Author Topic: Belly Tank Build Diary  (Read 361793 times)

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Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #300 on: March 20, 2018, 01:27:55 PM »
Rex, I've seen the Ack Attack bike show up on the salt all wrapped in stretch wrap, too, but yours is the first feedback on how well it works. 
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
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Offline ronnieroadster

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #301 on: March 20, 2018, 03:55:33 PM »
When Duke and I got ready to go to Bonneville last year Duke bought a roll of shipping plasstic, about 20 inches wide and we wrapped the car from the nose to the back of the canopy. That stuff sticks to itself pretty well and it kept the car clean all the to and from the salt. It looks like we probably have enough to do at least one or two more trips. Not as custom as your cover or a custom tonneau cover but seemed to work well.

Rex


  Thats a great idea Rex      :cheers:
Working in the shop I use the 'F' word a lot. No not that word these words Focus and Finish go Fast and Flathead Ford!
 ECTA  XF/BGRMR Record 179.8561
 LTA    XF/BGRMR  Record 200.921 First  Ever Ford Flathead Roadster to hit 200 MPH burning gasoline July 2018
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Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #302 on: March 21, 2018, 03:50:48 PM »
I like the plastic wrap idea myself.  When returning from Loring last fall it started raining.  I had a roll of the plastic wrap but it was too large to go under the car.  I wrapped the cage as much as I could then used tough tape (nylon filament) to secure it all.  The wind started pulling at the plastic wrap and I added some duct tape which did hold.  Removing the residue from the duct tape when I got home was a chore.  I decided that I didn't want to do that again so I had the tonneau made. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #303 on: March 31, 2018, 10:58:03 AM »
I received my information packet and rule book in the mail this week for the Arkansas ECTA event.  In the section on tires there was a new section in italics.  The key information is that tires manufactured earlier than 2012 (per the date code on the tire) will not be allowed.  I checked the date code on my tires which was 2014 so I have a couple of years left before these tires will no longer be allowed.  It would be a long ride back home if I couldn't compete because my tires were out of date. 

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #304 on: April 01, 2018, 07:17:07 AM »
Okay - here's a hint that'll make your inspector happy:  Find the date code on your tires and highlight them.  Use a silver sharpie or yellow chalk or something that's easy to find and circle or somehow mark the date.  Having searched way too many times to find the code on bike tires (we've had a ten-year age limit for a long time) I finally started carrying said silver marker when inspectnig and marking the little oval so everyone could find it easily the next time(s).

You're welcome. :-D
Jon E. Wennerberg
 a/k/a Seldom Seen Slim
 Skandia, Michigan
 (that's way up north)
2 Club member x2
Owner of landracing.com

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #305 on: April 16, 2018, 07:44:22 PM »
We went to the inaugural ECTA event in Blytheville Arkansas.  It is about an eight hour drive for us.  The track is very nice at 10,000 feet long, about an additional 1,000 feet longer than Wilmington.  The Strupps are doing a great job getting the event organized.  The weather however did not cooperate.  There were no runs made on Friday due to high winds then rain.  Thunderstorms prevailed through the night until mid morning on Saturday.  Cars were called to the line about 2 in the afternoon.  We were about 5th to run.  Everyone was a "rookie" so no runs above 175 mph were allowed.  I made a warm up pass at 147.2 mph to check the chute and brakes.  During the run I again shifted at the rev limiter as my shift light never came on.  I later determined that the tach doesn't store the setting, the adjustment on the face of the tach is live.  I bumped the adjustment getting strapped into the car and it was set at 10,000 rpm, I wasn't going to hit that one.  Note to self, check the rev limit setting each time before starting the engine.  The second run of the day was not to happen due to a window blown out on the track, high wind then rain.  The good news is that we were number 3 for Sunday.  We started early Sunday, I checked the shift light setting and made a run of 183.7 mph.  That was a few tenths faster than my mile speed at Loring.  We enjoyed the event even though there was not much racing and a lot of down time.  That run set the record for B/BFL at Blytheville.  The previous B/BFL records at Wilmington was 141.8 mph and 154.3 mph at Maxton.  I am looking for the next 17 mph to make the 200 club. 

Offline wobblywalrus

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #306 on: April 17, 2018, 12:24:53 AM »
That was a good meet for you.  It looks like you had a lot of success.

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #307 on: April 18, 2018, 07:32:11 AM »
During my 183 mph run at Blytheville I felt the rear of the car move to the left after I shifted into second gear.  The rear tires were loosing traction.  I am running a spool in the rear end.  Woody sent me a video of that run with a note that read "Stay OFF the paint!!!".  Watching the video it was clear that my right rear tire was on the paint of the runway surface.  When getting back on the throttle after shifting it was patently evident that the car shifted 6 inches or more to the left as the left tire had more traction than the right.  Lesson learned, stay off the paint.  Thanks Woody!

