Projects rebuilding after the crash

Hey, Brian;
As always; thanks for sharing the work needed to keep one of these things going. While I can't live it, I can watch it thru this thread, & occasionally saying "hi" in person.
Glad things are going well. .
Marcus...

 

Hey Brian did you get registered for drag week this year hope things are goin ok in the great white north

 

Pretty sure he said his daughter is getting married that week.

 

must have missed that but I understand

 

My daughter is getting married one week before the event. Dw is usually the second weekend in September. That would have put it right on the wedding weekend so i never thought i could go. For some reason they moved DW to the third weekend. I dont know if i can get off of work that many days so close together. If im able to go i will just show up and see if i can get in. They are really messing with everyones vacation time. I can only use 10 days between memorial day and labor day. I earn five weeks per year.
On a happy note i got the crank in the block with .009 clearance on the thrust. Perfect. The new sleeves were clearanced for the rods and checked.
I got the cam in. The cam bearings were pinned. Only number 5 bearing needed to go .020 od oversized.
The cam clearance took some time. I got a new cam cover and drive spud because the were damaged when the cam broke. .085 had to come off the spud were the bearing goes. Its now set at .013 end clearance.
The cam is degreed at 112.
I will file rings tomorrow. The rods should show up in the next week or two.
Im on schedule to fire it up on my birthday in mid april.

 

I might put the engine in the chassis minus the rods and pistons next week. That way i can hook up the trans. I can put the pistons in later. Its no big deal. This way i can keep moving forward. New engine and mid plates were made during the off season. It will give me time to make sure everything fits. Theres always those surprises that pop up.

 

Congrats on the wedding

 

You would think that whoever was in charge of the show posters would have some knowledge of the English language "register YOU ride now". How many of you didn't catch that the first time reading it ?

 

Heid is aware of the mistake. it was too late to make new banners before the show.

 

That is a very common typo. Or maybe that's just the current way to make your old English teacher cringe a little!

 

I let Heid know through Brian on Facebook the weekend of the show, he had a dammit reaction. Pretty easy for something like this to fall through the cracks.

 

All kinds of updates tonight along with a little nitro tech. The rings are filed and the studs are in. Its almost ready to go in the chassis. With the dual ignition i need to time the mag off the degree wheel on the crank and the efi off the crank trigger. The computer needs a signal at 50 degrees. The engine is set at 50 btdc then the trigger wheel magnet is lined up with the pickup. The wheel has a arrow showing rotation. It has to go on the right way or it wont work.
The mags timing is 40-50 degrees depending on how hard i want to run it. Advancing the timing makes a nitro engine get all kinds of happy. The efi is set with the crank at 36 degrees and the rotor pointed at number one post. The computer handles the advance and retard.

 

Filing rings is a breeze with a power filer. A stock gap is around .022. I set my gap at .043 top and second ring. A ring squaring tool is a must for a accurate measurement. The nitro creates so much heat it will close the gap. Anything less in my engine will butt the rings and cause a big mess. I use a dykes ring in the top. The pistons are cut for them. They have a L shape to them. The cylinder pressure gets behind the L and pushes them into the cylinders bore. This is standard blown nitro parts.
This big gap creates all kinds of blow by problems on the street. If there is excessive crank case pressure the oil has a hard time going down the positive pressured oil return holes. The puke tanks vent will constantly have a heavy vapor coming out of it like the engine is worn out. The oil mist gets on everything.
The fix that i have found is Gapless rings. These two piece second rings seal so good my cylinder leak downs are usually below ten percent. Usually around five. Thats amazing with all that gap. The chambers stay much cleaner along with the plugs. The mist is gone. The other big benefit is the engine makes more power.

 

During this off season i have been working on a major project that involves the cooling system. After talking to some industry experts we think there is a high pressure area that is forming over the trunk. The hot air cant effectively exhaust out of the louvers on the trunk lid. The fans were flipped on the radiator. It now pulls air into the louvers and blows the hot air under the car. All of the radiator shrouding needed to be modified to fit. The radiator is positioned at a better angle to line up with the louvers.
The water pump is in the trunk. The water runs up to the engine in two number twelve lines. I upgraded to larger number sixteens. They flow more than twice as much. The fittings are huge. This caused a interference problem at the engine. There is no room. A new idler pully bracket was made at two inches thick. Instead of the water going out the front it now goes in and out from the side. I still need to do some more shaping so its not so bulky looking. Compare the before and afters. I also have a killer new oil cooler and fan set up. I still need to figure out how im going to mount it. With all of these changes engine temps will be more under control. A aluminum rod at 250 degrees grows .010 so this is important. As the rod grows the clearance on the rod bearing can grow to a unsafe size. In the summer i was using over sized bearings to help. Of course on a cold spring or fall wisconsin day using those tight bearings can cause obvious problems. A few more secrets revealed tonight.

