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I built my first VW-based trike probably 10 years before I started the shop. It was pretty basic, apart from the 15” over forks and narrowed rear axle. In those days, trikes were very few and far between.
With a basic workshop up and running, my second attempt was Reliant-based, and would cruise happily at 70mph all day. I put a lot of miles on that one, but one day, a chap saw it and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. I realised early on, that trikes were the way to go, so I decided to design a kit based on the VW, and my first “Production” machine appeared, the “Desperado”. A bit crude by today’s standards, but extremely over-engineered, with a 4-rail box section

.chassis Back then (@1984) there were a couple of fibreglass-bodied kits available, but the chassis (if you could call it that) was just a single 4 x 4 box section. Horrible to look at, and in my opinion, fibreglass bodies were used to hide a very basic and crude frame. So, the “Preying Mantis” was born, named because of the shape of the chassis. The first one was built out of necessity, as I needed transport to a show, and as all the parts were already in the workshop, it would be a quick build. In fact, it took exactly 8

days to put together, and that included fitting a Supercharger, including making the manifolds and pulleys.  It featured a full space frame chassis. The first time out of the workshop, with no “Shake-down runs”, Lynne jumped on the back and I rode it to York (unregistered, no tax or MOT) and back.
All the way there and back, it kept going onto 3 cylinders (duff plug), but when it was on all 4 it was like a rocketship. There’s something special about “Blowers”. I remember we had got to the A1M near Doncaster, when it went onto 3 again. I managed to coax it up to 80mph hoping to clear it. As we were overtaking a Morris Minor Traveller, the 4th pot cut in, and the frontend

lifted about 4ft in the air. The look on the face of the old lady in the Morris as a front wheel overtook her was a picture! It took “Best Trike” at the show, and the workshop ‘phone went a bit silly. My career as a Trike Manufacturer had started.Several replica’s were built, “Preying Mantis Mk 1“. The next update was to go to a box-section front chassis. Development played a large part in my trikes, and in the final version, “Preying Mantis 111”, the chassis had been lowered 4” and stretched 8”. Lower centre of gravity, more passenger room, and NO unwanted wheelies. All of these trikes were fitted with “Wheelie Wheels”. An aweful lot of Tesco Trollies were borrowed for their castors.
The Mk111 was also an excellent base for disabled conversions, as there were automatic Beetles about (but extremely hard to

Built for a lad who could only sit cross legged