Author Topic: Australian Belly Tank  (Read 3171434 times)

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Offline manta22

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #705 on: May 30, 2009, 01:05:52 PM »
Very nice photos-- thanks.

The cockpit switches are mounted "upside down" from what I'm used to. Southern hemisphere effect?  :-D

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ
Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #706 on: June 06, 2009, 11:55:57 PM »
Yesterday was the first "Tank Day" for the '09/10 racing year....all that I'd really done was take the bodywork off , let the tyres down and give it a wash. The fact that there was moisture beading on parts of the frame indicated that there was still salt residue , old timers will attest to the kinds of places it gets to.So yesterday we did the job properly . We emptied the water tank and took it off so we could get in to the engine bay, removed the fuel tank filter and lines and plugged up everything on the motor and gave it a really good wash. It has never looked so clean.

 It was good to get into the bay and see that nothing had given up, also to see that some oil had got out of the gearbox breather and dripped straight onto one of the collector pipes.....that explains the rich sulphur smell on my first run.Nothing looked cooked, the heat shields that we had placed anywhere that the exhaust went near something vital all seemed to do their job, the gearshift linkages all look AOK. There's another list going up on the board inside the shed....this time there are items in blue and red, they are non-vital and expensive rather than the essential items in white.

In the removal of the fuel pump and lines I had a bit of a muck around with it and after emptying the fuel out of it and hooking a wire up to it found that it had freed itself up ......it's a Bosch 580 044, it has only gone about 30miles......it now has written on it "died '09, keep as spare" my feeling is that it has copped a piece of epoxy from the tank lining. We will buy a new one. We will install a sock and a better in-line filter before the pump.While we were emptying the fuel tank I heard that all too familiar sucking sound as we drained the fuel through the outlet hose...I built a cross piece about one and a half inches high that sits over the outlet to prevent eddying......that obviously doesn't work, hopefully a better inline filter will lessen the potential for dangerous cavitation. I now regret even thinking of building the Al fuel tank, the effort of getting it fuel tight and expense of the liner in the end were a waste. I should have made one out of steel, or stainless with a removable plate so I could farnarkle about inside AND use an intank pump...because they are cheap and plentiful...............note to self..........the companies that make cars by the million do lots of things that save them money,and make things last longer and easier to fix when they don't( not always but mostly)......watch and learn son. :oops:

We need to upgrade our fire system. There is a problem that we are fast running out of room inside the car. There is a third bottle mount but we are not sure yet that we have the correct weight of extinguishant for the 200mph category..... There is the possibility we'll go a complete rework and place a large bottle in the very tail.

The blower manifold needs to be built, the associated changes for that are yet to be sorted.....injectors? MAP sensor?

We are looking into front brakes, drums will fit inside what we have , we were just never keen on the extra "stuff" that we need up there to run them but if there is another test and tune day at Mangalore airfield we are going to need them.


Anyway, that was Tank Day.......
Few understand what I'm trying to do but they vastly outnumber those who understand why...................

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Current Australian E/GL record holder at 215.041mph

THE LUCKIEST MAN IN SLOW BUSINESS.

Offline Seldom Seen Slim

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #707 on: June 07, 2009, 08:45:04 AM »
Thanks for the nice refrain on the wear from this year's racing. 

What's "farnakle"?  Farkle to the next power?
Jon E. Wennerberg
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Offline willieworld

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #708 on: June 07, 2009, 11:44:31 AM »
 "In essence, Farnarkeling is engaged in by two teams whose purpose is to arkle, and to prevent the other team from arkeling, using a flukem to propel a gonad through sets of posts situated at random around the periphery of a grommet. Arkeling is not permissible, however, from any position adjacent to the phlange (or leiderkrantz) or from within 15 yards of the wiffenwacker at the point where the shifting tube abuts the centre-line on either side of the 34 metre mark, measured from the valve at the back of the defending side's transom-housing."      willie buchta
willie-dpombatmir-buchta

Offline Milwaukee Midget

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #709 on: June 07, 2009, 12:20:52 PM »
"In essence, Farnarkeling is engaged in by two teams whose purpose is to arkle, and to prevent the other team from arkeling, using a flukem to propel a gonad through sets of posts situated at random around the periphery of a grommet. Arkeling is not permissible, however, from any position adjacent to the phlange (or leiderkrantz) or from within 15 yards of the wiffenwacker at the point where the shifting tube abuts the centre-line on either side of the 34 metre mark, measured from the valve at the back of the defending side's transom-housing."      willie buchta

Gee, Willie, you're kind of stating the obvious here, but I suppose there might be a few readers who don't understand the nuance and art of Farnarkeling, as per Madagascar rules, which you've so clearly laid out for us.

