Author Topic: Australian Belly Tank  (Read 3171297 times)

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dwarner

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #570 on: February 02, 2009, 10:21:30 PM »
Tough break for the DRLA guys. I hope everything works out well.

Keep positive thoughts,
DW

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #571 on: February 03, 2009, 01:57:14 AM »
Thanks Dan
I get the feeling that this is going to thin the ranks just at the point that the event was building momentum. Some would say that isn't necessarily a bad thing because there were complaints that the club was struggling to cope with the number of entries, but what is a worry is that it may deplete the leadership ranks and the gradual passing around of the information and experience of running the event.... Successive successful annual events encourage people to get involved in the management of it and increase the enthusiasm for racers, spectators and volunteers. If it is cancelled this year then it will be four years since we've had an event and the "running knowledge" will be dim in the memory.......there are people like us who've got rides built for LSR and nothing else....we have no other event, as yet. Our enthusiasm hasn't dimmed but the urgency definitely has.......it will be a blow if we don't run in '09.

We are years behind where we thought we'd be , but that's the nature of it , innit?

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 #572 on: February 03, 2009, 12:34:50 PM »
That is the same problem we had in the 70s at Bonneville and El Mirage, low entry count.

After the '82 & '83 rainouts at Bonneville AS SCTA president I felt that we MUST have a race. IIRC in 1984 we ran in Sept. A hard rain the night before the event was to start required that we move the start line down two miles giving us a short course only. The rain returned after only 2 1/2 days and cancelled the remainder of the meet. Seven of us picked up the whole mess in a couple of inches of water.

DW


Offline interested bystander

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #573 on: February 12, 2009, 12:28:38 AM »
I'm sure yrs truly echos the thoughts of a lot of us in the USA who have  compasssion for the Aussie fire victems in what I call is our 51st state ( just a little bit South and West of Califorina).
5 mph in pit area (clothed)

Offline Reverend Hedgash

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Bushfires
« Reply #574 on: February 12, 2009, 05:52:01 PM »
Thanks IB.

We cancelled our tank build day last weekend because I was at our farm finalising its defences against the Weerite fire.

We were lucky that is all I can say, no amount of preparation can stop a fire in that heat and wind if it is on line with your house, it is simply like a blowtorch and will get into any crack.

The fire near us went between two houses, took some sheds and silage, then leapt over the highway and continued past our farm a kilometer away and into open ground.

A slightly different start location or wind direction and it would have had us. Our farmhouse is an all timber 1906 Victorian, and is dry as tinder after 10 years of drought (the doors open well though, that's a plus!) It was started by overloaded powerlines.

They reckon 300 + will be the final death toll with over 1000 houses gone already. Add that to the 35 lost a month ago and the fact we are only in the middle of the fire season and you get the picture.

Although the fire near us is technically under control, the ground itself is on fire. There is peat in the ground and they don't expect it to be truly our for another month or so. The last fire we had here, two years ago, kept sprouting up out of the ground a long way away after quite a few weeks.

The weather has been kinder the last few days but is expected to go back into the 30's next week. It's the wind though that is the problem with low humidity.

Offline landsendlynda

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #575 on: February 12, 2009, 06:09:53 PM »
I'm so glad you and yours are safe, Rev!  We (me and mine) are thankful nothing worse happened to you.  Our thoughts and prayers are with all of you and hope the fires will soon be under control.  Do all you can to keep yourself safe.

Lynda
Volunteer roadblock at Land's End! Yes, you need your stinkin badge! I'm your Dream Keeper, I protect your dream on the asphalt so you can chase your dream on the salt!

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Bushfires
« Reply #576 on: February 12, 2009, 06:59:49 PM »
Hey, Rev -

Thanks for the update - the feeds from the ABC and the BBC have been frightening, and we're concerned about everyone in the area.  The Good Doctor mentioned heat in the 46 C range (that's about 114 F degrees for those of us here in the States)  That's the type of heat you'll see in Arizona in August, but combined with the withering vegetation in your part of Australia, it's got to be like living in a tinderbox.

