Author Topic: Australian Belly Tank  (Read 3172126 times)

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Offline t russell

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #195 on: March 06, 2007, 05:32:04 AM »
damn nice ride.I have been following your build. Hope the weather is on your side next year
terry

Offline JackD

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #196 on: March 06, 2007, 06:33:11 AM »
On behalf of everybody that is working to make that kind of a dream happen, THANK YOU.
Many people will express all kinds of feelings about not being able to go this year, but as far as I am concerned you have arrived. :wink:
"I would rather lose going fast enough to win than win going slow enough to lose."
"That horrible smell is dirty feet being held to the fire"

Offline Sumner

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #197 on: March 06, 2007, 09:20:35 AM »
Great work guys  :-) and you should be very proud of yourselves.

So sorry about the weather deal this year  :cry:,  but like you said you still have lots you want to do and next year will be here soon.  I see no way I can be ready this year either if I'm realistic, but I'm not discouraged as I'll make it to the salt with a car of my own someday.  You guys have been an inspiration, thanks,

Sum

Offline SPARKY

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #198 on: March 06, 2007, 06:38:33 PM »
 :-o

Guys---way to GO---that Thing just looks so "BITCHIN"  your expressions an body language
 just says it ALL!!!!!  congratulations!!!!!!!!!---hell you guys may inspire me to build another car!~~~~~~~
Miss LIBERTY,  changing T.K.I.  to noise, dust, rust, BLUE HATS & hopefully not scrap!!

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."   Helen Keller

We are going to explore the racing N words NITROUS & NITRO!

Offline John Nimphius

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #199 on: March 07, 2007, 01:25:34 AM »
Your dedication and perseverance should be an inspiration to those of us that are making excuses for why we don't get it done. Thanks!

John N

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #200 on: March 08, 2007, 03:48:48 AM »
Thanks all for the kind words , It means a lot , a real lot.The Rev and I have spent a fair bit of time on this forum over the last few years and we have learnt a great deal from it as well as been entertained .What we have learnt from watching discussion and offering up our ideas for debate has influenced the design of our car ( if it doesn't go fast it's all your fault!!! :-D) and for that we owe a thank you to Jon for running the site ,and the interest and time of all the regular and experienced contributors who have been an inspiration as well as valuable help with build issues .

It'll get better. :wink:
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

dwarner

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #201 on: March 08, 2007, 09:03:57 AM »
The go fast part is NOT our fault.

Les Leggitt has said in the past ..."I can give you parameters to build your race car, I can't legislate your tuneup."

DW

Offline Drewfus

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #202 on: March 08, 2007, 08:52:58 PM »
Great to see the progress, even if the frustration is getting to you, your enthusiasm is inspiring.

The next 12 months will allow you to tidy house, fine tune, and make the experience more pleasurable....simple details, but important.

Heads up guys,

Drewfus
"Build it small, Drive it BIG"

Offline stimie

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #203 on: March 19, 2007, 02:47:59 PM »
i am planing on building a tanker i am using a fiberglass p38 body what i would like to know is how did you build your frame any help you can give i would be gratefull thanks mark 

Offline PJQ

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #204 on: March 19, 2007, 11:00:08 PM »
Had the privilege of squeezing into the tank the other day to make some vrrm-vrrm noises.
With the canopy closed it feels fast just sitting on stands in the shed. Kinda stirs the blood...
Not many cars do that any more - so old - reckon it's the sign of a top class build (the car, not me).

« Last Edit: March 19, 2007, 11:13:24 PM by PJQ »
Regards,
PJQ
Velocity Science Laboratories

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #205 on: March 24, 2007, 06:30:17 PM »
i am planing on building a tanker i am using a fiberglass p38 body what i would like to know is how did you build your frame any help you can give i would be gratefull thanks mark  

The design was done on a 3d cad program ,  we wanted to keep the Canberra tank in it's original dimensions so the job was to make the frame as "big" as possible in order to give us as much room as poss'.....Even so there were a lot of "on the ground" changes once we started building it. All the advice we got from other owner builders was make it heavy , use heavy plate , heavy pipe and certainly don't pay for anything that is expensive because it is lightweight :roll: Wayne Mumford ( the Mumford and Mack "Wazavudu) used large discs of cardboard in order to "size" the longitudinal members .We built a 1;1 dummy out of 1 inch steel tube , we built another from cardboard tube that you get from fabric rolls( find a bunch of them they're very handy).....don't go out and buy any notching machines as a cut off saw and various hand tools will do ....another handy thing I've borrowed is a hand held sandblaster (excellent for wrecking engines ,  :oops:) which will make sure your welds are good.

