Australian Belly Tank

[Dr Goggles]

Now that's a relief, see, I thought you'd either followed the gold rush or joined a cult....to anyone who's wondering between where we are and where he went is what is known as the Nullabor....


It's as good a test of a relationship as you'll find a thousand miles from Ceduna to Norseman and you can pretty much lash the wheel, it's kind of warm out there at this time of the year too. My family went to Western Australia for a holiday when I was 9, it was a dirt road then.

I went to the Kustom Nats yesterday at Phillip Island.............

 where they hold the Australian Moto GP,it was stinkin hot, almost all of the show is on a paved car-park..... by arrangement with a local who he as travelling with I sprang a surprise on Racergeo from the board here...I was there to write a story for one of the local car magazines and "chanced " across two guys looking at a 51 custom pick up..... Lets just say George was more than a little surprised when the guy with the little voice-recorder who was asking him questions shook his hand and said "George , James or , Dr Goggles...."it was pretty funny..... Thanks to Ian for teeing that up.......

George and Ian both have some useful suggestions about our engine build, Colonel , you and me have got some stuff to discuss......

As always just when I thought I'd finally decided something someone comes along and throws a spanner in.........

[wobblywalrus]

Shed getting a little small?  In these parts folks simply move a wall out every five or ten years.  The distance moved is what they figure the building inspector will not notice.  Those pesky permits are expensive.  Also, the addition should not appear new.  There is no need to attract the taxman's attention.  Stylewise, the freshly constructed widening should not match anything in the neighborhood or the original building.  Just letting you guys know how things are done on the other side of the world.

[Dr Goggles]

yes, and it was built " oh, at least seven years ago , maybe seven years and two weeks even"........if something was built more than seven years prior you no longer need to have the building permit

[racergeo]

Gid’day all youse blokes,

I’m in Shepparton in Oz now as I’m visiting me rellies down under. My mate Ian has been busy getting me to revhead and show yer wheels type do’s in an effort to keep me doing sumpt’n but more to stop me and the cheese and kisses having a barney; as it is now she still has gone butchers hook a couple of times (but I needed those 15 NSK  bearings I bought – I might even be able to use a couple in my next worked billie cart..

Anyway, Ian got us both to a Kustom Kar National at Phillip Island Race Circuit last Saterdee, it was as hot and sticky as a sand goanna’s crotch but some real trick cars were there. Aussies are motor heads and their cars have tickled my fancy. Struth they have some bonza street legal rides, faster than a just cut tom cat and way less noise...  

There I was having a butchers at a smick 50 chev ute  and this bloke sidles up to me and starts chin wagging. He soon spots me for a septic tank and I think he’s about to put the bite on me sumpen awful like when he tells me he’s a journo doing a story for a car magazine and that his recording my comments for a part of his article. I had him sussed for a snake oil salesman when he lets the cat out of the bag and tell me he’s the notorious Dr Goggles! Fair dinkum! I’m standing there like a stunned mullet in a sand storm when it dawns on me that I’m yarning with Dr Goggles and I can understand every word he’s saying!!!!   For the first time in this country I’m conversing with an Aussie and I’m not having to say huh, say again, what was that or could you just speak English?  

So I start reckoning something is dodgy and maybe it’s a set up by my china plate Ian as he had heard me talking about the Dr. and his lakester. It was weird! This bloke claimed to be Australian and yet I could understand every word he said. It was the first intelligent discussion of any length since coming here that didn’t make me think my head was going to explode like a dead wombat.  

Just what’s going on? I mean have I caught strine flu from a mad mozzie since getting here?  

Would that fake drongo Dr Goggles please tell the real Dr Goggles that I’m on to him.
He must be that ugly that he sent that handsome ring in in his place.

Lastly, I hope this Aussie language doesn’t rub off on me.

    Your revhead mate  George… hooning in my sixties…

 


 

[racergeo]

The Infamous Doctor Goggles unmasked downunder!!!!

[grumm441]

Gid’day all youse blokes,

I’m in Shepparton in Oz now as I’m visiting me rellies down under. My mate Ian has been busy getting me to revhead and show yer wheels type do’s in an effort to keep me doing sumpt’n but more to stop me and the cheese and kisses having a barney; as it is now she still has gone butchers hook a couple of times (but I needed those 15 NSK  bearings I bought – I might even be able to use a couple in my next worked billie cart..

