Australian Belly Tank

[manta22]

That was one lawn mower that wasn't going to come apart, Jon!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[wobblywalrus]

Rolled threads give a bit of added strength as compared to cut threads  Provided there is enough room around the bolt heads, the flanged hex head bolts work well for this application, and I use them where I can.  Also, an unthreaded shank except for the portion in the female threads works best, based on my experience.

You'all seem to be on track and doing well.  Running the belly tank is an accomplishment regardless of the speed.  That setup is completely home built using "applied engineering."  Have the best of luck.    

[Milwaukee Midget]

Just so you know, Doctor - we ARE paying attention in class . . .

. . . had to take the flywheel off to get it onto the engine stand...gee those flywheel bolts were kind of loose

Might want to add "double check torque settings on new flywheel and adapter" to the chalk board.

[Dr Goggles]

Rolled threads give a bit of added strength as compared to cut threads  Provided there is enough room around the bolt heads, the flanged hex head bolts work well for this application, and I use them where I can.  Also, an unthreaded shank except for the portion in the female threads works best, based on my experience.

You'all seem to be on track and doing well.  Running the belly tank is an accomplishment regardless of the speed.  That setup is completely home built using "applied engineering."  Have the best of luck.    

Carroll Smith's great quote..."never, EVER, make a bolt" is pertinent here...I don't know it word for word but I have read his chapter "Why Things Break" lots of times.The strength of cut threads doesn't come anywhere near that of rolled threads due to the grain.

 

Funny thing , when we got the eight bolt flywheel we used at last years meet it came with a set of factory bolts ,I turned the head off one of them at less than half the recommended torque setting, and yes I had run a tap through the crank holes just to make sure they weren't crudded up.It just came off like a cheap garden variety  bolt head , when I undid the others and lifted the flywheel off I could wind the rest of it out with my fingers. The people we got the flywheel from insisted they had to be used and charged no small sum for them, it was a worry that one was so defective.....

[Dr Goggles]

Hey it's all go go go here at The spirit of Sunshine Central.........

here is a recent email exchange between the brains trust ....we have decided to enter the car in "streamliner class" as well this year , just by adding some simple guards to the rear wheels....the most recent exponent of this was I think the Old Crow tank. There are few streamliner records here, there is a E/BGS, EBFS build on the go that I think will be ready for 2011, but not much else...all the other stuff has been in A or AA.

Strap yourselves in , my only regret is I can't draw a comic strip to go with this.......

Rev wrote:
I have found some rear guards perfect for our bellytank to streamliner
mod.:


We'll put a steel flat face on the inside to attach to the drums or an
axle tab.

 Close the outside arc with a flat piece.
 
 Hell we could even make the brake lights and indicators functional!
  Will be more slipstreamed, better lookin, quicker to build and in more
keeping with the car than some trailer style.

I am bidding on them.

dik


Doc wrote:
Have you read the stuff I did yesterday?....hopefully we can sort the
bum-torture sitch out , I'm getting the fuel pump organised and also
the rest of the fire system stuff.

We're getting there.

also I met an old mate last night who has a business neighbour who is
a tuner and has a dyno. He's keen to help us with our mapping.

DrG


The Rev wrote:
I thought we discussed the seat and you said that it was fine with the
blue rubber insert, so I spent a little time cleaning it up and
ticked it off the list...

Now its back on the list?

Dyno sounds interesting, we can save money by blowing up the motor
here instead of there.

d

Doc wrote:

Now that was funny, I had thought about that possibility, but not
that it would save us money.
But , your majesty, I've a cunning plan....................

We get the new motor dyno'd, and stick it in the car, but we also take
the VP bottom end that we used last year. We are up to parachute
passes, then we are able( with the front runners)to run to or about
200.At that point we are in destructo territory, if we get
there.....or if it does it twice.....

If we organise the guards so we can run in streamliner class we need
to go up through the licensing passes....just once, not each driver.

The VP motor was pretty much out of huff at 160.....it might do 175
with the limiter off.

So, with the new(VN) motor in we do the parachute passes, we each go
for 200.

If the motor hangs together we put the guards on, do 125, 150 , 175
and if it's STILL hanging together try for 200 , alternate drives.

If the motor DOESN'T hang together we put the VP in it , at whatever
point of the above plan we get to and start at the licensing passes
for Streamliner.

Yeah I hear you, we only got four passes last year , but there's two
tracks this year........... and to quote Ben "next year I'm gonna have
a plan!"....

You know it makes sense.


The Rev wrote:
Not only does it make sense, I had already thought about that.
Also could pop the Colonel in for the first drive...

Oh, by the way, we are now the owners of two Morris Minor
guards. Anyone going to Wendouree soon?

Reverend H+
 
ps we had 4 passes in the first year after two years no racing in a
week half washed out with one track, if we can manage 2 a day that's
the eight passes required for 3x200mph by Thursday.
Don't forget we can do the two fuel classes for streamliner too so the
Spirit can have 4 Australian landspeed records to her name.


Doc wrote:
get him to freight the guards , it's $25 gas at least for me to get
 them...and three hours I haven't really got, probably only 45 bucks ,
or ask if he has Couriers Please and get 'em sent to Grumm

The Colonel wrote:

Don't send em to me
 I've got enough scrap metal lying around at work
 Unfortunately I have to work on saTURDay, so while I am there I am
 hoping to do the cam dial on the engine and then maybe if i get time i
 will assemble it
 Speaking of cams, my bank account details are still the same.
 And yes I would drive it, if i could work the stupid clutch pedal, or
 perhaps even get in or out of the thing
I would only have to buy a fire suit, and another helmet, which reminds
 me, you should check with Bob if your helmet is still legal
 Which gets me back to that thread on dlra. Who designed this rubbish anyway
 G
 

Doc wrote:

clutch?....find us one of those miniature remote boosters and I'll put it in.

