1930s Era Champ Car - new project

Yeah, perhaps a bit of lag but the upside is that they deliver a constant supply of mixture with no flat spots. Because they rely solely on vacuum (aside from throttle input) they're less forgiving to any vacuum leakage than what you may be used to. Because they have no accelerator pump getting the choke(s)to work for starting purposes is important too. Once you get them dialed in, it's "set it and forget it". Best of luck.

 

I made another bit of a trompe l'oeil detail intended to place the spark plugs between the faux DOHC cam covers.
I smashed six spark plugs to get the center electrodes out. Cut them down and threaded the end (10-24) so that they would screw into a flat piece of bar stock. That will in turn be bolted to the cam cover using the plugs protruding out the backside of the bar stock. To add realism I used a piece of white plastic (the outer tube from a BIC ball point pen) to simulate the plug porcelain and added a rubber grommet to cover the plug well. Rajo clips will be used into the plug wire bundle going back to the distributor.

 

The manual distributor advance will make the car a bit more authentic to the era. I think I'd use a choke cable to adjust it -- should stay in any position. Adjusting advance while driving is definitely a "lost art". That hasn't been done since... what... the last model T???

 

That's a good idea farna. I'll make a better looking lever for the distributor and even if I don't employ it to start the car it will add a bit of authenticity. Thanks

On my hi-compression race motors with a locked advance I have a mag kill switch next to the starter button so I can spin up the engine before energizing the mag. Maybe I'll add one of those switches too. Most of those race car dash panels were pretty sparse - some only had an oil pressure gauge and a kill switch - so I am trying not to mess it up with too much instrumentation and stuff. I may put in one of those modular cluster gauges and a tach to keep the visual noise down.

 

Try something like an old Jeep CJ cluster. Speedhut sells a GPS cluster with a tach. What might be a problem is it only goes up to 90 mph, the tach to 6K, and the odometer is digital. But it has speed, tach, fuel, and temp all in one 5.5" round unit -- just need to add an oil pressure gauge.
https://www.speedhut.com/gauge/GCJ5...th-Tachometer--Speedo,-Fuel-Level,-Temp,-Tach
Or just two 4" rounds with everything... one speedo/tach, the other oil pressure, fuel level, volts, and temp.
https://www.speedhut.com/kit/GL4-DU...h-GPS-speedometer---8K-Tachometer,-Quad-Gauge

I don't know what you like, but I think the Jeep gauge in the enter with a small oil pressure on one side and a volt or amp meter on the other would be authentic looking.

 

Does anyone know whatever happened with this? Is it finished? Almost finished? I got really into this, just spent the last 2 hours reading all of it. I love metal work and all that you've done man. It's pretty sick.

 

Hi StarDiero75. I am pleased that you found my build interesting. I continue to do work on this project - along with other projects. So it is indeed still active. I plan to resume serious work in the Spring when the weather is better. Until then I'll make some small bits and search for more items to complete my build. I have a basket of parts that need to be fitted up and TIG welded onto the chassis, as well as fine tuning the body panels before prepping them for paint. I am leaning toward real Dayton wire wheels and vintage rubber which will set me back many thousands of dollars. But I want it to look as authentic as possible. I've never considered myself to be great at anything, be it fabricating, body work and paint, or engine building but I do have a bit of perseverance so I'll get it done. Thanks for watching.

P.S. I like your Ranchero avatar car.

 

You are patient. Like your detail on your head work.

 

I HATE PIE CUTS. (Although I love pie.) Every time I see a top chop that has a dozen pie cuts and attendant filler strips I think the job would be so much cleaner if some of the metal got stretched and shrunk into its final net shape instead of slicing and dicing in a bunch of long dagger-like fingers that need to be joined together with miles of weld bead.
Having said that, I turned my attention to completing the bottom edge of the rear bustle shape. I want it to roll under in an ever decreasing radius that looks pleasing to my eyes. I also decided the tail section hung down too low and I decided to raise it up so it would be easier to see the "quick change" rear axle. So I pie cut lots of fingers in a blank and proceeded to hammer and weld it into the rounded piece you see here. Since it is a pretty tight radius and a rather large piece I was not sure I could shrink it in with my tools and ability - so I opted to pie cut it into submission.