Anyway, Ian got us both to a Kustom Kar National at Phillip Island Race Circuit last Saterdee, it was as hot and sticky as a sand goanna’s crotch but some real trick cars were there. Aussies are motor heads and their cars have tickled my fancy. Struth they have some bonza street legal rides, faster than a just cut tom cat and way less noise... 

There I was having a butchers at a smick 50 chev ute  and this bloke sidles up to me and starts chin wagging. He soon spots me for a septic tank and I think he’s about to put the bite on me sumpen awful like when he tells me he’s a journo doing a story for a car magazine and that his recording my comments for a part of his article. I had him sussed for a snake oil salesman when he lets the cat out of the bag and tell me he’s the notorious Dr Goggles! Fair dinkum! I’m standing there like a stunned mullet in a sand storm when it dawns on me that I’m yarning with Dr Goggles and I can understand every word he’s saying!!!!   For the first time in this country I’m conversing with an Aussie and I’m not having to say huh, say again, what was that or could you just speak English? 

So I start reckoning something is dodgy and maybe it’s a set up by my china plate Ian as he had heard me talking about the Dr. and his lakester. It was weird! This bloke claimed to be Australian and yet I could understand every word he said. It was the first intelligent discussion of any length since coming here that didn’t make me think my head was going to explode like a dead wombat. 

Just what’s going on? I mean have I caught stine flu from a mad mozzie since getting here?   

Would that fake drongo Dr Goggles please tell the real Dr Goggles that I’m on to him.
He must be that ugly that he sent that handsome ring in in his place.

Lastly, I hope this Aussie language doesn’t rub off on me.

    Your revhead mate  George… hooning in my sixties…

Fair dinkum Cobber, you must have been gobsmacked
and good onya, your startin to speak like a tru blu Strayln

I've got admit, when I was in the US, I was staring to wonder if anyone there spoke English
Any time I needed a fix of Strine I just looked for a Dodge Caravan. It seems that's all you can hire when you're from Aus
One guy at motorcycle tech asked me if I was from the south? Arkansas maybe?
Tom Evans answered for me, "No, he's from much further south than that!"
G

[maj]

George if your staying at Ians in this rain keep an eye on that river , its about to get its third hi tide this summer

[Tman]

Shed getting a little small?  In these parts folks simply move a wall out every five or ten years.  The distance moved is what they figure the building inspector will not notice.  Those pesky permits are expensive.  Also, the addition should not appear new.  There is no need to attract the taxman's attention.  Stylewise, the freshly constructed widening should not match anything in the neighborhood or the original building.  Just letting you guys know how things are done on the other side of the world.

Local hotrodder up here kept enclosing carports and adding fence/walls until his "garage" wrapped around two sides of his Victorian house in our historic district

[racergeo]

 I joked to me sister inlaw that I brought this rain from Wash. USA she said don't tell anyone from Queens Land that They said it rained more on Sunday then it does in the normal summer! Drought broken. (here in Shepp)

[k.h.]

Everyone safe down there?

[maj]

The usual crew like myself are down south and only minor local flooding
but 1000 miles north is where its more problem, last i heard there are 78 missing and 10 confirmed dead,   be absolutely devastating up there
an example of the flash flooding there experiencing
http://video.heraldsun.com.au/1735546960/Incredible-flash-flood-footage?area=videoindex2

[Dr Goggles]

The dead and missing that Greg mentioned are mostly in Toowoomba, there are no provsions for flooding there because it is on a huge escarpment on the edge of the Darling Downs ,who ever thought it could flood?. If you Google map Toowoomba Qld Australia you will see the escarpment to the east. That there was a two metre wave coming into town in an area like that is just astonishing. There are vast areas inland from there that are inundated and several towns have been almost completely devastated.Brisbane , the capital of Queensland is downstream from Toowoomba and it is expected that up to 10,000 houses will be flooded.Sad day indeed.

[Tman]

The videos show some nasty flooding, been through that and don't wish it on anyone.


Doc, a question............................where in this thread can I find pics of your canopy and latch system???

[Dr Goggles]

Doc, a question............................where in this thread can I find pics of your canopy and latch system???

The answer to that would be ,"divino" .

