Again, it's been a long time between drinks...this time over 120 days... time for another update
So, since October 2009 a fair bit more has happened. Big Gaz and I came over to Bonneville and worked in tech inspection so we got to meet a few of the posters here. Rex - what happened to the shirt from Salt Talks? Never mind, it's yours! We had a great time and Gaz spent spent a heap of money propping up the American economy via the aftermarket speed equipment industry. We came back to Oz with a lot of info on how we can improve our event and have already implemented a fair bit of it ready for our upcoming event.
Back to the car. Most recently Gary has added in more safety items from knowledge picked up in teching cars for Bonneville and also from discussions with Kiwi Steve, Lee Kennedy, the guys from DJ Safety and other racers. BY the way, big thanks to Steve and Lee for looking after us so well! So he's installed the NASCAR roof flap, added in bars around the helmet and also added in a window net.
The roof flap:
This is the underside. The flap is connected into the roll cage for strength and the cables are inside the rear tubes.
Next up was the head restraints
They are made from exhaust tubing and slip over mounts welded to the cage. These are bolted in place but can be removed when working on the car or when cruising. The car is being set up with a passenger seat and the suspension can be raised for participating in other Aussie events like Powercruise.
Next up was the seat belt mounts. We learned that the best way to mount these was to limit the length of the belt to the minimum and provide plenty of room around them so they don't rub on any metal. So the opening in the seat has been enlarged and when they are pulled down there is no chance of moving and minimal ability to breath!!
The window net. Gary thought long and hard about how to set up the net so that it was easy to drop and get in and out of the car plus provided full coverage of the doorway in the event that the door gets lost ... We checked out the damage to the silver Pontiac??? that went over during Speed Week last year and have seen that the doors are the first bits to go. He's used straight rod to hold the net and welded in wobble bars from a socket set to articulate the joints.
Gary also decided that as the car is a Jag then he should add in a wooden steering wheel and will probably apply some wood grain vinyl sheeting in the interior so he's got something nice to look at while he's waiting for the push car!! Old Jag joke...
a new boss was machined up so that the stock Jag steering column was able to be used. It has adjustable reach so was worth keeping. It also had to be able to accept the quick release for the wheel. Here are all the parts
and the finished item:
The steering column drop had to moved to the inside of the car about an inch to allow the drivers gloves to clear the roll cage. This then led to Gaz mounting the fluid reservoirs for the brakes and clutch and finalising the bar that the column drop mounts to.
That's about it for now. He's also finished off the cover for the clutch slave cylinder and is now looking at making up a switch and fuse panel for the console in the car.
Stay tuned, there will be more updates in the future.
Lynchy