My R12 POS Arrived!

Yes Bowie, homegrown engineering and innovation produces very effective results. The basics are low drag, light weight, almost enough power and well engineered suspension. Some of the lap times posted by old 1970’s sports cars at Eastern Creek on the weekend were faster than current V8 Supercars. I have driven both and much prefer a fast sports car any day, although current GT race cars have far too many electronic driver aids for me.

It is interesting to see your lap times improve as the changes are made. Have you gone any further with fabricated suspension arms discussed here many pages ago ?
 
No I haven't sadly Chris. I certainly enjoyed looking at all the fancy lower triangles on the weekend however!

I don't have an unlimited interest from the lads helping me so I'm cautious not to abuse my position with "wild" ideas. They more or less have 3 hours worth of excitement, or shall I say, room for distraction before they grow tied of teaching me :p

I'm going to have to turn up with cut tube and suitable heim joints for welding, might as well measure the caster rods, tyre rods, whilst I'm at it and plan to replace any rubber joint / utilising the factory points for simplicity. But I'll start with the lowers as they seem pretty straight forward.

Did you see that Formula Ford (Van Diemen) flip around lunch time yesterday? He was punted at the hair pin which turned him upside down in the air a could of times before thankfully landing the right side up. Not a mark to the helmet or roll bar, but chunks out of the track where suspension smashed into it with each rotation.

Lucky driver.

Anyway I was interested to see that even the modest ~1mm walled aluminium triangles on those things had bent and deformed, they all broke at the heim joint end. I was concerned about the complex purposeful bends and presses in the stock lower arms and worried about general strength if I make one simply out of say ~30mm OD, ~1.5-2mm wall steel tube. But after seeing the abuse it absorbed, I think ~1-2mm wall steel tube, with either a brace in the middle or flat bar over the top, if at all, will be more then adequate.

Those things corner faster then I, and with a similar width tyre and although I'm 300kg heavier, replacing their thin aluminium with good ol' steel, it should have me on the right track. And If a lower control arm comes free, well I'd only be doing 130km/h and I should have a roll cage by then.

The thing is still mechanically, remarkably stock so I still have a lot to do.

There is a final track day for the year on the 18th, I think I understand how to drive through the hairpin now, (just be wide and late on entry and I should be able to accel earlier on the way out) and I'll be interested to see if those plastic lights stop the bonnet from flapping, so maybe quicker then 2m16 :p
 
Oh heck you distracted me!

Yes the work and design and craft in those home built things is just fantastic. And yep the speeds where right up there, for a near 40yr old cars.. That Elfin MS7 was doing 1m30's, and 1m28's in qualifying.

People who build things are cool.
 
1-2mm tube is too flimsy, Bowie. Take a look at your lower arm and you'll see the main body is 2.5-3mm stamped steel. That stamped shape adds a lot of strength. The bottom plate is much thinner but its role is to help the top plate keep its shape and resist deformation.
 
Its Another COVID distraction!

Put your hand up if you have bought things you shouldn't have late at night on the internet. Exactly.

JB8tbbW.jpg


These 45mm DHLA's came up for a bargain. I don't need them, but how could I resist! A matched set (number 5300 and 5299) amazingly, score.

I had got excited about the CVK40 bike carbs I was going to use. As they are a "SU" style, needle, constantly variable venturi size, well they should still work a treat, but I still have to drill out main jets and fiddle, and there wasn't a clear way to mount a TPS.. there is something to be said for the proven methods already established by half of you over decades and decades... .. ..

So I'll clean these up, and sit them aside until the cam and headword is done.

I just wanted to show off as they are just bloody beautiful. I appreciate why ppl fell in love with these things. Gorgeous things!
 
bowie said:
Its Another COVID distraction!

Put your hand up if you have bought things you shouldn't have late at night on the internet. Exactly.

JB8tbbW.jpg


These 45mm DHLA's came up for a bargain. I don't need them, but how could I resist! A matched set (number 5300 and 5299) amazingly, score.

I had got excited about the CVK40 bike carbs I was going to use. As they are a "SU" style, needle, constantly variable venturi size, well they should still work a treat, but I still have to drill out main jets and fiddle, and there wasn't a clear way to mount a TPS.. there is something to be said for the proven methods already established by half of you over decades and decades... .. ..

So I'll clean these up, and sit them aside until the cam and headword is done.

I just wanted to show off as they are just bloody beautiful. I appreciate why ppl fell in love with these things. Gorgeous things!
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Yes I think we are all guilty as charged, I have been having a buying frenzy as well. Somethings will get use right away and others will be for future projects.

You just need to find a bargain basement manifold now Bowie :wink2:
 
aaah geees I reckon I'll be burying my wallet in the back yard.

No I dam well want to make something! I have access to men who understand all this, it would be a waste if I don't learn from them.

I'll get some 3mm plate, measure up the DHLA spacing, do the same with the spare head and bang some thin wall tube around to match those plates.

And I'll save the cash for real machining, valves and cam. *nods*

VIV LA BUDGET RACING THINGS.
 
So the young old man at work found some time to play manifolds and he was keen to show his progress.

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Dan Boads

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He's gone from 30mm out to 45mm all within ~110mm of pipe.

I appreciate the slight curve out of the ports allowing access to the manifold nuts. and the ~40mm of section before the S bend to allow exhaust pipe to bend nicely down and out of the way.

Not that I've offered any direction in the matter, he's the smart one, I'm just the guy who knows how to use excel and send emails.

To say I'm excited is fair, really impressed with those gentle curve, and the fanning of the intermediate tube. What a craftsman!
 
bowie said:
So the young old man at work found some time to play manifolds and he was keen to show his progress.