We used the latch from a Ford station wagon tailgate on either side of the canopy, then used a flush mount door handle to operate them . I used clutch line with stainless steel cable running through it and for the inside release I just left a loop of cable next to the right hand side catch. Jerk that back and the canopy pops. The canopy itself is made from the canopy of a Machi jet trainer. It wasn't a perfect profile so we cut it along where you see the straps allowing us to pull it in a little tighter.We bought two of the canopies, we used the crap one first....figuring if we stuffed it we have a better one, well after a couple of weeks work we were in no hurry to do it all again so we have to polish about an 1/8th of an inch off it to get the UV crazing out...
OK here some historical posts...

. Dr Goggoles informs me last weekend he completed the canopy hinge and it works pretty well.

Rev. H+

Yeah , what he said ........Tiz true what he sayeth......... The flip front flips up...not much else at the moment but true to the Right Reverends design it works .Right now It's a quarter past Ten on a Sunday which means it's "Tank Day" however it is 37 degrees Celcius and our state Victoria is on fire in a pretty serious fashion , visibilty was down to a quarter mile in the city yesterday , 100 miles from the nearest fire.

This week I am off to pick up a "large component" for a late model passenger vehicle designed by one of the larger worldwide manufacturers .Through an astonishing alignment of good luck ,good fortune and table manners it was found to have our name on it and thus to be unusable for it's designated purpose ,we have an inkling that we might be able to squeeze it into a little project of ours.......have I said too much Rev'?

then the Rev's reply...

No, not too much but it implies that the large component was stolen which I would like to catagorically state that it was not.

I have completed sassembling the Megasquirt, took about 12 hours over various nights. Haven't started practicing tuning yet but looks good to go.

Also may have our canopy problem sussed. Have found two ex Macchi jet trainer canopies for sale (for charity no less!) at $100 each. Hope they fit! (Anyone know the best way to polish out scratches?)

Reverend Hedgash 
The farther faster Father

more about the canopy...

...just finished a bit of a " lock in ' on the tank and we've got most of the body sorted out ,  the screen is roughed , the exact method of mounting it , the upper nose body panel,and the superstructure that it all hinges on are still a little "fluid" but it's a lot closer than it was , um , nine days ago.An old friend dropped in while we were at the screen , he 's in the forces and used to be a Blackhawk mechanic...watched us muck around for an hour discussing how we'd join the pieces of screen with these strips of Al , before telling us ...... "how it was done" ...we were on the right track , thankfully.The top cowl is welded to the body and it has been re-cut as the " bonnet" and tail sections....We've finished the tub by welding a 3mm floor of Al as a skin.We had to add about 50mm (2") down one side because as the tank is a wing-tip fit it wasn't entirely symetrical along what we wanted to use as the floor line , it looks pretty scummy ( the welding) but it all gets ground , bashed , bondo'd and painted in the end I guess .

Some dill got sand in all sorts of places that has made our engine man most unhappy with said wielder of sand-blaster....like everywhere dude!!!

still building...

Today is "Australia Day"....yes , a holiday and yes that means we're back on the tank......who'd a thunk it , crikey ! will it ever be done??? We'll be framing the canopy as we're now happy with the shape and alignment , attaching it to the bodywork still needs a little consideration but it's mostly sorted.As for paint , the way it's going at the moment I'll be painting it on the trailer , on the way there.....

farewell fast friends , I got stuff to do..............

building the canopy...

OK, now it is starting to get serious.

Our canopy has been cut and folded in. Yeah we probably should have heated it as everyone said but it is a half inch thick our test with a heat gun yellowed it before it got enough heat into it to bend and we running against time to build something to bend it.

We are happy with the result anyway as we have made a suitable face with a suitable attitude for the car which was the one design element missing from the rendered designs.

The whole canopy hinges from the nose.

Spent a couple of hours with the Lady Hedgash on the couch last night polishing the scratches out of the canopy in front of Top Gear. Going successfully but the couch is getting a bit messy.



Reverend H+

side windows

Dr Goggles aluminium skills are coming through with the body coming together nicely.




We have also put side windows in to assist vision when turning into pits, etc. These we have based on chopped hot rod style windows and will be a piece of curved lexan screwed in.

Firewall has been completed to the body edge and have clad the top of the rollcage in steel to protect from intrusion there.

Our seat is also attached and the back is louvred. coooooooool.

rH+

more canopy...

[Tman]

Ok thanks, I found a couple of those shots after I typed that.