Hi

I have an old Mugan Athlete buggy which is in great shape, almost never run and a Compagnucci .39 petrol engine which I would like to combine to make a fun only buggy for use on short grass and maybe concrete.

I have changed the wheels for a set from a Hellfire truggy, these have a larger diameter and width.

I have so far stripped the existing Athlete into bits and am playing with how to get suitable gearing to give a reasonable top speed and good acceleration.

The new engine is from manufactures specs has a maximum HP of 1.3 at 17,500rpm, the existing Novarossi engine at a guess and checking specs on here would be closer to 2.2 HP at 30,000 RPM
The mugan buggy weighs about 3.25kg ready to run and the addition of transmission, the heavier engine, ignition and associated NiCad’s will bring the total weight to probably a little over 4Kg
I would like to retain the central differential and add a two speed transmission to make the most of the new engines limited RPM and power.
I have bought a savage 2 speed gearbox that wont fit in its present form, but having stripped it and played around with different configurations using the gears within I have come up with what I think is a possible gear ratio.
I will dispense with the gearbox case and support the bearings at either ends of the gear shafts using 2 fairly simple to machine alloy plates.
I wish to include a pull start and have obtained a suitable one which will fit directly onto the nose of the crankshaft or the first motion shaft in the gearbox. The compagnucci clutch bell has a one way bearing in it to enable push starting the car, but the one way bearing in the two speed box make that impossible! Also the pinion on the bell is very soft aluminium and to small so I will change it for the old output pinion in the savage box which improves the gear ratio.
Once a layout has been perfected I will cut a new chassis plate and all the other bits and pieces from t6 Aluminium. I have the use of a lathe and mill to make some custom parts as required.
To be honest I am totally lost with the gear ratio and estimating performance, so far I have come up with this….

The existing mugan had a gear ratio that assuming 30,000 rpm would equate to a top speed of 35 MPH

The gear configuration I have come up with for the new set up by my calculations equate to a top speed in 1st gear of 31 MPH and in 2nd gear of 44.4 MPH My calcs are as follows, I have divided the drive gear into the driven gear to get the ratios…

1st 0.79 X 2.44 = 1.94 X 1.38 = 2.66 X 3.3 = 8.78 engine turns to 1 wheel turn
43cm / 8.78 = 4.9 cm/rev 4.9 X 17000 X 60 = 4998000 cm per hour = 31 MPH

2nd 0.79 X 1.7 = 1.35 X 1.38 = 1.85 X 3.3 = 6.11 rpm x 43cm X 17000 / 6.11 X 60 =
43cm / 6.11= 7 cm/rev 7 X 17000 X 60 = 7140000 cm per hour = 44.4 MPH

I have read an article online which gives an actual top speed of the Compagnucci cars as 37 Mph, with more possible using maybe a tuned pipe and a 2 speed box.

I have done a little diagram of the gear box layout and included a pic of a Athlete buggy and the Compagnucci petrol engine, I am having issues with my digital camera, so actual pics will follow!!

Apologies for the long post, any advise would be greatly appreciated!!!

Regards Angus

He i know this post is old but were did you get the motor from? thanks

I read the thread in the Engines forum about the Compagnucci Engines, and I even looked on their website and e-mailed them about pricing for them. However, I never got a reply. I would really like to know how the engine performs and how much you paid for it.

I would try and put the engine in the car, and see what happens then. It's worth a try, and you have nothing to lose. Who knows, it might work extremely well and inspire loads of people to try it!

i dont see any problems with doin this...its worth a shot

good luck

alright mate read your post, i have a compagnucci car a subauru i have the exact same engine 6.28cc mac 6 but the clutch bell housing and pinion gear is missing i can see the part i need on the mecoa site but cant work out how to order from them can u tell me if i can but this gear from anywhere else and how many teeth it has any help would be much appretiated , m bexley

This is 3 years old...

Wow, talk about an exhumation.

Ive seen ones from '04 and '05 dug up so its not the worst.

Keep on digging. At least old school has been to school.

call mecoa at <font face="Arial Black">1-800-359-6972</font>

Ive used the "search" before and its come up with some pretty old stuff!
specially on vintage cars.