Projects Progress on the Treit and Davenport liner

Target 550 Update: This post shows the brakes being upgraded using Wilwood calipers and disks.



http://www.target550.com/gallery/123_new_brakes_fitted/index.html

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/124_brakes_plumbing_dash/index.html

Check this out to see the brakes (Wilwood carbon fiber) finished and installed and the motors (HUGE frikkin Whipple blower on each motor although only 1 motor is shown) and also the air line plumbing for the dashboard. Talk about trick...there's an air line that runs into the steering wheel for the air controls there. I'll repeat: You gotta see the motor shots. Just unreal.



ps. Only 2 weeks until Speed Week! See ya on the salt!

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/125_brake_caliper_breathers_frame_pressurization/index.html

This week's post shows the completed brake caliper mount along with shots of the wheel studs and wheel (startin to look like a real LSR vehicle), a detailed look at the way Hume builds breather tanks and some insight into pressurization of the frame tubing.

This shot shows Hume demonstrating his tank-building technique.



Every week brings the project a little closer to completion.

See ya at Speed Week!

 

This will be a quickie post. Even tho Freud and I are on the salt, we have our weekly update:
http://www.target550.com/gallery/126_plastic_tubing_retainers_&_heaven_on_earth/index.html

Tubes and lines are run all over the liner and they have to be held in place somehow. Plastic retainers are used for this and the guys at the shop make these with the same quality and attention to detail as any other component.

They're artists who work with steel, aluminum, fiberglass and plastic rather than paint or chiseled stone.

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/127_oil_line_retainer_breather_box/index.html

This post covers an oil line/filter retainer done by Dave Jeffers, a breather box being built by Jim Hume and an update on Jason Hosking's lengthy projects. Right now he's working on the rear wheel fairings. Freud (he's the one who does the photography for the project...I'm just the Web Elf) captured the motion of the hammer and the movement of the material perfectly in this shot. He do purdy good for an amateur. (He's the best photographer I know and has been kind enough to mentor me in my work...bless his heart.)



There's some pretty slick work being done there by all fabricators/fine artists. Check out what each one of 'em is doing.

Oh...some paparazzi caught some of the team at Salt Talks at the Bend in the Road near the Bonneville Salt Flats:
http://www.target550.com/news.html

Please don't contact the Witness Protection Program and blow our cover, k?

 

As if the wind at the Salt Talks didn't blow your cover already!?

 

LOL! The wind blew everything everywhere! I got lucky. I went up to my camping spot at Jack Rabbit Flats and got into the back of the Burb just as the skies opened up with the thunder, lightning and rain. I wondered about gettin zapped by a lightning bolt, but I guess I got lucky or sumpthin.

I'm heading back out tomorrow for BUB. Tune in to the regular channel for on-the-scenes updates.

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/128_breather_tanks_oil_lines/index.html



Regularly weekly update includes several different areas. The car is coming together at what seems to be an increasing pace. In this post we have braided oil lines being constructed and tested, breather tank construction and mounting and some modifications to the belt drive system. The pace is really picking up. Check it out.

 

This post covers several topics. The liner's belly pan (and several upside-down people and photos) hoses for the motors' breathers and Doc Freud's little "spy camera." With every week that goes by, it gets closer and closer to completion.

http://www.target550.com/gallery/129_belly_pan_breathers_spy_cam/index.html

Here's a shot of Jason and Dave working underneath the liner. They're on different tasks, but both of 'em are lying down on the job.

 

The Granite Falls High School's (WA) Urban Concept car is going to be at World of Speed on the salt flats. This post shows some of what's going on as they prepare for the trip. The T-550 team is providing the transportation for the car that'll be run under USFRA sanction.

http://www.target550.com/gallery/130_granite_falls/index.html

Here's a photo of the car:


It's a pretty kool project and the writeup Freud did explains a whole lot about what they're doing and how the T-550 team is working with 'em.

 

It is impossible to feel the closeness of these students to their instructor, Michael Werner. These kids are in there working on their free time even when school is not in session. This car was the only two seater at the Shell Eco-Marathon meet in Houston this year. So the president of Shell Oil was given a ride around the course in it. That's a rather high level cab ride if you ask me. It will be fun to follow their program at World of Speed on the Bonneville Salt flats next week.

FREUD

 

Loading the Granite Falls HS Urban Concept car for World of Speed:
http://www.target550.com/gallery/131_gf_trailer_loading/index.html

The Target 550 team is providing transportation for the Granite Falls, WA High School's Urban Concept are so they can run it on the salt flats at World of Speed. Like any other race preparation, there are a few issues to be overcome, but it gets worked out in the end.

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/132_knobs_knurls_kolor/index.html



Knobs, Knurls and Kolored anodizing. These small parts are necessary, intricate and so slow to make.

 

Jeeze! The details!?!?!?! Nice to meet you on the salt Ray! Sorry about your issues with the Monte.

 

Was good to meet you, too. As for the Monte Carlo...well, I've seen a whole lot worse carnage this week (Shootout: http://www.landracing.com/forum/index.php/topic,10297.405.html Jamie Williams bike detonating and burning.) At least I didn't have to jump from a moving vehicle to remove a flaming crotch rocket from my crotch.

