Happy Atheist Forum

Getting To Know You => Laid Back Lounge => Topic started by: billy rubin on October 29, 2019, 10:41:33 PM

Title: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 29, 2019, 10:41:33 PM
shitfire.

im trying to get the cylinder head down on my race bike and today i got ready to clay the pistons. i have to modify the piston crowns zo they dont zmack into the head because the compression is so high. i do that by putting little blobs of clay on the pistons and rotating the motor over top dead center. then i .meazure how thick the squashed parts are.

anyway, i put it together and started to adjust the valvez, and the adjuster screws just kept giing down and down. i took it apart to make sure the new pushrods were seated and tried again. same thing. couldnt figure it out.

finally i took the pushrods out and measured them. tbey were a half inch too short.

triumph used 6-inch pushrods from 1963 to 1973, and then 5.5-inch pushrods from then on. my lushrods were labelled correctly for my older machine, but someone put a set of new ones in the box.

so now i have to order replacements and wait, and that puts me a week behind getting this thing out to break in the rings before the snow fliez.

rats.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 29, 2019, 11:39:17 PM
BR:  when you get the new pushrods, You should check the valve timing carefully, with degree wheel and cam card.  Just a wee bit of difference in pushrod length will alter the valve timing and duration on account of the relative positions of the rockers. You either have high domed pistons or have milled some off the length off the cylinder casting. Domed pistons do not affect the valve  timing but milling the cylinder casting does.... big time.  Clay the valve pockets, for sure, when you get the new parts.  But I suspect that you know that stuff. 

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 01:13:44 AM

you're absolutely right. it takes me a whole day to set the valve timing, because i'm fussy. triumphs have fifty teeth in the camwheels, so each tooth is good for 14.4 degrees, and then there are three keyways, one-third of a tooth apart. so i can come within 2.4 degrees of what i'm looking for, but no better than that. i run five to six degrees retarded from the factory settings. that's supposed to make it weak on the top end, but it doesn't work that way for me.

the cams i use are ultra precise on the lobes-- literally, there is zero measurable runout when i spin them-- a 0.001-inch dial indicator is totally motionless when i rotate back and forth on the base circle-- but the key slots aren't so well-located. the ones i have now are the same grind as before, but are about two degrees advanced from the ones that gave me my best speeds, and i can't get any closer to what i want than that.

(https://i.imgur.com/BoAPALnl.jpg)

my pistons are pretty domed-- 11.75 to 1. i have to run two spark plugs per cylinder to keep the motor from detonating, even with 109 octane gasoline.

(https://i.imgur.com/zwsHmI1l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 30, 2019, 01:56:07 AM
Holy shit, that's a REAL dome! I've run 13:1 in a Small Block Chevy (SBC), but the combustion chamber is a bit smaller than what you have there. No surprise about needing two spark plugs! I realize how small the keys are, but is it possible to get an offset key that can give you what you need? Maybe the amount you need would weaken the key too much? I've degreed cams in SBCs, but that just takes a pill with an offset center hole.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 02:37:11 AM
its a true hemi head, with all the attendant issuez. with a stock ignition it takes 38 degree of spark advance to run. with two plugs i can use 30, and some people run 20 btdc. hemi heads were great in the 1930s, and their time iz way over. but its what i have.

i previously had the cams set at 106/109 degrees using the lobe centerlines, and now the closest i can get is 104/107. the keys are really, really tiny-- only 1/8 inch wide, so i could file something, but it would be hit or miss. i keep buying old camwheels at swapmeets looking for onez that are out of spec, but zo far theyve all been spot on.

13 to 1 is pretty fierce.  were you running alcohol in those things?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on October 30, 2019, 03:29:17 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 01:13:44 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/zwsHmI1l.jpg)

From the entirely different perspective of a sculptor manqué, I am drooling over those beautiful objects. With the addition of some wings, they would make excellent Hermes helmets.

(https://i.imgur.com/SKUYKK0.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 12:40:43 PM
lol

thats before they get polished

(https://i.imgur.com/fEBB2Ufl.jpg)

theyre beautiful things, and horrifyingly expensive. i have to buy four at a time or they wont make them. i complained about it to the man who sets them up, and he said. you LSR guys use up pistons pretty quick. dont worry about it.

and he was right. i suppose i have two hundred miles or so on thiz machine, and im on the third set of pistons.


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 30, 2019, 01:07:55 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 02:37:11 AM
its a true hemi head, with all the attendant issuez. with a stock ignition it takes 38 degree of spark advance to run. with two plugs i can use 30, and some people run 20 btdc. hemi heads were great in the 1930s, and their time iz way over. but its what i have.

i previously had the cams set at 106/109 degrees using the lobe centerlines, and now the closest i can get is 104/107. the keys are really, really tiny-- only 1/8 inch wide, so i could file something, but it would be hit or miss. i keep buying old camwheels at swapmeets looking for onez that are out of spec, but zo far theyve all been spot on.

13 to 1 is pretty fierce.  were you running alcohol in those things?

Back then we had to use race fuel with some stupid high octane number, and/or use an octane booster that tetraethyl lead in it. It wasn't anything to try and drive on the street, it was just too expensive.

Are the gears steel or aluminum? I guess either way one could weld the key way full and re-machine the slot in a better place.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 01:49:00 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/OOz17K0l.jpg)

theyre steel. before i start welding im going to hit up the swap meets some more and see if i can find some mis-machined a bit that i can tweak. the british stuff is famous for being sloppy in manufacture because the post-war toolingwas all worn out, but so far their cam wheels have all been held to tight specs.

these old machines went through a dry period of 20 years after the british bike industry died, but right now theres a flourishing industry in used and remanufactured parts.

this will continue another twenty years until people like me are all dead, and then it will allfade away. there are people around here with adult grandchildren who werent born when my machine was made, so the clock is ticking.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 04:09:17 PM
lol

just call me Off-Topic.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on October 30, 2019, 04:14:51 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 04:09:17 PM
lol

just call me Off-Topic.

Hehe. Well now you have your own topic and one that I have no doubt will be very popular reading. As you're new you're probably not aware that my son has worked at McLaren F1 for the last 6 years. He started there running the simulator and moved on to be Fernando Alonso's performance engineer. He's been doing this for Lando Norris this year. But he's leaving in March next year and moving to America.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on October 30, 2019, 04:20:25 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on October 30, 2019, 01:07:55 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 02:37:11 AM
its a true hemi head, with all the attendant issuez. with a stock ignition it takes 38 degree of spark advance to run. with two plugs i can use 30, and some people run 20 btdc. hemi heads were great in the 1930s, and their time iz way over. but its what i have.

i previously had the cams set at 106/109 degrees using the lobe centerlines, and now the closest i can get is 104/107. the keys are really, really tiny-- only 1/8 inch wide, so i could file something, but it would be hit or miss. i keep buying old camwheels at swapmeets looking for onez that are out of spec, but zo far theyve all been spot on.

13 to 1 is pretty fierce.  were you running alcohol in those things?

Back then we had to use race fuel with some stupid high octane number, and/or use an octane booster that tetraethyl lead in it. It wasn't anything to try and drive on the street, it was just too expensive.

Are the gears steel or aluminum? I guess either way one could weld the key way full and re-machine the slot in a better place.

I would braze and then recut the keyway. Perfect job for a shaper if you know someone who has one. Steve Summers would probably jump at the job.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 04:38:42 PM
Ooooh a car thread.

So this (https://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/2073/JCW-TUNING-KIT-WITH-EXHAUST-FLAP-SYSTEM) is going to be my present to myself once my student loans are paid off. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's only a little bit more expensive than aftermarket, I get discounts at the dealership for being in a MINI club, and there's a warranty. I really want to turn my car into a little autocross beast 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on October 30, 2019, 04:45:40 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 29, 2019, 10:41:33 PM
shitfire.

im trying to get the cylinder head down on my race bike and today i got ready to clay the pistons. i have to modify the piston crowns zo they dont zmack into the head because the compression is so high. i do that by putting little blobs of clay on the pistons and rotating the motor over top dead center. then i .meazure how thick the squashed parts are.

anyway, i put it together and started to adjust the valvez, and the adjuster screws just kept giing down and down. i took it apart to make sure the new pushrods were seated and tried again. same thing. couldnt figure it out.

finally i took the pushrods out and measured them. tbey were a half inch too short.

triumph used 6-inch pushrods from 1963 to 1973, and then 5.5-inch pushrods from then on. my lushrods were labelled correctly for my older machine, but someone put a set of new ones in the box.

so now i have to order replacements and wait, and that puts me a week behind getting this thing out to break in the rings before the snow fliez.

rats.

All I understood was ''shitfire' and 'rats', so I'm assuming it can't be good. :unsure:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on October 30, 2019, 05:24:01 PM
I'm pretty sure all the posts in this thread will be way over my head, but I shall read everything you guys say in the hope of learning something new. I am barely able to put fuel into my tank.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on October 30, 2019, 05:32:08 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on October 30, 2019, 05:24:01 PM
I am barely able to put fuel into my tank.

That makes two of us. :popcorn:

:P
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:32:04 PM
Quote from: Tank on October 30, 2019, 04:14:51 PM

Hehe. Well now you have your own topic and one that I have no doubt will be very popular reading. As you're new you're probably not aware that my son has worked at McLaren F1 for the last 6 years. He started there running the simulator and moved on to be Fernando Alonso's performance engineer. He's been doing this for Lando Norris this year. But he's leaving in March next year and moving to America.

woo

no i didn't know that, it is maximally cool, and you are now obligated to post updates.

prior to mcclaren, the last earthshaking event i know of from woking was the arrival of the first cylinder

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn8.openculture.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2015%2F09%2F01233744%2FWar5.jpg&hash=b8268d35699427eed96ee08cb77985252df0dfa9)

what is he going to be doing in the states?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:38:48 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on October 30, 2019, 04:20:25 PM
I would braze and then recut the keyway. Perfect job for a shaper if you know someone who has one. Steve Summers would probably jump at the job.

i never heard of that guy. his shop looks like where i live. appalachia transcends state borders.

as do accents. i live in ohio, but west virginia is the cultural norm. it's sort of the glaswegian of north america.




Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:52:48 PM
Quote from: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 04:38:42 PM
Ooooh a car thread.

So this (https://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/2073/JCW-TUNING-KIT-WITH-EXHAUST-FLAP-SYSTEM) is going to be my present to myself once my student loans are paid off. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's only a little bit more expensive than aftermarket, I get discounts at the dealership for being in a MINI club, and there's a warranty. I really want to turn my car into a little autocross beast

cool

i'm new, obviously. what are you starting with? pictures please.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:55:11 PM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on October 30, 2019, 04:45:40 PM
All I understood was ''shitfire' and 'rats', so I'm assuming it can't be good. :unsure:

yah

you make me scratch my head about neuro function, and that's been a long time.

so we're even, maybe.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 09:03:42 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on October 30, 2019, 05:24:01 PM
I'm pretty sure all the posts in this thread will be way over my head, but I shall read everything you guys say in the hope of learning something new. I am barely able to put fuel into my tank.

learning is the best reason for existence, as near as i can tell. i mean that quite literally.

in the absence of ultimate meaning, i believe that the optimum profit to existence is to maximize one's experience and skills.

i suppose that could mean many things, but what i'm trying to get across is that learning is valuable for its own sake, absent social value, personal profit, or any other metric.

learning leads to understanding, and understanding leads to an enriched life.

i guess that's why i'm here.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on October 30, 2019, 09:58:24 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 09:03:42 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on October 30, 2019, 05:24:01 PM
I'm pretty sure all the posts in this thread will be way over my head, but I shall read everything you guys say in the hope of learning something new. I am barely able to put fuel into my tank.

learning is the best reason for existence, as near as i can tell. i mean that quite literally.

in the absence of ultimate meaning, i believe that the optimum profit to existence is to maximize one's experience and skills.

i suppose that could mean many things, but what i'm trying to get across is that learning is valuable for its own sake, absent social value, personal profit, or any other metric.

learning leads to understanding, and understanding leads to an enriched life.

i guess that's why i'm here.

:tellmemore:

:smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 10:57:30 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:52:48 PM
Quote from: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 04:38:42 PM
Ooooh a car thread.

So this (https://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/2073/JCW-TUNING-KIT-WITH-EXHAUST-FLAP-SYSTEM) is going to be my present to myself once my student loans are paid off. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's only a little bit more expensive than aftermarket, I get discounts at the dealership for being in a MINI club, and there's a warranty. I really want to turn my car into a little autocross beast

cool

i'm new, obviously. what are you starting with? pictures please.

Right now I have a completely stock 2018 MINI Cooper S Ice Blue edition. His name is Jezza and he is my baby. I just started doing autocross this year. My goal is to have a decently fast track car while still maintaining comfort as its my daily driver

(https://i.imgur.com/RPTBFiD.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 11:18:50 PM
okay.

i am ignorant about this.

what is autocross, these days?

i love the small machines, both old and new minis.

what is the cooper s, and what are you doing?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 30, 2019, 11:39:47 PM
Quote from: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 10:57:30 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:52:48 PM
Quote from: Buddy on October 30, 2019, 04:38:42 PM
Ooooh a car thread.

So this (https://www.shopminiusa.com/PRODUCT/2073/JCW-TUNING-KIT-WITH-EXHAUST-FLAP-SYSTEM) is going to be my present to myself once my student loans are paid off. It's a little on the pricey side, but it's only a little bit more expensive than aftermarket, I get discounts at the dealership for being in a MINI club, and there's a warranty. I really want to turn my car into a little autocross beast

cool

i'm new, obviously. what are you starting with? pictures please.