 

Once the part was formed I proceeded to join it up to the body using the offset tab technique I had used elsewhere in the body construction. Tomorrow it gets welded on.

 

Tacked in place. With the lower six inches removed from the tail now the quickie will be visible. Next I'm going to remove the complete tail and finesse the skin and affix the side mounting angle flanges permanently.

 

Slick looking job.

Don't feel too bad about the pie cuts, I doubt every tail panel that ever raced on a champ car was formed with a doming mallet and english wheel either.

Having been an oval racer myself for many years, I cannot imagine running a car with a hand formed body this complex. There's a reason modified, sprint, and midget bodies consist mostly of flat panels.

It's already enough work fixing a car after you back it into the fence. Having to try to save a body this swoopy and well finished? Never happen. Them old timers were hard core in every way possible.

This is very likely why sprints and midgets went to molded tail tanks as soon as it was feasible, cuts down on the body work.

I guess it also reduces the burning to death in a methanol fire...

Anyway, awesome work on this thing. I've been following along since the start and was afraid you'd given up on it.

 

Thanks Ryan. Nope - not giving up, just lots of irons in the fire. At least the newer cars kept some vestige of the old school look with the new tails. I have much respect for all you guys and gals that mix it up on the short tracks in this country. If you come to Michigan I'd like to buy you a beer and chat.

 

Hi FTF.Looking good Sir.Looking forward to updates.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

I did some shrinking on the tail. There were high spots so I heated them and tapped them down a bit. Actually, I did the tapping while a buddy held the torch and another buddy applied a cold watered rag to the hot area.

Question: How many hoodlums does it take to shrink metal? Answer: Three.

The bottom edge needs to be stretched slightly so it will conform to the mounting lip more precisely. I wish this thing would fit inside the throat of my English wheel.

 

In my part of the word it's Aggies jokes.

 

Really like the hand cut louvers! A little work and they will look good. At least that's what I'm assuming those four cuts are going to be louvers...

 

Thanks farna. I have a Roper Whitney bench press that I made a set of 4" dies for, but the four inch was too big so I made a smaller male die and a drop-in insert for the female die and used it to make that space more interesting. I was going to leave them as-is but now you have me thinking about expanding them a little. I may put led stop lights in them too.

 

Have you thought about using a shrinking disc, only one set of hands needed. A buddy just did his beer barrel doors with his SS disc, wow.

Sent from my SM-T355Y using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I have a shrinking disc - homemade - but have not had a chance to use it much. I should try to finesse the minor flaws with it.

 

have not checked in for a while.....so glad you are still chipping away at it.....it looks really good.....great job...

 

Thank you Black vette 59. I take a sabbatical in the winter months to migrate south and the thing I miss the most is my shop time with my projects. Bear with me on this project - it'll get there.

 

Greetings Frenchtown!....if your still in Florida there is dirt racing at Volousa this week!!

 

Thank you King ford.
Unfortunately I have to return to Cleveland Ohio tomorrow for a funeral of a family member. The second one in just five weeks. Sometimes stuff like our hobbies get put on hold to attend to other important life events.
Please be patient with me. I'm nothing if not persistent.

 

This, from the "When Life Hands You Lemons..." department:

I think I might name the car THE COVID ENGINEERING SPECIAL.
Of course it will wear #19.

Lord knows when I return home I'll have lots of time to spend on it.

 

Glad to see your still after it. I don’t have to go south for the winter because I am already there.. there is definitely a skill in heat shrinking with a torch . You also can raise low spots with the same technique. Remove hail dents that way for over 50 years doing it, you just have to know how to read them. Frank

 

Nice

 

Wow! I'm impressed! One really small suggestion. Years ago ran a high winding V8 dirt tracker. Belts kept flying off. Tried all kinds of belt tension pulleys. Nothing worked. Threw tensioner away, ran belt direct from crank to water pump That fixed it. I used the same set up on my 45000 mile Olds hot rod. Original belt still on it Greg

 

Thanks for the tip speedshifter. I want to run an alternator. Maybe separate belts for the water pump and alternator? That would certainly give me plenty of belt wrap-around.

 

Early Corvette had a 2 belt arrangement the belt closest to the motor ran only the water pump and the second belt ran the generator and the water pump. They also had deeper groves in the pulley and a larger pulley on the generator so as not to over speed it.