Just a bit of update...

Not much has been going on lately. The last few months have been really bad healthwise. Going out to watch the fireworks on the 4th was the first time I've been out for anything other than doctor appointments in quite a while.

Since then, the rear end has been opened up and verified in good condition. Next will be new seals and bearings...then cutting off the unneeded brackets. It's been a LOT of years since I've wielded an angle grinder, so cutting off those brackets has me a bit apprehensive. I'd hate to mess up those axle tubes.

Then there is the other HUGE dilemma...the frame. Almost from the beginning of this project, based on all the good recommendations I saw, I knew who I wanted to build my frame. I laid out my plans based on a custom frame of my design...then the builder I wanted stopped doing custom frames, and is only doing his standard frame. I scrapped all the plans I had, and started over around that standard configuration. I got to something I could live with, but wasn't what I originally had in mind, and was less handicap friendly than my original plan. The illustrations in my original post are of that compromise. A couple of weeks ago, I was ready to pull the trigger and order that compromise frame...then a friend told me of a relatively local shop that does custom frames. The shop is an impressive looking operation, but I know of noone who actually has one of their frames, and after living in this area for 13 years, I've never heard of them. Well, out of boredom, I decided to try and recreate the since lost original design, factoring in a lot of parts I did not have back then. The result is a design that is a lot closer to what I originally had in mind, including being more handicap friendly, but also a lot more complex. Now I don't know which way to go....A simple but less friendly design built by someone who's work is impeccable...or a more complex and friendly design built by someone who's work is an unknown commodity.