Right now I have a completely stock 2018 MINI Cooper S Ice Blue edition. His name is Jezza and he is my baby. I just started doing autocross this year. My goal is to have a decently fast track car while still maintaining comfort as its my daily driver

(https://i.imgur.com/RPTBFiD.jpg)

Minis already handle pretty much like a slot car, so you won't have to do too much to make it a lot better. Find out how fast one of these can take a corner without internal oiling modifications, so that you don't learn the hard way by starving the oil and wiping out some bearings. Hey, this could be pretty cool. We could help someone else spend their money on go-fast parts! :lol: Though you would actually be better served by asking some people who race their Minis, instead.  :smilenod: If there is money involved, you might want to look into a high-performance driving school to help with skills that may make you able to spank a lot of the hot shots. It's pricey, but here is one example- https://bondurant.com/high-performance-driving/ You'd get a chance to drive a 700 horsepower vehicle. That might ruin you for the Mini, though.  :P
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on October 30, 2019, 11:53:48 PM
Better tires will improve handling for autocross more than just about anything you could do. A small trailer so you can pull a set of track tires and a jack is the way to go unless you can bring a friend with a truck or SUV. You do not want to run track tires daily!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 31, 2019, 12:41:34 AM
Thanks guys! Between the MINI club I'm in and the BMW SCCA group I race with, I have a lot of ideas for the car. Tires are definitely at the top of the list. I am very fortunate that I live 20 miles from the Tire Rack test track which is where I do all of my autocross events. I know a major upgrade I want to do at some point is figuring out how to decrease the lag between when I get on the gas and when the turbo kicks in. The JCW tune and exhaust is mostly for the increased horsepower and because it sounds amazing.

I have videos of some of my runs I'll have to upload. I was only two seconds slower than my stepdad and his Challenger SRT8 this last run.

Billy, autocross is basically a bunch of drivers getting together and seeing who can go around a course the fastest. There are sharp corners, serpentines and "gates" that you have to drive through.

Here's the track that I drive. Usually there are cones set up so the actual course changes every time

(https://media.glassdoor.com/l/67/8b/2a/7a/overhead-view-of-test-track.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2019, 12:47:35 AM
yo

this is cool.

turbos too?

what are the class rules?



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 31, 2019, 01:03:29 AM
I'm not 100% sure. Since it was a BMW group we got put together in the "not BMW" class. I was a class C since I had no modifications.

I actually just found these pics from the event on Facebook

That's me
(https://i.imgur.com/hOm4M3D.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vcJbTWD.jpg)

My stepdad
(https://i.imgur.com/TEEmz7m.jpg)

And my mom brought her Clubman for shits and gigs
(https://i.imgur.com/gNVwPTY.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2019, 01:11:22 AM
cool

how cAn this not be fantastic?

you have to run stock?

no sus6pension fiddling?
7
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 31, 2019, 01:14:24 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 31, 2019, 01:11:22 AM
cool

how cAn this not be fantastic?

you have to run stock?

no sus6pension fiddling?
7

There were a lot of people with mods. I don't think there were any limits.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2019, 01:14:36 AM
shit sorry about typos

is it timed over a rally course?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2019, 01:19:38 AM
video, please

enquirong minds are waiting . . .
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on October 31, 2019, 01:23:31 AM
All the videos are on my stepdad's phone, so I have to upload to YouTube but he's technologically challenged haha. As soon as I do though I'll definitely post here

I just had a great thought. I wonder if I could get a good deal on an exhaust if I buy it straight from the factory when I visit next year. I'll buy it it's own plane seat and everything  :grin:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on October 31, 2019, 01:51:18 AM
Quote from: Buddy on October 31, 2019, 01:03:29 AM
I'm not 100% sure. Since it was a BMW group we got put together in the "not BMW" class. I was a class C since I had no modifications.

I actually just found these pics from the event on Facebook

That's me
(https://i.imgur.com/hOm4M3D.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/vcJbTWD.jpg)

My stepdad
(https://i.imgur.com/TEEmz7m.jpg)

And my mom brought her Clubman for shits and gigs
(https://i.imgur.com/gNVwPTY.jpg)

Sounds like great fun :tellmemore:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on October 31, 2019, 01:56:31 AM
Yes, sounds kickass : )
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on October 31, 2019, 08:33:55 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 30, 2019, 08:32:04 PM
...
what is he going to be doing in the states?

He's got job interviews with Space X, Google self driving cats (yes I know its typo but it made me giffle) and Tesla. His expertise is migrating computer simulations to real world applications.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Guardian85 on November 02, 2019, 11:12:32 AM
So, earlier this month I made decision to send my lovable Alfa Romeo to the eternal highway in the sky.
Oil leaks, rust, electrical issues, brakes, suspension.....and EU-safety checks this winter. Just not worth it.
(https://scontent.ftrd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/71520091_10156184516595981_7282419961526484992_n.jpg?_nc_cat=107&_nc_oc=AQk5YEaAFconmM4g7nPSrgum0_BEaHHsM0ZWvcC5C4vvmvfYLBaDfihAs7nrdGhKtak&_nc_ht=scontent.ftrd1-1.fna&oh=bdbc716c92642653509c8ecc7c4a4f74&oe=5E5C224F) :'(

A few days later I went south to collect this little thing.
(https://scontent.ftrd1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/71591197_10156188734800981_1686935339937038336_o.jpg?_nc_cat=103&_nc_oc=AQlGaNhQNHDVZZ4iaT--tKD0t49HEZiQhjZ_Yxop3ZQ-fO3YueWl3xhzAG5zIB_2lag&_nc_ht=scontent.ftrd1-1.fna&oh=022dea3d95d0543d5998f0c437349f53&oe=5E641CAB)
Peugeot 206 1.4l
(https://images.finncdn.no/dynamic/960w/2019/9/vertical-3/21/7/158/354/267_382355160.jpg)(https://images.finncdn.no/dynamic/960w/2019/9/vertical-3/21/7/158/354/267_1348370883.jpg)(https://images.finncdn.no/dynamic/960w/2019/9/vertical-3/21/7/158/354/267_1753768974.jpg)
Got it for a low price. Needs a little mostly cosmetic work. Great little engine and fantastic handling.
I really want to take it to a track some time.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 01:01:46 PM
I like French cars for some reason. That's cool Dag.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 03, 2019, 01:20:37 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 01:01:46 PM
I like French cars for some reason. That's cool Dag.

You've never owned one have you.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 03, 2019, 01:32:54 PM
lol
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 02:30:51 PM
No, they were pushed out of the market during the 70s. You don't see many at all.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on November 03, 2019, 05:58:47 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 02:30:51 PM
No, they were pushed out of the market during the 70s. You don't see many at all.

Could be for a number of reasons, but I wonder, is the reason for them being pushed out of the market have anything to do with the quality of French brands? :P

I've never owned a French car (just Fiat and Volkswagon) but they have a...reputation around here.  :-\
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 07:04:26 PM
It was a push by the then Big Three to limit competition. German and Japanese brands were already making headway and they didn't want the French getting a piece of the pie too. So they lobbied to have specific features regulated out of existence in the US.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Buddy on November 03, 2019, 07:09:41 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 02:30:51 PM
No, they were pushed out of the market during the 70s. You don't see many at all.

I think the first generation BMW Mini had a French transmission. It's why my last one failed spectacularly.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on November 03, 2019, 07:21:00 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 03, 2019, 07:04:26 PM
It was a push by the then Big Three to limit competition. German and Japanese brands were already making headway and they didn't want the French getting a piece of the pie too. So they lobbied to have specific features regulated out of existence in the US.

Hmm...sounds very Game of Thrones Brands. Interesting.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 04, 2019, 02:39:15 AM
The Frogs do make good wine and wonderful bread.  Some of their women are rather enchanting also.  Who needs a Puegeot or Citroen? 

Way back in the WW2 days I had a Puegeot 125 cc motorcycle.  It did work as well or better than the few Brit bikes that were around.  After I graduated to a four wheeler I had a Fiat Topelino whose transmission was shot to hell.  My father, a skilled machinist, made the gears to replace the trashed ones.  During the war one could get the foreign stuff for practically nothing. No way in hell you could get repair parts at that time in our history.  Clever, or desperate, craftsmen made their own parts....like the piston rings for the Puegeot motor bike which he made from cast iron pipe.   

In the early fifties I worked as a mechanic for an auto dealer who sold little Citroen econoboxes and the early Volvos. I did not care much for the Frenchie but I did respect the Volvos that looked very much like 1939 Ford sedans..  The Volvos had bulletproof little four cylinder engines that could be tuned to go impressively fast.  Fast was not very fast in those days but we thought it was at the time.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tom62 on November 06, 2019, 05:09:32 AM
I had very bad experiences with my Renault 9 in the late eighties. After that I had a lovely Ford Mondeo in the nineties and since the year 2000 I'm driving a Volvo S70. These old Volvo's are nearly indestructible.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 06, 2019, 12:51:30 PM
well,  i confesz i would love a 2CV.

but i am drowning trying to maintain six registered shit piles rightnow, and need another clunker like a bedouin needs sand
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 10, 2019, 09:50:46 AM
Added for relevance from another thread.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 10, 2019, 10:00:37 AM
theres another video somewhere (i think by the same man) of a see through motor running on nitromethane

only for a little while though. the nitro destrys the motor fairly quickly

no atomization, the fuel passes the intake valve as a liquid
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 10, 2019, 01:10:52 PM
So long as you're cranking up the acetylene you might as well crack the oxy too... No, not really.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 10, 2019, 03:28:20 PM
:lol: He'll need a blast shield if he uses pure oxygen as well, not just goggles.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 11, 2019, 01:03:48 AM
Pure oxygen will not let the engine run.  A combustible fuel in even small ratios with oxygen will cause combustion.  In that case with a lean mixture, the fierce heat from the fuel/oxy would melt the piston in short order.  That is the way oxy/acetalene cutting torches work. 

That was a fun video Tank.  Most interesting to see that flame propagation rate varies from one cycle to another.   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 11, 2019, 06:24:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

Your post count title changes automatically. There is a unique one at 666. Blink and you'll miss it!

EDIT Ah you missed it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 06:51:57 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 06:24:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

Your post count title changes automatically. There is a unique one at 666. Blink and you'll miss it!

EDIT Ah you missed it.
Yes, Tank, but that doesn't answer the question, "Dafuq is a Corbu!?"
:shrug:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 11, 2019, 07:12:08 PM
Quote from: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 06:51:57 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 06:24:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

Your post count title changes automatically. There is a unique one at 666. Blink and you'll miss it!

EDIT Ah you missed it.
Yes, Tank, but that doesn't answer the question, "Dafuq is a Corbu!?"
:shrug:

I didn't make make the list :Gaah:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 07:25:43 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 07:12:08 PM
Quote from: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 06:51:57 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 06:24:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

Your post count title changes automatically. There is a unique one at 666. Blink and you'll miss it!

EDIT Ah you missed it.
Yes, Tank, but that doesn't answer the question, "Dafuq is a Corbu!?"
:shrug:

I didn't make make the list :Gaah:
:lol: OK.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on November 11, 2019, 08:07:13 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

I have absolutely no idea but to me, it looks like a name for a new species of vulture.  :shrug:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 12, 2019, 03:30:25 AM
OK, we've gotten considerably far off topic, but one more question:

Is there a way to turn that strange thing off? "Has a dragon in their garage", "Corbu blah blah blah", it appears under my name and in no way describes me. :shrug:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Bad Penny II on November 12, 2019, 03:46:24 AM
Quote from: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 07:25:43 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 07:12:08 PM
Quote from: Magdalena on November 11, 2019, 06:51:57 PM
Quote from: Tank on November 11, 2019, 06:24:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 11, 2019, 01:42:16 AM
I meant pure oxygen instead of the normal intake air. Do I really present as that ignorant?  :???:

Off topic, I see that "Corbu is my Homeboy" is posted under my handle. Dafuq is a Corbu!?

Your post count title changes automatically. There is a unique one at 666. Blink and you'll miss it!

EDIT Ah you missed it.
Yes, Tank, but that doesn't answer the question, "Dafuq is a Corbu!?"
:shrug:

I didn't make make the list :Gaah:
:lol: OK.

"Like his contemporaries Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier lacked formal training as an architect."

Whitney was an architect, probably still is, Corbu was an admired figure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier)

Ooooo, I'm in the Petrol head thread!
Quick, lets get out of here before we get oil on our toes.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on November 12, 2019, 05:00:32 AM
Quote from: Bad Penny II on November 12, 2019, 03:46:24 AM
"Like his contemporaries Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, Le Corbusier lacked formal training as an architect."

Whitney was an architect, probably still is, Corbu was an admired figure.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier)

Ooooo, I'm in the Petrol head thread!
Quick, lets get out of here before we get oil on our toes.

These are the people, along with Charles Eames, I really, truly admire with a passion. The big name scientists inhabit lower levels on my Mount Olympus.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 12, 2019, 10:37:52 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 12, 2019, 03:30:25 AM
OK, we've gotten considerably far off topic, but one more question:

Is there a way to turn that strange thing off? "Has a dragon in their garage", "Corbu blah blah blah", it appears under my name and in no way describes me. :shrug:

Lol. No you can't turn it off. But it will change when you reach the next posting milestone.

