Man! This is it! Cost? $125. Does 75 miles to the

96 Mechanix Illustrated

By R. J. Capotosto

DESIGNED and built just like a com-mercial model, the MI Scooter fea-

tures an all metal frame covered with awood body. The metal chassis providesthe necessary strength. Angle iron wasused because it is inexpensive andreadily available at large hardwarestores. Powered by a Clinton A 490 en-gine, the scooter has bicycle type handcontrols for both the gas and brakes.

Construction starts with the frame.Notch the angle, then bend cold. To pre-vent buckling at the bottom of the V,drill a 1/8-in. hole at the bottom of eachnotch. Make a test cut on a scrap piecefirst to determine exactly where to drillthe hole and also to check the bend al-lowance. If you find after bending thatthe frame is warped, straighten it bybending the legs in the opposite direc-tion. Check for levelness on a flat sur-face. After cutting and bending allpieces, remove all burrs and bevel theedges slightly for a better weld.

To weld, clamp the sections togetheras a unit and check against the drawing.If okay, weld all joints. The front forkbushing must be perfectly aligned whenwelded to the frame. Tack weld at sev-eral points, check and continue theweld. After finishing all welding, cleanthe joints with a chipping hammer toremove all slag and scale, then give theentire frame a coat of aluminum paintto prevent rust.

The front fork is made by heating a1/4x2-in. bar at two places and bendingas shown. Align both legs of the forkthen drill 3/4in. holes for the axle. Startwith a small hole gradually increasingthe size to % in. The steering post is in-serted into a hole drilled at the top of

the fork. Let it protrude about 1/8 in.then weld securely. Alignment is impor-tant as steering efficiency originates atthis point.

Cut the post to the length indicatedthen grind a flat to act as a seat for thehandle bar. Position the flat so that it isparallel to the axis of the wheel. Bendthe handle bar from a piece of rigid con-duit and braze a shaft collar exactly inthe center. The setscrew hole shouldface the rear so that it lines up with theflat on the steering post.

The kick stand is fashioned from apiece of 3/8-in. bar stock. To obtain thesmall bends, it will be necessary to heatthe rod to a dull red and bend in a vise.Drill the three small holes in the rodafter bending. Two of these are for cot-ter pins to prevent side movement andthe other hole is for the return spring.To keep the drill from "walking," grinda small flat spot, then center punch. At-tach the stand to the frame by means ofsmall brackets cut from waste piecesof angle. Be sure to use lock washersor locking nuts when fastening thebrackets. This applies to all other nutswhere cotter pins are not used.

The rear axle supports are made of3/4-in. steel cut as illustrated. The blocksmay be left "square" if you like, butrounding them off will look muchneater. To shape the piece without diffi-culty, drill a series of small holes aroundthe perimeter, overlapping the holesslightly. If any "ties" are left, cut thesewith a hack saw. A hole is drilled andtapped at the bottom of both blocks totake a hex head setscrew. A correspond-ing flat must be ground into the axle endto keep it from turning. The mountingholes for the brackets may be drilled atthis time but the matching holes in the

PLYWOOD SCOOTERgallon and has a cruising speed of 30 miles per hour.

97

frame are not put in until later. Tempo-rarily attach the wheel to the axle, thenspace with shaft collars. The wheelshould be centered over the frame andthe bracket temporarily held with smallclamps. Adjust so that the wheel isparallel to the frame, then transfer thehole location from the block to the frameand drill. Mark the blocks to identifythem so they will not be switched later.

The sprocket and brake assemblyare attached to the rear wheel as shown

1. Kick stand is formed from cold rolledrod. Brackets are angles bolted to frame.

2. Partially assembled scooter showing theangle iron chassis. Note the kick stand.

3. Rear axle supports are shaped by drillingseries of holes. Hack saw for final cut.

98

4. Hole for steering rod should be cutbefore bending and gluing the mud guard.

Mechanix Illustrated

in the diagram. The brake shoe bracketis welded to a shaft collar which in turnis welded to the axle support. If you usethe Clinton A 490 engine as we did, drillthe holes in the frame and mount asshown. If other engines are used somechanges may be necessary. With the en-gine in place, install the clutch withsprocket side in and connect the rollerchain. Allow a little play in the chain.If the linkage is such that it is too loose,place shims under the engine mounting

plate to take up the slack. Adjust theposition of the clutch on the shaft byleaving the clutch setscrew loose. Rotatethe rear wheel several times by handand the chain will automatically slidethe clutch assembly to the proper posi-tion. Now tighten the setscrew.

Since the engine is mounted in a"downhill" position, it will be necessaryto mount the gas tank so that it will bein a horizontal plane. To do this, removethe bolt holding the front gas tank lug,

then carefully bend the tank upward.Add the flat bracket to hold the tank inthis new position.

The only other change on the engineis to direct the exhaust fumes outthrough the rear. The stock mufflerwhich comes with the engine will dissi-pate the exhaust fumes into the bodyarea and naturally this is objectionable.A length of flexible gas pipe (the typeused for gas ranges) is ideal for thispurpose. Connect one end to the presentmuffler and run the other end outthrough the rear. Drill a hole in the sideof the muffler to take the pipe and plugup the original holes. The ridges in thepipe will help deaden the engine noise.

