MartinClan's Pembleton build
 

Last year, having completed my Marlin Sportster a few years previously, I started to get itchy fingers again. This time I have chosen to build a Pembleton which is a very vintage looking 3 wheeler using Citreon 2CV mechanics.

I chose the Pembleton because:
a. I like its looks
b. Being a 3 wheeler it is classed as a heavy trike and only has to pass the MSVA test which is both less onerous and cheaper than the IVA.
c. Should be (relatively) cheap to build and run.

So I have started with this:

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7203/6...2d8d4ed5_c.jpg
Dscf1369 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

And should hopefully end up with something like this:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/7...5c9a1d8a_c.jpg
silverfish by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

The plan is to post updates regularly (or whenever I remember) so watch this space....

Robin

Nice choice, another quality kit, will look forward to the updates.

John

That is a beautiful example!!

I especially like the brass headlamp bowls and wing mirror. Superb!

(For a moment there, I thought you had already finished :lol:)

It's generally considered to be one of the best examples. Most Pembleton owners name their cars - this one is called Silverfish.

It's a standard to aim for. Not sure if my skills are quite up to it however - we shall see! There are more pictures of this and other completed cars on the Pembleton website http://www.pembleton.co.uk/Home.html

Robin

Robin

How do the open engines get through MSVA is it much less stringent than IVA?
Mike

There seems to be two schools of thought.

Apparently there is an exemption for the cooling fins of air cooled engines so with some carefull positioning/covering of all the ancilliaries so they are not contactable you can get away with this.

But recently most builders seem to have fabricated a simple mesh guard that covers the whole kit and caboudle. Bit of a sledgehammer approach. Rust seems to attack them fairly quickly after the test and they tend to fall off....

I wonder what they do for the new Morgan 3 wheeler?

Robin

Some pictures of the front
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7079/7...8fcaec61d0.jpg
DSCF1550 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

And rear of the chassis
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7277/7...07fdbe9a75.jpg
DSCF1549 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

My new workshop (shed) is only just long enough to take the built car and so it's difficult to get a picture of the whole thing in one go! I have made a dolly from some large bits of timber (left over from the shed build) and some industrial castors, so that I can easily move the chassis to make best use of the limited space.

And some pics of a few more of the bits from the manufacturer
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5280/7...a4c287cef0.jpg
DSCF1542 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7041/7...42e6432ffc.jpg
DSCF1555 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5160/7...3d5613c0e5.jpg
DSCF1556 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8156/7...27845cc8a8.jpg
DSCF1557 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

Awesome stuff, looks nice :)

And a jump forward 4 months and we have......
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7...c9b6e2ff40.jpg
DSCF1647 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/7...94e5bd5f91.jpg
DSCF1648 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7...0610d54714.jpg
DSCF1656 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8316/7...456397c1ce.jpg
Dscf1666 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

I did resisit the temptation to make engine noises.....

vrooomm, burble, burble, vrooooom :D

Hmmmm... an exoskeleton three wheeler! :eyebrows:

Gearslide (gearstick?) arrangement. I replaced the 'orrible standard rubber connection between the lever in the box and the gearslide with a rose joint.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8...65cd606bfe.jpg
DSCF1679 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Front of gearslide will evenetually be supported by bulkhead but for now it's a block of wood! Interestingly the 2CV gearbox is a dogleg. First opposite reverse, 2nd opposite 3rd and 4th opposite nothing!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8...c7fd0ef873.jpg
DSCF1672 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Umbrella style handbrake. I had to make the link as the standard 2CV link is too short.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8...bd1a49ba13.jpg
DSCF1680 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Various pictures of the brake line instalation. There isn't a single flexi in the whole system thanks to Citreon's ingenuity.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8473/8...414c2097c8.jpg
DSCF1678 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8328/8...393e694ec8.jpg
DSCF1682 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8336/8...6b541be735.jpg
DSCF1683 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8195/8...6b69d7421c.jpg
DSCF1684 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8331/8...477d53a0ce.jpg
DSCF1686 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8186/8...3e992fd679.jpg
DSCF1685 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

More pictures here www.flickr.com/photos/robinmartin

I love those 'coil sprung' brake lines, they are such an elegant design.
Less connections and nothing to perish. (But no ethanol for you!!)
Did you re-make the new ones yourself?

