Dennis Varni on Wind Tunnel

[Brian]

Sheesh ! I missed it all, is there a link to the interview ?    I'm glad to know what that engine is , I looked over the shoulders of the crew many times and didn't have a clue, the guys were really busy so I didn't ask.   
 Tim McNees buit the frame in his shop right here in good ol' SLC.   Good to see it up and running !

Sometimes near the start we are pretty busy but if we are in the pit just ask. We are usually not to busy to talk and answer questions.

I think the body was built in Utah too.

[Brian]

Dennis' interview was much better than TV Tommy's, but both were entertaining.
I have looked at the motor Dennis is running.  Structure and airflow capability look to be WELL beyond where he is now.
I am sure anxious to see where it goes when he really turns the screws down.

I'll be sure to tell him that. He'll get a kick out of it.

We haven't worked it too hard yet.  None of us like to make predictions but we have big hopes for it.


This is Dennis about 1 minute after he realized he earned himself a blue hat

When we picked up the tank after a pass it was creaking and cracking from the heat but the streamliner is just sitting there like it just got warmed up and is ready to run.

[4-barrel Mike]

Varni interview (link from the Sacramento Vintage newsletter):http://multimedia.foxsports.com/m/video/33991388/wind-tunnel-dennis-varni.htm

Mike

[SPARKY]

This is a version of the eng I have been touting for almost 10 years---there are tons of them available  as 4 5 & 6 cyl.  If I didn't have so much tied up in BBC stuff.

[Glen]

Sheesh ! I missed it all, is there a link to the interview ?    I'm glad to know what that engine is , I looked over the shoulders of the crew many times and didn't have a clue, the guys were really busy so I didn't ask.   
 Tim McNees buit the frame in his shop right here in good ol' SLC.   Good to see it up and running !

Sometimes near the start we are pretty busy but if we are in the pit just ask. We are usually not to busy to talk and answer questions.

I think the body was built in Utah too.

The body was from the Rick Vesco mold and done by Kent Richs in Vista Ca.

[dieselgeek]

Dennis' interview was much better than TV Tommy's, but both were entertaining.
I have looked at the motor Dennis is running.  Structure and airflow capability look to be WELL beyond where he is now.
I am sure anxious to see where it goes when he really turns the screws down.

I'll be sure to tell him that. He'll get a kick out of it.

We haven't worked it too hard yet.  None of us like to make predictions but we have big hopes for it.


This is Dennis about 1 minute after he realized he earned himself a blue hat

When we picked up the tank after a pass it was creaking and cracking from the heat but the streamliner is just sitting there like it just got warmed up and is ready to run.

Didn't know it was Dennis Varni, but we were in impound one night with you guys and the whole team was low key, polite, bunch of nice people!   BEAUTIFUL car too!!


Sparky, Im not so sure that can be called an Atlas engine.  I think it's not based on the Atlas, but I could be wrong.  Maybe the bottom end, but the head looked like a custom piece?

-Scott

[Brian]

Sparky, Im not so sure that can be called an Atlas engine.  I think it's not based on the Atlas, but I could be wrong.  Maybe the bottom end, but the head looked like a custom piece?

-Scott

It is a Chevy L6. It is obviously not a production piece, to begin with the block and head are sand cast but it is based on the L6.

[Rex Schimmer]

I think that there needs to be some credit given to Ryan Falconer regarding this engine. Ryan is a very accomplished race engine builder having gotten his start working on the NOVI V8 with Andy Granitelli and being a very successful builder of Indy car engines and also developed a V12 small block Chevrolet that has been used in both car, boat and airplane racing. I meet Ryan when he was building small block Chevys for our GTP Lola racecars at Interscope Racing in 1982 and he also built the a very powerful turbo Chevy 90 deg. V6 for the GTP cars and a special version for Indy in 1983. I think at the time he was contracted to Chevrolet to do these engines for us. During the full year of 1982 we only had one engine failure and that was probably more a driver problem than an engine problem. Developing lots of HP with a turbo motor is not a very difficult job, building one that make big HPs and then make pass after pass at the "big salt dyno" takes some doing and that is what Ryan does.

Rex

[Brian]

I think that there needs to be some credit given to Ryan Falconer regarding this engine. Ryan is a very accomplished race engine builder having gotten his start working on the NOVI V8 with Andy Granitelli and being a very successful builder of Indy car engines and also developed a V12 small block Chevrolet that has been used in both car, boat and airplane racing. I meet Ryan when he was building small block Chevys for our GTP Lola racecars at Interscope Racing in 1982 and he also built the a very powerful turbo Chevy 90 deg. V6 for the GTP cars and a special version for Indy in 1983. I think at the time he was contracted to Chevrolet to do these engines for us. During the full year of 1982 we only had one engine failure and that was probably more a driver problem than an engine problem. Developing lots of HP with a turbo motor is not a very difficult job, building one that make big HPs and then make pass after pass at the "big salt dyno" takes some doing and that is what Ryan does.

Rex

No question. The motor has quite a bit of dyno time on it before going. In 6 passes it never showed a sign of being stressed. Ryan did a very good job.

[dieselgeek]

Brian, what engine management system do you run on the L6 engine?

[jdincau]

http://www.falconerengines.com/bio/bio_l6.php

[SPARKY]

I am not trying to take anything away from Falconer---but the stock engine has some exotic stuff to quote Glenn Self after I found them a core and shipped it to them in Durant OK.

"Smith, I don't know who designed that 6 cyl., but they sure knew a lot about race engs."

I think they got a lot of enginering input from a world renown English race team.

[Brian]

Brian, what engine management system do you run on the L6 engine?

Ryan used Motec

[Brian]

I am not trying to take anything away from Falconer---but the stock engine has some exotic stuff to quote Glenn Self after I found them a core and shipped it to them in Durant OK.

"Smith, I don't know who designed that 6 cyl., but they sure knew a lot about race engs.

I think they got a lot of enginering input from a world renown English race team.

"Cosworth like" has been said about the head design but Cosworth is really the genesis of all modern 4 valve head design.  My background is in Ferrari. They fooled around with that goofy 5 valve design for a few years and even they went back to the 4 valve pentroof from Cosworth.

[SPARKY]

Glen, now has one in his 82 Chev pickup and they have one in there Shop with a big Tubo on 252 cu in with a stock bore and stroke. It  is said to produce way North of 1000 when they did it they only had a ECU that would only support 1 set of 160# injectors.. A lot has changed in 7 years.