the wheels should have arrived today. they will get polished after we are done machining them. it most likely wont happen right away. I swear at the wheels every time I have to polish them. when im done I step back and think how cool they look all shined up. there is nothing like polished magnesium.
HotWheels or Matchbox should be making this car in miniature for every young boy or girl to imagine making insane launches all day long. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
the head headlights; shocks and wheels arrived. the wheels are some of the nicest mag wheels i have seen in some time. the old tires on them look brand new. vern offered up a great pair of wheels. i was able to remove the three front exhaust pipes today. i put them in the band saw first cutting them off close to the flange. then used a hard grinding wheel to remove the left over material. i finished it off with a flexible abrasive wheel to remove any left over powder coating. then i needed to die grind out the weld and pipe on the inside of the flange. that*****ed but its done ready for new pipes. the bracket for the torsion bar heim was straightened and welded. i also picked up a new heim joint. i pressed bushings into the shocks and removed the barrel valve. i need more time in the day. they are too short.
I cant believe the kind of support i have received in the last week from the racing comunity. Today the replacement pipes showed up from hedman hedders. When i sent chris a text message describing what happened and what i needed he sent back that he was on vacation but would take care of the order. Hows that for customer service? I was looking through the box for the invoice so i could get a check out asap but couldnt find one. When i called them chris said this ones on me just put a sticker on the drag week trailer and call it good. How cool is that. This is another great example of the good guys we have in the racing community.
That was a gracious move on his part that I am sure has to help the sting. I will remember to buy Hedman products in the future.
It may not look like much so far but the car is going back together. I needed to get some work done before the axle went back on. The front section of frame that is removable took a hit. The fuel tank and headlight would not go back into position. I used a porta power to move it back where it was originally. It wasnt off much but i needed get it right without making it worse. It took some time but everything fits now. The torsion bar has also been reassembled and installed. Im confident i will get it done so i registered for the hamb drags.
Daeng, you are faster than your coupe. Always two steps ahead. Whatever mushrooms you have in your soup, I need that recipe
Brian glad you are getting it back together and hope all goes well at Woodward and if all works out I'll see you at the H.A.M.B. Drags also I was wondering on your front wheels why you don't just use the new American spindle mount 5 spokes they are all ready machined for disc brakes I get that aluminum wheels are not mag but in your case I would think it would cost less and could have parts quicker in this instance Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Tbere arent any available and havent been for years. i have never seen a set used for sale. the new ones only came set up for a anglia spindle. this would create another mess because no one makes a axle for anglia. i found that out the first time. it took 40 hrs to make the last axle. with the ford style wheel i can use off the shelf parts saving a lot of time. we need to do the brakes either way i just cut out doing a lot of work. i did think about that option.
A new side of pipes are tacked up. I did a leak down test and found number 3 was still leaking at 50-60 percent. I knew it wàs like that prior to the meltdown event. It was coming out of the exhaust mainly. If its exhaust its safe to run. Intake not safe. So i pulled the head and the exhaust valve was bent .007 i can straighten it but i have some spares so i will put one of those in. The rest of the engine checked out good. View attachment 3602488
I was setting the valves and got distracted. I always put a pushrod down the spark plug hole and turn over the engine with a ratchet on the blower. The pushrod comes up and im at tdc. On a very rare occasion the pushrod goes sideways and hits a valve. I remember i was in a hurry and pinched one. The crazy thing is the car still went 5.19 in the eighth wounded. Things that make you go hmmm.
It was hot humid and miserable but anything that could be done this weekend has been done. The engine is serviced. Number 3 cylinder is good again. Its ready to run. The street tires and street zoomies are on. All of the components removed previously are back on. I cleaned up and filed the area where the shock mount was cut off. I then put the acid solution on the area to blend it all in. Monday i will start putting the axle on. I also need to order a new front tire. It was punctured in the side wall. Over all a good weekend of progress.
This probably doesn't really sound right, but all the troubles and misfortunes you have experienced have surely provided a wealth of knowledge to a lot of us. I've learned a lot as no doubt many have. Hopefully better times and quicker E.T.s are on the horizon.
With how fast it ran on a 900 foot licence run im sure the next pass will be in the sevens. The eighth mile times tell me that. Im learning a lot as i go and just passing it on.
The new aluminum ones actually cost more (quite a bit more, too) than Brian spent on the mag originals--I know because I have both versions. The new Americans were made by Weld (for American Racing) and at the moment I can't find them listed at any of the major suppliers (Summit or Jegs) but they were listed at $780 each the last time that I checked. Roo
Brian ... Please add my thanks to the list ...As has been said, we are all learning from your misfortunes but are happy to be sharing in your success... A quick question about maintenance...I understand the need for pulling the heads & doing internal inspections to avoid greater internal damage ,but does the hardware, ( head studs,nuts,etc), get replaced during every teardown?? It would seem that this could get very expensive very quickly.... A suggestion if I can .. Could you use a longer rod of some type as a "tool" to show TDC during valve adjustments ? This might avoid the possibility of the pushrod falling into the cylinder..? The rod could be part of the "tools" needed during the adjustment procedure ....Just a thought ... Thanks again for sharing your passion with us .... Bob...
As soon as you start fueling it with nitro I think the word affordable gets deleted from Your vocabulary lol
we reuse the hardware most of the time. its only replaced when they show signs of wear. yes it can get expensive fast. to give you a example current nitro dragsters replace the lower blower pulley bolts after five passes. there are six of them at a cost of 35.00 each. im not at that level but we do wear things out. clean lubricated threads avoids most problems. as for the tdc checker it wasn't a issue of being too short I had the piston too far down in the bore. the piston was at bdc. the rod slipped to the exhaust side of the piston putting it on a angle were it interfered with the valve. I should of put the checker in with the piston on the upstroke. it was a over sight during a 18hr thrash. I use a old exhaust pushrod as a checking tool. the way I normally do it is turn the engine over watching the intake rocker to open the valve. I keep turning the engine watching for the valve to close. then I place the pushrod down the spark plug hole watching for it to stop rising. I then verify tdc against the balancer. if its quiet I can hear the points click in the mag. then I know im only 36 degrees from tdc. I don't have extra engines laying around so maintainance is critical. every part is stressed to the max. my servicing consists of heads torqued; lash run; spring pressure checked; leak down performed; fresh oil; filter cleaned; belt tension checked; timing checked; plugs inspected; wheels retorqued; tire pressure checked; chute packed. we put the car in the air and inspect the entire bottom of the car. this is just a partial list of what we do between rounds or at home. everyone has a different way of doing things.
I'd be glad if I could make it to "mmmmm, got gas in it?" for servicing before my runs. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
You should try a big show fuel car. All 8 rods and pistons swapped, heads serviced, blower stripped and a whole new clutch package in around 40 minutes. Of course that is with a bunch of guys but think about the bottom end guy (diver) as he gets about 30 of those minutes to drain the oil, drop the pan, check the mains, knock the rack (rods and pistons) out and put a new one in, torque everything (160lbs/ft for the mains) and put the pan back up. All while extremely hot***** drips on him. Roo
Been there done that. Lets not leave out getting stepped on by the top end guys. One on each sidw so the bruises match.
After a twelve hour day at the hospital i put the axle in the car. I need a few new chrome fasteners and a heim joint to finish things off. The tires were dismounted and bead blasted over the last weekend. The wheels get machined this coming weekend. The new barrel valve is schedualled to arrive monday. For not even being two weeks out i think im doing ok. If all goes as planned it should be driving mid week. It looks like something now.instead of a bunch of bent up junk.
The Jalopy Journal