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Dan Boads

photos.app.goo.gl photos.app.goo.gl

He's gone from 30mm out to 45mm all within ~110mm of pipe.

I appreciate the slight curve out of the ports allowing access to the manifold nuts. and the ~40mm of section before the S bend to allow exhaust pipe to bend nicely down and out of the way.

Not that I've offered any direction in the matter, he's the smart one, I'm just the guy who knows how to use excel and send emails.

To say I'm excited is fair, really impressed with those gentle curve, and the fanning of the intermediate tube. What a craftsman!
Click to expand...
Who's a lucky duck then! I hope you bought him afternoon tea at least.
 
bowie said:
Its Another COVID distraction!

Put your hand up if you have bought things you shouldn't have late at night on the internet. Exactly.

JB8tbbW.jpg


These 45mm DHLA's came up for a bargain. I don't need them, but how could I resist! A matched set (number 5300 and 5299) amazingly, score.

I had got excited about the CVK40 bike carbs I was going to use. As they are a "SU" style, needle, constantly variable venturi size, well they should still work a treat, but I still have to drill out main jets and fiddle, and there wasn't a clear way to mount a TPS.. there is something to be said for the proven methods already established by half of you over decades and decades... .. ..

So I'll clean these up, and sit them aside until the cam and headword is done.

I just wanted to show off as they are just bloody beautiful. I appreciate why ppl fell in love with these things. Gorgeous things!
Click to expand...
I don't understand. Of course you should have bought them!
 
Indeed I do! And indeed I will buy him afternon tea.

I'm tempted actually to paint his name over the side of the car circa sponsors from yester-year. I might just test the waters and see if he sees the fun in that or not.. Suppose it only makes sense if i can drive the thing well too, to be fair :D
 
One of my group of best friends is a painter (as in an artist who lives from selling his own paintings) and in our youth when we were all recent graduates we were his main "sponsors". At some point he went through a citiscapes' phase and in all these paintings you can see our names on buildings, billboards, etc (like you would see "Coca Cola" or similar, only with our names). He came up with this idea when he realised his paintings were kinda like advertising and he was not sponsored by these big companies. I thought it was nice of him. Now you know why you might see my name in somebody's collection one day.
 
With a couple of track days coming up thanks to COVID ruining a bunch of race meeting and CAMS (sorry motorspoirts Australia), refusing to issue permits until October... my well meaning mate and I had the workshop available to mess with our crap cars, so it was time to fix that exhaust that kinda rusted / kinda chopped / kinda fell off / kinda was encouraged.

No one remembers why, but someone had left a VZ Holden Ute exhaust system laying around, and it's twin 2" pipes, coming from it's central cat before splitting became perfect for what we needed to do, that is exit the car behind the driver.

photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Dan Boads

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Each had enough of a bend, it was like magic.

We even used a brand new clamp! only because the other one sheered to pieces under the rattle gun.. :blush: Oh and don't worry, we made another clamp towards the exit to secure it to the floor, it's not all just hanging from that central clamp.

And I even got to play with the welder and help glue it together. That was exciting, and how any of you have managed to glue things together neatly without damaging the material, all whilst not being able to see.. Mucho-Respecto for those of you that have spent the time to wave that magical electrical wand around.

And yes, this is what it sounds like;


If I'm not careful I'll be mistaken for a Formula Vee!

Oh the shame!
 
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photos.app.goo.gl

New item by Dan Boads

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Well the POS had another great day kicking around.

We had a members track day on the Brabham circuit (the one with the twisty bits) which is much better then just the boring GP, so me and my mate were able to take the afternoon off.

It was all going well until the starter motor gave up. We even beat it with wood but it didnt want to come free. Thats another weekends job. Thankfull with mate sharing the car so we were able to push each other off so no big deal. It was his firtst time driving the thing, (he has a turbo volovo) and he had a ball.

The track was wet, we had the second hand AO48's so slippery it was :D Ah good fun though, some highlights;

Here is a falcon that thought he could outrun the mighty Reno then got scared and tossed it at Turn 2;

Then a SS Commodore that gave me the finger to let me go by and had me continuing to chase the red DacDac.

And a Lotus that found conditions difficult and let me win at drag-race up a hill :p

Slow cars are fun.

Reno 3, Commodore, Falcon and Lotus's 0.

:D
 
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Wow Bowie, it makes a big difference when you take the correct lines through all those turns. Nice smooth driving on a damp track there. Like the way the Bowie R12 rounded up the Lotus, out braked and out handled it too!
 
Very true, generally knowing which way things go has helped a lot.

Ah that chap in the lotus was just feeling his away around, it didn't look like he had been on track much, was still cool to overtake one :D

But in the mean time, this months after work project will be the fuel system.

The pressure gauge is showing 0-1psi when it's idling where it used to show a nice 4, so since I want to put in elec pump in there anyway (thing used to spike up around 7, 8psi at 4k rpm) we are going to drop a fresh 30L aluminum tank in the rear and and get proper sorted with some new lines. We chose a 30L tank because quick math says 100hp needs about 30L per hour, and I can't imagine I'll do anything more then 60mins in that thing at any given time.

Oh, suppose I should look at that starter motor and see whats up..

We should be able to get this cute little Aluminum tank nice and low behind the beam, prop wont be a greta deal of weight saving by the time we make a cage to hold in the gap in the rear, we'll see. Time to get grinder out :D


Oh! We have launched and are about to get into the Tuesday night track nights under lights in October, I should have some more opportunity to keep practicing once this is all back together!
 
I agree, some nice driving there, Bowie. But I think you could use a fifth gear, even if you mickey mouse a 395 'box. Try looking for one around, who knows what pops up? You'll definitely need the extra gear when you go up to a 17 engine.
 
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