i think i may have located a few belly tanks (p-38)...he says 2...still haven't seen them so they may not be the right thing and i may not be able to get them as the guy wants to make a dock out of them but im told he never will...they've been laying there for years...i was explaining what they looked like and he kept saying yes...and before i could mention the seam...he said about hwo they were all smooth but with a 1/2 or inch seam all the way around the middle thats looks like its riveted or something together...my heart jumped out cause im pretty sure its the right ones...im pretty excited so just incase i wanted to ask a few questions...what would you need to run for a rollcage in one of these in order to run it now at bonneville...any specifics if i wana run it with a 4 banger...any details anyone who may have built one could tell me i would really appreciate....im looking for any and all details of what can be done....my cousin who runs junk found them and was gona haul them for aluminum s**** but he thinks if i have a use for them or buy the guy something else that floats he would part with them..oh also if anyone has any dimentional drawing of one so i can draw up some designs and stuff just incase...and please everyone keep their fingers crossed for me... thanks in advance zach
haha no, he has no idea what they are or what i want to do with them....just knows they are there...the guy that has them doesn't know what they are either....he just explained the size and shape to me and the seam.... pretty much exactly to what i know of the p-38 tank...i took a long shot and asked him if he knew of anything like that cause he runs around in the middle of nowhere sometimes...i guess it was a good idea if it works out... zach
[ QUOTE ] what would you need to run for a rollcage in one of these in order to run it now at bonneville. [/ QUOTE ] In general, you need a roll cage (not roll bar). The dimensions depend on the material: mild steel or chrome moly. You also need to meet other minimum and maximum dimensions, such as the distance from the cage to the driver's helment. You also need to meet gusset and other requirements. It's pretty complicated, and I'd say that you should get an actual rulebook: www.scta-bni.org. It's not available online. The rulebook of the Dry Lakes Racers Australia, however, is available online: http://www.dlra.org.au/dlrarules.pdf It's similar, but not identical, to the SCTA rules, so it should give you an idea of what's in the SCTA rulebook. It's suitable for rough planning, but I wouldn't start construction of anything without the real SCTA book. Build a great belly tank! That sounds like a nice find. When you say four-banger, do you mean a pre-war Ford? --Matt
I believe there are two (maybe more) models of P-38 tanks out there. I think the one you want is the 300 or 310- gallon model. (Capacity depends on which book you're perusing.) That was probably the tank that hung on center under the center nacelle. Looking at the twin drop tanks that are hung between engine booms and center nacelle, those appear to be about 200 gallon models and look too small for an adult sized driver if they were converted to a lakes car. Although with the P-38's - specially the later ones, J model etc. which were very common - tremendous load carrying capabilities they may have been able to take off with the added 3600# total of two 300 gallon tanks. The later 38's (J's etc.) had about 1010 gallons of internal tankage which equals 6000# + and twin 300's may have been too much. P-38 unladen weights in the later models ran just under 14,000# and max gross weight was just over 22,000# if memory serves and that would fit the scenario of using twin 200 gallon tanks. We know that many WW2 aircraft were overloaded and what it boiled down to if the overload wasn't too extreme was that taking off required a long runway and a cool climate. Anyhow, just thought I'd point out that there are two different size tanks. The 300 gallon tanks may have been the only ones that size so that could be why it's the P-38 tanks racers desire for lakes use. Single engine fighters used an approx 200 gallon tank I believe. Then there are the paper and glue drop tanks used on P-51's during the long treks into Germany. I doubt very much you'd find any of these in existence today. They came into being to keep the Germans from recovering the aluminum in aluminum drop tanks for their war effort. The paper tanks didn't last long either. You had to fuel them the morning of the mission cuz once gas was in em, they started falling apart right away. Which was ok, they only needed to last a few hours and once dumped all the Germans could salvage was an ugly mess of gas soaked cardboard and a few pieces of aluminum where the fuel feeds connected and the tank was hung.
deuce and C9 thanks for posting...he held out his arms in about a 3 foot diamter or more and said...are they about this big...so i ***ume its the right size...i think i'll order the scta rule book today...i sure hope this works out...ive wanted one of these things for so long thanks zach
is there still a big seam on those? ...like the more usual ones you see?...hard to tell in the pic? thanks zach
Those appear to have the seam. Mine is one of the later ones with no seam. It is welded and has a doubler at the nose. It is a 310 gallon tank, though. Wayno
Zach, I'll be emailing you some tank info I have. The late Don Vesco Fastest LSR wheel driven record holder started out with a Riley 4 Port on a B block in a drop tank.There are two later tanks in a junk yard up here that I can get if you need to swap with the float guy. Call the meseum at the Reading Pa. airport they may have one on display or have the info you need. Great find! Bob
Wayne Mumford, and friends have built a little tank racer, model 'b' 4 cylinder (turbo'ed) powered. Here are a few photo's to inspire..........home built in a small shed. Raced at Lake Gairdner, Australia's answer to Bonneville. Cheers, Drewfus
thanks, any info will be greatly appreciated...im very excited to do this...ive got too many projects on hand...gotta get this darn roadster done....then i can tow the bellytank to bonneville with it... does anyone know if i could run this at one of the elmirage meets if its not scta safe...i really dont wana put a cage in it...but then again i want to be timed by the scta thanks zach
[ QUOTE ] does anyone know if i could run this at one of the elmirage meets if its not scta safe...i really dont wana put a cage in it...but then again i want to be timed by the scta [/ QUOTE ] Not a chance. Inspection is very stringent at all SCTA meets for good reason. Wayno
look at ebay Item number: 2481686201 was told it was B29, about 14' long, one of 2. The seam is kind of an overlaping spot weld.
The Jalopy Journal
