Brunskilltown Bullet

[Captthundarr]

 

[manta22]

Very nice. It does resemble a bullet!

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[DLRA#363]

Sorry guys that it has been so long since my last post but the decision not to have the car ready for this year's DLRA Speedweek was made well before the event.
We had so many things to complete and as you well know "The best laid plans of Mice & Men" well and truly kicked in before the end of last year.
We also had some issues with the engine on the initial start up which resulted in minor crank damage and this has now been sorted out.

Had an opportunity to do a few runs in Michael Brixton's record holding C/BFCU Ford Ute but unfortunately engine damage on the first shake down run put paid to that!!

Came home with some revised thinking on the rear end set up and have subsequently decided to change the back axle over to solid mounting which has enabled me to narrow the back end of the car considerably.
Back halved the car.



And made up new frame rails from 100x50x4.0mm RHS.



Very pleased with the end result!

[SPARKY]

   Ahhhh  the mid build correction  ---most of Special Construction guys can relate---just keep it coming, and keep posting---we love it---we look forward to your first runs

[kiwi belly tank]

That's a lot better choice on the rear axle from what you had. You also might want to take another look at your steering setup, lotsa bump steer action to be had there.
  Sid.

[Rex Schimmer]

I don't see any bump steer problems, rack is mounted to front axle, axle goes up and down with suspension rack goes along for the ride, no changing steering angles. Maybe I have missed something but it looks right to me.

Rex

[Brickster]

I thought the rack was mounted to the axle at first too but now looking at it again it looks to be frame mounted. Can the builder clarify?

[Rex Schimmer]

Look at the way the steering cross shaft is mounted and guided the steering will only work if the rack to mounted to the axle.

Rex

[MattGuzzetta]

Well, it sure looks like the blue tube the rack is mounted on is welded to the side frame rails.  Perhaps that is for building and set up and will be cut later to float with the axle?  I had a similar rack mounted to the frame tube system on my streamliner and it did cause bump steer problems.  Don't most dragsters mount the rack and pinion steering on the axle?
The construction of this vehicle is beautiful!   Details do matter, hope the bump steering is zero

Keep the pics coming so we can help when possible...
Matt Guzzetta

[DLRA#363]

Thanks for the positive comments guys, they are much appreciated.

Along with the changes to the rear end of the car I have started to revise the front suspension set up and one of the items to be redone is the steering geometry.
I have some photos somewhere of the steering rack mount on Seth Hammond's lakester and would appreciate any help in this area.

Cheers for now,
Tony

[tauruck]

Great attention to detail as always.

Thanks for sharing the pics Tony.

Awesome build.

Mike.

[grumm441]

I'm not that keen on the steering rack setup
All the bumps are on the road in and the lake is very smooth, however
I would move it back some, so there was less angle on the steering arms
And have you run it past Bob?
G

[kiwi belly tank]

I've been in liners & Lakesters for 27 years now & here's my opinion Tony.
From the start of your build you seemed to be over influenced by oval track stuff but mostly it doesn't translate to LSR.
Firstly your front hub setup will make it tough to get the scrub radius down to zero or at least minimal & that is a must for the salt.
Secondly it looks like you have a Sweet rack which is a dragster item & the ratio is too fast.
Thats the two least desirable things in an LSR front end & will likely result in driver over-input & now you're chasing it around & risking a spin.
Keeping it simple with a tie rod-drag link-steering box setup is really hard to beat plus you can do multi position arms on the box & the hubs to set up the ratio you like. I personally like about a 40-1 ratio on a long car to have the right feel going straight. It doesn't give you much in the way of turning radius but there's a whole desert out there & that's what we have trailers for. Keeping the tie rod & drag link in the shadow of the axle won't create extra drag.
While we're talking steering, correct Ackerman is very desirable here.
I totally get you here Mate, you're a creative person that likes to fabricate & you do nice work but it's worth not over complicating what should really be a simple vehicle. People have built super trick "whistles & bell's" cars for the salt that have done well but it's just not necessary.
  Sid.


 

[SPARKY]

 

[manta22]

Tony;

You can use a "steering quickener" connected backwards between the rack and steering wheel to slow the ratio. These are small gearboxes with ratios of around 2:1 or so. Speedway Motors is one source.

I'll disagree with Sid- Ackerman is only important for large steering angles, such as turning into parking spots, etc. At small angles, Ackerman does nothing at all. Bump steer is your main concern.

Regards, Neil   Tucson, AZ