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Here's Another Two-Wheeled Car
If this is the first two-wheeled car you've ever seen and you can't figure out how it stays up, don't let it bother you. Most auto experts can't figure it out either ù until they hear the secret.
Roy Moore, of Zenia, Ill., built his car after seeing the two-wheeled model built by Peter Schaltter, Francisville, Ind., which was first featured in FARM SHOW four years ago. Once built, Moore's car became an honorary fire fighting vehicle at the Xenia fire department and is a permanent fixture at the station.
Moore's two-wheeled "roadster" rnystifies mechanics and car buffs, who say such a car is impossible, even as they watch it chug along at its top speed of 4 to 5 mph at shows and parades. Moore doesn't always explain the car to bystanders but, when he does reveal the secret, here's what he tells them:
"What appear to be two soft radial tires are really just shells for two small support wheels," he says. "The hidden wheels are 13-in. apart in each tire. The car is driven by hydraulic motors."
Engine weight in front of the car is balanced by the driver in the rear, but most of the weight is concentrated over the wheels for balance. The car performs well as long as its on a smooth, hard, level surface.
Moore built the fiberglass body of the car by making a chicken wire mold and fiberglassing it. The car has an 18 hp. 2-cyl. engine and there is a hydraulic motor on each wheel. All in all, he spent about $1,200 to build it over a period of about 2 years.
The car carries two passengers and has a siren. It gets used mostly in parades and other special events in Xenia and neighboring communities.
Pete Schlatter, of Francisville. Ind.. offers plans for the car for $75. or will sell complete cars to interested buyers for prices ranging from $4,998 to $5,750. He also makes parts available for building your own.
For more information. contact: FARM SHOW Followup. Alfred "Pete" Schlatter. Box 548. Francisville. Ind. 47946 (ph 219 567-9158).


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1983 - Volume #7, Issue #1