In the previous article about the V-twin, I want to tell you about such a phenomenon as hot rods with a two-cylinder V-shaped engine. Such cars are assembled, as a rule, in the size of 3/4 of a standard roadster, and the power plant is taken, of course, from Harley-Davidson. Such cars are moderately popular and they have their own buyer, which is understandable, because the result is a small but very canonical hot rod, roaring with the engine of a well-known and respected brand among the custom culture, and the low speed is compensated by more than gentle fuel consumption. Nowadays, many people simply cannot afford to feed a voracious V8, while a V2 car can be used every day. On the other hand, such cars are quite allowed to stand next to full-size custom cars and vintage muscle cars at all kinds of exhibitions – the unusual power plant attracts attention, and the niche of such hot rods is still very small, so the car can be used as a show car.
As an example, I have two cars. I’ll start with the one that was built in the Jaxports workshop back in 1995 and was put up for sale in 2016. In 21 years, the car has traveled only 17 thousand kilometers and appeared in perfect condition in the photos. It is registered in the technical passport (like all other similar cars) like a full-fledged Ford 32nd. The 1.2-liter engine is connected to a 5-speed automatic transmission. The owner notes that despite his height of one meter eighty-five, he is extremely comfortable sitting in the car, and in general the interior can even be called spacious.
The second car is newer: it first appeared in an article on the Hot Rod Network in 2012, and was most likely built sometime then. Three years later, this car was spotted at an exhibition and received another article – and, in general, at the moment we have a lot of interesting technical details about it. So, this hot rod was built by J. R. Drake, the owner of the Kick Ass Rod Shop in North Carolina. There’s no radio in the car, no stove, no air conditioner-basically, it’s a motorcycle on four wheels.
It all started with a standard Ford ’32 fiberglass body that was trimmed, shortened, and narrowed by 10 centimeters. The engine was taken from a 1999 Harley-Davidson Sportster, the five-speed transmission is also from Harley-Davidson, and a planetary system is used to provide reverse gear. In general, this hot rod is controlled in the same way as any other car, except that shifting gears is more like pressing the foot on a motorcycle – you just need to press the lever with your hand behind the wheel.
In the factory configuration, the engine of the 99th Sportster model produces 58 horsepower at a volume of 1.2 liters. The engine in the hot rod is generally standard, except for the new air intake and exhaust systems, and Comrade Drake said that you can squeeze 130 kilometers per hour out of this car. The gas tank holds 45.5 liters of fuel, and the car consumes about 6 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers, so you can drive 750 kilometers without refueling.
In general, it is quite possible to build a full-fledged hot rod around the V-twin, and the only disadvantage of such a machine will be its price: in the end, you will have to pay exactly like for a full-fledged custom project. For example, a red car in 1995 cost about two million rubles. This is probably the reason for the unpopularity of two-cylinder roadsters – in America, for that kind of money, it’s quite possible to take a full-fledged muscle car, and even half the second one will remain.
Sources: http://davidsclassiccars.com/ford/89342-1932-ford-roadster-replica-harley-davidson-powered-34-scale-hot-rod.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6hVh652n8E
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/hrdp-1205-local-hero-harley-powered-roadster / (May 3rd, 2012)
https://www.autoevolution.com/news/a-harley-davidson-powered-32-roadster-sounds-cool-looks-even-better-video-photo-gallery-101209.html # (October 21st, 2015)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuyAr8reTbU
