Building my first Streamliner

[gkabbt]

Absolutely LOVE this build!
Excellent planning and execution so far! Crown in the gusset is impeccable!
Paint shceme and the name are the crowning (no pun intended) touches!
Hope to see it on the salt one day!

Gregg

[Podunk]

PM sent

[kustombrad]

Something I forgot to share that I did when I built the chassis that was something a friend who works on Speed Demon told me to do. On all my tubing where EVERY ONE OF THEM intersect, I drilled an 1/8"  hole (that was fun trying to remember even with tape and Sharpie notes reminding me!) so all the tubing is literally connected. On my very back tube, it's plugged with a thicker piece of steel with an 1/8" pipe hole in it for a shrader valve. When I get back from an event, I'll put around 5 lbs of nitrogen or some other "dry" air and watch the gauge. If it doesn't move, no frame cracks but if it does, put more air inside and walk around with a bottle full of soapy water and look for bubbles!  Brilliant idea, cheap insurance and simple to do!

[Scottie J]

What an awesome idea!   

[manta22]

Something I forgot to share that I did when I built the chassis that was something a friend who works on Speed Demon told me to do. On all my tubing where EVERY ONE OF THEM intersect, I drilled an 1/8"  hole (that was fun trying to remember even with tape and Sharpie notes reminding me!) so all the tubing is literally connected. On my very back tube, it's plugged with a thicker piece of steel with an 1/8" pipe hole in it for a shrader valve. When I get back from an event, I'll put around 5 lbs of nitrogen or some other "dry" air and watch the gauge. If it doesn't move, no frame cracks but if it does, put more air inside and walk around with a bottle full of soapy water and look for bubbles!  Brilliant idea, cheap insurance and simple to do!

Porsche did that in the 1970s on their 917 tube chassis. It is a good indicator of cracks forming in the structure.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[kustombrad]

I did it once I heard about it because I wanted a nice paint job on the chassis and still be able to find cracks just in case! The chassis is pretty beefy and the welds are first class, but I figured it's easy enough so why not.

[JimL]

The magic ingredient for leak check is foaming spray Glass Cleaner.  It bubbles easily at very low leak level and low pressure, and evaporates away with no messy residue.

Glass cleaner is also a really good way to inspect for wheel/tire/valve stem leaks, without sliming up stuff.

JimL

[Rick Byrnes]

That is a trick Mel Swain showed me a while back.  Problem is, some of the tubes and connector inserts I added I did not drill.  My check has to be in three sections.
I "think I remember which ones".
I don't need magic, I need protection from myself!

[Freud]

The Treit Streamliner has a build diary post addressing that situation.

It showed Jason checking the gage for pressure drop.

Here is the url:   http://www.target550.com/gallery/158_harness_attachments_%20pin_holes_paint/index.html

FREUD

[Sumner]

...the welds are first class, but I figured it's easy enough so why not...

Cool idea, but I thought you were going to put gas in there for say an air shifter or chute release as others have done.  Didn't think about checking for frame cracks.

Anyone that is mig welding the frame might have some problems with this as it is a lot harder to mig weld and not have pin holes than if you are TIG welding.  I love the TIG for welding without pin holes although they can still happen as I found out making some aluminum tanks 

Hooley is using his front down tubes to store the oil coming off the engine breathers and there are drains at their bottoms.  I guess we will know if we have frame cracks as the oil will drain out  ,

Sum

Sum

[Freud]

There were places on the Target 550 frame that brackets were removed. Some times

there were pinholes related to those places. The small plastic tube made it easy to detect

very small leaks. As you moved along you could also feel the air on your face.

I don't think I would store air in the frame rails that would be used to deploy the chutes.

If a major crack happened it could compromise the pressure for your deployment.

FREUD

[Sumner]

...

If a major crack happened it could compromise the pressure for your deployment.

FREUD

At that point it might be past the point of using them  but something one would have to make up there mind on,

Sum

[kustombrad]

It's sketchy enough driving something this narrow, low and fast WITHOUT filling the tubes with pressure and realizing I'm driving a really fast pipe bomb! Lol

[kustombrad]

I had to jump on Ebay the other night after Koncretekid had the great idea of the clutch levers for my chute release! Found some 2 finger (small size!) mountain bike levers and made sure they were nylon so they could be heated and bent. The body is mounted to the down bar and with the lever bent, it's parallel with the top bar! Perfect deal! Now back to my steering!

 

[Scottie J]

I do like that idea with the brake lever/s, but I would have thought you would go with something a little more robust like these levers below.  I know it's just inside your car and isn't going to get a whole lot of use, but I'd hate to see that plastic lever fail at a time when you really need to pull your chute.  I used to ride a lot of mountain and BMX bikes when I was younger and I have had the cable end pull right out of those plastic levers, I have also seen them bind up where you pull the lever and the lever just bends instead of moving the cable.  Granted, these incidents don't occur too terribly often, but they can happen.  JMO and wanted to share my experience with those plastic levers.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AVID-SPEED-DIAL-7-MOUNTAIN-BIKE-BRAKE-LEVERS-PAIR-/291090633247?pt=US_Brake_Levers&hash=item43c65a921f

Scottie J