Quote from: Whitney on May 31, 2009, 04:18:56 AM
User ranks are just fun titles we give to users based on their post count.  The following is a list of those titles and the post counts associated with them:

Quote from: Recusant on October 18, 2015, 02:18:04 AM
Since I've been outed here (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=14069.msg319825#msg319825) ((https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi48.tinypic.com%2F29nfig9.gif&hash=8b35775c53db973cfea4a41f01c9d054608ebc88)), I'll carry on with my plan and request further ideas for user ranks. Not sure regarding how high the possible limit on post count based ranks is; some further experimentation regarding that will be necessary. For instance, I tried to set "Guardian of Reason" at 25,000 posts, because that was a rank that Tank had requested years ago (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=3351.msg102145#msg102145), and it didn't seem to work. I'll try it again, though, and maybe get it to stick, in which case we might end up with only one guardian of reason. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi43.tinypic.com%2F34nlee8.gif&hash=a951f4cfdfb0f7390126ba89d9d510956e2cdce7)

Some shuffling of the rank designations may take place, depending on the selection of titles that are suggested, and of course there's no guarantee that all titles offered will be used (I rejected at least one of my own earlier suggestions as not worthy, for instance). Though some of the fun is trying to figure out what the particularly gnomic ranks signify, I will also be willing to try to explain any that seem especially mysterious and/or vexing.

Above you will see that the not commonly lamented former member "AnimatedDirt" came up with a couple of more or less derogatory ranks "for the minority at HAF."

He had such a way about him, did AD. (https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi47.tinypic.com%2F51vl9l.gif&hash=551bbecd3028fdb6b51de023164d7e02fee712d3)

Not interested in stuff like that--more in things you wouldn't mind having associated with your posts, perhaps for 500 or 1,000 of them. In other words, try to come up with the good shit, my fellow HAFians.

Although I deviously carried out the revival of HAF ranks without telling anybody, I did consult with Tank once it had been done, asking for any thoughts in re revision or addition. Same applies here for the membership in general, including advocacy for reviving any of the old ranks that got dropped.

Or, we could leave it as it is, for now.

Below is the list as it currently stands:

Lurking - 0
Padawan Learner - 1
Beginning to See the Wedge - 10
Made of Star Stuff - 51
Has Received Bacon - 101
Doesn't Believe in Mother Goose - 151
Was God's Anointed But Took a Shower - 201
The Believer That Wasn't There - 251
Not Sure About That Kool-Aid - 301
Knows What LætusAtheos Means - 351
Out of the Religious Closet - 401
A Frood Who Really Knows Where Their Towel Is - 451
Rides the Sonic Rain Boom - 501
Can Define Jihad -551
Has Actually Read the Bible! -601
Despises Pat Robertson - 651
Evil Inside - 666
Not Afraid of the Exorcist - 667
Immune to Question Begging - 701
Corbu is My Homeboy - 751
Free of Childhood Neuroses - 801
Happily Surviving the End Times Since 365 - 851
Fought Curlett With Schempp and Won! - 901
Has Given Up Counting Angels On Pinheads - 951
Living a Thoughtcrime - 1001
Sprach mit Zarathustra - 1051
Yields Not to Kalamity - 1101
Pretty Sure the Black Cat Isn't in the Dark Room - 1151
Buddies With Uncle Bert - 1201
Taking the Road Less Travelled - 1251
Kickin' Back With d'Holbach - 1301
Doesn't Believe the Universe Was Made for Them - 1351
Thou Art God - 1401
Knows Who'd Win a Fight Between Superman and Batman - 1451
Not Defeated by the Dark Night of the Soul - 1500
Touched by His Noodly Appendage! - 2000
Has an Invisible Dragon in Their Garage - 3000
Blessing Her Holy Hooves - 4000
Guardian of Reason - 5000
Luxembourg Trembles! - 13,000
Excellent and Indefatigable Guardian of Reason - 25,000

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 12, 2019, 03:37:31 PM
I can't believe Recusant actually said this!

QuoteIn other words, try to come up with the good shit, my fellow HAFians.

;D

It just sounds so out of the ordinary...
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on November 12, 2019, 08:55:12 PM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 12, 2019, 03:37:31 PM
I can't believe Recusant actually said this!

QuoteIn other words, try to come up with the good shit, my fellow HAFians.

;D

It just sounds so out of the ordinary...

:lol:

Don't underestimate Recusant's ability to surprise, I remember when he switched the User Rank tag to 'Silly Overlord' (http://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/index.php?topic=15492.msg365585#msg365585) when I hit the...14,000 milestone I think? He acted quickly and stealthily. Recusant is not to be underestimated. :o

Beware the quiet ones, my mother always used to say! :P I just wish we would see more of that wicked sense of humour! ;)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 18, 2020, 06:45:02 PM
it's getting warm enough to brave the warehouse again.

tomorrow i take my cylinder head to the machine shop to explore some combustion chamber re-shaping.

the races in maine are in july. so far i have three children interested in riding a motorcycle over 100 mph.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 18, 2020, 07:17:22 PM
two of them already have the little kawasaki up to 103 mph.

(https://i.imgur.com/4eRALOAl.jpg)

i need to work on suspension,gearing, and carburation, and we'll see whether they can take the overall record of 107.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 25, 2020, 08:29:45 PM
all right. we've passed the equinox, and the peepers will be calling in 10 days. it's spring, and the first robin returned two weeksa ago, the fiorst redwinged blackbird last week, two killdeers and a meadowlark. at the same time, more or less.

i have just spent $400 each registering the two race bikes for the land speed races in maine this coming july. thanks heavens for pay pal credit. we're running a 1965 650 triumph bonneville in modified production gasoline, and  a 2012 250 kawsaki ninja in pure production 250 gasoline.

and tomorrow my cylinder head finally goes to my pet machinist. he has to re-work the combustion chamber that took a piston hit at 7000 rpm, and i then have to take the motor back down.

hats because tthere are four connecting rod bolts. i only remember tightening three of them. i am 99.9999 percent sure that i tightened the last bolt, but 99.9999 percent is not 100 percent. the whole thing is together, but it comes back down so i can look at that one bolt. then back up and it will be time to break in the new pistons.

the guy that makes my pistons told me that  i would use them up pretty quick. i thought he was exaggerating, but it turns out he was correct.

my machine has gone 135.259 mph, the fastest speed ever recorded for an old-school triumph bonneville. the overall record for any 650 british machine that burns gasoline is 139. if i can squeeze 140 out of this fifty-five year old motorcycle, it will have beaten every record in every class in which it could be entered. so we'll see.

in the meantime, i have two daughters and a son willing to aim for the 107 mph record on the 250 production OHC class, on our little kawasaki ninja. if they get comfortable, one of the three might get a shot at the riding the dinosaur.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on February 25, 2020, 10:35:28 PM
Don't forget to pack the parachute.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 25, 2020, 11:32:32 PM
parachutes are only required on cars over 170 mph. we won't be playing in that sandbox.

they're important for the faster classes, though. breedlove lost his at 500 mph in 1964, the year my machine was built:

3:36



i love it:

"for my next trick, i'll set myself on fire!"


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 26, 2020, 07:41:22 PM
oops

the machinist apprentice says my head has two bent valves and may need some seat re-work.

i didn't think it was that bad.

it's a unique head-- a 1973 9 1/2-bolt, which was built only for about six months. hard to find.

we'll see what they say when the boss looks it over.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on February 27, 2020, 03:45:22 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on February 26, 2020, 07:41:22 PM
oops

the machinist apprentice says my head has two bent valves and may need some seat re-work.

i didn't think it was that bad.

it's a unique head-- a 1973 9 1/2-bolt, which was built only for about six months. hard to find.

we'll see what they say when the boss looks it over.

Machinist? I think you need a plastic surgeon for that head job.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 27, 2020, 06:56:27 PM
if it can be salvaged its the one i want. the head itself was not expenive, but its got some very finicky flow work, and tbat is hard to duplicate.

i have another head waiting in line at another specialist, but he's had it four years and i am not optimiztic that i will get it back in  time for july.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 28, 2020, 12:52:40 AM
You guys are nuts BR.  So alright.  I like gear head nut cases but I do question their sanity ....including my own when I was so heavily into that sort of madness.

I do hope that the machinist is fully aware the the valve seats are a major part of the flow regime.  Port work is appropriate for someone who knows the business but  the shape of the valve seats and the cuts on the valves themselves must marry appropriately with the port work.  The valve seats largely determine the flow rate at low lift intervals.   It is common for the head work guys to quote maximum flow rate at such and such a water level....usually 25 inches.  BUT and Big But...........Cylinder filling is a matter of  gross volume that predominantly includes the low and mid  lift characteristics. 

In fact the top lift is almost instantaneous and the dwell time and flow rate between low and mid lift provides more O2 flow than those impressive top lift figures can.  The whole idea is to stuff as much air containing oxygen into the combustion chamber as the induction system can accommodate.  Full on race engines use a fuel air ratio in the 12.5 to one region.  Adiabatic ratio is normally 14.7 but that is for the family grocery getter.  You can stuff as much fuel as you want into the combustion chamber but it will not burn unless you give it enough oxygen to do the burn rate. SO we have to get a bunch of oxygen laden air into the the chamber.  Whereupon we can burn more fuel and we can produce more piston pressure.  Burn rate too, is a biggie.  Combustion chamber shapes with respect to valve seat locations and flow rates do determine whether the fuel is completely or efficiently burned or not.  When the fuel air flies out of that valve seat.....where does it go and is all the potential energy of the burn and heat producing process complete. Not likely but it is a concept worth exploring. 

If your port guy has a wet flow bench and takes account of the chamber flow distribution pattern, you are ahead of the game

Maine? Where in hell in Maine do they do LSR record stuff.  My impression of Maine is of Lobsters and chowders...make that Chowdahs. And of course there is L.L. Bean.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 28, 2020, 04:13:49 PM
loring air force base

https://www.facebook.com/loringtiming/

the longest ztraight line on pavement you can race on anywhere in the worlz
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 29, 2020, 11:11:53 PM
I am out of the loop BR. I did not know about that facility. Looks like there are all sorts of machinery and lunatics there to do their thing.   I could get off on that kind of mentally deranged fun.

Is there a class for 50cc machines?  I used to try my damnest to promote moped racing here in Florida.  The reason was that it would be a cheap way to race and be able to attract a larger contingent of competitors.  I was usually laughed out of the bar when I tried to do that kind of promotion.

The Europeans, especially the Italians and Spanish made some god awful fast 50cc machines.. I once had, on loan from the factory, an NSU 50cc full on racer that was really fun to ride. As I recall it had a five speed tranny and a fearsome little two stroke engine..   It was pretty quick for a mini tiddler. Could blow the Cushmans out of the water in a stop light grand prix. Could embarass the Harley 165s also.  Matter of fact so could the NSU Quickly which was an ordinary looking Moped with bike pedals and all.   I sold quite a few of them when I was a NSU/BMW dealer back in the dark ages.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 01, 2020, 06:41:30 PM
you can race anything so long az it has either 2 or 4 wheels. the safety people want to stay away from tricyclez.

the most interesting machinez to me are the ones where people do impozsible speeds with very little. ive seen 60s camaros do 256 mph, and a newer corvette do 269. but i was much more impressed with the engineer who got 64 mph out of an old puch moped.

theres a clasz for everything, and theyre divided up by engine capacjty, cam drive, faired or not, production or not etc.

at bonneville tbe current record for 50 cc iz a boosted streamliner that doez 147 mph. but the naked naturally aspirated machines are lezz intense.

the production based stuff is most  interesting to me, esecially the old britizh machinez. if i ran a newer OHC 650 with a turbo and a fairing, i tbink the record is around 160 something. but my 55 yearold 650 pushrod twin is the fastest theyve ever gone at 135.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on March 04, 2020, 07:24:00 PM
I don't understand a word of this, but perhaps you guys will find it interesting.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 04, 2020, 09:04:59 PM
That CVVD engine is a real trip! I wonder what's under the hood of my Kia Forte. I only bought it for the long warranty.  :-[
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 04, 2020, 09:33:59 PM
well, that's cooler than shit.

im fascinated that this mechanical system is showing up on . . . hyundais.

i'm reminded of the sophisticated combustion chambers that honda put into their 1970s civics that made them so clean. too often the really progressive changes only show up in high-end platforms, whether its a blower bentley or a passive solar house. the future is in using the high-zoot stuff in the lower level applications so more of it gets on the street.

i remember trying to figure out how one could generate variable valve timing by using lobes that advanced and retarded relative to the shaft that supported them. but it never occurred to me that you could mess with duration by changing the speed of the lobe relative to the shaft. that's impressive stuff.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 11, 2020, 08:59:47 PM
ah well

my machinist took a look at my cylinder head nd said, looks worse than you thought. . . two bent vlves, a cracked guide and the edge of the combusiton chamber smooshed in a bit.

he said, got another head?

no. this one has a lot of expensive port work done on it.

well, we can duplicate the port work if we have this head here. if we can't fix it.

so i said, okay, i'll see what i can find.

my cylinder head is a one-year-only antique, cast in 1971 for the 72-73 model year. before 1973, they had nine bolts. after 1973, they had ten bolts. for mine, they had cast-in bosses for ten bolts, but only drilled nine of them. an intermediate in other ways as well, and very hard to find after almost 50 years, but very desirable because it can be ported for my 35 mm carbs, rather than the stock 30 mm.

so i looked at ebay just to see, and there were three of them for sale last night. unheard of luck. one had suffered the same thrown rod as mine and looked just as bad, but the other two seemed pretty good, considering. i told my wife i was buying one, an she said

if you don't buy both of them, you'll just be in this same predicament the next time you blow up the motor.