Unfortunately not. Citreon use a different method of terminating the brake pipes (now there's a surprise). They have a bulge about 1cm from the end of the pipe (instead of a flare on the end) and a little rubber tube that slips over the end of the pipe that actually makes the seal. You can buy a special Citreon brake flaring kit but is is £££££. Forunately a company called Bonapart (really!) make a brake pipe kit specially for the Pembleton with the correct length pipes. Well - almost correct, I had to be a bit inventive in one case.

Robin

Trust the French to spoil what could have been a perfect design! I bet that little rubber tube will melt away in some ethanol!!

Almost completed the strip and re-build of the Guzzi engine. After several experiments with paint I used VHT caliper paint for the main block castings and VHT barrel paint for the barrels and heads.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8491/8...efb04241b2.jpg
DSCF1697 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8351/8...c8142867df.jpg
DSCF1702 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8087/8...98d2daf9dd.jpg
DSCF1705 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8...f21617dd71.jpg
DSCF1706 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8495/8...a97feecca1.jpg
DSCF1711 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

That looks terrific!

(but where are the other 4 cylinders :noidea:)

In the other car haha........

cool, I like that engine :D Looks like it belongs in the front of a WW1 fighter :D

Oh so beautiful

Workshop Weekend
 

Last weekend I went to a workshop weekend hosted by Duncan Grimmond. Duncan is a professional sheet metal artisan (http://www.zinccounters.co.uk/) and also a fellow Pembleton enthusiast. Once or twice a year he is kind enough to open up his workshop so that Pembleton builders can access his huge range of metal forming tools - folders, shrinkers, stretchers..... The main job I wanted to do was to form the flange on the floor which is curved and so potentially tricky. Duncan made it look easy....

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8104/8...7aa2eb42ba.jpg
DSCF1713 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8374/8...d146cdcfdb.jpg
DSCF1717 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

While we were there I managed to get a few shots of Duncan's second Pembleton which is currently under construction.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8519/8...aaa07aee97.jpg
DSCF1718 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8108/8...437664527b.jpg
DSCF1720 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

A standard to aim for! A few more pictures on my Flikr pages.

Robin

And its in....
 

Engine fitted at last. Everything went according to plan (well more or less). So I know have an Italian engine mated to a French gearbox using a British adapter. Cool.

A few pictures...

Completed engine from the front. The original ignition was fired from a pickup on the Guzzi flywheel. But of course I am now using the 2CV flywheel. Proiblem solved by using an old school analog electronic igntion from Lucas. The pickup goes on the end of the camshaft.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8512/8...6a7b9a70_m.jpg
DSCF1727 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

And from the other end.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8109/8...500b3576_m.jpg
DSCF1729 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

It fits!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8518/8...4c89221c_m.jpg
DSCF1731 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8243/8...f04c70ee_m.jpg
DSCF1732 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Lower mounting nut just fits between three cooling fins (middle one removed)
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8513/8...5562c97f_m.jpg
DSCF1736 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Next step - to get it started - but still a way to go yet....

Robin

I have been working towards getting the engine running. Lots of little jobs to do first.

New bracket for clutch cable. The original one that was welded to the chassis meant the clutch cable was poorly aligned and right at the end of the adjustment.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8229/8...e89b409a_m.jpg
DSCF1741 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Carbs trial fitted with air filter from Ebay. Not the best of solutions but it will do to start. Neck for air filter clears chassis by at least 1mm!
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8380/8...175c9198_m.jpg
DSCF1738 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Old school electronic ignition (Lucas Rita) with coils underneath. The Guzzi employs a lost spark system which means two coils.
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8511/8...c5ab55e2_m.jpg
DSCF1739 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

Looking good Robin! :)

I'll have to let you borrow my polishing mobs to keep the engine and body work (you are polishing all that loverly hand formed aluminium, aren't you?) spick and span. ;)

That looks a lovely build!

