Author Topic: Belly Tank Build Diary  (Read 361851 times)

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Offline tauruck

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #105 on: February 14, 2016, 04:28:37 PM »
I think we call him Dr. Brown from now on.
That's a surgery. :wink:

Thanks for that photo Mike. I'll start tidying up my work space tomorrow.
You set a good example.

Regards, Mike. :cheers:

Offline bearingburner

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #106 on: February 14, 2016, 05:17:31 PM »
Nice shop. My Bridgeport is circa 1946 my Southbend lathe is a 9" 1934 , my bench drillpress is a circa 1920 model.

Offline fordboy628

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #107 on: February 15, 2016, 07:14:05 AM »
Very nice shop!!

I was going to be jealous of the mill and lathe, but since I'll be 65 in a few months, I'm just going to concentrate on my woodworking and fly tying after that.

 :cheers:
Flyfishingboy
Science, NOT Magic . . . .

I used to be a people person.  But people changed that relationship.

"There is nothing permanent except change."    Heraclitus

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."     Albert Einstein

Offline Rex Schimmer

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #108 on: February 15, 2016, 02:04:17 PM »
Very nice shop!!

I was going to be jealous of the mill and lathe, but since I'll be 65 in a few months, I'm just going to concentrate on my woodworking and fly tying after that.

 :cheers:
Flyfishingboy

Right!! Mark do you really expect us to believe that!

Rex
Rex

Not much matters and the rest doesn't matter at all.

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #109 on: February 17, 2016, 06:36:08 PM »
I changed to 6" schedule 40 pipe for my chute tube.  The frame was coped for a good fit when welding the tube in place.  The chute will now be at a much better height and I gained 51 pounds of ballast. 

Offline Elmo Rodge

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #110 on: February 17, 2016, 07:57:26 PM »
Mike, how high is the tube from the ground? I'm assuming you're still planning on mounting the tether in the tube? Wayno

Offline kiwi belly tank

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #111 on: February 17, 2016, 09:22:49 PM »
I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the lack of rigidity in the chassis after the cage, is that it or is there more to come?
  Sid.

Offline johnneilson

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #112 on: February 17, 2016, 10:12:22 PM »
I have the tether attached outside the tube.
I can remove the tube and stand it vertically for packing the chute, then replace in the car.
You can see the attachment point, rear of and below the tube, just above the push roller.
As Carroll Smith wrote; All Failures are Human in Origin.

Offline Stan Back

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #113 on: February 18, 2016, 12:29:06 PM »
Ours is tethered to the 1/4-inch 2x5 rear crossmember.  We just put a notch in the bottom of the tube to accommodate it.  I don't like the idea of what might happen if the car was a little off-straight (yes, I know it's not a roadster) and what damage it might do to the tube and the surrounding body work.

Here's, maybe, a picture.
Past (Only) Member of the San Berdoo Roadsters -- "California's Most-Exclusive Roadster Club" -- 19 Years of Bonneville and/or El Mirage Street Roadster Records

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #114 on: February 18, 2016, 09:12:27 PM »
Elmo,

The center of the chute tube is 22-1/4" from the ground.  There is rake in the chassis with the front being 1" lower than the rear.  I am planning to route the tether inside the tube.  The tube is .280" thick steel (schedule 40 6" pipe). 

Sid,

The perimeter frame is 2"x3"x1/4" wall tube but there is more frame to come in the rear.  I will be using a link over the engine between the rear cage hoop and the hoop after the engine.  I plan to make the link with right and left hand thread rod ends so that I can tension it after it is installed.  The link will need to be removable for engine access.  There will also be additional bracing between the hoop after the engine and the rear of the frame.  I have fuel tank, supercharger intercooler tank and battery that all has to fit in this area.  There are also 1" diameter "knee" braces on each hoop to the rectangular perimeter frame.  I will post some additional photos as I am always looking for ways to add additional strength to the chassis. 

Thanks for the comments. 

Mike Brown

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #115 on: March 30, 2016, 07:46:44 PM »
The front of the LSA is getting busy with coolant lines.  I am using an electric water pump.  The only thing driven off of the crankshaft is the supercharger.  I elected to build an adjustable belt tensioner instead of using an OEM spring tensioner. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #116 on: March 30, 2016, 07:48:34 PM »
Since there are "shade tree" mechanics it is natural to have shade tree painters.  My engine mounts and blower tensioner getting a little Rust-O-Leum before final installation. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #117 on: April 24, 2016, 06:15:32 PM »
After much research I am making progress on the transmission shifter.  I ordered 5/16" Cable Craft push pull cables with male threaded ends.  I fabricated a mount to attach the cables to the Hurst competition plus shifter.  I machined solid ends for the cables.  The ends are attached to the shifter levers with stainless steel bushings.  I felt no need to use rod ends as the alignment on this end of the system is very accurate and there is no binding.  The cables exit through a bushing in the firewall that can be sealed.  The cables go up and over to the top of the transmission.  I have machined custom levers for the transmission that face to the rear of the car to maintain a standard shift pattern.  Note that the 5/16" cables are large and have 11/16" threaded ends for the outer housing.  The bend radius is 8" but the cables are very stiff.  My bend radius is a compound radius but thankfully much larger than the minimum. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #118 on: April 28, 2016, 09:23:14 PM »
I completed the transmission end of the shifter.  The 5/16" cables are stiff but workable since the bend radius is large.  The mount was made from 1/4" steel.  I used 5/16" rod ends to attach the shifter cables to the shifter arms.  The shifter arms were made in two pieces.  One piece was turned on the lathe with a "keyway" machined on the mill in the back to drive the double flats on the Jerico transmission.  The arms were then machined with a matching cope so they could be rotated to any position while the adapters were on the transmission.  This allowed me to insure that the arms were perpendicular to the cable while in neutral.  The shifter was locked in neutral with a 1/4" pin to insure proper alignment.  I scribed witness marks on the transmission shifter lever assemblies so the could be fixture for welding off the transmission.  The shifter works great.  The force is low with very minimal lost motion which makes finding neutral very easy.   

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #119 on: May 03, 2016, 06:57:22 PM »
Finishing up the shifter allows me work on the next layer of the car which is the fuel system.  I was ready to start machining some fittings when a search found "AN O-Ring Unions".  These great fittings by Fragola allow you to connect an AN O-Ring port directly to another AN O-Ring port.  To allow the components that you are coupling to be aligned one end is fixed and the other end is adjustable using a nut.  This saves an incredible amount of space over port adapters, hose fittings and short pieces of hose or an AN to AN coupler.  The beginning of my fuel system is an AN-12 Enderle combination fuel filter and shutoff.  The filter/shutoff is connected to the Aeromotive fuel pump and then on to the fuel pressure regulator.  This makes for a very small package with less connections to leak.  I will use a microswitch to insure that the fuel pump cannot run with the fuel shutoff.