(wives like that are hard to find, and harder to keep. keeping mine is a permanent project that sometimes exceeds my skill set.)

so i bought one on the buy-it-now listing and put a bid on the other:

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Z2IAAOSwlJdckpn3/s-l1600.jpg)

and we'll take it from there.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 12, 2020, 04:22:13 AM
BR your wife is an extraordinary individual.  Tell her that some old dude in Florida said so.  You can also suggest that the old dude is something of a veteran observer of the human assortment of character traits.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 12, 2020, 06:24:58 AM
lol

yes she was a surprise to me and continues to be

we d bothbeen with other people for ten years wgen we met. we both got divorced and ran away together into the unknown. pushinh thirty years now.

its been a pretty wild ride
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 15, 2020, 07:05:10 PM
well, i went to pick up my cylinder head yesterday. it was repaired, as good as i could possibly expect it to be

(https://i.imgur.com/lTsUWGdl.jpg)

this head took a a piston smack at somewhere around 7000 rpm, which works out to some 3000-plus feet per second, i think. i'd have to calculate it out. the timing slip said 131 mph through the mile, and it blew before i got the mile-point-five. that would have been close to a record run, and i was still tuning. anyway, the piston pressed the rim of the combustion in, bent two valves, and cracked one of the valve guides. the cases were toast, and the crankshaft was iffy, but we got through those hurdles already.

this head has had pretty extensive port work done on it by one of only two people in the united states who still do it. one of them is mostly retired (he's had a head of mine waiting to work on for five years now), and the other one has scaled back so far that he's not taking anynmore business for at least the foreseeable future. nobody else around with the interest or knowledge to work on 60 year old motorcycle heads anymore unless they'e harleys.

so i was really really hoping that this one could be repaired. and its beautiful.

(https://i.imgur.com/h95J3cCl.jpg)

he took a ball peen hammer to the edge of the chamber to rough th emetal back into place, and then used an  ancient pneumtaitic tool from the 30s or 40s to move the aluminum back into position so he could repair the rim where it comes close to the piston's squish band. the old air tool was designed to peen the insides of piston skirts out to take up clyinder clearance without disassembling the motor-- you just dropped the pan and reached up inside the clylinder. nver heard of such a thing.

we were thinking that he would have to put in new valves seats, which is an extremely finicky job on these heads. the seats are trapezoidal and cast in place. can't just press new ones in. but he ws able to seat thje new valves without difficulty and without sinking them

these heads are made with old aluminum metallurgy, and they bend like butter. normally that's a problem, because theyre hard to keep flat, but when youre reshapoing a combustion chamber with a hammer it turns out to be an advantage.

anyway, so now we re ready to go-- valves, guides, springs, and seats:

(https://i.imgur.com/rWzOM5El.jpg)

and i still have two spare heads of this one-year-only design to rebuild if i blow the motor up again:

(https://i.imgur.com/zSgFVBkl.jpg)

hope not to do that
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on April 16, 2020, 12:58:45 AM
Billy the exhaust valve is almost always the culprit. Post mortems almost always find that the damned ex did not get closed soon enough for the piston to get to TDC or a few degrees before. Cams with a lot of overlap is the underlying problem.  We need plenty of overlap if we intend to rev the engine. Tit for tat.

The trick is to make the damned EX close before the piston collision.  This happens at high revs only, unless there was some kind of galling or other problem in the ex guide, a heavy pushrod, etc.  Using a stronger spring on the EX valve is common enough but then that puts an unfavorable load on the push rod, camshaft, and other busy parts.

The drill is to find some bee hive springs that will work in your Trumpet head.  Those springs are progressive in that they get stronger as they are compressed.  Conventional coils have linear progression of counter force.  Bee hives have a curved progression in which the early lift is less resistent and the late lift is much stronger..........so as to get the damned exhaust out of the way when the piston gets there.

Because there is less work done in early lift, there is lessened coincident demand on the output of the engine.  In general, at least a measurable increase in out put is usually seen. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on April 16, 2020, 01:40:58 AM
I'd also comment that the piston isn't going all that fast at the top of the bore, given that it is close to changing direction, so the speed isn't so much of a factor. Late valve closing would be. Yer gonna have to start doing what the top fuel guys do and replace all kinds of parts after every run, and the valve springs would be on the list.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on April 16, 2020, 05:06:20 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 15, 2020, 07:05:10 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/rWzOM5El.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/zSgFVBkl.jpg)

Sorry that this is not a meaningful contribution to the technical discussions in this thread, but these are beautiful objects in themselves. I am inspired to incorporate those striations (are they cooling fins?) into a sculpture.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 10:56:38 AM
lol

im afraid my piston to head clearance problems had to do with the rod becoming detached at the bottom end and not zlowing down at all az it headed north. the issue was a failed rod bolt, down there at tge bottom.

icaruz, i actually do run beehive springs in an earlier head, and im planning on those in the futyee with this one. but on this iteration i ran with the springz the cam people reccommended, and so far theyve held up.

DL, i really hope not to have to do track rebuilds on this thing. LSR is more of an endurance event than all out drags, because the courze length is more than a mile. but we ll see where we go from here. got to break in the new pistons asap.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 11:03:13 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on April 16, 2020, 05:06:20 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 15, 2020, 07:05:10 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/rWzOM5El.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/zSgFVBkl.jpg)

Sorry that this is not a meaningful contribution to the technical discussions in this thread, but these are beautiful objects in themselves. I am inspired to incorporate those striations (are they cooling fins?) into a sculpture.

interesting you would fix on that, but i m understanding your viewpoint more. yes, old british castings are works of sculpture,  much more than modern piecez. the technology was personal and4 hands on, so much so that the cases for one of my machinez has the initials of some long dead foundry worker inside, in reverse, where he scratched tbem into the sand mold before pouring the metal.

tbeze all came from a technological culture not far removed from 1930s art deco, and the completely exposed motor was as much a part of the vizual prezentation as the swoopy sheet metal or the color of the paint. weve lost that form of art work, at least in motor vehicles. its one of the reasons i love these old things so much

yes they are cooling fins. let me see if i can locate some imagez of 1920s radial aircraft engines. some of them were exquisite in execution
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on April 16, 2020, 01:24:03 PM
Thanks for that explanation, billy rubin, and sorry again for introducing one of my obsessions as a tangent to the discussion. One of the artists I admire very much is Eduardo Paolozzi, who was also inspired by industrial processes and materials.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rogersg/5271369678

I came close to being a student of his at the Central School of Art in London, but that's a story for another occasion. At least I met him once at the opening of one of his exhibitions at the Marlborough Gallery, where I bought one of his serigraphy pieces.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on April 16, 2020, 05:12:16 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 10:56:38 AM
lol

im afraid my piston to head clearance problems had to do with the rod becoming detached at the bottom end and not zlowing down at all az it headed north. the issue was a failed rod bolt, down there at tge bottom.

icaruz, i actually do run beehive springs in an earlier head, and im planning on those in the futyee with this one. but on this iteration i ran with the springz the cam people reccommended, and so far theyve held up.

DL, i really hope not to have to do track rebuilds on this thing. LSR is more of an endurance event than all out drags, because the courze length is more than a mile. but we ll see where we go from here. got to break in the new pistons asap.
Alrighty then, that's a different story. I recall the rod bolt part, now.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 05:21:30 PM
Quote from: Icarus on April 16, 2020, 12:58:45 AM
Billy the exhaust valve is almost always the culprit. Post mortems almost always find that the damned ex did not get closed soon enough for the piston to get to TDC or a few degrees before. Cams with a lot of overlap is the underlying problem.  We need plenty of overlap if we intend to rev the engine. Tit for tat.

The trick is to make the damned EX close before the piston collision.  This happens at high revs only, unless there was some kind of galling or other problem in the ex guide, a heavy pushrod, etc.  Using a stronger spring on the EX valve is common enough but then that puts an unfavorable load on the push rod, camshaft, and other busy parts.

The drill is to find some bee hive springs that will work in your Trumpet head.  Those springs are progressive in that they get stronger as they are compressed.  Conventional coils have linear progression of counter force.  Bee hives have a curved progression in which the early lift is less resistent and the late lift is much stronger..........so as to get the damned exhaust out of the way when the piston gets there.

Because there is less work done in early lift, there is lessened coincident demand on the output of the engine.  In general, at least a measurable increase in out put is usually seen.

you know , icarus, theres a bit more to say here.  i clay the pistons before i run the motor and i make sure i have a minimum of 080 piston to valve clearance on the exhaust, 060 on the intakes. im running 296 degrees of duration measured at 020, (stock is 272), so az you point out, it matters. my lobe centers are 106/104 intake/exhaust on the current cams, retarded from the makers recommended 105.

my fastezt runs were at 109/106 on the previous cams but unlesz i start swapping out of spec camwheels 106/104 iz as close as i can get.

the beehivez i have in a spare head are reaaly nice, hut the head itself waz mis-cast. ive never gotten more than 112 mph out of it. and this one thats been fixed goes well over 130 in the mile . im reluctant to change whats been working. but i might take those springs out if i need more rpm from the race motor. right now ive geared it to crozs the line at about 7250 rpm, with one 8000 rpm 2-3 shift to keep the engine speed up. piston speed iz way high when i do that, over 3000 fps easy.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 05:23:37 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on April 16, 2020, 05:12:16 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 16, 2020, 10:56:38 AM
lol

im afraid my piston to head clearance problems had to do with the rod becoming detached at the bottom end and not zlowing down at all az it headed north. the issue was a failed rod bolt, down there at tge bottom.

icaruz, i actually do run beehive springs in an earlier head, and im planning on those in the futyee with this one. but on this iteration i ran with the springz the cam people reccommended, and so far theyve held up.

DL, i really hope not to have to do track rebuilds on this thing. LSR is more of an endurance event than all out drags, because the courze length is more than a mile. but we ll see where we go from here. got to break in the new pistons asap.
Alrighty then, that's a different story. I recall the rod bolt part, now.

even so, what you suggezt is a real consideration.. i treat the rod bolts as throwaways now. i wont torque them more than once. a news set of four bolts is less than a hundred dollars. not much less, but cheaper than a blow up,

so its new ones every tear down. and a marked set to re-use only for mock ups.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 21, 2020, 01:48:27 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on April 16, 2020, 05:06:20 AM

Sorry that this is not a meaningful contribution to the technical discussions in this thread, but these are beautiful objects in themselves. I am inspired to incorporate those striations (are they cooling fins?) into a sculpture.

well i was looking for decent shots of radial engine finning as an art form for you, and look what i found

(https://www.motoart.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_slide_show/public/product-slideshow/Continental-Radial-Engine-1.jpg?itok=byTvugcS)

i have spent quite some time just looking through thi stuff

https://www.motoart.com/products

beautiful repurposing
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on April 21, 2020, 02:54:28 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 21, 2020, 01:48:27 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on April 16, 2020, 05:06:20 AM

Sorry that this is not a meaningful contribution to the technical discussions in this thread, but these are beautiful objects in themselves. I am inspired to incorporate those striations (are they cooling fins?) into a sculpture.

well i was looking for decent shots of radial engine finning as an art form for you, and look what i found

(https://www.motoart.com/sites/default/files/styles/product_slide_show/public/product-slideshow/Continental-Radial-Engine-1.jpg?itok=byTvugcS)

i have spent quite some time just looking through thi stuff

https://www.motoart.com/products

beautiful repurposing

Thanks so much. I love this kind of recycling of industrial parts.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on April 23, 2020, 09:47:19 PM
time out for a tri p into the past. did th erear brakes on my little pickup. they were drums. i used to do drums all the time, back when drums were common. falcons, hudsons, old trucks,  now everything has disc brakes, which are vastly easier but less mechanically interesting.most all my motorcycles have drums, which i frankly prefer to discs. not as much stopping power but no hydraulics.

anyway, the little ranger had 10-inch units on the back. springs, shoes, clips, cables, all th estuff that i used to spend a lot of time on.

(https://i.imgur.com/q9LbvrCl.jpg)

usual stuff with a wheel cylinder on top

(https://i.imgur.com/S7LaAArl.jpg)

the starwheel had an absolutely needlessly complex tensioner. the old ones just had a blade, no need for sill cables and such.

(https://i.imgur.com/dHd5asxl.jpg)

both sides had suffered either blown cylinder seals or axles seals at some time in the past, and the interiors were coated in goo. whoever did the brakes last hadn't bothered to even clean that crap out.

the most significant change for me going down this ancient mechanical dance with machines was . . .me. even with the truck jacked up on wheel stands as high it would go, i still had to lay down, sit up twist around, and do the drum brake dance that in the past used to be easy. not any more.

but i got to take the number two son away from his school work and teach him how to do drums on the left side.

but only after i did the right side so i wouldn't look like a fool trying to figure out where all the parts went.



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on April 24, 2020, 04:55:35 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 23, 2020, 09:47:19 PM
....

but only after i did the right side so i wouldn't look like a fool trying to figure out where all the parts went.