I found a 2CV chassis already converted as a trike on Ebay a few weeks ago. I was really tempted with it as a basis for my current project but I am building a reverse trike load carrier and I doubt the 2CV brakes and suspension would be up to the weight I am expecting.

I should make one of those beading rollers at some point and fold some metal.

Are you volunteering? ;-).

Long way to go before that stage. Tally ho!

Robin

Small update on the carb mounting. When I tried to fit the nearside carb it still fouled the chassis - doh.
So I bit the bullet and modified the inlet stubs adding a new bit made from 1 3/8" ally tube which just happens to be a good match. (No it's not my welding....)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8384/8...61dab3d5_z.jpg
DSCF1743 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Now everything fits!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8377/8...54cb128c_z.jpg
DSCF1747 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

The only downsoide is that I used about 50mm of the ally tube - but I had to buy 2500mm! Perhaps I'll go into production...


Robin

Engine instal now pretty much complete and tested! Some pictures

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5321/8...222752826d.jpg
DSCF1749 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/8...ff5f9e5892.jpg
DSCF1751 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2846/8...52837a688e.jpg
DSCF1752 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8396/8...d79455e273.jpg
DSCF1753 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

More on my Flikr site.

Robin

I really like the engine :D

I spent the last few weeks making a metal folder. It had to be done without welding (as I can't) and cheaply. Here is the result

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5340/9...0bd6fe8e_z.jpg
DSCF1787 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

And in action

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5467/9...1de0fcac_z.jpg
DSCF1793 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

I only need to make half a dozen folds or so but didn't fancy the suggested blocks of timber approach. Tried to find a straight piece of timber recently?

The first part to be folded was the rear floor. Seems to fit OK....

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7288/9...7ae06a8c_z.jpg
DSCF1794 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

I had to also do my first but of "skilled?" metalwork to make a small dip so the bulkhead could fit snugly without fouling the seat-belt mount.

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2837/9...efba6d1e_z.jpg
DSCF1795 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Cheers, Robin

Love the welder, not a weld in sight. all very nicely folded, i will copy this...

I have almost completed all the inner panels now. It's taken longer than I hoped but it's important to get these right as the floor in particular defines the shape of the body at the lower extremity.

It might all look quite simple but what is not obvious from the pictures is that many of the flanges have subtle curves in them. Getting them all to line up is the tricky bit!

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2884/9...999129fd_c.jpg
DSCF1877 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2836/9...ba06fc80_c.jpg
DSCF1878 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

That's some seriously impressive work - very nice :D Bending without a metal folder doesn't work that well as I found out when making the scuttle panels on the Sportster - a part I would redo given the choice.

What thickness is the aluminium?

Ali is 1.2mm thick - as recommended by the instructions that come with the chassis. It seems a bit flimsy to start with but once you start adding a few bends and joins it soon stiffens up. One builder used 1.5mm but he struggled to form some of the panels using that thickness.

Robin

Floor now complete. Also fuel tank plumbing. Now onto the main body at last....

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2828/...7b95ce30f2.jpg
DSCF1901 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7051/...7813b68b49.jpg
DSCF1900 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/...a109ee2e4b.jpg
DSCF1902 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7050/...e88b30ba10.jpg
DSCF1907 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

Nice plumbing, Robin!!:)

Riveting... :) loving the raw aluminium with the copper tubing.

More progress! Trial fit of the first body panel. I spent a lot of time getting the floor right so it fitted without too much hassle.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5264/...d84fe61995.jpgDSCF1912 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7402/...b4b3197195.jpgDSCF1908 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

And I treated myself to some seats. The standard seating is a simple bench but, unless you have a passenger, it means that you slide around a lot. These should do the job. The plan is to stagger them so that the driver and passenger shoulders miss one another. All the way from Canada. And yes - I will be fitting some squabs...

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7351/...9b73bc19c0.jpgDSCF1914 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2903/...eaf80f379e.jpgDSCF1917 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

Robin

Progress
 

Quite a lot of progress in the last few months although it doesn't look it!

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3951/...4c46b1a26a.jpgDSCF1983 by Robin J Martin, on Flickr

More picture on Flikr!

Cheers, Robin