I'm with Lynda - our thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

Chris
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Bushfires....
« Reply #577 on: February 12, 2009, 09:21:55 PM »
Thanks everyone.

      It is Australia's worst ever natural disaster, they are expecting a death toll over 300. The ferocity of the fires made plain by pictures of molten metal and huge uprooted trees. It wasn't just people in wooded areas who died either , one couple who were horse trainers lost their house and their lives, they were surrounded by 50 acres of stubble. 

    The weather was hideous,the winds tremendous. In one of the areas most heavily hit ,Kinglake,the only fast road out is to the north west and that is where the fire came from , the other roads are narrow and mountainous and through heavy forest.There are many tragic stories from there, fortunately the two people I know from there survived one lost his house.I am still yet to hear from a friend in northern Victoria , I hope it is just because many phone towers have been lost.

As many have said in the last few days , it's a beautiful country, it's just not really made for people.



 
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 Dr Goggles

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It's on !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
« Reply #578 on: February 13, 2009, 12:09:56 AM »
We've just heard that the meeting held today between representitives of the DLRA and the Kokatha tribe about a land use agreement for Lake Gairdner has finished with an agreement struck between the parties. There is yet to be an agreement about ongoing use but for now this is great news.

The other good news is that the lake is in pristine condition and so we are both ALLOWED to and CAN use the lake for this years meeting.....



YOU BEAUTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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 Rex Schimmer

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #579 on: February 13, 2009, 12:56:24 AM »
Now that is some great news!!! Go get um Doc!

Rex
Rex

Not much matters and the rest doesn't matter at all.

Offline SPARKY

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #580 on: February 13, 2009, 09:49:23 AM »
Great news guys---thanks for the personal update----hope and pray that the rest of OUR dry lake family is as fortunate---great and safe racing!!!!!!!! :cheers:
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 Harold Bettes

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #581 on: February 13, 2009, 01:17:57 PM »
Doc Goggles and All the Aussies,

That is great news in spite of all the terrible fire damages and losses.

Wishing you all well and fast recovery :-D from all the devastation.

Regards to All, :cheers:
HB2 :-)
If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.

Offline maj

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #582 on: February 13, 2009, 05:31:32 PM »
So much work to do now,  :-D, been hard to get motivated when there was such a big questionmark over the meeting..
Doc .. Pristine condition?? hope your sources are good  :cheers:

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #583 on: February 13, 2009, 07:00:15 PM »
Outstanding news - Pack up the trailer, shower the soot off your brow, and go West, young man! :cheers:
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline Reverend Hedgash

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #584 on: February 15, 2009, 09:21:07 PM »
Spirits are up as the Spirit of Sunshine gets moving.

We crossed off four more things on our shed blackboard this weekend which is a great feeling (and only added two:a net gain!)

Colonel Grumm came in and wired in our Tacho and a quick fire of the engine showed it to be working well. This was a$20 eBay item and so we didn't know until now whether it was a goer or not. We have put it in a nice chrome car searchlight fitting we bought for $2 and it looks much better. I just have to print out the new design of the face to complete the reinvention of this device into something that looks alright.

I ask again, why are all the aftermarket gauges so crap? it seems like after Smiths were making decent gauges for a few years all the rest gave up on creating anything decent. Surely in the Internet age with a huge amount of graphic design going on somebody could be making gauges that don't look like they belong on a cheap wind up Chinese toy.

Any way, the good Colonel also wired in our Oil Pressure warning switch onto the steering wheel where it is plenty visible. Again not the nicest looking fitting but operational. The redesign of the wheel to and its switches and lights will occur after this meet where I hope to find or make some groovy warning lights and add in any lessons learnt from this trip.

I repolished the windscreen which had taken a beating over the past year in the bump'n'grind environment of a small shed, then being dumped in a yard inhabited by chickens...

It came up trumps!

Body work and paint the main job this coming weekend. Any volunteers to help prepare?

Reverend Hedgash