Watching you figure it out would be a valuable learning experience for him. Good troubleshooting skills are a useful asset to acquire at a young age.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 20, 2020, 10:28:11 PM
damn its time

so i speent yesterday on the triumph race bike, working on the rear brake so it wouldhave the least drag during a run. im more or less happy with that, for the moment.

then i went to the little ninja, the old 2007 250 OHC machinethat the kids race. it needed a new tire in the back and a re-gearing.

ilast time the kids rode it, it gotup to 104 mph and then would bounce off the rev limiter at some 14000 rpm. that was with a 45 tooth rear sprocket.

i just ulled the wheel off to do a new tire and switched to a 43 tooth sprocket. my kids did 104 mph on the 45, and cxouldn't go any faster-- the rev limiter wouldnt let hem past 14000-some rpm.

but with the 43-tooth sprocket, they can theoretically hit 108 at the same rpm. and the record is only 107.

the girls set the one-mile record last spring (it was open, no previous record), but now they have something to beat. this is them

(https://i.imgur.com/4eRALOAl.jpg)

the number 2 son is rqcing as well. he can wear my leathers (with accompoanying comedy) but well hav to buy hinm his own glovses and helmet.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 20, 2020, 11:18:38 PM
14k RPM is wound pretty tightly! I could get 105 out of my old Harley, but it bounced all over the place. That was on old highway 126 between Newhall and Fillmore. That road is all grown up and two lanes each way, now. What I did was pretty risky, because back then it was one lane each way, and had few spaces to pass. People took big chances and there were fatal crashes- a lot- several a year. At least if I got hit I would have been dead in an instant.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 20, 2020, 11:37:39 PM
damn

i blew an ac belt in newhall once. very expensive.

14000 is nothing on a modern OHC with an oversquare motor and pent roof combustion chamber. they all do it.

this little ninja goes 10 000 on thecwaybto work.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 21, 2020, 12:51:15 AM
I grew up in Saugus, CA. We used to go to Atomic Auto Wrecking to watch fenders rust as entertainment. That's a joke, although there really was a wrecking yard by that name. There was nothing out there when we moved there in '56(?). Maybe 20k people in the whole Santa Clarita Valley then. It's ca 300k now, and the people drive like maniacs. I have siblings who still live there and I hate driving to visit.

And back on the topic of RPM, I wonder what that old Harley chundered out? 5k? That's probably generous.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 21, 2020, 09:09:47 AM
probably. so

i have a buell with a 1203 sportster in it and it runs up to 6000 or so. but its newish, onlook y twenty something years.

mthe old stuff wouldnt do that without risking terminal drama
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 22, 2020, 11:01:52 PM
lol

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-aZ7WgcN7qb4%2FTNzremuwCtI%2FAAAAAAAAGi4%2FIudtONhLs1Y%2Fs1600%2FDrag%2Bbike%2B1968.jpg&hash=f4b583a7026dbc84bff255ad8bda52561a9661d2)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 22, 2020, 11:04:50 PM
^ I sure hope that the seat is just currently not on and will be installed later or this is a Salt Flat bike, because that looks pretty damned uncomfortable!  :o

Plus if the primary drive belts part, there's going to be pain there, too.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on May 22, 2020, 11:46:58 PM
That bike has my name on it but it ain't my bike.  It looks like a suicide machine with that spindly assed front brake that might only be big enough for a moped.  The thing with a belt drive looks suspiciously like a blower.  A rigid frame too? yikes that dude is likely to meet Jesus before he planned to.  Or if that belt shreds, as DL mentioned, the guy is likely to become a eunuch and therefore practically useless on dates.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 23, 2020, 02:26:56 AM
Quote from: Icarus on May 22, 2020, 11:46:58 PM
That bike has my name on it but it ain't my bike.  It looks like a suicide machine with that spindly assed front brake that might only be big enough for a moped.  The thing with a belt drive looks suspiciously like a blower.  A rigid frame too? yikes that dude is likely to meet Jesus before he planned to.  Or if that belt shreds, as DL mentioned, the guy is likely to become a eunuch and therefore practically useless on dates.

:lol: I figured legless; maybe I thought of the wrong leg!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 23, 2020, 05:16:39 AM
Quote from: Icarus on May 22, 2020, 11:46:58 PM
That bike has my name on it but it ain't my bike.  It looks like a suicide machine with that spindly assed front brake that might only be big enough for a moped.  The thing with a belt drive looks suspiciously like a blower.  A rigid frame too? yikes that dude is likely to meet Jesus before he planned to.  Or if that belt shreds, as DL mentioned, the guy is likely to become a eunuch and therefore practically useless on dates.

What a disappointment, Icarus. I assumed it was the younger you in that photo.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 23, 2020, 11:27:03 AM
thats a harsh seat even for drag racing. i think its open underneath to make room for the huge balls it takez to ride something like that

and h e doez have some kind of blower on the front as well.

interestingly almost nobody runs rear suspension or front brakes at all.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on May 24, 2020, 12:34:47 AM
I am pleased to notice that you do have front brakes on your LSR bike.   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 01:04:46 AM
well i confess not any more

i took them off so i could go faster. wind reziztance and all that.

but i have really good boots i use to drag on the azphalt when i reach the pits
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 24, 2020, 03:59:54 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 01:04:46 AM
well i confess not any more

i took them off so i could go faster. wind reziztance and all that.

but i have really good boots i use to drag on the azphalt when i reach the pits

Well then, take that caliper off! That's got to be worth .3 MPH, or something at the top end. The weight means nothing at that point, only wind resistance. I don't know what you wear on your ride, but maybe you ought to wax your boots...and everything else. Stick with us "kid", we'll figure you into the record books. Hmm, how do we get some cred for that design work?  :???:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 09:16:14 AM
if you buy me a can of fuel i ll paint your name on the side of the bike
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 24, 2020, 03:52:34 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 09:16:14 AM
if you buy me a can of fuel i ll paint your name on the side of the bike

I don't think you want "Dark Lightning" painted on there, but that's better than my old handle here, which was "Fireball".  :D
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 05:26:59 PM
lol

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 24, 2020, 05:37:05 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 24, 2020, 05:26:59 PM
lol

Yeah, not an image we want to see.  ;D
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 03:23:25 PM
off to warehouse in a bit to disassemble amotor to tighten one bolt i cant remember tightening. i know its tight, but if it isnt i blow the motor up. so well see how long it takes me to get to the crankshaft and back up. next time ill take better notes.

if for some awful reason i can't get the race bike together ill go back with the commuter:

(https://i.imgur.com/HHwuxKll.jpg)

this is a 1997 buell, a 1203 cc sportster motor in a non-harley chassis. they were wonderful machines when buell was building them. now harley has abandoned support, nd the buells come with high tech rotax engines. not the same thing. i use this togo to work on when the triumphs and BSAs and the norton are all broken.  its as reliable as a stone doorstop but doesn't have the  idiosynchracies that make the old british stuff interesting. it even has an electric start. but it always works.

i took this one to the races last septmber and ran it down the mile. i had three different gearbox pulleys to work with. i geared it tall at first and it wouldn't go over 120 or so mph. very disappointing, because i wanted to get close to the record of around 140 and it was obvious it wasn't going to pull the gearing to get there. so i went up two teeth on the front pulley and it ran 132. very nice. but that was all it would do. i didn't need to even try the smallest pulley.

the bike is very comfortable to ride up to 100 mph, but after that its a bear to hang on. the tank and bars are so high that the wind hits your chest and tries to lift you up and off, so yuore fighting to stay on and cant concentrate. but below that speed its very nice to ride. good suspension, lots of torque, and excellent (to me) handling. i could put a fairing on it but then id be competing with 1000cc  speed machines at close to 180 mph.

but im headed out to get the norton out in a bit. slower than th ebuell, but much more interesting.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
pratt and whitney R-4360 Radial "Corn Cob" Engine

(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

four banks of seven cylinders. ttoo fuzzy to see the finning well, but it looks really graceful
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 09:20:12 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

:sherlock3: Ok, what am I looking at here...looks like a colony of metal organisms of some sort.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:41:33 PM
so i split the race motor to check the connecting rod bolts. its a pain in the ass to do, because im certain that i tightened all four, but if i didnt ill be in trouble. so i did.

its been sitting in the stand a while like this, until i got the cylinderhead issues straightened out

(https://i.imgur.com/E0CI4gzl.jpg)

so first, out with the primary drive. its a rubber belt from newby n britain. my next fastest competition uses stock chains, in oil, and wears them out every five or ten miless

(https://i.imgur.com/Bi2i4CVl.jpg)

once its out, i dont have to pull out the gearbox, just take off the covers to get at the hidden bolts

(https://i.imgur.com/1JD3Mjdl.jpg)

then the crankshaft pinion has to come off. i can leav the camshaft pinions on, because im not changing timing, and theyll stay with the right side when i split the motor

(https://i.imgur.com/KxSP0NOl.jpg)

jugs off, pistons oput, just need to pull th ebolts holding it together

(https://i.imgur.com/VWI9hHcl.jpg)

anf then tap it apart with a rubber mallet

(https://i.imgur.com/qXug27yl.jpg)

the crank is a billet piece, machined from a solid steel blank. lots of hand work

(https://i.imgur.com/azatCqZl.jpg)

its a pic of art, though. light and very strong. this one already suffered a blowup at 131 mph, and came back from the dead. a stock crank could not do that.

(https://i.imgur.com/bjktXFBl.jpg)

after the blow up, i stole the engine cases from a roadrace project and stuffed it full of thehandmade stuff to make a new motor. now th eroadrace bike is on the back burner.

(https://i.imgur.com/42QCovnl.jpg)

. . . and of course, when i put a torque wrench on the rod bolts, all of them were fine. the whole teardown was completely unnecessary.

(https://i.imgur.com/I2xQrTvl.jpg)

so its back together, and then i clay the pistons to make sure they dont smack into the valves with this new valve timing im runnin.

(https://i.imgur.com/LQ1Vwq2l.jpg)

but in the meantime, it s a beautiful day, so i took the norton out for the first time this spring. started first kick, not having run since last fall, but it always does that.

(https://i.imgur.com/so1p6Qml.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:50:50 PM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 09:20:12 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

:sherlock3: Ok, what am I looking at here...looks like a colony of metal organisms of some sort.

its an aeroplane motor. there are four separate engines, each shaped like a flower with seven petals, all bolted together into a line. each of those finned pumpkins has a separate piston and connecting rod in it. th eblack tube is carrying the fuel from the carbs to the cylinder this is what just one might look like:

(https://hars.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/PrattWhitney-R1830-Radial-Aero-Engine.jpg)

what it does is turn a single flower-shaped radial engine with seven cylinders into a long combination engine with 28 cylinders. you can't see it, but the propeller is off the image to the right.

radial engines are very short(not this one) and so they can fit into aeroplaces without making them long. look at this fockewulfe with a radial:

(https://www.super-hobby.com/zdjecia/3/1/0/26259_rd.jpg)

compare it with this messerschmidt that has an inline engine

(https://www.flight-manuals-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Me109-photo.jpg)

the old radial engines were as much a work of art as they were exercisesin engineering design.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Magdalena on May 26, 2020, 11:57:17 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P
:snicker:
It looks like something from The Matrix.
:popcorn:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on May 27, 2020, 01:16:59 AM
Quote from: Magdalena on May 26, 2020, 11:57:17 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P
:snicker:
It looks like something from The Matrix.
:popcorn:

:chin: Now that you mentioned it...

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 02:07:54 AM
Hey Billy, I used to write work instructions to go with my designs. We had places for the assembler and a quality tech to sign after an important operation. Maybe you'll want to think about that. When I worked as a mechanic, I couldn't tell you how many times I went and checked oil pan drain plugs, just like you are doing here with the rod bolts. Never found a loose one there, either.  :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 02:22:57 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P

actually the boundaries between airplanes and motorcycles can be blurred in a lot of cases. here is a P51 mustang, designed in 1940 and used with a rolls royce merlin that made up to 1800 horsepower:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/P51_Mustang_-_CHino_Airshow_2014_%2814349568311%29.jpg/1200px-P51_Mustang_-_CHino_Airshow_2014_%2814349568311%29.jpg)

the mnotor was an inline V12, liquid cooled. they made a lot of these motors, and sometimes australians saw off two of the cylinders and put them into a motorcycle frame:

(https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/VSzQTjdzQTYTtCwFtUbKem4A3n8=/9571.jpg)

theyre always australians, for some reason.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 02:35:08 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 02:07:54 AM
Hey Billy, I used to write work instructions to go with my designs. We had places for the assembler and a quality tech to sign after an important operation. Maybe you'll want to think about that. When I worked as a mechanic, I couldn't tell you how many times I went and checked oil pan drain plugs, just like you are doing here with the rod bolts. Never found a loose one there, either.  :thumbsup:

i keep a logbook for recording changes to the motor i make, things like cam timing, piston to valve clarances, and sprocket sizes and jetting and so forth. it has never occurred to me to write up a checklist, but that is a very good idea.

what i normally do with a motor is assume that i have no brain, and work accordingly. for example,  all the rod bolts are painted one of four colors--red, blue, green, or yellow. a red bolt goes into a hole in one rod painted red. that rod fits onto the crankshaft in a position matching a line of red paint on the cases. if there is no oil in the gearbox, i paint NO OIL on the cover, and clean it off when i fill it.

i paint all the critical bolts after i torque them so if th epaint marks don't line up, i know theyre loose.

i painted my rod bolts too but then i put the motor together and couldnt see them anymore.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Magdalena on May 27, 2020, 02:43:46 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 27, 2020, 01:16:59 AM
Quote from: Magdalena on May 26, 2020, 11:57:17 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P
:snicker:
It looks like something from The Matrix.
:popcorn:

:chin: Now that you mentioned it...

Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.


Sorry but you are not allowed to view spoiler contents.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Randy on May 27, 2020, 03:26:59 AM
It looks like something one of my evil villains would concoct. It's time for the Wildcards to jump in and save the day!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 03:48:32 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 02:22:57 AM
Quote from: xSilverPhinx on May 26, 2020, 10:19:49 PM
Oh it's an airplane motor!  8) Ok, I knew for sure it couldn't be a motorcycle motor so at least I got that right! :P

actually the boundaries between airplanes and motorcycles can be blurred in a lot of cases. here is a P51 mustang, designed in 1940 and used with a rolls royce merlin that made up to 1800 horsepower:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/P51_Mustang_-_CHino_Airshow_2014_%2814349568311%29.jpg/1200px-P51_Mustang_-_CHino_Airshow_2014_%2814349568311%29.jpg)

the mnotor was an inline V12, liquid cooled. they made a lot of these motors, and sometimes australians saw off two of the cylinders and put them into a motorcycle frame:

(https://dn3bmh8yk8vvw.cloudfront.net/VSzQTjdzQTYTtCwFtUbKem4A3n8=/9571.jpg)

theyre always australians, for some reason.

Back in the early '70s, there was a guy named Ed Woods who put an Allison V12 into a '64 Chevy Malibu. It wasn't as fast in the quarter as one would expect. I guess traction was an issue. I don't seem to be able to find what it turned in the quarter, though. I had a far more pedestrian '64 Malibu SS with a 283, 4GC Rochester, Powerglide trans and glass packs. I did a lot of suspension work to make up for the low power. Few people with big engine cars could get away from me when road racing. https://www.hotrod.com/articles/throwback-thursday-this-wild-1964-chevy-malibu-funny-car-was-a-street-legal-1710ci-allison-v12-powered-monster/ (https://www.hotrod.com/articles/throwback-thursday-this-wild-1964-chevy-malibu-funny-car-was-a-street-legal-1710ci-allison-v12-powered-monster/)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 04:03:00 AM
handling makes up for a lot of power. smokey yunick was king of nascar driving hudsons, back when all hudsn had to offer was a flathead six. im told the steering system on th ehudsons (and presumeably the suspension) was extremely good, and that combined with yunick beinng who he was let him run around the fords and chevrolets. i put a 350 chevrolet into a 1950 hudson once, and it was okay in a straight line but not impressive on th ebraking.

ive never run a 4GC, but ive heard of them. an interesting insrument. ive only run quadrajets in the eight cylinder stuff i used.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 27, 2020, 04:56:04 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
pratt and whitney R-4360 Radial "Corn Cob" Engine

(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

four banks of seven cylinders. ttoo fuzzy to see the finning well, but it looks really graceful

I know it gets tedious, but I am cursed with this compulsion to make connections with art. Here is a sculpture by Berrocal:

(https://i.imgur.com/Tukb37w.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 05:05:08 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 04:03:00 AM
handling makes up for a lot of power. smokey yunick was king of nascar driving hudsons, back when all hudsn had to offer was a flathead six. im told the steering system on th ehudsons (and presumeably the suspension) was extremely good, and that combined with yunick beinng who he was let him run around the fords and chevrolets. i put a 350 chevrolet into a 1950 hudson once, and it was okay in a straight line but not impressive on th ebraking.

ive never run a 4GC, but ive heard of them. an interesting insrument. ive only run quadrajets in the eight cylinder stuff i used.

Well, I got one cheap and the manifold, too. Under extremely hard cornering, one side of the carb would starve 4 cylinders, the other 4 would get too much fuel. Of course the other guys had similar carburetors, but they were generally straight-line rockets, because they were raised in the back for the bigger tires. So they couldn't corner that fast. I'd lose miserably in a race on the freeway. One of my friends had a '62 Grand Prix with a 389, tri-power and a 4 speed. I don't know the rear end ratio, but it topped out at about 130, and got there quickly. Pontiacs don't rev that high without lots of prep, and he eventually spun a rod bearing. I could get my Malibu to 120, but it took over a mile, with that 3.08 axle ratio.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 05:40:46 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 27, 2020, 04:56:04 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
pratt and whitney R-4360 Radial "Corn Cob" Engine

(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

four banks of seven cylinders. ttoo fuzzy to see the finning well, but it looks really graceful

I know it gets tedious, but I am cursed with this compulsion to make connections with art. Here is a sculpture by Berrocal:

(https://i.imgur.com/Tukb37w.jpg)

its not tedious at all. the mind of the artist is in every inspired engineer.

lookat the rhythm in both pieces. its like three dimensional music.

but im not even really sure what art is.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 05:50:17 AM
Quote

Well, I got one cheap and the manifold, too. Under extremely hard cornering, one side of the carb would starve 4 cylinders, the other 4 would get too much fuel. Of course the other guys had similar carburetors, but they were generally straight-line rockets, because they were raised in the back for the bigger tires. So they couldn't corner that fast. I'd lose miserably in a race on the freeway. One of my friends had a '62 Grand Prix with a 389, tri-power and a 4 speed. I don't know the rear end ratio, but it topped out at about 130, and got there quickly. Pontiacs don't rev that high without lots of prep, and he eventually spun a rod bearing. I could get my Malibu to 120, but it took over a mile, with that 3.08 axle ratio.

how did you figure out what was causing the fuel distribution issue? i know some people weld ridgesinto the floors ofthe manifolds trying to redirect liquid fuel to the lean side, but you have to know whats happening first.

i remember the six pack manifolds. they now say that theyre not a lot better than a single four barrel, but thats comparing them to something like a newish holley. and you still cannot beat them for cool.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on May 27, 2020, 06:40:19 AM
Billy when you run out of LSR things to think about, think about where the torque curve is. Max torque will occur at 5250 and after that it begins to decline.  You have seen plenty of dyno graphs, right?

In the case where you have a course where you start from zero and then build up speed, the way you roll the throttle on will make a difference in velocity gain. petting the throttle a wee tad in the mid range can be advantageous.

You can fiddle with this equation when you need something else to ponder.   Torque (inch pounds) = (HP x 63025)/RPM........you can transpose the equation to get...........(RPM x Torque)/63025= HP  and so on...

I am thinking of the Kawasaki and all those revs that you mentioned before. .............I miss all this stuff. It was great fun when I was heavy into the madness.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 10:55:34 AM
Quote from: Icarus on May 27, 2020, 06:40:19 AM
In the case where you have a course where you start from zero and then build up speed, the way you roll the throttle on will make a difference in velocity gain. petting the throttle a wee tad in the mid range can be advantageous.

9kay, now what exactly do youmean?

i have only four gear, with open pipe reversion around 3000 to 3500. most of myhorsepower is higher up.

i shift into second around 6500 rpm, third around the same, then i try to  holdthe throttle open until to 7500, so the rpms stay high afterthe shift.

then i just hold it wfo to as close to 8000 as it wil go and get out of the wind.

whatexactly are you suggesting with throttle position?

why 5250?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 27, 2020, 12:07:23 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 05:40:46 AM
... three dimensional music.

I like that.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on May 27, 2020, 01:14:21 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 26, 2020, 09:13:06 PM
pratt and whitney R-4360 Radial "Corn Cob" Engine

(https://i.imgur.com/kaUQC2P.jpg)

four banks of seven  https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195794/pratt-whitney-r-4360-wasp-major/cylinders. ttoo fuzzy to see the finning well, but it looks really graceful

I'm not sure that's what you've said it is. There are 8 cylinder heads along the length. There could be 7 radially arranged of which you can see 5. Here is the engine  https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195794/pratt-whitney-r-4360-wasp-major/

(https://media.defense.gov/2006/Oct/16/2000540112/780/780/0/061016-F-1234S-002.JPG)

I think the engine in your picture is either a stunning bit of photoshop or a truly insane bit of engineering!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 03:40:14 PM
i think youre right about that. it looks like TWO 4360s stuck together

heres the 4360 without the rococco

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spannerhead.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F08%2FR-4360_2.jpg&hash=658805dce83fe3842c5b229cc5587f8a2b77eb41)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 04:19:28 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 05:50:17 AM
Quote

Well, I got one cheap and the manifold, too. Under extremely hard cornering, one side of the carb would starve 4 cylinders, the other 4 would get too much fuel. Of course the other guys had similar carburetors, but they were generally straight-line rockets, because they were raised in the back for the bigger tires. So they couldn't corner that fast. I'd lose miserably in a race on the freeway. One of my friends had a '62 Grand Prix with a 389, tri-power and a 4 speed. I don't know the rear end ratio, but it topped out at about 130, and got there quickly. Pontiacs don't rev that high without lots of prep, and he eventually spun a rod bearing. I could get my Malibu to 120, but it took over a mile, with that 3.08 axle ratio.

how did you figure out what was causing the fuel distribution issue? i know some people weld ridgesinto the floors ofthe manifolds trying to redirect liquid fuel to the lean side, but you have to know whats happening first.

i remember the six pack manifolds. they now say that theyre not a lot better than a single four barrel, but thats comparing them to something like a newish holley. and you still cannot beat them for cool.

The floats are paired on a common body, and when the fuel goes to one side of the bowl, the needle closes on the seat. I think that the metering jets on one side would still have fuel but the other side would run out of fuel. If I had had fuel injection, I'd probably have killed myself.

Six packs and dual quads make great sound, that's for sure.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 04:54:14 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 04:19:28 PM
If I had had fuel injection, I'd probably have killed myself.

its never too late
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on May 27, 2020, 05:07:56 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 03:40:14 PM
i think youre right about that. it looks like TWO 4360s stuck together

heres the 4360 without the rococco

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.spannerhead.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F08%2FR-4360_2.jpg&hash=658805dce83fe3842c5b229cc5587f8a2b77eb41)

It's an amazing piece of engineering.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 08:21:40 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 04:54:14 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 04:19:28 PM
If I had had fuel injection, I'd probably have killed myself.

its never too late

:o Killing myself!?






:lol: I know what you really meant! Nah, I'm at a point in my life where testosterone and gasoline are no longer miscible.  :sadshake:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 08:26:53 PM
lol

you just think youre old because your joints hurt all the time and you cant close your fingers when you get up
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 10:00:50 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 08:26:53 PM
lol

you just think youre old because your joints hurt all the time and you cant close your fingers when you get up

I have noticed that my hands won't completely close in the morning. Fortunately I only have arthritis in my hands, feet and back, but no other joint pain.  ::) TBH, I don't think that I could ride the motorcycle like you do. My hands won't hold something like the handlebars for that long, even after I had carpal tunnel release surgery. That got rid of the source of the neurological damage, at least halting it.

The saying goes, "If you're over 50 and you woke up in the morning with nothing hurting, you died in your sleep!"  :P
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Randy on May 27, 2020, 10:53:34 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 27, 2020, 10:00:50 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 08:26:53 PM
lol

you just think youre old because your joints hurt all the time and you cant close your fingers when you get up

I have noticed that my hands won't completely close in the morning. Fortunately I only have arthritis in my hands, feet and back, but no other joint pain.  ::) TBH, I don't think that I could ride the motorcycle like you do. My hands won't hold something like the handlebars for that long, even after I had carpal tunnel release surgery. That got rid of the source of the neurological damage, at least halting it.

The saying goes, "If you're over 50 and you woke up in the morning with nothing hurting, you died in your sleep!"  :P

So you're saying I'm old too? Well, nuts. You just shattered my fantasies.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 11:00:05 PM
with me its not arthritis, its that the tendons that work my fingers have lost elasticty and get kinks in them overnight from resting over the knuclkle joints

so when it try to move my fingers they wont flexeasily. when i open the hands the tendons make my fingers move in little jerks while the kinks ride over the knuvckle joints.

after an hour or two9of use they loosen up, moztly
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 28, 2020, 02:01:02 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 11:00:05 PM
with me its not arthritis, its that the tendons that work my fingers have lost elasticty and get kinks in them overnight from resting over the knuclkle joints

so when it try to move my fingers they wont flexeasily. when i open the hands the tendons make my fingers move in little jerks while the kinks ride over the knuvckle joints.

after an hour or two9of use they loosen up, moztly

I know woodworking guys who dip their hands in melted paraffin to help with that and arthritis. Here's a video made by some occupational therapists. Note that the four dips help make the wax thick enough to more easily peel off, though they don't say it in the video. I'll be buying one of these tubs, eventually. If one were concerned with cleanliness, they could wear a nitrile or latex glove. They talk about scars but I'm not sure how that equates to "dirty". After my many years of working with my hands, a lot of scars are simply disfigured by other scars. My most "famous" one was when I burned my hand on a Volvo exhaust manifold.  :o I had the part number burned on in reverse. That was in the '80s, so it's gotten "hash marked" away by other scars.  ;D Should've taken a picture, but I'm not one to brag about "battle scars"- they were just part of the job.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 28, 2020, 04:54:57 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 27, 2020, 11:00:05 PM
with me its not arthritis, its that the tendons that work my fingers have lost elasticty and get kinks in them overnight from resting over the knuclkle joints

so when it try to move my fingers they wont flexeasily. when i open the hands the tendons make my fingers move in little jerks while the kinks ride over the knuvckle joints.

after an hour or two9of use they loosen up, moztly

The middle fingers of my hands occasionally behave in the same way, with an odd locked-up behaviour, but there is no pain. Weirdly enough, although it is winter now (last night it got to -1°), I've noticed a sudden improvement and my hands are behaving normally. No doubt my doctor will provide a logical explanation, as she always does.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on May 28, 2020, 05:21:33 AM
I must be the lucky one. You young 60+/- year old whippersnappers are having bouts with arthritis of the hands. My mornings with my hands are the same as you describe but the symptom waited until I was well past 80.  That really pisses me off until I get the fingers loosened up so that they function well enough.

