NRG Autocycle, Campagna T-Rex, Style Home Built, Reverse Trike

THE INSPIRATION:   In 2014 I wanted to build a vehicle that represented future styling characteristics good performance, good gas mileage and a big driving Fun Factor that was guaranteed to tun heads with a smile! As a retired Industrial Engineer, I had worked with Computer Aided Design for over 30 years, initial conceptual drawings were later refined for the steel tubular chassis and body style.

THE CHASSIS;   I purchased a tubing bender from Harbor Freight and  140 lineal ft. of 1.5 x.060" steel tubing. Once I established the actual bend radius of the tubing with the dies provided, I laid out all the main structural sections on CAD drawings. I used an digital angle to replicate the precise angles of each tubing member were they could be fixed and welded in place. Special analysis was given to the front end geometry with regards to Ackerman angle, camber, caster, this was used to optimize both off the shelf components as well as fabricated ones.

THE BODY:  In 1983 I built a car body out of polycarbonate, but this time I wanted to use light weight and structurally superior Carbon Fiber. The body was completed using a mold-less process beginning with extruded polystyrene foam panels glued together and shaped to get the basis design. Utilizing epoxy resin, the  body panels are covered internally with fiberglass and externally with carbon fiber cloth. For the curing stage the sandwich composite of panels are covered with a layer of peal-ply, absorption cloth, then bagged and placed in a vacuum to apply atmospheric pressure for final curing.

THE MOTOR:   Since this vehicle is a reverse three wheeler or AUTO-CYCLE the power plant i.e. motor & transmission had to come from a donor motorcycle. I wanted this vehicle to be easy to drive, fast and reliable. At only 815 lbs the Honda FSC 600cc was the final choice. The end result is a moderately quick vehicle, that still gets 40 mpg, is easy to drive ,has great power-train reliability, is super fun to drive and definitely turns heads.

Hope you enjoy the video!