Author Topic: Belly Tank Build Diary  (Read 361823 times)

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Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #225 on: January 01, 2017, 08:13:16 PM »
I feel that whatever location the new ECTA track is at it will be further away than the 20 miles the Wilmington track was.  I decided to buy a trailer to haul the car on.  I had used a large enclosed race trailer that a friend graciously hauled the car to the track on as well as a U-Haul trailer and U-Haul dolly.  The car is very low and was chore to load.  I have towed our inboard ski boat around the country for decades on a single axle trailer and prefer this type trailer.  After research I chose an aluminum trailer made by Aluma.  The trailer has a gross weight capacity of 5,800 pounds so with a 2,800 pound car and 1,050 pound trailer I have ample capacity.  The axle is a torsion unit.  The car fits great on this 14-1/2 feet long trailer.  The trailer tilts and has a hydraulic snubber cylinder for vehicles that can drive on and off.  Not want to stress the clutch in the car I chose to winch it on the trailer.  To do this I need to manually control the tilt.  I added a manual hydraulic cylinder that tilts the trailer and holds it into position until I release it.  I added a worm gear winch rated for vertical lifting.  No brake is needed, it locks in position by virtue of its worm gear design.  I have used these winches many times before and have been very pleased with them.  The latest design I purchased has a 5/8" hex for the handle connection.  This allows you to use the supplied handle or a battery drill with a 5/8" socket.  I use a 18V Makita battery drill and it pulled the car completely on the trailer without exhausting the battery.  More photos to come. 

Offline Frank06

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Re:
« Reply #226 on: January 02, 2017, 07:15:22 AM »
Nice trailer!  I like the winch idea.

Can you post wheelbase and track of the car?  I can't find if you already posted it.  (thanks)
E-Racer

Offline Mike Brown

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Re:
« Reply #227 on: January 02, 2017, 12:35:57 PM »
Nice trailer!  I like the winch idea.

Can you post wheelbase and track of the car?  I can't find if you already posted it.  (thanks)

Frank,

The wheelbase of the car is 125".  The rear tires are 325/50 15 which makes them about 12-3/4" wide.  The rear track width is about 57" with the outside of tire to outside of tire about 70".  The front tires are 185/75 15 which makes them about 7-1/4" wide.  The front track width is about 55-3/4" with the outside of tire to outside of about 63". 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #228 on: January 02, 2017, 12:42:58 PM »
I attached a photo of the winch that I use to load the car. 

Offline Jack Gifford

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #229 on: January 03, 2017, 02:34:33 AM »
I also have an Aluma, but it's only 12' long- I guess the wheelbase of my lakester is less than yours. I bought 6' aluminum ramps with it (which store beside the lakester's front wheels). I mounted a bumper jack to the tongue to allow jacking high enough so the ramps are in line with the trailer floor, to avoid scraping the belly of the race car. Also added "feet" that slide down at each rear corner, so when tilted up the weight is on three stable points, not the tires. I use an electric winch connected to the battery of the break-away brake system- since it's normally plugged into the tow vehicle (to maintain the trailer battery), winch power comes from the tow vehicle's system. Using starter relays, I put together a DPDT switch for the winch, so I can have a light-gauge wire cord with a remote switch- about 25' long to be 'most anywhere while operating the winch.

I like the Aluma trailer. But I realized after first loading the lakester that the trailer (3,000 lb. rated) was not intended for the load (about 2,200 lbs.) to be only at the extreme four corners. I had to make up steel strap trusses (1/4" x 1 1/4" strap?) above each side to keep the trailer from flexing. They are pyramid shaped, about 16" high in the middle, with threaded rod anchoring through 5/8" thick aluminum "plugs" at the ends of the trailer rails. This works well- trailer bed stays flat now. [In the photo, part of the near-side truss is visible (painted black) just behind the stored ramp]
« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 02:58:05 AM by Jack Gifford »
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Offline Koncretekid

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #230 on: January 03, 2017, 07:03:37 PM »
Your choice of an aluminum trailer is a good idea.  A few photos of my steel framed trailer after 6 years at the Salt Flats.  I considered posting these in a separate thread but couldn't decide where to put it. I cringe when I think about its last trip to Loring and back, with two bikes inside at 70 mph. I, too, bought an aluminum trailer to replace it.
Tom






« Last Edit: January 03, 2017, 07:07:26 PM by Koncretekid »
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Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #231 on: January 03, 2017, 07:29:58 PM »
Aw, hey -- I'd be just as wary of aluminum as the steel.  The aluminum trim bits and pieces on our trailer are all pretty well dissolved.  It's out in the barn and snowed in so I can't get pics, but maybe it's time to go carbon fiber for trailer components.
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Offline Peter Jack

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #232 on: January 04, 2017, 12:09:17 AM »
I would hope the trailer's built from 5xxx series aluminum. That material is what serious aluminum boat hulls are built from and it's resistant to salt water corrosion. Most other aluminum alloys will do exactly what Jon described.

Pete

Offline Buickguy3

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #233 on: January 04, 2017, 09:42:46 AM »
     All cars and trailers on the Salt are pretty much "sacrificial". You just have to decide when enough is enough. The problem is knowing that point in time.
   Doug  :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
I keep going faster and faster and I don't know why. All I have to do is live and die.
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Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #234 on: January 04, 2017, 10:36:22 AM »
Doug, I can always point back in time to when I should have known better and retired the trailer. :roll:
Jon E. Wennerberg
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Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #235 on: January 04, 2017, 03:56:04 PM »
I am showing the car in "Survivor's Alley" at the Cincinnati Cavalcade of Customs this weekend.  I hauled the car down on the new trailer.  Unloading took about 15 minutes total including removing the straps.  The car comes off the trailer without dragging anywhere. 

Offline ggl205

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #236 on: January 04, 2017, 04:05:01 PM »
Doug, I can always point back in time to when I should have known better and retired the trailer. :roll:

I think we all face this fate with trailers. I will be using a modified open steel trailer this go around. When completed, it is off to the sand blaster and two or three coats of either Rust Rocket or POR-15. That should keep the salt termites at bay for a few years.

John 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #237 on: January 09, 2017, 04:45:54 PM »
I exhibited the car at the Cincinnati Cavalcade of Customs.  I learned something new about my car from a spectator.  A young woman with a group of children pointed at my parachute release cable sticking out from the back of the chute tube and explained to the children that this was a rocket car and that was the fuse that needed to be lit to send the car down the track! 

The 99 car in the foreground is the 1951 Indianapolis 500 winner on loan to the Shaw's and their Survivor's Alley from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway museum.  It is a great looking car with Offenhauser power. 

Offline Stan Back

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #238 on: January 09, 2017, 06:26:52 PM »
Tell us about the Crosley . . .
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Offline 55chevr

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #239 on: January 09, 2017, 07:42:32 PM »
I think the Crosley won the 1951 Indianapolis demolition derby.