I have not tried the paraffin yet.  Hot water soak works pretty well. In some cases I use epsom salt and hot water. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 28, 2020, 09:45:05 AM
i never had stiff fingers when i ran bees

i m getting stung again so maybe that will help
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 10, 2020, 05:15:20 PM
motor is together

(https://i.imgur.com/L419WDOl.jpg)

even though te races have been postponed, i want to get this in one piece so i don't lose pieces of it. i'm guessing i'll have time to do new pipes now.

this particular motor is 50 years old (the frame it goes into is five years older), but it still pulls up to 135 mph. i need about four mpore mph to reach my own goals, but i don't think that will cme frm horsepower. i just need to practice getting smaller than i am to stay out of the wind.

this fellow managed to go 136 on this one, but his is a custom frame and the seating position below the wheel isn't legal for my class. still, he's only one mph faster than me, and i would heve beaten him had i not blown my motor up.

(https://i.imgur.com/dR0x4gKl.jpg)

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 11, 2020, 12:29:13 AM
Billy that dude is too big for LSR records.  The pretty lady he is with could go faster than that big brute. He has a cool looking scooter. The lay down handlebars are good for the purpose.  He has rear brakes..... I hope that your scoot has them too.

I am not too sure about the rigid frame layout at speed.

Did you know that round sections, like the fork lowers and uppers have a coefficient of drag of 1.2.  A rectangular section has a Cd of 0.8............Those numbers go against the usual perception of drag factors but true nonetheless.   So alright already you can't have rectangular fork lowers.  or.....could you?


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 11, 2020, 01:07:22 AM
he is indeed big. and his new bride is indeed a pretty woman. she has a brain, too, which is more interezting to me. hes not actually that big-- zhe is tiny

his machine runs in the altered class-- ooen-- any changez permissible. i run in modified production, which means i could put a license tag on mine abd run it on the street.

taking that kind of limited machine and beating the high zoot altered bikes is where i like to be.

i do have a back brake. not that i need it. but its there e. i have considered aerfoiled fo.j rk tubes, but there is not a lot acvailable except fir expensive antique vincent stuff. and i run rear suspension. its not really needed for pavement but comes in handy on poir surfaces like dry lakes or the salt.

mosrly i think i can get more bang for the buck by making myzelf aerodynamic. ive hit diminizhing returns on the machine, i think.

losing more weight will let me squeeze down flatter. the more the better.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 11, 2020, 02:12:37 AM
Have you considered waxing the leathers (and everything else)? Maybe the run is too short to benefit from the air slipping over more easily over a waxed surface? Then again, maybe look at the surface of a golf ball. It's spinning in flight, though. I remember Kenny Bernstein's TF dragster having some sort of effects, as well. I don't follow drag racing any more, so I don't know if that helped him much. You're at a point where any speed gain is going to be a suite of incremental changes. Having to wait many months between trials is too long a time, and I'm betting you can't afford a wind tunnel. Are you allowed to "fair" the appendages that are out in the wind? Just tossing out ideas...
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 11, 2020, 05:04:17 PM
nobody in the real world can afford a wind tunnel, although ive sckured the net for dizcussions and results

the people who do wind tunnel work dont share what they learn.

havent thought about waxing. im not sure the viscosity of air is enough for that to help. certainly i could fair in the front forks with a fender. im allowed that while still stating within the naked class. no other aero devices in front of the rider are allowed.

i could add a stck headlight to sneak in a bit of rounding, but thats it.

the oeople who go very fast tell me that a front fender iz wasted until im going lots faster than 135. but i think ive added substantial slipperynezz by going with cast wheels. thats 80 round wire whirling spokes ive replaced with six aero vanes, and a reduced diameter as well.

disnt have a chance to tezt them much because i blew up on the firzt full power run.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 12, 2020, 06:22:50 AM
DL the waxing bit is fine for conventional noodling.  Doesn't work that way.  For example. waxing a sailboat bottom is sure to make it slower. That goes against conventional thinking. 

Boundary layer principle has the air closest to the surface adhering, or is in a stalled state.. Thinking in terms of layers of blankets or say onion skins, the farther away from the surface the faster the air flows and the discreet drag of the layers diminish.  In any case, BLs  "dirty" mess of pipes and motors and wheels and human bodies makes the whole thing problematic and practically undefineable........absent a wind tunnel. Even then the ambient conditions cause variables....Humidity, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and so on.

Early in my long ago college career I aspired to be an aeronautical engineer.  For practical reasons I dropped out of that specialty and into an ordinary mechanical engineering curriculum.  I did learn some stuff about how air and water impede the motion of solid objects during the Aero classes.   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 16, 2020, 08:14:07 PM
the biggest problem with what i do is indeed the messy shape. its not hard to split the air open, but very difficult to smoosh it back together behind me.

the resut is that i carry a wedge of turbulence behind my ass at any real speed, and turbulence means low pressure.

low pressure means the impedence of the frontal area isn't balanced by an equal return at the back, and so the faster i go, the more i carry a negative force sucking me and my machine back into my wake.

the spinniong spoked wheels xert a similar problem, causing a squeezing effect of low pressure along the sides of the machine that th emotor must work against to move forward. i switched to aero three-spoke katana wheels to improve that.

none of this air pressure stuff is signioficant or even noticeable at lower speeds, but above 100 mph its the most important thing.

i could add a kamm tail behind me, and a fairing in front, andprobably go to 140-plus with no motor modifications. but that isn;t what i want to do.

i want to do it the hard way-- all tuning and rider skill-- making the run penetrate the wind by positioning my body at the optimum, and doing it with a 50 year old power unit.

this is like fly fishing. its not catching a ten pound fish that matters. its catching a ten pound fish on a three pound line.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 16, 2020, 08:21:17 PM
and its a red letter day. the motor is back in the frame.

(https://i.imgur.com/n8remUOl.jpg)

it always tajkes me three tries to do this, because i can't put the motor into the frame if the rocker boxes are on, and i cant pt the head bolts in if the motor mounts are tightedned.

the pattern is that i assemble the motor, try to put it in the frame, remember that i can't do it with the rocker boxes on. so i takeoff the rocker boxes, put it in the frame, tighten all he motor mopunt bolts, then remember tht the head bolts wont go in unless the motor is tipped to the side. so i take the motor mount bolts out, put in the head bolts, and then i put in th emotor mounts and tighten it all up.

i do this every single time, no matter how many times i put a motor together.

ive done it wrong so many times that the wrong sequence is the habit.

go figure.

stupid is as stupid does.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 17, 2020, 02:30:59 AM
pushrods in, valves adjusted, oil in the motor. put the carbs on

(https://i.imgur.com/SFphJCtl.jpg)

this machine had old style amal carburetors on it when it was new. nice old instruments for their day, but limited in terms of tuneability by modern standards. some people prefer them and they can go pretty fast. the man i'm trying to beat uses amal GP carbs, an ancient 1950s design that got him up to 139.226 mph on gasoline.

i don't have any tradition that makes me want to use the old amals, so i run keihin FCRs, a jap[anese flat slide unit with an accelerator pump. excellent throttle response. the slide is on rollers so its friction-free, so i use them with just a pull setup, as opposed to the original push-pull. these things are light years ahead of the old amals in sophistication, but theyre still a 30-year-old design. big on racing two-stroke machines these days, and high-speed four wheelers.

one carb for each cylinder. this gives me maximum airflow, and makes the resonant tuning of the exhaust pipes easier, because there's no interference between cylinders in the return waves through the exhaust gases. stil, these carbs have quite a bit of reversion at aound 3000 rpm because of the open pipes. you can watch a cloud of fuel form around the bellmouth, get blown backwards and then sucked back in, corresponding with the mixture suddenly goinf rich. my solution is to just not ride that slow.

while the carbs are relatively space-age, the ignition is straight out of 1942

(https://i.imgur.com/H1WfGekl.jpg)

this is an old fairbanks-morse magneto, designed to run old stationary welders and industrial motors way back when my faily still ran mules. i think two cylinder john deere tractors ran them too. its mounted in an ARD magneto housing used by flat trackers in the 1960s.

magnetos are completely self-contained. this one is run by an enclosed rubber belt that takes its drive ff the exhaust camshaft.

(https://i.imgur.com/BURcZoGl.jpg)

its fixed advance, no retard function for low speeds, and so it used to be a bear to start. but the faster it turns, the hotter the spark. ive watched videos of people lighting cigars with these spark from these things on test mounts. i've messed with it in a number of ways, including slotting the mounting holes so i can adjust the ignition timing with a rubber hammer and switching to a no-rotor setup with forked spark plug wires that let me fire four plugs at once, two er cylinder.

i have an electronic ignition from new zealand for thismotorcycle, but i've never installed it because this magneto works so well. iits primitive, though,and under a timing light you can see a lot of spark scatter, maybe as much as four or five degrees. not a surprise for an ignition run by a rubber belt. but until i have no other options to go faster, i'll keep running this because its so simple.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 17, 2020, 05:28:14 AM
Billy the carb velocity stacks are almost surely too short.   I did a lot of experimentation way back in the dark ages.  Placing a tubular spacer between the carb and the intake port is a matter to be fiddled with.  I once managed to set a world record for 125 cc hydroplanes with this gimmick.

The deal is that when a wave front hits the atmospheric end of a tube, there is a reversion wave that is propagated back toward the origin of the pulse.  With just the right lengths of pipe you can get a positive surge of atmospheric energy that can help fill the inlet port.   You can do it with stacks but the pipes between the carb and the port can cause a very noticeable cooling effect of the induced charge. It is not unusual to see frost on the intermediate tube when the variables have been sorted.

So what is so interesting about a cool charge?  It can contain more O2 that a hot charge.  The more O2 in the combustion chamber the more fuel you can burn in a discreet power cycle.

Finally the Jap bikes have perfected the calm air box.  On the dyno I have seen considerable improvements in output with the calm air box as opposed to the stack bells being exposed to atmosphere directly.  You have to have a lot of turbulence going on right behind that head. That is not good for an ideal induction system. Consider doing something that can furnish calmer air to the intake bells. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 17, 2020, 06:21:59 PM
icarus, your observations on the intake are well taken. i've experimented a little with intake extensions

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2Fr8Zi0ljl.jpg&hash=d33941a9f38140a9e5678d9c3a09583acbd55747)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FzPG3C43l.jpg&hash=7801a0ac855702ab964472cbd18c804b119ac35c)

but i haven't explored it yet. all my time has been occupied farther forward. im a bveliever, though. my exhaust pipes are 34 inches long, and i lose 4 mph if i depart from that length two inches in either direction.  an air box would be useful, too, bot i havent tried to fabricate one yet. the carbs are splayed from the head and thereisnt much to attach a box to, so its not a simple job. one advantage of an airbox would be that i could clean up the confusion between the motor and the rear tire, covering the oil tank and keeping grit out of the carbs.

i dont yet even know whether i'll get to race this year. all the effort might not be worth it. if maine is shut down, i'll go to arkansas. thats less than 700 miles, as opposed to 1100, so thats a plus.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 23, 2020, 08:33:52 PM
bang.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on June 23, 2020, 10:20:25 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on June 23, 2020, 08:33:52 PM
bang.



Excellent!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 24, 2020, 12:27:13 AM
i'm paid up for the loring timing association races 1100 miles awy in maine for the beginning of september. if they cancel, i might have time to register for the east coast timing association races in arkansas the first week in october.

that's actually closer, but in the past has been much more crowded.

but dunno. no point in building a racebike unless there's a place to race it.

i also have a roadrace machine to build that will let me do stuff within a hundrd miles. all i have to do is put it together

(https://i.imgur.com/GaSZ08Gl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 24, 2020, 05:56:32 AM
Billy, tell me that you are not going to put the engine in that long wheelbase bicycle with the odd ball frame.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 24, 2020, 11:40:17 AM
lol

no thatz an old sturmey archer tandem bicycle i bought for ten shillings when i was about 15 years old.

but it has possibilities

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 24, 2020, 11:51:33 PM
^ Friggin lunatic kid. His parents ought to beat him................well maybe not because he has involved himself in a creative effort. 

Well alright I was also a lunatic kid.  When I was about 17 I did not run away and join the circus. I did run away and join a carnival outfit that traveled all over the upper mid west.  The name of the outfit was Royal American Shows.  The carnies wintered in Tampa where I lived at the time.  I worked at the corn game.  That was one of the main hustles. It is a Bingo game with a big tent and a lot of glitz. The carnies called the bingo game the corn joint.  That's because the player uses corn kernals to cover the called boxes on his card.   Bingo was illegal in many locations but by calling it corn game they managed to get by with the scam...............

Getting to the point about lunatic kids, it happened as follows.  The outfit had a "motordrome", one of those large wooden cylinders in which crazy people rode motorcycles inside "the wall".  Vertical madness held in place by centrifugal forces.  It came to pass that one of the motor drome riders left the show and they needed another rider.  It was known around the camp that I was an experienced rider even at the age of 17.  Sure enough I was recruited to ride the wall.  Cool ! The pay was better and I thought myself indestructible as 17 year old males often do.  I had no problem with riding the wall, it was actually kinda fun. Not as good a thrill as sex.  I could ride motorcycles and had less skill at seducing young maidens.  Then my parent heard about my foolhardiness and put a stop to my burgeoning career as a daredevil. Back to the corn game I went.

