extra external bearings I could accommodate as long as the input and output shaft are long enough to fit them and a sprocket. I'd think some big sealed bearings could stop the box from being overloaded if built into the mounting system correctly.

Was going to use spring based tensioners for the chain (at least in 1 loop) to remove the need to let the box move around a ton and to hopefully reduce stress.

if you have a design for a mid engined unit that's cool too. Just trying to see if you can simplify and sell one box for both applications.

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trying to design a DD friendly, road legal, MR BEC.