Even more questions from me

[badlandsrox]

Must be summer... I have been asking way to many questions since I have so much time to think about things... :P

Okay, well this time I only have two...

Numero Uno
Ok, so with the heat and everything of summer, I have been thinking about an outdoor pool, and the feasability of one. Starting off, it is cold here from september to mid june, so swimming season would only really be june-mid september, possibly a bit longer if i put a heater in. I live on an acerage so size isnt an issue. Basically my question to you guys is on average what does it cost to build say a 30x15 foot pool, perhaps 5-8 feet deep (yeah i know proportianally that doesnt make sense, just kinda trying to get a rough estimate of the price here) if i was to do most of the work myself (ie. Doing the digging, roughing in electricity and drains and pumps etc, perhaps doing the walls and floor if its not too big of chore, and doing the pool deck myself) and just leave perhaps the pouring of concrete for the floor, MAYBE doing concrete walls and having those poured (although I would prob make the forms for the concrete) and having everything wired together. Also, what is the timeframe in doing this?


Two

With the high prices of gas, I am thinking of building my own car that would run off a motorbike engine to replace my gas guzzlin' smoke spewin' pickup in the summer. My idea is to build the chassis/frame out of aluminum, aluminum side panels just to keep road debris out, have it a 2 seater with a space in the back sorta like a trunk, steel supports to make the aluminum frame stronger, standard transmission, bucket seats, and maybe just maybe have a crude kinetic energy regenerative system. I am planning on getting most of this scrap, not including the frame materials, tires, seats, and anything else that may not be accesible at a scrapper yard. For this, I am just looking for input on ideas, and how efficient a motorcycle engine would be in this case, or what the best idea would be in terms of an efficient engine (to reduce the strain/consumption I was thinking of maybe 2 engines with one powering each rear tire, with the engines in the back), and also what the legality of such a vehicle would be.

[XSiv Force]

Alright for your second question i designed one as my senior design project in my drafting class in high school thwe body you need is a Model T......T-Bucket essentially. Thenthe engine can be either a V Twin or a V quad, sicne a t-Bucket only weighs in a little more than a harley it WILL not should but WILL be fine

[irishwarrior]

For question 2 it would be illegal unless you can somehow get it to pass an inspection.

[XSiv Force]

NO, irish, Legality of a project like this has already been tested by Big Daddy Roth who created cars like this in the 50-70's. Where as the idea of two engines driving aseperate wheel would not work due the timing it would take in the engines, then the trannys, then the gears. But a motorcycle engine in a car is totally legal as long as the vehicle is registered as a custom/ hot rod

[badlandsrox]

Well in terms of the body, i was sorta thinking more along the lines of a high performance light weight sand rail body, and maybe covering it in aluminum maybe on the front just to keep road debris where it should be... on the road, not flying up at me (roads around here always have leftover sand and gravel from winter months, and every vehicle we own has a cracked windsheild from such debris, so i want to be on the safe side). Im kinda thinking that a motorcycle engine may not have enough juice to power the vehicle though, once you account in the maybe 2 or 300 pound frame (guessing here, not really sure what a frame would weigh) say a 5 gallon gas tank (roughly 30 ish pounds at satp), seats would be maybe 10 pounds total, instrument panel weighs perhaps 15-30 pounds depending on what instruments i go with, headlights are gonna be negligable, tires are a biggie in that its powering 2 tires instead of one, and they arent as light weight as bike tires (bike tires on a 4 wheel vehicle are impractical and unsafe), the front end shell could be upwards of 75 pounds, and then if i carry a passenger, then there is definatly going to be not enough power, especially for highway speeds. This all brings it up into car engine territory, which most dont as good as mileage as im looking for in a cheap engine. Only other thing i was thinking is maybe a scrapper hybrid, and put that engine in, although the engine would weigh like half the entire weight of the vehicle which may not be so great.

... Oh well, just another summer dream I guess lol. Maybe if I could figure out how to make it feasable (and cheap ahahaha) though i may actually try it, but until then, not a chance

[TheDarkShadow]

yea to be honest, it would be cheaper, just to buy an old little beater, that gets pretty good mileage. not all motorcycles are even that efficient, and that's with the weight of a motorcycle, add more weight and the efficiency will go down and it would be slow

[irishwarrior]

NO, irish, Legality of a project like this has already been tested by Big Daddy Roth who created cars like this in the 50-70's. Where as the idea of two engines driving aseperate wheel would not work due the timing it would take in the engines, then the trannys, then the gears. But a motorcycle engine in a car is totally legal as long as the vehicle is registered as a custom/ hot rod

Serious? That's pretty cool.

[calebh]

why not just buy a motorcycle? or a bicycle?

[Maxx-Damage]

^that would be to easy...

[Hossy]

Must be summer... I have been asking way to many questions since I have so much time to think about things... :P


Two

With the high prices of gas, I am thinking of building my own car that would run off a motorbike engine to replace my gas guzzlin' smoke spewin' pickup in the summer. My idea is to build the chassis/frame out of aluminum, aluminum side panels just to keep road debris out, have it a 2 seater with a space in the back sorta like a trunk, steel supports to make the aluminum frame stronger, standard transmission, bucket seats, and maybe just maybe have a crude kinetic energy regenerative system. I am planning on getting most of this scrap, not including the frame materials, tires, seats, and anything else that may not be accesible at a scrapper yard. For this, I am just looking for input on ideas, and how efficient a motorcycle engine would be in this case, or what the best idea would be in terms of an efficient engine (to reduce the strain/consumption I was thinking of maybe 2 engines with one powering each rear tire, with the engines in the back), and also what the legality of such a vehicle would be.

i have no idea on the pool question; but for the Car question are you going to drive it on the road, or drive it on your property? Im pretty sure you would have to put the car through a test (emissions and stuff of the like) before you can make it allowed on the road. It is a good idea, but it would be alot of time and money id say to just save yourself and keep the vehicle that you already have.

[STRIKEFIRST]

Engineer where I work designed one....VERY Expensive to build just ONE...not to mention the bugs you have to work out.

[badlandsrox]

yeah, its not entirely for the cheap/trying to get fuel mileage aspect, its also kinda because it would be kinda neat to drive around in a car thats entirely your design, you did all the handy work and engineering on, and its entirely yours, not some idea a bunch of people spent years on trying to design and perfect and everything, wheras you did the lions share of designing and building (rather than robots who don't have the "human touch") all done in under 1000 hours (even less depending on how you do it). Granted it is sorta expensive which will put it on the back burner for awhile, but its just the same as building a kit car, a hot rod, restoring a classic, all of which will cost tons of money to do. However, it generally would be a bit easier on gas even if you put a truck engine in it, because what really makes them bad on gas is how heavy the truck frame and box and everything is, but if i were to put a car engine in, it would probably be maybe an old precidia engine (1.4 litres if I am remembering right), and might get a couple miles better than in a precidia, but again, alot of it is the thrill of driving in your own creation.