Offline Lemming Motors

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #308 on: April 30, 2018, 11:39:51 AM »
During my 183 mph run at Blytheville ....... evident that the car shifted 6 inches or more to the left as the left tire had more traction than the right. 

If I had been driving then the very next sentence would read ...... and then the car shifted 6 inches back to the right as the left tire lost traction running over a trail of runny poo.

John
A Bonneville Lakester please barman.
Certainly sir; a lick of salt, a sip of gas and a twist of Lemming. More Lemming sir?
Just a squeeze.

A Squeeze of Lemming it is sir.

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #309 on: May 11, 2018, 05:48:26 PM »
Last night we went to Kilkare dragstrip in Xenia Ohio.  Everyone associated with the track has been great to deal with.  They are very helpful.  The first pass was good except that I banged up against the rev limiter yet again.  I checked the setting before starting the engine and it was set at 6,000 rpm however I must have bumped it or it vibrated out of position.  I have to get that fixed one way or another.  I roll off of the starting line, when the clutch is fully engaged I can then apply full throttle.  A quick shift into second gear and I am at the finish line.  I keep the speed below 100 mph and I can easily slow down for the first turnoff using just the brakes.  We got off to a slow start as someone ahead of us in a new Corvette (less than 500 miles) had trouble doing a burnout.  They turned the traction control off, did the burnout then left the line without traction control.  About 600 feet down the track they lost control, spun twice and crashed head on into the concrete barrier.  The driver was OK but in my estimation the car was totaled.  It took over an hour to remove the car and clean the track.  During my second run after shifting into second gear the rear of the car shifted to the left, I eased off the throttle, got control then finished the run.  The race director attributed the lack of traction to rolling through the water box before heading to the starting line and not doing a burn out.  I will drive around the water box next time.  I did get logs from the data logger which was the main goal.  Now to figure out how to make the logs useful. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #310 on: May 15, 2018, 08:27:24 PM »
I attached a screen shot of the data log from the drag strip.  Short but revealing.  The middle graph shows engine RPM.  The top graph is throttle position and intake pressure in PSI.  The bottom graph is G force from the built in accelerometers.  The purple line is linear acceleration.  At one point early on in first gear the car stops accelerating even thought the RPM is coming up indicating that the tires are slipping.  I could not tell this from drivers seat.  At the 2:54 mark the green lines show lateral acceleration which is where the rear end went right then left.  At the same time the purple line shows that the car is not accelerating at the same rate while the rear end is moving left and right.  I am really enjoying this.  A big shout out to Nathan for pointing me to the tutorials on Youtube. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #311 on: August 13, 2018, 01:18:52 PM »
The chassis felt like at times that it was flexing.  I decided to connect the main frame hoop at the front of the engine to the rear frame hoop to the parachute tube to stiffen the chassis.  The connectors needed to be removable in order to access to the engine.  The frame hoops are very close to the engine when removing or installing it in the chassis.  The attachment points needed to not protrude very much into the engine space.  I decided to weld blocks of steel the hoops.  The blocks protrude about 1/4" into the engine space.  I then used doublers made from 1/4" thick steel to connect the links to the blocks.  The links can be preloaded when installed in the chassis by virtue that the front link has left and right hand threaded rod ends.  This allows me to loosen the link for installation and removal while tightening the link before final torque on all the other fasteners.  I machined the parts "cookie cutter" style on the CNC mill.  I machine the holes in the material blanks first then use the holes to fasten the material to a plate so that I can machine the entire perimeter on the mill.   

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #312 on: August 13, 2018, 01:20:40 PM »
A photo of the front link showing the rod ends along with its attachment to the center frame hoop and front frame hoop. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #313 on: August 13, 2018, 01:21:51 PM »
A photo of the rear link showing its attachment to the center frame hoop and parachute tube. 

Offline Mike Brown

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Re: Belly Tank Build Diary
« Reply #314 on: August 21, 2018, 10:10:55 AM »
I have received a lot of criticism of my air intake system from fellow racers.  The intake system was a last minute project with a single goal.  The goal is to supply air with low enough turbulence for a usable MAF sensor signal.  I am running the stock GM ECU which relies on the MAF sensor to calculate the fuel for the engine.  If I a cannot build an intake or scoop that will be lower drag and produce a usable MAF sensor I can have a custom tuneup which will delete the MAF signal and rely on the MAP sensors for load sensing.  This will take substantial dyno time and calibration to create a speed density tune up.  I am going to try to fabricate a new scoop that will reduce the drag and still produce a usable MAF signal.  I can evaluate the MAF signal since I have this signal being logged on the AEM data logger.  There is a new track within an hours drive in Indiana, https://infinite-speed.com/.  The track is only a half mile with a 3,000 foot shutdown but better than a 1/4 mile dragstrip with a 1/4 mile shutdown.  The owners cater to people with exotic street cars but has agreed to let me make a few test and tune passes.