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The Build
The Diggers took to the scrapheap like ducks to water and quickly unearthed a Cherokee Wagoner with a powerful V8 engine. It was a perfect donor for their 'tadpole' trike, a design which required the front end of a vehicle to which they would add a single wheel to the rear.
But life is never that easy on the 'heap. It wouldn't start! Cue four men standing around an engine muttering: 'I think it's the red and the black one'. One hour later, and after much head scratching, it finally leapt into life.
Frustrated by their slow start and with Captain Paul cracking the whip, the Diggers launched into their build and had it looking 'trike-like' in an incredibly short time. Confidence was sky high so they decided to modify their design and add steering to the rear wheel.
It looked like they were going to finish with time to spare. Then they tested the handlebar steering: the wheels barely turned! It was back to the drawing board for expert Dai who quickly had to improvise a new steering system using the rack and pinion steering from an old Ford Escort.
Whilst the brothers bickered away, Captain Paul and Dai reworked the steering and in the nick of time the trike was finished and looking favourite for the challenge ahead.
The front steering from the pick-up was much lighter than a conventional trike and the rear steer meant they could turn a very tight circle, although it did make the vehicle a lot less stable.
Pros
- Lots of weight over the front-drive axle means good traction
- Very manoeuvrable
Cons
- Prone to under-steering
- Less stable due to steering at both ends
The Engine Eggheads decided to stick to a conventional trike design for their creation. After hunting high and low, Rish and Zane located a textbook Scrapheap donor vehicle – an old Land Rover. Unfortunately for them it was parked inside a caravan and their lack of hands-on experience showed as they struggled to pull it out.
After two hours of toil they dragged their treasure back into the build area where team expert Rhino could work his magic.
His plan was to remove the front axle and add a single wheel to the front. The cunning part of his steering design was to use the hub of the original front wheel (a ball rotating on a king-pin) – a heavy but more manoeuvrable option than a long bicycle fork.
In theory it was a great idea. But not in practice. The Eggheads were taking an eternity to get the Landy ready and Rhino was left pulling his hair out at the students' slow progress. With half the day gone it was time for a crisis talk. Captain Paul and his team were given a pep talk by Rhino and told to pull their fingers out.
It seemed to work and in a whirlwind of welding and grinding the Eggheads began constructing the frame to support the front wheel. It was slightly over-constructed (with the judge describing it as the Forth Road Bridge) but at least there was progress.
With some frantic twilight welding, their trike was finished. But their long steering arm was much heavier than hoped and reduced their manoeuvrability considerably.
Pros
- Lots of weight over rear-drive axle would help with traction
- Should be fast
Cons
- Pressure on the front wheel
- Very heavy steering