If I was you I'd track down as many P38 belly-tankers as you can, take photos and underneath each one I'd write what the owner would do differently if they had their time again.....there-in may be your design ......oh yeah and start saving money and living like a monk.PM me for more stuff if you'd like :wink:
« Last Edit: November 21, 2012, 06:42:39 PM by Seldom Seen Slim »
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

http://thespiritofsunshine.blogspot.com/

Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline Harold Bettes

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #206 on: March 24, 2007, 11:45:01 PM »
Hi Guys,

I have been very distracted from posting lately, but wanted to say to you that you have done an outstanding job and appreciate that you have shared it with all of us. :wink:

Sorry that the great salt was not available for you this time around, but you will be super prepared next one. :-)

BTW - Thanx for your contributions in other arenas as well. 8-)

Regards from the high country in the USA,
HB2
If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.

Offline Reverend Hedgash

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #207 on: March 26, 2007, 12:07:17 AM »
Stimie,

as Dr.G said it was a lot of mock ups that got us to where we are.

I am pretty good at thinking in 3D but the shape of the belly tank really is a trick. No matter which way you draw it there is always some plane disappearing in a way that is hard to conceptualise.

Having a 3d CAD model certainly helped but at the end of the day it was as every other car builder has done, placing pieces in roughly the right position and sitting in it with your helmet on and making engine noises.

We made a 1:10 model with a vac formed shell which we could quickly chop change and reweld some rod steel to sort out a cage that was reasonably efficient. This like the Cad model helped try out some options prior to commiting to big stuff but it was hard to get your head around the scale of the thing.

The cardboard and rough 1" steel 1:1 phase was probably the most educational. You could get in it. We could place the bits we had on it in roughly the right position. We painted the outline of the tank on the floor. Most importantly we wanted it to comply with the safety rules and maximise our driver space and engine space at the same time.

Below are some photos of it in this stage. One side is a bit different from the other. As this was always going to be a throwaway thing, we could jump in and try differet ideas. Just chop and weld / tape without worrying about strength etc. A quick and ultimately time saving way to do it, although we did get frustrated with the lack of progress at actually building the real thing, it has paid off in spades at the end.

With that said, as Go said, the design of these things is a living process. It grows and changes as you build. Sure there a few elements like an appendix in the car that were designed and built for a previous idea and now been superceded... if we were building another one we would be so much faster and different again.

That is what we are looking at this year, now that it is complete, looking at it and asking how can we do this or that better.

That is indeed the question to ask other builders. We are only happy for you to go one better and not make the same mistakes that we did.

The advantage you have Stimie is all the other cool tanks already built on your P-38. We are the first to build on a Canberra Bomber (please correct me if I'm wrong and send photos immediately!) and we didn't want to cut it up unduly. This meant working blind for a long time as we didn't have a top and bottom shell to build in. In hindsight we should have made a quick fibreglass copy which we could have used as a guide. You have this option as I presume your tank is divided down the middle already? (Is it from the Kelly heritage?)

Not having a real world test up our sleeves hurts this process and so we can only comment on our build process at present.

Thanks all for your comments. Latest development is we have just bought the bits for a trailer. We are going to build an enclosed unit with some ramps that the car can sit on so we can work on it at a reasonable height at the salt.

(Editor: we have started a thread on the trailer and all things trailer elsewhere in the build diaries section).

Rev.H+
« Last Edit: April 01, 2007, 10:09:57 PM by Reverend Hedgash »

Offline Reverend Hedgash

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construction photo
« Reply #208 on: March 26, 2007, 12:08:40 AM »
Rear photo.

This is when we were thinking of using the Buick V6 and motorcycle tyres at the front.

We also had a bigger garage then and a flat floor... memories!
« Last Edit: March 26, 2007, 12:10:12 AM by Reverend Hedgash »

Offline grumm441

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #209 on: March 30, 2007, 10:59:35 PM »
And when you were on me and Headgash's side of town
G
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