A good place to seek info on a car like this would be The Nostalgia Forum at Autosport.com. Some very knowledgeable people there and that chassis is right up their alley. Cheers, Kurt O.
Some more on DeDion axles in this thread. Perhaps you'll have some images to post there as the work progresses? I've grabbed those images for the Specials thread, as they seem to belong.
This car is actually called the Tojeiro Turner in the "Toj" book. VIN is TAD2/55. It started life with a Turner engine and, as with all Turner engines, the engine self-destructed. With no spares to be found, the Turner was replaced by the Bristol powerplant. It's a fabulous little sports racer...
A lot of decisions are being made at this point in the build as we set our direction. Since this car will be raced several times per year it is essential that it performs in every way (power, handling, braking). The car is going to be converted to left-hand drive. We are going to use the De Dion tube with a Jaguar XJ-S differential and Salisbury 4HU Powr-Lok limited slip differential. I'm not sure of the final drive ratio (I'll have it in my hands next week), but I'm expecting it to be 3.31:1. I've been looking high and low for a dry sump kit for the Chevy 292, but haven 't found it... yet. I guess we could always fabricate a pan and adapt a SBC dry sump set up. Anyone know of a kit that is available (don't want to reinvent the wheel)? What transmissions would YOU consider for this Chevy 292? It will be road race, so I'm thinking close gear ratio 5-speed with a 1:1 final drive. The Richmond Road Race 5-speed looks to be the best option, but I'm open to your suggestions.
Dry sump setups were a little "late" to be used on 292s...although you might check with some of the vintage NW modified racers. Have a look through the "Great Oregon Racers" thread. The engine won't know what the pump and tank were designed for. I would think a 4 stage (3 scavenge pumps) would be right for that long pan.
Cant tell you what to use, but I'll tell you what I'm using on my Special. My car was built by Dick Morgensen and Boyd Hough, and its the sistercar to the car that later became Max Balchowsky's Ol Yeller #1. I will be using a early Moss 4 speed out of a XK120 mated to a Nailhead. It is correct for the period and the type of car, and it was a combination that Morgensen liked and used.
We mocked up the engine and rear axle today. The engine is in an approximate location in relationship to the frame. We are struggling to make the big Chevy 292 fit in there with room for a driver's foot box. The links for the De Dion tube have been fabricated using Teflon Heim joints.
After months of mocking up and fitting every component we finished up the frame and painted it. It is painted British Racing Green (a tribute to its Jag D-type heritage). Assembly has started and is moving quickly. In a few weeks I should have pictures of the completed drive train and running gear installed with it sitting on its own tires!
call Joe at stef's Stef's Performance Products 693 Cross Street Lakewood, NJ. 08701 Phone ( 732 ) 367- 8700 fax: (732) 367-8793 [email protected]
I should update the thread to say that all of our build components have been selected and prepared. Gear box is a Muncie M22 (replica by Auto Gear) wide gear ratio, tied in with a Centerforce DFX clutch that is controlled by a Tilton hydraulic throw-out. Combined with the 2.88 rear end and 27.4" tires he should be at 3,000 rpms in first gear at 25mph (slowest corner) and have legs out to 155 mph in fourth. When you factor in that the car will come in just under a ton and the engine dynos at 300hp/330tq it should be a very competitive set up. Altogether the drive-shaft is only 5.75" long! Because the transmission sits so far back toward the driver Jared made a custom shifter that sits on top of the gearbox body. He split reverse off to its own lever, and it will double as a parking brake. The shift pattern is "H" with the stick centering between 3 and 4. For the suspension we have QA1 adjustable coil-overs. The differential is a Salisbury LSD set with a 120 pound breakaway. Front brakes are aluminum 4-piston Jag XKE upgrades. Spindles are attached via ball joints to the control arms. All of the suspension linkages have teflon heim-joint ends for adjustment. I'll try to get some photos of all of this installed in the next couple weeks. It's a nice package, and I expect him to win some races if he can keep it pointing in the right direction.
Here are some pictures of the completed chassis. The various skin parts are made and now will be assembled on hinged front and rear clip frames.
Great car, the 292 stump puller should have some of the purists guessing.... I would love to build a project similar to this....some day.
From what I understand, our client has a letter from John Tojeiro requesting that this unfinished frame be completed as an American version. Hence the conversion to left-hand drive and a Chevy motor. I can't imagine a larger engine in this frame. (It is racing in a 1955-1959 class, so it cannot have technology that was not available in 1959.) The 292 is no slouch when built right (like this one built by Sissel). Bench dyno is 300/330 hp/tq with the powerband strong and solid from 3,000-5,000. Gearing is set up for 150-155 top speed and 3,000 rpms at 25 mph in first gear. There should be plenty of legs for this car. It is scheduled to debut at Leguna Seca in Monterrey, CA, later this summer.
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