The control lines are added at thistime. The transmission for hand brakesand the three-speed hub is used for thispurpose. Run both cables along the

chassis and attach the left one to thebrakes and the other to the throttle. Asimple bracket is used to attach thecable assembly to the engine. Attachthe cable to the swivel clamp on thethrottle linkage.

The engine may be stopped by theshorting clip or by use of a toggle switchconnected to the low voltage side of themagneto and ground. To actuate theclip from outside the body, attach ashort length of throttle control cable tothe clip. When the control is pushedin the plug will be shorted out. Thetoggle switch method is neater. Runone lead from the switch to the low volt-age side of the magneto and the otherlead to ground. Do not attempt to runa switch from the plug and ground asthe spark will jump the gap and you'llget a shock to boot.

100 Mechanix Illustrated

5. Front mud guard fits snugly over thefork. Check clearance of wheel and guard.

6. Handle bar cover is made ol laminatedsections patterned in the manner shown.

7. Here it is—the completed scooter. Athrill to ride and a beauty to behold.

Start the woodwork by cutting andand attaching the floor board. This ismade of 1/2-in. plywood in two sectionsas shown. Notch the front end to fitaround the fork bushing support. Drilland attach the boards with 1/4x20xl-in.bolts. The body is made next. This ismade by laminating two thicknesses of3/4-in. pine, gluing the sections as shownfor rigidity. Pine is used because it caneasily be shaped. The inner sectionmust be set back 1/8-in. to allow for thethickness of the plywood covering. Lay-out the outer piece first and cut on theband saw.

Sand smooth to remove all bumpsthen transfer the outline to the innersection. Now with a small divider, setwith the legs 1/8-in. apart, strike offpoints around the perimeter about aninch apart, then connect the lines withthe aid of a curve. This piece is alsocut on the band saw.

Line up the outer and inner sectionscarefully and glue securely. When theglue has set connect the sides by meansof the cross members. Use glue andscrews for added strength. With thebody thus far completed, place it on theframe and check to make sure it fitsproperly. The 1/8-in. "bending" ply-wood is next prepared. The width tofit between the shoulders should be ex-act. Temporarily clamp the piece alongthe bottom edge and, pulling the woodtightly, mark off the length needed. Cutand glue into place. Be sure the grainruns across so that the wood will bendaround the body. Use plenty of clampsand leave them on until the glue has set.If you think you will have difficultybending the wood, you can pre-bend itby wetting and rolling into a cylinderand tying the roll till dry. If you usethis method, be sure to cut the woodfirst as it would be rather difficult tocut afterward. Naturally the wood willnot be the exact shape you need, but itwill be easy to clamp into place. Usea waterproof glue. The front mudguardis made in a similar manner except thatthe sides are solid pine instead of builtup sections. Drill the hole for the steer-ing post after the piece has been cut tosize but before gluing.

The 1/8-in. [Continued on page 128]

101

Mi's Plywood Scooter[Continued from page 101]

plywood sides are glued to the body lastof all. Cut the panels undersize so thatyou will have less wood to trim whenrounding the edges. This also applies tothe contoured floor section and steeringpost cover. When assembling the floor sec-tion, cut and fit the pieces directly on thepart being covered. This will simplifyconstruction as it eliminates guesswork.Allowance must be made to pass the con-trol cables which are fastened directly tothe floor board. Also allow for the shortsections of angle braces. The front of thispart is made to fit over the steering postand enough clearance must be provided topass the control cables. They must notbind on turns. The same applies for thesteering post cover. Cut away inside andgive cables plenty of room for turning.

The handle bar cover is shaped to con-form to the bars as well as the steeringpost. The bottom of the cover is left flatso that it rests on the steering post cover.

When the woodwork has been com-pleted, round off all edges with a routeror with a rasp and plenty of elbow grease.Follow the rasping with sandpaper, firstrough them medium followed by fine. Thewood should be finished with a goodundercoating and then at least two coatsof exterior grade enamel.

The cushion is made to fit into thetapered opening in the body so that it maybe removed easily for starting and serv-icing the engine. Blue Boltaflex over foamrubber makes a very comfortable andgood-looking seat. Make a one piece gussetand staple it to the bottom side.

To keep the engine heat from damagingwoodwork, interior of body is lined withFiberglas insulation. It is available at mostauto supply shops and it serves the purposewell. Use the one-inch material and at-tach it with staples. Be careful not to ob-struct the air intake at the front.

Laws vary from state to state so checkwith the local authorities regarding lights,horn, signals, etc. For lights, use dry cellswhich can be stored in the engine compart-ment. The switch can be placed on thecontrol panel. If stop lights are required,use an automobile replacement switch at-tached to the frame so it will be actuated

by the brake rod linkage. The head lightis from a six-volt lantern housing with aclear white fog lamp.

Be sure to use an oil and gas mixture forfuel. Do not use ethyl or low grade whitepremium gas. White marine gas is ac-ceptable. Be sure fuel is fresh and mixwell prior to filling tank. Now, fill 'er up—and away we go!

(MI has made arrangements with the FinecraftProducts Company, Box 7031, Jersey City 7, N. J.to supply readers with the parts for this scooter.Write to them for a price list.)

128 February, 1963