Thanks, I am about to get some patterns cast for end plates to suit a Wade & was curious to know how it worked for you - very well obviously.
The Wade blower isn’t the best blower, but it does look cool as it’s an older design. Its max revs are 5k. Any more than that the rotor tips create some kind of barrier and it stops pumping air. The angled intake and outlet are to stop pulses from the straight rotors, so the carbs sit offset. People have welded them up and run them straight, I don’t know how they performed though. It’s also very big and heavy. Modern blowers are much more efficient, but don’t look as good.
I just read your thread, you are a man with amazing skills and fantastic abilities, your racer is exceptional. I bow out of respect, I am very excited about your new projects. Regards Harald
Wow you are a true wizard! Glad this thread popped back up this was an amazing build to read through. I had often thought what I would do if I had had a major internal issue with my hemi build during start up/break in,(thankfully I didn’t have to find out) But it’s awesome to see such an amazing example of someone meeting adversity and overcoming obstacles that would leave most of us shelving the project if not abandoning it altogether. Love everything about this car, now I must go through your other projects! Can’t wait for the next installment
sadly not. I do plan on changing the engine about a bit and then maybe get it on the engine dyno, but not sure when.
Update on the car. I plan on fitting a hopped up big block Olds in the car, which means the 4 banger, 39 box and the A QC rear axle are coming out. What to do with them. An early style rail was the answer. 6 weeks ago I started with a pair of T rails and some dom tube, A front axle and the bits from the T. Mock up
Front axle has an A spring cut in half, drilled and mounted as quarter elliptical. Looking at how to mount the rear axle. Shortened torque tube. Still using the UJ and swivel. Front wish bones are old aircraft control rods. No idea what they came off, just something I picked up years ago. To save time I bought 4 laser cut 4 bar axle brackets from ebay. Quick cut and weld to make axle mount plates. I cut and welded a pair of English Model Y perch bolts to the top of the axle to suit the quarter elliptical springs.
shackles on the springs and make up the wishbone front and rear mounts. Add rear engine mounts and wheel it outside to take a look.
Steering next. I used the mill to saw a thick aluminium plate to mount the Land Rover steering box. I made a long output shaft and used an exhaust clamp and ring to locate it. A long fabricated drop arm to make the steering quicker. 3/4” stainless steel bar machined with two flats (DD) one end and a 1/2” rod end the other.
Add some expanded mesh for the seat. Cheap and lightweight. More tubing for bodywork and to hang stuff from. A push bar and seat belt loops. I bought an old tank. Has a moon sticker, but not sure it is. The proper moon mounts aren’t cheap and take time to get here so I used the mill and rotary table to make a pair. Butterfly steering wheel is a couple of gas bottle handles bolted to a quick release boss.
Thin aluminium sheet and a bunch of Dzus fasteners and voila! body work! The blue is just a protective layer.
All the big bits done, time to tackle the small time consuming bits. Mounting the battery, making the dash panel with an easy access to the battery terminal for charging. the lightest, strongest throttle pedal I could make quickly Mounting the oil tank for the dry sump motor
One of the bits I wanted to use from the T was the mechanical rear brakes. I made a rod that went under the torque tube. This connected to a uj, rod and another uj. Add an arm with a series of holes to adjust, a rod with left and right rod ends and an old Hurst Indy shifter with pool ball top. Brakes! As the engine had an electric water pump, I bought two small motorcycle radiators. Mounted them under the seat and piped up with some stainless tube.
Bit of wiring, temporary battery strap, remove the blue layer and done for now. This was last Wednesday. Thursday morning we packed up to go to Santa Pods Dragstalgia. No, the car isn’t finished. It need a roll bar. I did make and fit one but didn’t like it so it was cut off. It’ll need front shocks and an under tray to comply with our club rules.
Fantastic welding/layout, but that butterfly wheel is the coolest repurposing I've ever seen. Reminds me of the early years of Brit dragsters, I look at this website every once in a while. Here: https://www.oldstox.com/EarlyBritishDragRacing.htm
Finally some photos from the weekend. We used the car to tow the other flathead dragster we run. And the other car we run. credit to the photographers, thank you.
How cool is that? You're amazing and come up with some great details. I'm completely fascinated. I'm going to play with my little coupe again. Regards Harald
I don't know if he is following along here but I'm thinking @Marty Strode will find that pretty interesting.
The Jalopy Journal
