Projects rebuilding after the crash

More nitro fun. When the mag moved this summer during a run the advance went to a unsafe level. The result was some damage to the head gasket and head. The gasket is a easy replacement. The head needed the wire removed then welded. This went into the wire groove. A special cutter is used to re cut the wire groove. Matching the new cut to the existing groove has to be perfect. If it's off or too wide the wire will fall out. After the receiver groove is cut the deck is milled flat. This was done on one cylinder. Machining the deck without pulling all the other wires and getting it perfectly flat again takes some time and skill. Putting the new stainless back in takes some skill to. It's harder to do than it looks. It turned out perfect.

 

Mile High is where I will send my crank, talked with him some time back.

 

Maybe you know the answer to this one. I was watching TV with nitro cars in Australia and two were started did their burnouts backed up and were moving into stage. The last thing one crew member did was squirt something from the bottle of fuel or whatever, they squirt into the injector when starting, but this was added just as the car was rolling up to the stage beams with the engine already running.

 

The program you were watching may have shown nitro cars but the ones that were getting sprayed right before staging were actually alcohol cars. The spray used was de-icer, the same as might be used on a windshield in colder parts of the country during Winter. Methanol can ice up the blower and linkage when the high pressure liquid is released from the injector nozzle into the much lower atmosphere inside the blower.
Racers will describe "fuel" cars as those running nitromethane, the cars running methanol are known as alcohol cars. There is a line that older racers will sometimes use and it goes like this- Gas is for washing parts, alcohol is used for drinking and nitro is for racing. Sounds elitist but it does state the fact that ultimate horsepower comes from CH3NO2.
I didn't stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night, but I did crew on a F/A for ten years

 

Fordors is correct. I will take the answer a little further. Ice can build up on the throttle blades. The ice can block the air and effect the idle rpm or worse yet kill the engine.
Because a nitro car uses so much fuel the blades are opened more at idle they are not affected as much. They also might use air bleeds in the hat for more air at idle.
On a hot day I can look out the winshield and see the injector frost up while it's running. During a run it ices up. At the finish line when the throttle is closed the ice instantly melts covering the windshield with water droplets. Due to the speed it evaporates by the time I'm at the turnoff. By the time I'm out of the car it's like nothing happened. All the water is gone.

 

Poachers car, injector frosted up after the Cacklefest

 

Those Enderle three rib hats are classics. The frost on the hat is normal. The ice on the butterflies causes the problems. Strong return springs are important along with a toe loop on the pedal.

 

That and a morris throttle cable.

 

What cyls is the crank crack? What cyl is the head damage? Lippyt

 

2 rod. 3 main. 5 cylinder.

 

Weird huh.

 

Have you seen these?
https://www.dragzine.com/news/extreme-crankshaft-callies-nitro-tested-splined-hemi-crank/
Not even sure they make one for your application.

 

thats the new style of crank. its been out for several years. with how fast a nitro engine revs up and with the crank driving the blower the double key ways were shearing. to add to the troubles the front hub would weld itself to the cranks do to the vibration. i have experienced it and its no fun trying to pull a welded hub off. the new cranks do away with a pressed on hub it just slides onto the splines. now the weak link is the bolts holding the lower pulley onto the hub. the standard bolts shear off. arp has addressed this issue with special bolts. they are good for six passes. the cost is 35.00 per bolt. do the math on one season just for bolts.

 

Enjoy following along with your adventures and that old expression pops into my head "Speed costs money, How fast do you want to go" Have At It. Be Safe.

 

Cleaning and polishing all the parts takes all winter long. I do a little almost every day. Its never fun but when the Packers are winning games it makes it less boring. I have a cool wife that doesn't care if car parts are in the house.

 

Have you been more tired this year with all the 2020, work overtime, and two hot rod overhauls, shop insulation installs? Or has the years with Drag Week, engine set backs, trans work, constant tune changes, Nitro maintenance, crash repairs, new trailer purchases, golf cart customization, been harder? Did I leave out ATC freshening?


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It all blends in day to day year to year. Sometimes I look back at a few pages on this thread from time to time. I'm amazed at how much was done over the years. It never stops moving forward. Today was all about getting the coupe engine ready to assemble. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a 427 four bolt engine for the chevelle. A patient at work told me he had one that wasn't being used. I'm going with a Chevy friend because I don't know chevy parts and he does. I'm OK with that my chevy friend also owns a real deal Hurst Hemi Dart. I have to make the most of this rare weekend off. I start another long stretch with no days off.

 

Awesome stuff! Keep up the good work. Show us pics of the 427 in the wild/as found if possible. Take care and stay safe brother.

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Will do.

