Projects rebuilding after the crash

Thanks for the explanation. I love this thread because of all the new stuff I learn as well as the car looking fab. Don’t think they allow nitro in roundy-round racing though

 

It's OK to run until you get caught.

 

Wow, I am reminded of funny story. Many years ago, friends dad had lawn mower sales & repair shop. Started selling new brand Japanese motorcycle called Yamaha. Friend ended up with 125 cc rotary valve. ( I think ) bike. Started various ways to hop up. Would race around flat on the tank & max revs. Tried a can of model airplane fuel ( lot of nitro?). I was pumping gas in station where I worked when he went screaming by. Lasted a few miles before “bang” - back to pedaling. Happy ending; dad retired from huge dealership.

 

Nitro has a oxygen component to it. Because of this the mixture needs to be richened up. Nitro doesn't mix with gas.

 

Have you ever wondered what the crew chief are doing at the starting line before the car stages? They are setting the idle after the burnout. These fittings are screwed into the injector. Plastic plugs can be removed. This allows more air to go into the engine. That leans it out raising the rpm. Depending on many factors removing one plug raises the rpm 200-400. They can be removed in seconds without effecting the barrel valve.
The other cool thing with them involves the warm up. Removing the plugs and replacing them with plastic lines run into a jug of methanol saves nitro. The timing can be set and heat can be built up in the engine. After the warm up the lines come out and the plugs go back in.
This is one way of doing it. Some teams have holes drilled into the injector of various sizes. They put tape over them. The tape is pulled to expose the hole. I think the plugs are cleaner.

 

The oil filter bracket was made. It just needs to be welded on.
I started to remove some of the street stuff today. There's alot more coming off.

 

The necessary modifications were done to the idler pulley bracket to get the mag in. A mag support was added. These generators are heavy and only supported by a clamp at the block. You can see how it's offset to clear everything. You can see how the fuel lines are nicely routed away from the starter. The timing is set. I need to add oil and pre lube it.

 

That mag setup looks so much better than using an offset gearbox. I just ordered a RCD angle drive for my '92. I like your support rod, too.

 

It's a rcd unit with a u joint. The swivel of the base provides the offset. No belts are needed with this set up. The dual drive took up alot of room. It did look cool I have to say.

 

I understand nitro won't ignite unless it is compressed.

 

It's a stable fuel until it's heated or compressed. Then it gets exiting. In a combustion chamber it gets both. On a big show nitro car the plugs are melted off a second into the run. They are no longer functional. The engine diesels the rest of the run. A big show nitro engine uses a timer to control the spark. At the hit they run as much as 90 degrees of lead. Then the timers pull the lead back to around 60 degrees. They are almost running backwards. There is such a big volume of fuel and being a slow burning fuel the spark needs alot of time to get it burned. Burning all of the fuel makes big power. Adding timing has the effect of leaning out the engine. Timing is way more important than the nitro load as far as adding more power. Adding more percentage without adding advance doesn't do much if it all goes out the pipes unburned. Leaving the percentage alone and adding timing really gets the party started. As the timing is advanced the main jet needs to be smaller. The engine will let you know in many ways if the tune up was off. They have a funny way of dealing with your lack of attention.

 

I'm building new dragster style zoomies today. This should be fun. The adaptors are too small. A swedge is being made to tighten the clearances.

 

The swedge worked. Moving forward.

 

The adaptors are welded to the flanges. We use silicon bronze rod. This will never crack. The key is to only get the metal red. Never melt it. It's really brazing. The higher end header makers do it this way. The tubes go on today.

 

The stubs off the flanges needed 2.5 inches cut off. The pipes interfered with the frame. A fence was set up on the band saw. After they were cut they were sanded flat and straight on a old head surfacer. It's a huge belt sander. It makes welding much easier with no gaps. After alot of trial fitting and measuring we agreed on this set up. I need the expectant flames to clear the body. I need some up sweep for down force on the chassis. They need to lay back for forward thrust. There's alot to think about and look at. We looked at it from alot of angles.

 

Being single wall and fairly short they are alot lighter. Being short they will be alot louder if that's possible. The other benefit is the flames out of the pipes. It will be noticeable.

 

ewe nuts mango

 

Very Zoomy looking!

 

One down. One to go. The support braces are now on. We are calling it today. The belt guard is on along with the burnout lean out valve. It was a full day. More on sunday.

 

I was just looking at the pics and noticed the "Stage V" on the valve covers. Thinking that probably fits with all the upgrades/phases this car has seen - maybe it's even more than that! It's probably more like a constant evolution.
I learn something just about every time I check this thread. Thanks for taking us along.
Any chance we might see you at the Fall Out this year?

 

Thanks for the nice comments. I'm focusing this year on several nitro specific events. It's the nitro chaos series. They have a event in central Illinois on the same weekend as the fall out. I will be at the Grove at the end of June for the out of Site drags. It's a great event. Stop out.

 

I really like the zoomies and especially the supports Brian. You have givin me a idea for supports on my zoomies.

 

The first side is easy. The other side not so much. To make them match side to side is the hard part. A lot of measurements are taken to get it right. I don't go by you can only see one side of the car at a time. It has to match. View attachment 5994385

 

Side to side is not so noticable, End for End is where you'll see it, and that's what will piss you off to no end, if something is different.

 

Not trying to be a Smart A$$
Unbolt driver side
Bolt header flang together easier to duplicate on a table[

 

The table is not the car. The frame rails come into play. The angles of the frame to pipe change front to rear. We tri anglelulate everything. Putting them on a table is a mirror image. The tubes were cut in a fixture so they are all exact. We use a digital angle gauge to set angles and a tape measure to go from the gound to the tube. Also from the flange to tube. Then from the front stud to the pipe. We set this up on a flat floor with the tires set.
The passenger side will always be a little different because that bank is slightly rearward of the drivers side. The passenger rear will all always be a tight fit. It's all about out the detàils.

 

So Not Duplicating /Match side to side,
Trying to make each side Look
Identical ,,,
I'm sure the Dan Olsen I have are same side to side , the short Dragster & Long Funny , I would have to pull out of storage to verify, The others I build where identical to each side.
Most should know a V style block one head off set of the opposite head

 

They match and fit the car. We do it on the car to be sure. Like I said previously it gets very tight on number eight to the frame rail. The engine tips down slightly in the chassis. This is not a cookie cutter dragster or funny car frame where one size fits all. Those guys use a fixture and they all come out the same. I would have just bought a set if they would fit.

 

Jerry Newman stopped by the shop Saturday. Jerry has tuned nitro cars since the late 50s. We went over all of the new plumbing. We also started to work on the tune up. Nozzles were chosen. The pop off valves were set up. A starter and battery pack were ordered. The zoomies should be finished from the powder coater. Fire up is set for next week. I will go over the tune up details later. It's getting real close to making some noise.

 

This is what I started with. Last year's tune up.