Hot Rods XO/PP Bonneville project

File Fitting the rings for a proper end gap of .020

 

Have tried 0 gap rings?

 

I have tried z gap and total seal 2 PC rings with great success, however I am a fan of the more modern thin / low tension low drag rings. Reducing friction is my first priority

 

Pistons pins and bearings are off to Calico Coatings.
The Pistons will get a thermal coating as well as the skirts coated with a friction reducing coating as well as the bearings. The pins will be DLC coated for reduced friction as well as a supper strong wear hardened surface

 

World Finals has been canceled, this concludes the 2022 season at Bonneville..

 

It’s only 300 miles farther to ElMirage, bring it out for the November two day meet. Bonneville is the coolest place on earth, but ElMo is bitchin!

 

And the record is 110.114! Go for it!

 

Yes, El Mirage isn't much further, and we ran over 10 miles per hour faster than the ElMo record our very first year at Bonneville. The fact that El Mirage is 3589 feet closer to sea level than the salt would also improve our top speed. But to compete for a record there we would have to be members of an SCTA club. We reached out to a few clubs back in 2018 and got absolutely no response, and it's a long drive to just run for time. Can you get us into one of the clubs?

 

Take your speed in the salt's 2-1/4 and subtract about 5% to get a (not-very-good) prediction of your speed in the dirt's 1.3 miles.

 

The difference in altitude has to be a part of your equation, but just subtracting 5% from our best run still gives us 116.85 mph. Are you in an SCTA club?

 

Do you know anyone who has raced at El Mirage? If so, they can plug you into a club. I know a couple people who have raced there, if you can't find anyone to get you in let me know and I will check with them.

 

Yes, I do know Tim McMaster, and I kind of know Lucky Burton. Is it that simple?

 

Different clubs have different requirements. I'm not an expert on it, but I've been told that some clubs have a requirement for a certain amount of work that you have to do every year. But they go easy on somebody who's out of town due to travel. I would recommend calling those guys and see what they say.

 

The Rule Book has all the club contacts in it. Probably the website, too. Best to talk with the presidents rather than the members here. All clubs have duties at El Mirage. And some have out-of-area requirements for distant members.

So you gotta gear down for faster acceleration on a shorter course and you loose traction on a worse surface. So you add weight and slow down (or go faster). Seven records over 15 years at both El Mirage and Bonneville. (Hard to find the right combo as things change after you get there.)

 

You can run as a guest. The same book is used for both venues. There are El Mirage procedures for all competitors to follow. It is on the SCTA-BNI internet page under El Mirage. It’s 36 pages that can be down loaded. For the most part it’s followed to the letter and ignorance doesn’t cut it with officials.

A MAJOR factor for making a pass a El Mirage is DUST. AGAIN I WILL SAY DUST. Many vehicles from other venues cannot get 100 yds before the driver can no longer see the windshield let alone the course. All the enclosed cars pressurize their drivers compartment to do there best to keep it out. Most use forward facing vents but this is the most difficult problem you run up against there. some take years to figure it out.

This is not to discourage anyone reading this at all. Those who run there and have for years understand the problem. If you ever come you will enjoy a difference in MotorSports like no other place in the world..

 

Does the dirt condition change like the salt does?

 

Yes. And it can get rained out, too. The course conditions vary from meet to meet, year to year.

And there's a point system that allows more successful prior attempts from the current year's meets to run the course earlier in the round. (The first meet of the year uses the totals from the previous year.) This is especially advantageous for high H.P. entries in getting the more solid course. (This might not have much effect on slower entries that don't anticipate traction problems.)

Horsepower and loose surfaces can lead you to charming the spectators with multiple image views . . .

 

Jim, I thought you were running for a two way average !

 

I got the crank back from the balance shop today. Things are finally starting to come together on the new engine. But still waiting on Crower to ship us a set of custom rods. Hopfully by the time Calico sends the pistons and bearings back I can start getting the engine back together.

 

I'm very happy the build is back on with delivery of product delayed by circumstances that are far more complex than we can imagine sowing the environment for frustration at the customer level and I believe at the provider as well. We should be prepared for more as the turmoil in the world hitting elements we utilize isn't improving...but we can only hope things continue to stabilize...fingers crossed...enough of that ramble...

I hope you and the team get to get some runs in and give some of the new improvements a run for the money...

Faithfully on board with you all...

 

Thank you Stogy, words of encouragement are as much needed as money or parts.
We at team 640 appreciate everyone who supports us in any way

 

John,

Do you run the friction coating on trans & rear end gears? Or do you have pieces from a Nascar superspeedway car in the truck?

 

We do have a DLC coated NASCAR 3.75 ring and pinion but it is not in the truck at this time
We will be testing a 3.50 gear at Arkansas in April 2023.
We do not at this point have DLC coated tranny gear sets but when money comes available they as well will get DLC coatings.
The DLC coating process is very expensive. We also are looking in to ceramic bearings for the tranny and rear end. We just can't afford them at this time.

 

What about thin oil for rear & trans. We used ATF in out quick change when dirt track racing. Lighter fluids rob less power.

 

Ford rear ends need hypoid oil. Quicks are straight gears and do not. Joe Gibbs oil offers different oils for 9” rear ends depending on the track and whether qualifying or not.
Today and even when the Ford 9” were new there were other manufacturers which made rears which used less hp to run by where the pinion gear was located in line with the ring gear. Fords were convenient but far from the best. Today there are better ones available. I have run at Bonneville since 1975 and yet to use a 9” or quick-change. My sons circle track transmission has ceramic bearings.
When you are limited in hp you look to any and everything that can improve rolling resistance and internal drag.

 

We do run ATF in the tranny and Joe Gibbs fluids in the rear and we have experimented with light viscosity oils in the engine but didn't see any real improvement in performance. So we stick with what we know works.
15/40 Rotella T and we have ran Kendall 20 w 50both have served us well.
The thinner oils that NASCAR teams run require much tighter and precise clearances. The real trick is keeping the oil at peak operating temperature before you make a run.
It's almost never warm enough if you don't keep the engine up to operating temp before a run.

 

I got a call back from Crower and the rods will ship out sometime next week.. finally....

 

Still don't have the rods but soon I hope.
Got a call from Calico and those parts will ship in a few days.

 

Got a notification from Fed X that our rods are on the way.
Hotdam I'm excited to start putting this beast back together.. parts from Calico will be back about the same time

 

Rods to arive tomorrow and the pistons, pins and bearings shipped out from Calico this morning.
It's finally time to get our engine back together.
Photos to follow once I get these parts in my hands.