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This trike was a long time in coming. In 1996 I built a full auto trike with a 1600 type 3 eng. With Teddybear’s help, I got it built and drove it just 3 times around the block. There was a noise in the left rear wheel so I took it to a shop on Seneca, and he let it get stolen. The following year I bought a VW square back with a pancake engine and an automatic transmission. Dan Seely soon let me know I had not bought a type 3, like I thought I had, rather a type 4, 1700 cc and expensive to fix.
Well around 2004 I got off my butt and got busy and began building this new trike. I still had the original frame and wood panels from the trike that was stolen, so I decided to make it the same and call it the Phoenix, cause it was going to rise up out of the ashes of the first.
Harold Brubaker sold me a 1978 Honda 750 for a dollar and that is the main motorcycle frame on the front of the bike. I got the type 4 rear frame from Dan Seely and Wayne Eck welded the two parts together, twice!! till we got what I wanted and Wayne felt it was safe. Then his son Jeffrey welded the rest of it up like the first bike. I then took it home and started to mock it up, so when I had it the way I wanted, I took it all apart and had it powder coated red and yellow. What could not be powder coated I painted to match.
Dan Seely went though the engine and rebuilt the tyranny. So when I got it all back I started to put it together, this took about a year, I did not get in a hurry. I then tried to start the engine and to make a long story short, I found the VW shop with John, he is a "god sent". Every time I have a problem I call John and he works me in and gets the problem fixed. The last thing I have done is take the seats and had Stardust, cover them in Yellow and Red to match to trike. ...Kenny Flower
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