Indonesian Farnarkeling, well, that's another story.  I'm a traditionalist when it comes to true Farnarkeling - Indonesian Farnarkeling -  but I understand the economics of the sport, and it's still great to watch, even without a quadratic postliner.
"Problems are almost always a sign of progress."  Harold Bettes
Well, I guess we're making a LOT of progress . . .  :roll:

Offline SPARKY

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #710 on: June 07, 2009, 12:22:55 PM »
We will be having many tank (Box?) days between not and 8-01-09  :-D
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 Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #711 on: June 07, 2009, 11:51:42 PM »
........and you  know for a minute there I thought you just made that up Wilhelm, as for you others , crikey , blow me down, tie me to a fence post and smear my ears with jam.......

the context I was intending was shall we say "messing,fooling,F******!" around.................like , "is he serious or is he just farnarkling around"

My experience with the you beaut Aluminium fuel tank that I labored over is,

1./ Why did I make it out of Aluminium when I don't need it to be light? (and I didn't make the effort of sticking "carbon fibre look" stuff on the outside.)
2./ Why didn't I use steel when I can weld it airtight in my sleep? ( yeah , I'm a Mig dinosaur....but I could have gone stainless)
3./ Why didn't I make an inspection plate? ( too late now Einstein it's epoxied and it's had fuel in it)
4./ Why am I telling you all this?  :oops:

I guess I am telling you this because I'm being frank about what I think a lot of people know when they come back from some early racing or testing and reflect on how clever they thought they were when  they built this or that little bit , then went just that extra yard to make it work , and a little bit extra for insurance to get back home and think " what a dickhead,how did I fool myself into doing that?"...next time I'll be a little more wary when I'm trying to convince myself of something. :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.

Offline hitz

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #712 on: June 08, 2009, 12:26:29 AM »
But...............but...... Isn't that just the way it works?? :|


Old enough to know better

Harv

Offline theazoldcrow

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #713 on: June 08, 2009, 12:35:37 AM »
Harv!  "Old enough to know better,,,,But,,,,young enough not to resist!  Crow  :-D
The Earth, is an intergalactic insane asylum.!

Offline PJQ

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #714 on: June 10, 2009, 01:26:55 AM »
Going a bit hard on yourself Ole-Doc, it's pretty simple really...
Al was flavour of the month when you did it...
the fancy-pants welding course was in full flight, and the tank was being cut-n-shut, there was lots of Al work going on for inspiration. The Al lines were on the welder, there were sheets of the stuff lying around being used to keep the chooks out of the shed.
Seemed right at the time.
Regards,
PJQ
Velocity Science Laboratories

Offline Stainless1

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #715 on: June 10, 2009, 09:13:35 AM »
Hey Doc, bearing you soul in public is better than showing your A$$.... usually hindsight is 20/20... this forum is about helping others and showing someone where you think (whether you did or not) you went wrong or could have done it differently... that is what we all aspire to do.  You guys built a great racer, you may have realized by now that it will never be done, that is just the way it is in LSR... always changing something, improving, trying to get that next MPH....
We have raced the Bockscar for 24 years and we usually end up changing something every year, trying to improve, let us know how you guys are doing for the next 20 years.... We will be watching this thread as you improve the tank, keep up the good work
 :cheers:
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O

Offline Freud

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #716 on: June 10, 2009, 10:13:18 AM »
Stainless....don't encourage this neanderthal.

When the world goes up-side-down, he will be on top.

FREUD
Since '63

Offline maj

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #717 on: June 10, 2009, 10:14:43 AM »
Doc look inside the entry of your pump, i think you will find there is a screen in there , bosch pumps don't like being squeezed and maybe your mount was a bit tight for it, wetsuit type stubby holder and not too tight hose clamp seems to work well for me, also check your electrical stuff associated with the pump .
i have lately being using ex supercar V8 044 pumps and they always need the fuel cell internal foam pieces removed from the screen before use.

Offline Dr Goggles

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #718 on: June 10, 2009, 07:42:03 PM »
Doc look inside the entry of your pump, i think you will find there is a screen in there , bosch pumps don't like being squeezed and maybe your mount was a bit tight for it, wetsuit type stubby holder and not too tight hose clamp seems to work well for me, also check your electrical stuff associated with the pump .
i have lately being using ex supercar V8 044 pumps and they always need the fuel cell internal foam pieces removed from the screen before use.

There you go, polite helpful, knowledgable....and unusually for a motorcyclist he can even spell :evil:.....Thanks Greg, I reckon you may have summed it up, it is clamped inside a piece of exhaust tube , a perfect fit but yes you are probably right.....the other thing I wondered about is whether the wiring was up to it, I noticed( can't remember exactly right now) when I looked into it that they pull BIG current.

Stainless....don't encourage this neanderthal.
When the world goes up-side-down, he will be on top.
FREUD

Now, Freud , I am flattered that you credit me with such potential. :wink:
Going a bit hard on yourself Ole-Doc, it's pretty simple really...
Al was flavour of the month when you did it...
the fancy-pants welding course was in full flight, and the tank was being cut-n-shut, there was lots of Al work going on for inspiration. The Al lines were on the welder, there were sheets of the stuff lying around being used to keep the chooks out of the shed.

a bit of background folks , I had a black and a brown chook, they were called Jack( Black) and Jackie( Brown)...Jack was as silly as a wheel , Jackie however was smarter than some of my friends( not that I'm naming any of them)......NOTHING could keep her out of the shed.....well maybe kevlar but I never had sheets of that lying around........
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 Stainless1

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Re: Australian Belly Tank
« Reply #719 on: June 10, 2009, 09:48:00 PM »
Doc, the wiring was our issue 2 years ago, managed to try to pump 20 amp max draw through a 5 amp relay and #18 wire....  the little electrons couldn't get through the chute fast enough to turn the pump pressure to the required number... for the required amount of time... sorted out the problem right after we got back from the salt.... #8 covers the draw with no problem

Freud has confidence in ya if you are drawing his ire....
Stainless
Red Hat 228.039, 2001, 65ci, Bockscar Lakester #1000 with a little N2O