 

Back in my time racing Midgets, then wing Sprint cars 1970-1991 I was so excited to get racing, the"Itch" was real bad, but here's something I learned about myself and some of my competitors, the first race, everybody pretty excited as a rule, a lot of cars get tore up. I made the decision to skip opening days as I also seem to have a foot and brain disconnect. LOL There was plenty of races to run all summer long, most I ever ran was 33, way down to 15 a few times later in my time, loved it, still miss it. I admire your dedication especially since you upped the nitro, you know you will have broken engine pieces, simple equation, nitro= horsepower=broken parts. 20% seemed to be the max in circle track cars, I had some throw away engine deals, but considering years involved, total number of nights I fared much better than most. As you know " Speed Costs Money, How Fast Do You Want To Go " Good Luck for the new season, I enjoy following along on your adventure,Thank You for your posts.

 

its never a good idea to run a fast car on a track in Wisconsin. it takes time to get the track seasoned. I have seen a lot of cars crash early in the season. we usually do half track hits the first few times out. we are planning to do the first passes on gas. im curious to see how fast it will go as a street car.

 

Street Car, You have the ultimate "Sit Down, Shut up, Hang On "

 

Hemi heads warm by the fire. Now that's living man!!

 

As an engine guy that knows nothing about nitro, this thread makes me happy.

 

if it wasn't so unseasonable warm this past weekend I would have been filing rings by the fire. it wouldn't be the first time the engine has been in the house to work on it.

 

The new mid plate is now finished. This means the engine can now go in this weekend. Converter cooling holes should help on the street. With the new bellhousing this is a major upgrade in safety. I will bolt it all up and run a indicator around the hole in the bell. The old hemi to chevy pattern mid plate on top the new hemi/hemi on the bottom. A spacer plate on the right. All cnc machined. The starter hole remains on the passenger side.

 

I had two big fires with my 65 Dodge altered wheelbase car. The cause was from the bellhousing not being centered with the crank. It was off enough to push oil past the seal. The trans fluid would get thrown onto the red hot headers and the fun was on.
I have learned from those events 20 plus years ago. Now i never put a engine in a car without running a indicator around the hole. The can and mid plate went together on the dowels just fine. A sweep showed it was way out. The easiest way to fix this issue requires that the pieces are all bolted together minus the mid plate to bell dowels. The mid plate to engine dowel is cut off below deck as to not interferewith the can position. The can is fit snug with a few bolts. A indicator is used to sweep the hole. The can is tapped to make the needed adjustments. New holes from the can to mid plate were drilled. A half inch grade eight bolt was cut down using the bolts shoulder as a new dowel. The new dowels were welded to the can but not before another sweep of the hole. Its right on. Welding the dowels makes disassemble and reassemble a snap. Its now a repeatable setting. Now the engine can go in. Take the time to do it right. No more fires.
The new idler pulley/ water hook up is now ready. While this part looks simple it took alot of hours to make. I cant say i have ever seen anyone try this before. I guess we will see how it works. The motor plate is sandwiched between this and the block. Im a little behind schedule. This took longer than i had planned. Wednesday it will go in the chassis after its cleaned up

 

WOW

 

It might not look like much but this is a full day right here. With the new engine a mid plate along with the new idler bracket there were alot of chips made today. Sometimes you come up with a plan but you dont know exactly how its going to work out. I knew the idler spacers were going to need trimming. The fuel pump was hitting everything so i needed to clearance things to make that fit.
The steering column needs to be dropped to put the oil pump on. The alternator is also on now.

 

Everything looks great !
Brian,,,,,,did you engineer that water manifold yourself ?
Looks excellent,,,,,should be very functional !

Tommy

 

Jim quinn at Chassis Service is the guy that built the chassis. I stopped at his place and told him what i wanted to do and my ideas of how i wanted it to look. He took it from there making the part. He said he had more that sixteen hours into that part.
After i got it home i modified it to my liking.

 

My plan is to get the trans in the car this weekend. When thats done i can put alot back together. Getting more parts on the coupe gives me more room to work on the 66.

 

Did you weld the bolts in the can or Browell? Lippy

 

Brian , Excellent work ( The entire build after Crash ) thinking outside the box, that is a Awesome build & thread , your New idler pulley/ water hook , should have No Problem,
Might need to add some water flow restriction, But all about Thinking out side Box ,&"" Experiment" Brian you are showing in great detail How a Racer builds a Race Rod !!!
Looks 60ish with Modern technology / Thought, Racers & Rodder's always Revolving.
Your like So Many of , with the Thrill Disease & It can "Be Done" of G's & Speed from 1/8. -1/4 how fast you can get there & drive on a trip.

 

Lippy only the dowel pins were welded. With how much this car comes apart for maintenance it will make life alot easier to re assmble. I will be able to remove the can and put it back on knowing its in the right location every time all the time.