Dunno what everyone’s movements are for the weekend but the meeting is on at Norm's I don't want to go but we have to enter as it is the last day before late fees,.I will have the bundy tube and the fittings to do the fire system, am finding out about filliing the empty cylinder and getting them all checked this week, to be done next week.I did the cut on the seat for the other cylinder and fitted the pinchweld to the edges. I drilled holed for the Ubolt on thefirst one , haven't sorted the second one but I think we may need to double up some of the stainless hose clamps cause we don't have enough big ones.......

Colonel can you pocket the seat catch you have been talking about so we can get that at least as a temp measure on the chute doors.
 
I bought some 1.2.mm plate steel yesterday to use for the streamlinerguards, did you ask the guy about freight Dik?

Rev wrote:
He is going to deliver them to your door personally. He is coming down this weekend to see the Hot Rod show and so will be passing by on ballarat Road.
 
The guards are a bitwedge shaped so we may need to put a top to them as well to get the inner side parallel but no biggy, cardboard will save the day.
 
We'll do it nice and strong then bog the curve on top to make it all nice.
 
d


Doc wrote:

That's good, in light of "The guards are a bit wedge shaped so we may need to put a top to them as well to get the inner side parallel but no biggy, cardboard will save the day.We'll do it nice and strong then bog the curve on top to make it all nice
" , trust me.........this is a one pass job , there will be no fore-lock tugging.....if it's too hard we go with the Dolan interpretation and just make an "in spirit only" version and wait til when we have time to burn to get these nice cowls all sweet.....................

Rev wrote:
I think my forelock has been tugged off...

[wobblywalrus]

Like you guys, I use a lot of allen bolts and I have loosening problems, too.  I think the high stresses under the allen bolt head are distorting the metal underneath and the bolt loosens.  A pix of flanged bolts are attached.  The shoulder area is a lot bigger and there are lower stresses on the underlying metal.  They are working better for me than allen bolts or allen bolts with washers.  No loosening.

The drawbacks are the size of the hole that is needed to countersink them and they are expensive.  I buy them from Triumph since I do not know any other sources.  That's all I know or have to say about bolts. 

Put the fenders on the tank before you leave.  If they do not fall off on that rough road in to the lake they will probably hang on through any race.


  

[Dr Goggles]

Like you guys, I use a lot of allen bolts and I have loosening problems, too.  I think the high stresses under the allen bolt head are distorting the metal underneath and the bolt loosens.

If I could find a shouldered bolt like that one pictured with a flange that fitted, I'd be on it like a monkey on a biscuit....problem is that most of those things are special purpose and it's usually a case of finding one and designing around it................

[Milwaukee Midget]

". . . the pinnacle of the straightaway racer's art" now seems to include Morris Minor fenders.

God help me, I love this sport.

[grumm441]

Don't forget the to make room for the fan
G

[Dr Goggles]

Got some work done on the fire system yesterday.Bending 1/4 bundy tube around the tight confines of the tank's innards is time consuming work, trust me. With the aluminium lines it was pretty simple, with the steel it almost all has to be done on the little line bender....

Got word from the Colonel yesterday that he'd dialled the cam  and that "specs are as advertised".......at that moment I had my head under the hood of a VW attempting to find why the dashlight stopped working after I installed a stereo in it ..........can't get enough of that stuff.

During the week I got the new fuel pump and entered the car for this year.

Now I better get out there and get on with it.

[Dr Goggles]

I'm sitting on a chair beside the tank with the double flaring kit and a little tube cutter. Anyway I'm having a chuckle to myself about a list of instructions as to how to use the tools....

1./Measure the EXACT length of tube, mark.
2./Clamp the cutting tool over the mark turning and tightening until cut.
3./Clamp tube into anvil, leave 3/16 proud.
4./Place die in tube and wind clamp down to form first flare.
5./Remove die and wind clamp down to form second flare and remove clamps.
...
6./ cut off flare, because you haven't put the line nut on ...now it's too short?
7./ Repeat......

so I'm laughing to myself, I look down ....sure enough I've done it for the second time in five......

I got I few things done today ,the fire system is all tied up...I tidied up the clutch and brake lines too, hid them a bit better, housekeeping stuff.Then I started on the canopy hinge, haven't really got any concrete ideas what I'm going to do yet but it needs to be firmed up and still be so the pins can be pulled.

[Milwaukee Midget]

6./ cut off flare, because you haven't put the line nut on ...now it's too short?
7./ Repeat......

I have a very similar approach to repairing microphone and guitar cables.

But you can't screw up if you aren't working .   

[Peter Jack]

A lot of people put loops in the line supposedly to help fight cracking from vibration. I think you may have discovered the real reason for those loops.

Pete

[Dr Goggles]

A lot of people put loops in the line supposedly to help fight cracking from vibration. I think you may have discovered the real reason for those loops.

Pete

I was polite!.....as with mains leads, mic leads, brake lines, all of them, there's also the possibility of putting the wrong type on, or forbid, the wrong way round..........or , as I said, just leaving it off, just for the hell of it..... :roll:Canon leads are the worst

Today I did a test firing of sorts of the fire system, just water and with about 120psi of air in it rather than the recommended 190, I probably had too much water in it too, which would reduce the amount of air ......as it was the dispersion wasn't too bad...and although obviously the engine bay was empty it went everywhere...

[Milwaukee Midget]

Hmmm . . .

That absolute stillness and quiet we're hearing on line must be the sound of a thrash in progress.

Go, Sunshine!