01-06-2018, 08:52 PM
Hello David
Thanks for reminding me, yes, I got the car finished only for the clutch to slip when we tried towing to build up oil pressure prior to starting it, so gearbox out from inside and clutch out. We removed every second double spring and also re-adjusted the 3 arms, but the problem was actually the inside of the driven plate catching the edges of the crankshaft nut.... I managed to grind the nut down a bit in situ, using all sorts of stuff to catch the sparks and the swarf. Job done and that gave us clutch again.
Attempting to start brought forth one bark and the rear wheels locked solid. Alas time had run out so we pushed it to one side and in one day we rebuilt the motor of the green one for our friend Gino to use at Simola, that also presented some fun and games, but we managed to get it running the night before the Hillclimb and after 6 laps around the complex he lives in, we were ready to tackle the hill - during the rebuild of the green one we stuck in a Nippy cam, or at least what looked like a Nippy cam excepting that the centre bearing is a permanent fixture and the cam goes in and out complete with the centre bearing - we could see no possible way to remove it. However it all worked out well and that cam gave the green job a good bark, nothing under 2000 rpm and then it all arrives - vroom !! Those who followed the other thread on babbiting bearings may remember that my lovely wife over revved it last year, delays in sourcing babbit meant that we had to pull a rabbit out of a hat, so my supremely talented friend Steven machined out 4 old 1&5/16" rods to suit the old crank. He did a brilliant job as after 6 laps around the complex, then 4 runs up the hill the oily bits are still on the inside.
A good day was had at the Hillclimb, both cars were very popular despite the blue one just being a static exhibit. Unfortunately after 4 runs something let go in the rear axle of the green job and we had no drive, so it's either a sides haft or a key. We haven't stripped the rear axle as yet.
The engine came out the blown car last weekend and the problem came to light, I hadn't tightened the blower drive into the nose of the crank properly, turns out there was old locktite in there and it gave me a false impression of seating the blower drive screw-in nut home, when in fact it wasn't and upon starting, the front gear threw the crank backwards into the rear main ring and jammed the crank solid. The good news is that there is no permanent damage, only to my ego, the motor had a little swarf from the brush with the rear bearing flange so we stripped it to flush it clean. This was a good thing as we found that the exhaust manifold flange will need to be skimmed flat and the manifold studs will need to be sealed. A leaking stud had filled the exhaust and the blower with water. Blower was stripped and new bearings fitted as a precaution and we are now ready to re-assemble the oily bits.
I still need to make up some sort of a windscreen for the car and then it'll be finished... if a race car can ever actually be finished.... Here they are at Simola and on the trailer at the guest house in Knysna.
Cheers
Greig
Thanks for reminding me, yes, I got the car finished only for the clutch to slip when we tried towing to build up oil pressure prior to starting it, so gearbox out from inside and clutch out. We removed every second double spring and also re-adjusted the 3 arms, but the problem was actually the inside of the driven plate catching the edges of the crankshaft nut.... I managed to grind the nut down a bit in situ, using all sorts of stuff to catch the sparks and the swarf. Job done and that gave us clutch again.
Attempting to start brought forth one bark and the rear wheels locked solid. Alas time had run out so we pushed it to one side and in one day we rebuilt the motor of the green one for our friend Gino to use at Simola, that also presented some fun and games, but we managed to get it running the night before the Hillclimb and after 6 laps around the complex he lives in, we were ready to tackle the hill - during the rebuild of the green one we stuck in a Nippy cam, or at least what looked like a Nippy cam excepting that the centre bearing is a permanent fixture and the cam goes in and out complete with the centre bearing - we could see no possible way to remove it. However it all worked out well and that cam gave the green job a good bark, nothing under 2000 rpm and then it all arrives - vroom !! Those who followed the other thread on babbiting bearings may remember that my lovely wife over revved it last year, delays in sourcing babbit meant that we had to pull a rabbit out of a hat, so my supremely talented friend Steven machined out 4 old 1&5/16" rods to suit the old crank. He did a brilliant job as after 6 laps around the complex, then 4 runs up the hill the oily bits are still on the inside.
A good day was had at the Hillclimb, both cars were very popular despite the blue one just being a static exhibit. Unfortunately after 4 runs something let go in the rear axle of the green job and we had no drive, so it's either a sides haft or a key. We haven't stripped the rear axle as yet.
The engine came out the blown car last weekend and the problem came to light, I hadn't tightened the blower drive into the nose of the crank properly, turns out there was old locktite in there and it gave me a false impression of seating the blower drive screw-in nut home, when in fact it wasn't and upon starting, the front gear threw the crank backwards into the rear main ring and jammed the crank solid. The good news is that there is no permanent damage, only to my ego, the motor had a little swarf from the brush with the rear bearing flange so we stripped it to flush it clean. This was a good thing as we found that the exhaust manifold flange will need to be skimmed flat and the manifold studs will need to be sealed. A leaking stud had filled the exhaust and the blower with water. Blower was stripped and new bearings fitted as a precaution and we are now ready to re-assemble the oily bits.
I still need to make up some sort of a windscreen for the car and then it'll be finished... if a race car can ever actually be finished.... Here they are at Simola and on the trailer at the guest house in Knysna.
Cheers
Greig