Resources needed on fabricating vehicles

[Grease Monk]

I'll be starting my final year project soon, and have decided on fabricating some sort of a car/buggy. We still havent finalized wether it would go off road or not, nor on its chassis layout, but we have narrowed it down to either the caterham design, or a kart-like structure like in the ariel atom.

Caterham :

Ariel Atom :

What I need are some resources or information regarding mechanisms available to construct such vehicles (including but not limited to : chassis layouts, steering mechanisms, wheel mounting mechanisms, suspension, materials, etc).

Also, what are the approximate going rates for second hand engines in india? Anything beyond the capabilities of the kinetic honda engine (can include both car and bike engines).

Also, any tips and user experiences are most welcome.

 

[friedclyde]

Hi Grease monk, for vehicle frames u use a particluar kind of Steel. Its caleed D.O.M.E Steel (Google it) The welding u use is not the normal welding that u can get done at a grill wala, u need a specific welding machine (T.I.G Welding or M.I.G welding) Fabrication of parts in India is quite difficult. Where are u based? ......by the way the caterham has already been introuced by chinkara (of course its not really a caterham) PM me if you need to know more details about engines u can go to chor bazzar (bike section) and pick one up. You can bargain out there so the price actually depends on the customer dont go well dressed U can also go for a cheap chinese (good) alternative

If you need anymore details just pm me.

 

[Grease Monk]

thanks for the details. Unfortunately i couldnt find anything on 'dome steel' or 'd.o.m.e. steel' on google or wiki. My seniors used some bad-ass nichrome steel alloy last year for their go-cart, but they didnt have much of a buget constraint.

It would be nice if you could post some approximate prices of 2nd hand engines.

 

[friedclyde]

Sorry Grease monk its DOM Steel (pronounced as dome steel so my active sunconsious ) ......i dont know abt second hand engines in chennai......in bombay i know of a few places where u get em but never really found out the cost......dude its really easy to find em.....get off the forum and do some offline searching cya around

 

[Vince]

Good to see you've started up on your project GM! All the best man!

sorry i dont know a lot on automobiles..

 

[Trajan]

GreeseMonk a friend of mine did mechectronics... and he designed a car for his final yr proj... he used an auto engine for it... i remember him telling that auto engines are 145cc for 2 stroke and 175cc for 4 strokes... even though the power in terms of bhp might be less, those engines have high torque when compared to bikes...

he got second had engine and he designed the vehicle and drove it to his college when he had to showcase it...

i dont know more abt the design n all as i was in chennai and he was studying in madurai... i remember that the whole thing cost him 18k.

if this is helpful to u, i could ask him for more details...

 

[Grease Monk]

@itsmevivek: yeah, i would like more info. Thanks!