 

That was a great series of shots you got. What size lens are you shooting?

 

http://www.target550.com/gallery/133_tap_push_pull/index.html

While I've been frolicking on the salt (?!?) the guys at the Target 550 shop and Doc Freud have been busy, as usual. This week's post covers a coupla subjects. First, there's more than one way to skin a cat...and to deal with a heat-distorted filler cap ring. Second...well, a belt tensioner doesn't sound all that exciting...until you see this one. It's amazing in its ingenuity and craftsmanship. Ya gotta see it to believe it.



Freud's photography of a very small yet mechanically ingenious component is fantastic. Czech it out.

 

Duplicate post

 

I shot those with a Canon 7D and a 100-400mm L series lens. Because of the camera's sensor array size, it makes that 400mm equivalent to a 640mm on 35mm camera. Then I had to crop a small part of the image out of the middle of each shot because I was at least 1/2 mile away from where Jamie abandoned ship to get away from the "hot seat." He told me later that he had blisters forming on the insides of his legs, even thru the leathers he was wearing. Apparently the shrapnel from the engine grenade punctured the fuel tank and kinda spoiled his day.

This is what the bike looked like about 20 minutes before the "incident."

 

Another Friday update:
http://www.target550.com/gallery/134_idler_rear_fairings/index.html



The caption in the photo pretty much covers the subject. The blower belt idler pulley and its tensioner components. They might seem pretty insignificant, but each part is a work of art in itself and their design is absolutely elegant.

Originally the plan had been to run the idler on the outside of the belt, but after some thought, Marlo decided that it would make more sense (and less stress on the belts) to have the idler on the inside. This assembly is the result.

There are also some photos of what will be the mold for the rear wheel fairings. Again, an amazing process of creating a wooden buck to shape the aluminum pieces over and those will be the mold for the carbon fiber fairings.

 

We're a little late with this update because Freud and I have both had a few things on our plates...but it's on the server now.

This post shows and explains the replacement of splined sleeves in the drive line with greek couplers. I'm gonna go out on a limb and state my understanding that it was done after several LSR competitors had drive train failures. The greek couplers will act somewhat like a U-joint, but with much greater strength. As I understand it, Chris "The Greek" Karamesines developed the first coupler of this type for use in drag racing...which is how it got its name.

http://www.target550.com/gallery/135_driveshaft_couplers/index.html

Here's one of Freud's photos showing the coupler...and more breakdown will follow in the next post:

 

This week's update:
http://www.target550.com/gallery/136_windshield_pattern/index.html shows the pattern that Jim Hume made so that 3 windshield pieces can be made, one for the liner and 2 spares. Again, the craftsmanship is top-notch and the attention to detail is amazing.

 

Wow, that pattern is nice. I did not get a chance to read all the captions, did he steam bend it?

 

I'm not sure. There's no explanation other than it's made from multiple layers of very thin veneer...and Freud wrote that he didn't know anything else about the wood. But I'll ask him and he can ask Hume when he returns from a sabbatical to...Bakersfield...the California Hot Rod Reunion, I think.

 

Another week went by when I wasn't watching. How time do fly.

http://www.target550.com/gallery/137_new_torque_tube/index.html

This update shows how changes have to be made to something that was supposedly finished. The change from slip joints to Greek couplers necessitated larger torque tubes. Easier said than done. The larger diameter of the new tube required some machining so the fastening nuts can be installed and tightened. Then there had to be a way to lube the couplers. And so it goes...

This photo shows the new tube in place:



Enjoy,

 

I'm a little late reporting this week's Target 550 update, but here it is:

http://www.target550.com/gallery/138_clear_desktop_show_greek_couplers/index.html

Here's a photo of the Greek coupler inside the modified torque tube.



Fitting the coupler required some additional work so that it could be installed, serviced and removed if necessary. There's a great shot of Dave Jeffers machining longer splines into the shaft. Freud really got some great shots for this update.

Enjoy,

 

The windshield frame was made of 1/8" mahogany. The material bends very easily in one direction and did not require steaming to get that shape. Then each layer was glued to the previous layer. It is amazingly strong.

FREUD

 

Thanks Freud!

 

This update is a day late, but it's what everyone's been waiting for. The engine dyno test. Right off the bat: there are no hp figures. That wasn't the reason for the test. There are 36 photos and explanatory images (Doc Freud really busted his hump putting this one together) that tell the tale.



There's also some coverage of Les Davenport and his front-engined dragster running at Woodburn, Or. Good results there, too.

Check this one out. It's worth the wait.
http://www.target550.com/gallery/139_dyno_test/index.html

 

An update to the Target 550 update. Freud and I made some changes to the last update. It includes a couple of pages of Marlo Treit's explanation of why the dyno testing was done as well as some insight about the whole project's concept and methods.

I think it really explains why things are being done the way they are. There's a lot more to it than just explaining why the dyno test was done.

The address hasn't changed...it's the same as it was yesterday:
http://www.target550.com/gallery/139_dyno_test/index.html