Forced back to the drawing board!

My efforts to solve the bottom  bracket ht. issue by adding the section of frame from the Mixte frame were a failure. The change introduced way to much flex in the frame and I can't figure a way to fix it.  I'm probably going to find a larger rear suspension frame and use that instead of two frame sections bolted together.  I haven't been able to find a cheap frame of the type that matches the setup from the pivot point and has the bottm bracket in the right place.   

frame picture-assembly details

Taking tonight off!.  I'm wiped out.  The picture is the new rear section of the Tank Trike shown upside down.  I cut the rear off of a Mixte frame and cut the chainstays in front of the kickstand plate.  I also cut the bottom of the seat tube off to make installing this easier.  This will be bolted to the remainder of the existing piece of the kids suspension bike at both kickstand plates.  The lower seat stay bolts to the brake bridge and the seat tube will be through bolted to the original false seat tube of the suspension bike.   more picture to follow during the next 2-3 days, scout's honor !

The Tank Trike grows!

On the most recent test ride, the pedal strike was intolerable.  The bottom bracket is so low the pedals hit the ground.  My overly complex solution was to cut of the back of the kids bike and attach an old Mixte frame rear that can take a 26" wheel.  I also flipped the stem to face toward the driver instead of away, put on a wide set of handlebars off of an old cruiser.  I used the seat tube from the new rear to move the front of the banana seat back.  My goal is to have it all together for the 4th of July!  I'll post sooner this time Trust Me :)

the master and apprentice

My wife's Facebook photo and caption of this evening's efforts.

Finally, an update on the "Tank Trike" AKA the "Lowrider"

This has turned into a much bigger project than I ever imaged!   I replaced the whole rear end with a kids suspension bike frame with a 6 speed cluster and a proper brake setup.  Then I decided the whole thing now rode way too close to the ground.  I replaced the spindles to be able to install the 20" custom wheels off the old trike.  This gave us a lot more ground clearance and hopefully easier rolling.  I need to install the new tie-rods, and provide a shifter and brake lever. Hopefully, we will have our first test ride this weekend!

I have found out that the tank trike began life as a "WRFF" trike (see picture)not the front end of a go-cart as the seller indicated with a smaller rear wheel and no suspension. This doesn't impact my immediate plans but showed me that it originally had a running board or floor board mounted on the front of the main tube. That's something worth considering closer to completion of my changes.

Evel er.. Ian's 1st test ride

Evel ... Ian took the first real test ride today. He loved it! The handlebars are much more comfortable and the coaster brake worked great. Some tweaks are in order but it works well so far.