1930s Era Champ Car - new project

Part of a balanced breakfast, right?

 

Throttle shaft is mounted inside of cockpit. Bell crank pivot is welded to intake crossover. Hairpins replaced cotter pins in linkage. Throttle Heim got shortened, but not enough to make the linkage optimal - yet.
One item I forgot is the trans fill tube. I may have to get creative with its placement to clear the throttle linkage. Funny thing, I purchased a complete pan-fill C4... and forgot where I stored it so I can't check it. The trans currently in the car is a case-fill, so that is not a lot of help to resolve this.

 

HOORAY! I found my good C4 trans. It was resting comfortably in my temporarily dormant Attic Anglia project build. ( I love this pic of my "helpers".)

 

I'd watch out for those "Helpers". They may be hatching other plans...

 

I made the remaining links from repurposed laboratory grade stainless steel tubing. That required I swage the ends in to make it possible to tap the ends for 1/4-28 threads. Many decades ago I made this simple die set to use in a hydraulic press. It is just two plates with an undersize hole drilled through them such that when the tube is inserted and pressed the ID will be reduced to the point that it may be tapped for rod ends. After the ends were tapped I polished the rods with 1000 grit wetordry. View attachment 5737558

 

The pathway from tootsie-to-throttle is now complete. I'll probably add a second throttle return spring somewhere.

 

Another idea to plaigerize. I'm going to make a set of dies like that!

 

You could even use pieces of auto parts store 5/16 or 3/8 fuel line tubing. Less expensive that way.

 

Well... I still have access to stainless steel tubing like that in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch diameters. And I bought a 12 ton press last year. So I just need to make the dies.

It certainly looks professional the way you did it. Now you have me thinking that I have to remake the linkage for the clutch and brake master cylinders...

Does it ever end?

 

...nope

 

On to the electrical system...
It looks like the best place for the battery is in the rear. I have just enough room to slide a battery up behind the QC rear end, which will help out with equalizing the weight distribution. My challenge now is to make it easily accessible, easily removable, and protected. I do not want to have to remove the body. I want it to lift into position from underneath the car, with the terminals already attached. I also want a battery shut-off switch accessible from outside of the car (like a drag car).

So I made a mock-up battery to play with various mounting ideas.

 

Your thinking outside the box, "pardon the pun", never fails to amaze me.

 

Thanks mate. I think I have a plan I will draw up first and post here for critique.

 

For your comments:
Here is a cartoon - not to scale - of the battery carriage assembly containing the battery tray, attaching hardware, grounding lug, and kill switch mounting bracket. It will install from the bottom, lifting the battery tray up and over the rear crossmember, sliding it rearward in place while raising the front 1" square tubular attachment tube in place and bolting it all together at four points. The ground strap will have been installed out of the car and the + cable will have been attached to one terminal of the kill switch. After the battery assembly is bolted down then the main chassis power cable can be attached to the other kill switch terminal and its "off to the races" so-to-speak. Anything I left out?

 

A bit of progress today. If you ever want to try an exercise in frustration try welding up a rectangular tray with four perfect right angles and no warpage / twist. Thank God I have a press and big hammers.

 

Added frame mounting tabs
Added kill switch mount
Modified kill switch handle to accept pushrod

Still have to make pushrod / knob and tray mounting tabs across rear crossmember and battery hold down strap

 

Mr. Shrink gets me every time too! I know everyone says small welds equal and opposite each other in a part like that. Never had any better luck either.

 

The battery tray assembly is complete and largely welded in place. I ran out of argon to do some of the finish welding.



I even included a Bozo's Nose.
What is Bozo's Nose you ask?
Well, when I was working as an engine development engineer I had to do testing at Ford's Dynamometer Lab in Dearborn. Back then the dyno operator technician actually sat IN the dyno cell with the running engine, not at a remote console. While in the cell picking up some data the dyno tech hollers at me, "Hey, watch my cell for me for a minute. I have to step out."
I didn't know the first thing about running a dynamometer so I said, "What should I do if something goes wrong?"
He pointed at a big red Emergency Stop (E-STOP) button on the wall and said,
"If anything happens punch Bozo's Nose."
Bozo being Bozo The Clown.

 

We didn't name the e-stop button in our cells. Well maybe the technicians did. They probably called them the engineers button. I only used it once, when a diesel flywheel managed to unbolt itself from an engine at rated speed.

That was exciting for a couple of minutes.

 

I have decided that instead of using the RTR C4 transmission that is in the Attic Anglia project for this project I will take the dummy trans out and get it robustly rebuilt. I think I need to make the "hidden" switch panel before I pull it and send it out for rebuild.

 

Getting in and out of the car has been tricky. I don't want to step on the aluminum belly pan. It will bend. Stepping on the trans crossmember would work except it is angled so my foot slides down and jams under the trans. So I made a pair of these steps that I will weld on to the Xmbr for an even footing.

 

But isn't that your emergency brake system? Fred Flintstone to the rescue...

 

LOL

 

Okay I'm going to update the Whatever project thread. It's your turn to kibittze, cajole, harangue, or otherwise just have fun...

 

Here is the "hidden" gauge panel that will attach to the shifter.

 

I affixed the gauge panel to the shifter and think it may be a good place to locate the electrical distribution buss bar.
Centrally located and relatively easy to get to. I may use glass fuses because its traditional.

 

And they glow so nice just before they fail...

 

I've been trying to figure how to make the fuse block easily removable for inspection and replacement of the fuses. Then it dawned on me. Don't make it removable - make it hinged. That will suffice to quickly look at the fuses and service easily. I added a piano hinge to the top of the block, leaving enough room for the longer pigtail to fit underneath and run to the switch panel.
I also made a new shifter arm and pinned it to the shaft.

 

If you put a couple of Dzus buttons on it, we'll call you Marty!

Very nice!!!!!!

 

Not worthy to be compared to Marty. I will probably affix the console to the shifter with screws. I want to avoid visible Dzus buttons