Frenchy, what are the dimensions of your Tank? Length and diameter. As Sailing adventure mentioned there were a number of different sizes. Have fun with it but if you're thinking of running El Mirage the first thing you should get is a Rule Book. . Wayno
Wayno, First they should come out to ElMo and see the races, get a good hook into them first. Don't you know that getting the rulebook has stopped many a build before they get the addiction? See you in May, J
Frenchy, Come out to ElMo in May, there will be a few cars of interest. My particular car is set up with 122" wheelbase and I think Wayno's is even longer. J
40 years ago I met a guy in Ogden, Utah, that was building a drop tank streamliner like this. I was building VW engines with his son for a local shop and going to engineering school. The tank was aluminum and didn't taper off so much at the tail. Don't know what it came from, but it had internal framing made from aluminum angles and corrugated aluminum to stiffen the shell, all done with aluminum rivets. This went over a full tube cage and a 500 cc Triumph twin cyl engine sporting the tiniest roots blower I've ever seen. I suspect that his son may have run it at Bonneville years later, but I haven't found any pics or records. Very cool endeavor indeed. This one will need a cool name of course. Any ideas?
Yeah. My wheelbase is 144". I'll be at El Mirage in May but without my car. I'm getting ready for the July "Test and Tune" at Bonneville. Wayno
Just a side note but our very own Wayne Yeats (elmo rudge) has been immortalized with a picture of his car on page 56 of the 2014 SCTA rule book. Way to go Wayno! We'll see you at El Mirage in a few weeks. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
This is gonna be fun to watch... Back in the mid '70's I had a bunch of VW's as well- four beetles, a bus, a squareback and a Karmann Ghia. That looks like a 36 horse fan shroud, but the case is definitely later, looks like a 1500 or 1600, possibly a type three. Forty years ago they could be built to make respectable power, I'm sure there's been advances since then.
Sure wish you lived closer! I'd offer to help even if it meant holding the dumb end of a tape measure just so I could see it built! Would post you a pic of my chopped ride but that would get me in trouble with the man behind the curtain. Will be watching. Mike
Belly Tankers are awesome! It's yours, build it how you want. I'll enjoy watching the progress, thank you for bringing us on this adventure.
Speedon... That is one of the things I love most about this site. Getting to watch and enjoy the craftsmanship so many have here. Love watching you guys create in metal and rubber some awesome rides.
Just how many GIs/ETO vets back in the day would think that putting an engine developed by Nazi Germans in an American P-38's belly tank would have been a good idea? Kind of like installing a Daimler Benz 605B from a Messerschmidt Bf109 or a BMW 504 from a Focke-Wulf 190 in place of Allisons in the Lightning? Just saying...
Ferd Porsche wasn't a Nazi. He was just manipulated by the Nazis. Well, OK, maybe he was a Nazi...I'm not sure they really gave him a choice.
looking good Frenchy, which 36hp class do you plan on running? what engine set up? have you considered setting it up with enough space to take a variety of motors? for those here that aren't fans of german engineering, they do have period history... Dick Beith's (the founder of E-T Mags) 1963 lakester with a Pepco Supercharged 36hp motor. 129.1mph
Awesome Fenchy. I've wanted to do this also. I'll let you build this since I've been working on my VW powered track T. Subscribed.
I believe guys worried about violating The Spirit Of HAMB in their modifications should remember this: Doing the same old things everyone else does insures you period authentic credibility. The 3000th Hirohata clone or Graffiti rod is as credible as the first, HAMB-wise. Boring, but still credible. But doing something totally unique and unusual is also credible, assuming the technology was actually available back then, whether or not anybody actually did it back then. It's not the clones and near-clones that'll keep the HAMB wonderful. It's the off-beat, fresh-engineered, eye-popping out-of-the box ideas, that (while they may never actually have happened in the celebrated era) will motivate people to learn more, and to do more and go faster/further then before.
Yeah, on Fordbarn (maybe on this post too) someone build a belly with a John Deere hit and miss. To me, this VW and that hit & miss are what I love about sites like this. Out of the box thinking.
I'm the other guy here currently building a mid engine drop tank car using an F-86 wing tank. I'm a motorcycle builder so it's a good challenge to get a V8-60 Ford, traditional suspension cooling system ,fuel tank ,battery and driver into a 24 inch diameter tube... To my way of thinking a traditional car is also about the way it's built....Everything fabricated by the builder, no store bought kits.
You keep forging ahead to to heck with violating anything, who made these rules ? As mentioned above, it is all about the spirit of true hot rodding and in my little opinion, it doesn't get any better than your belly tank. I was critized for building a figerglass P38 belly tank with a Jimmy 302, as it wasn't a FH water boiler or a 4 banger ! The Jimmy can heat a 4 storey apartment building as well Great find and can't wait to see more updates... See you on the salt....
Thank You to all of you for been so positive with me to build this tank with a VW running gear. This weekend we are planning to buy the tubing for the chassis. Frenchy
Lookin' good. Seems like these 165 Gallon tanks are just falling out of the sky, I just started on one myself. I'll be watching...
Hmmm...just got an anonymous bot notice that my cute VW pics were deleted. I'll try to be more domesticated in the future.
I am planning to use various engines which I already have build. First with the 36 HP class and go to El Mirage and see how it will perform than proceeding to the next bigger engine and see how it will handle than go even bigger. Thanks Frenchy
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