 

I got the 427. It turned out to be a 427/435 hp three two barrel four speed. There is a seperate thread on that called look what followed me home. Check it out.
The packers season has ended and the racing season has begun. I got the block back Friday from the machine shop. It was ridged honed and decked. It moved right into the family room. The whole block was polished. It took all four quarters of the game to get it done.
I use a ring squaring tool to position the ring one inch below deck. Having the ring square in the bore is critical to a accurate measurement.
The rings were filed during the pre game show. I use a electric ring file to make short work of the job. The indicator makes it so easy to get the gap perfect. Once you use one you will never go back to a hand crank file. There is alot of ring to file off as I set the gap at .040 I use a ring pack that has a dykes top ring with a two piece second ring. The dykes is a L shaped ring. The cylinder pressure gets behind the ring forcing it against the cylinder wall. It works great in boosted applications. The large gap is needed do to the extreme temps. This large gap is not good on the street. There is alot of blow by without the boost and high temps that close up the gap. The two piece second ring has been the ring to go to because of the street driving. It has really made a difference. Most of the prep work is done. Its almost time to put it together.

 

Lot of Flitz!!! Looks great

 

LOL.

I initially thought that was the 427 polished. 1st, I was mouth agape in horror .. .. then I pulled my head back and laughed maniacally. A polished, numbers matching L71 427.

Once I figured out it was the nitro Hemi block .. I calmed down collectively, with a more subdued .. "oh" .. .. "cool".

I will say that polishing that 427 does no good, in where it is going .. .. but talk about a sub atomic, implosion of Corvette restorers hearts & egos .. that would be fantastic !!!

The nitro Hemi block, of course .. looks b*tch'n' polished. Hell yes !!

 

I can't imagine how long it took to polish that block. I have only seen one other engine that had a polished block; heads; pan and gear drive. That other engine was used for show only. Its a whole lot of bling to maintain. Good thing Flitz is a local company that provides what I need.

 

Maybe I will have to chrome the 427 so it can hang with the 426.

 

Next up to polish the blower and injector. I have to take it all apart to do it correctly. I'm done after that.

 

Hey, Brian;
Q on the cracked crank. If you can't see the cracks w/o magnafluxing or dyegloing the crank, & it has to be out of the block to do that, & nitro cranks can crack on the 1st pass, how do/did you tell your crank had cracked while still assembled in the mill? Or did I miss that somehow? Seems like russian roulette is safer - but not as exciting or as fun... . Still glad you're posting info n how-to's on your fueling around. Learn something everytime.
Marcus...

 

Way back when Don Garlits first broke 200mph, I can remember HRM having an article about his blown fuel hemis and he said any hemi that was run on fuel and a blower would fail a magnaflux test with small hairline cracks. Said the way he tested cranks was to suspend iy on a wire, strike it on a counterweight with a hammer and listen to the sound!
Of course in those days the stress on that crank was nowhere near that on a crank in Brian,s engines of today vastly higher output.

 

I just chose to have it checked out. It has never been magged since I have owned it. Just part of the normal pm. The tapping of the counter weights is still relevant today. If the weights ring thats good. If it's cracked and rings then the crack is not deep. If there is a thud then the crack is deep. A deep crack can be isolated just by tapping. So my crank has a crack and rings now its a question of how deep. The crank is ground .005 then re magged. Sometimes this opens up whats lurking underneath the surface. Decisions are made based on whats found. It can be cut further in a attempt to remove the crack. Once gone the area is spray welded back up to size and recut. Its then off to the nitride shop to return the hardness to the surface. Cranks are repaired like this all the time. The shop thats doing this work has a truck at the nhra races that picks up all the hurt cranks. They fix them and return them at the next race. Its a never ending revolving door.

 

Hey, Brian;
I'm familiar w/the hammer test for forged cranks. Didn't know it could be done in the mill while still assembled. Thought the crank had to be bare, & hanging from a wire when hit. Just learned something new. Also remember reading Garlits' comments, & wondering why more nitro mills didn't emulate the MagicMuffer fiat "running over my crank trick" . I think some Bonneville guys also made comments like that, although that was after their run-teardowns. IIRC, the Surfers, prior to building their fueler, asked everyone running nitro hemis every Q about longevity of parts. & kept notes. & then put that info to very good use.
I don't suppose the guys rebuilding the crank would comment on how close to disaster the crank was? It seems to me, you've developed a kinda 6th sense on when things need attention.
This is the reason I really like this thread - real-time real-life real-experience feedback. W/o drama. & w/pics... .
Living vicariously thru others doing things I can't. & learning. Thank you again.
Marcus...

 

The crank has to be out of the block to do the ring test. Sorry for any confusion.