After the season was over I went back to Tampa to finish high school and try to learn more about seduction techniques.  I never did get the hang of that skill.

Before the next year began I was contacted by another carnie outfit who needed a "globe rider".  The globe is a wire cage shaped in a global fashion.  The rider gets into the globe and zooms round and round and does the ultimate stunt by riding up and overhead.  Yep you can do that unless the bike craps out at an inopportune time.  I tried out in the globe and did very well but I decided that riding upside down was dumber than even I could  deal with.  I did not sign up with that carnie outfit because I had partially come to my senses, not entirely but at least enough to pass on the wonderful opportunity of being a super star dumb ass. ...........................

And here I am still able to walk and talk and make up lies.  In the case of the motor drome and the globe tryout, that is the honest truth, not one of my lies.  So when I say that some kid is a dumb ass, it is because I recognize my own history as a youthful dumb ass have some understanding. .

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 25, 2020, 01:15:56 AM
you actually rode a wall of death? i have never met anybody who ever did that

what was the machine? even now they all seem to be antiques
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 25, 2020, 07:41:11 PM
The preferred bike for riding the wall was the ancient Indian scout. It had a leaf spring front suspension. It made a lot of noise and one of the drills for the rider was to temporarily cut the throttle while retarding the spark.  That would make loud exhaust pops which the crowd seemed to think was a failing engine, and more hazardous to the rider.   All of which was pure show biz.

The Globe bike was an ancient ring ding whose maker I do not recall.  Perhaps a CZ, Pugeot or, perish the thought, a Villiers engined machine.  I only rode the globe about two times in a try out session.  Easy enough when you get up to speed at the largest diameters but a bit tricky to get going from a stop at the bottom of the cage.

If you fell off the bike while on the wall you would slide around the wall until your velocity progressivly diminished until you fell to the bottom. In the cage, if you fell off, the wire bars would reduce you to hamburger.  Even as a dumb kid I took that into account and said ; no thanks.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 25, 2020, 07:52:43 PM
ive never seen a wall but there was a one ring circuz that came through once with a cage.

two riders in it at a time.

in my opinion that iz hazardous

wont you tumble if you come off in the wall? i fell down at 115 mph once and i bounced three times
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 25, 2020, 09:33:36 PM
well ,the july races were cancelled, but the september event is on in ten days.

took the machine out to the airstrip to break in th erings

(https://i.imgur.com/FchI11Ml.jpg)

its been together since june but nowhere to run it competitively

(https://i.imgur.com/D51GReYl.jpg)

also took out the daughter's 2007 ninja to re-familiarize the number two girl with the controls

(https://i.imgur.com/Efa93p3l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/2RtoQZ7l.jpg)

its a quick little OHC 250. the older girl has the one mile record at 103, but i've raised teh gearing to see if we can beat the 107mph at the mile point five. last time they were bouncing off the rev limiter at 103. literally could not go any faster than that.

the man i want to beat ran his 1950 custom triumph to 139 out west. then he abandoned triumphs and now is perfecting this 1948 vincent:

(https://i.imgur.com/W8EGVoSl.png)

he's got the vincent up to 136 so far but hasn't used 4th gear yet. should be a fast machine when he gets th ebugs worked out.

and my former competition for the fastest triumph 650 has his machine parked. he also built this really nice double that has only been out one time before the rider lost interest. thats a shame, because this could eat the harleys in the 1350 class:

(https://i.imgur.com/HfbraFul.png)

there's a great story behind the double. i spotted it uncompleted on ebay for $700 with nine hours to go and called him up to tell him. he ended up buying it and then completely redoing all the critical engineering. if he'd get his rider in gear, this macghine could run 175-plus.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 26, 2020, 05:41:08 AM
Billy I do believe that the Vincents had advanced technology of the day but were over rated.  I routinely smoked a Vincent on a short road course with my AJS 500.  Later My NSU Super Max 250 defeated, more than once, a loud mouthed fat guy on a Black Shadow. My rider at the time was a much better pilot than the dumb ass on the Vincent.  In fact the NSU had much better handling and much better braking power than the Vincent.

As for the double.......Power output is good but aero drag is more influential.  Aero drag is a function of the square of velocity.  For example the square of 130 MPH in feet per second is about 190 feet per second square which is.......36,519..........ft/sec velocity at 175 MPH is 66,200 ...........about 1.8 time v^2 of 130... Can the double achieve that much more out put and will the tires be able to hold well enough to get there?   

Yeah I know that I am a naysayer but consider that I am a curmudgeanly old man.

I will be rooting for you and the daughter even though I think that you are both crazy for doing the LSR stuff. 

What the hell?  I think that Moto Cross is also crazy and even stupid. Boring too.  It is more a test of extreme physical endurance than bike superiority. I do respect the physical ability of the competitors but not their intellectual brilliance.  Trials riding is a whole other ball game.  I urge you to encourage your daughters to try that instead of LSR.  Trials exhibit finely tuned skill and not so much about brassy balls.

I apologize in advance for being such a critical old bastard....................Go for it , both of you. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 26, 2020, 05:06:43 PM
motocross and soccer are the two most strenuous physical sports that exist. in treadmill tests of motocross riders a number of years ago, the researchers found that riders were routinely exerting themselves well past normal pain thresholds. there's a reason they break down like cowboys at an early age. i'd love to learn trials but if i live long enough i still have hang gliding to  master first. i wanted to pick that up years ago but i don't have enough time left to do it all.

that vincent is a 48 1000cc unit. he started with nothing more than bare cases. obtained a transmission and top end from somewhere else. there's nothing else on the bike that came out of the factory-- it's all handmade in this guy's two-car garage in south california.

(https://i.imgur.com/y80exjtl.png)
(https://i.imgur.com/b8iacJMl.png)

hard to tell what it will do. he's running nitromethane, which took his 650 triumph from 139 to 175mph. personally i don't care for super-fuel. it makes you go super fast but i like doing difficult things with limited resources instead.

on the double, the reason the triumph bonneville got that name was because of the 261mph triumph streamliner at the salt flats in the 1950s. with enough aero, a vintage double can do very well. but both he and i are more interested in the naked class, where all you are permitted is a motor and a frame. slower, but harder. i frankly don't know what the double will do. i saw it do 142 mph with no trouble at all the only time it was out, but then it inverted a timing cover seal and lost oil pressure. the mechanic didn't spot the twenty-minute fix and retired the bike from the event. it hasn't been back out. then i beat the 650 record held by his rider and the guy threw in the LSR towel. now the double-- and the 650-- are avante-garde decor in the rider's ride-in bar in new york. may never compete again.

we'll see what we can do. i have my machine lowered until my toes drag the ground changing gear, and the final drive is set up for 135. if it will pull that i'll drop a tooth on the rear sprocket and go for 140. if i do that it will have broken every speed record for every naked 650 british machine anywhere in the world, for the past 70 years, on gasoline, fuel, custom, production, vintage, modified, altered, all of them.

or if i blow it up again i'll be set way back, because i'm out of money now.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 27, 2020, 01:09:53 AM
Billy, although I am a bit of a naysayer, I still encourage you to follow your dream. I will be rooting for you when the next LSR event comes around.

Naysayer part:  I am skeptical that the use of nitro would propel a bike from 139 on gas to 175 on nitro.  That is because of the latent heat availability between the two fuels and the very large difference in drag factors due to velocity. 

As for the HRD builder, I salute him for his enthusiasm and obvious ability to build from scratch with ancient parts and his own real ingenuity.  I mean what the hell. There are enthusiasts for all sorts of oddball stuff....I am thinking of the cult that likes the Tribeta car from communist era east Germany.  The 2CV and other such stuff.   I confess that I could become interested in a 1960s era Saab coupe which was a three cylinder two stroker that actually worked quite well.  I had a borrowed one for a couple of weeks way back in the day.  It was a fun little car.



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 27, 2020, 03:32:08 PM
lol

id love a 2CV. and a traction avante as well.

and if we re really wishing for weird, i want a 1957 sugga. saw one in sweden many years back and fell in love with them.

the 175 is real, and it was 5he same machine he did 139.226 on with oxygenated fuel. lots of modifications for nitro, of course. he gets it running on methanol and then just opens a valve from the tank. no float in the carb, direct gravity feed to the manifold. scary stuff.

fascinating, really, feeding completely liquid fuel into the cylinderz. ill see if i can upload a video he made. my telephone wont copy the url

here.


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 04, 2020, 03:47:08 AM
drove 1089 miles to maine and got the girls racing.

the 19 year old did 103 in pure production 250, and got her name in the record book. the 23 year old runs tomorrow. both of them alternate between riding and doing college clssses online in the truck.

i ran three times. the first was a snoozer at 5500 and 103, then another slow run at 6500 and 113, then opened it up for the first time and clocked 130.

not too fast but it was without tuning and old plugs. tomorrow well see what we can move it up to.

and there were artiodactyls! driving out at sunset my older daughter said look theres a moose. i whipped a u turn and damnwd if there wasnt a big cow right off the side of the road

(https://i.imgur.com/pCWV9fWl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2020, 05:57:18 PM
the girls did well

(https://i.imgur.com/u0vZvDtl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/U8ui1b5l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/SWt0QL7l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/ctPX26fl.jpg)

in my humble opinion, correct upbringing of one's children requires that you allow them a means to test themselves without fear of failure. in something like land speed racing, my kids get an opportunity to look for a measure of excellence in which they better themselvves without requiring them to beat someone else.

they're racing against themselves, not other people. sure, there are records to beat, and i personally focus on that. but in th ebig picture, what you're doing is establishing a personal best and then working on your own abilities to attemtpt to exceed it and stretch your envelope.

both my girls now have their names in the record books in different classes on this machine, and no matter what they choose to do in the future, that is an achievment that can't go away.



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on September 10, 2020, 06:11:55 PM
That's very cool, billy! I had a friend growing up who had a record for the most hub caps stolen. But a police record is nothing to be proud of. :lol:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2020, 07:43:14 PM
lol

i dunno

i have one from 1973 in malaysia for possesion of opium and opium smoking utensils.

sort of went with the time and place, you know
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on September 11, 2020, 04:43:00 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on September 10, 2020, 07:43:14 PM
lol

i dunno

i have one from 1973 in malaysia for possesion of opium and opium smoking utensils.

sort of went with the time and place, you know

:boaterhat:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 27, 2020, 11:27:30 PM
dammit i'm tired of 2020. i'm hanging out  in 1966 instead.

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi817.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz96%2Fquakerthink%2FBSA%2520Thunderbolt%2F20150716_124423_zpsuiofhhie.jpg&hash=3163181a5daf64d65beafcf547caa9695036c09f)

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi817.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz96%2Fquakerthink%2FBSA%2520Thunderbolt%2F20150716_124404_zpsipr92rq6.jpg&hash=db3bbd3b2c82cdca7f42bdf26d2e37f986e13aa1)

(https://i.imgur.com/qQ6d2kfl.jpg)

^^^this is my 1966 BSA A65 Thunderbolt, a 650 cc vertical twin with a single carburetor cylinder head, as opposed to the twin carb lightnings and hornets and spitfires. the Tbolt was a kinder, gentler BSA, easier of fuel, esier to maintain (a little) and easier to keep in tune, they said.

mine is a bitsa, a 1966 Thunderbolt frame and tinware with a 1972 A65 engine slipped in there. the history of old motorcycles never accompanies their possession, so i'm assuming that sometime in the past this engine suffered a blow up, and the owner found a 72 to put in instead. the thing is, only the core of the motor is 72-- cases, crank, and head. all the accessories and covers came from the 1966.

so working on this thing is an exercise in detectuive work. the engine fasteners are all modern UNF thread forms, and th ebolt sizes are standard SAE. but the frame and tinware is all pre-SAE whitworth threads and british Standard bolt sizes. so you have to keep in mind that you need two completely different sets of tools to work on it. plus two parts manuals, and two shop manuals.  some things come from a 1966 state of mind, some from a 1972.

for most subjects that would not matter much, and even for british motorcycles a matter of ten years is often unimportant.

but not these ten years. around 1970 was a revolutionary period for the british motorcycle industry, and lots of changes occured, and lots of others . . .  didn't. the japanses showed up and were a game changer, standardization of measurement appeared out of nowhere, and old wilson was PM.

like he said, a week is a long time in politics, and ten years turned out to be a long time for BSA. at the end of it they went out of business.

so just to make it awkward, the original 1966 tank sprung a leak. so i took the tank off my 1969 Thunderbolt:

(https://i.imgur.com/yFmm1Onl.jpg)

which doesn't run, and am using it for the 1966.

i couldnot get the ignition to work correctlty. this thing still had the original dual points and mechanical spark advance unit, but 50 years of wear had done a number on the cam, and i could make the coils spark just by pushing the cam to the side with a screwdriver. i like points, but if the unit is worn out, it will make you hate yourself for trying to fix it.

(https://i.imgur.com/P7NCgTWl.jpg)

so out with the points and in with an electronic ignition unit i forgot that i had. i used it on my race bike before i put on teh magneto, and it's vastly more sophisticated than this old nail needs. but i am not getting any younger, and i would rather ride this old pig than fix it.

then i'll braze up the hole in the fuel tank and see about starting the 1969 thunderbolt for the first time.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on September 28, 2020, 12:43:03 AM
I love that nostalgia bit Billy.  I never had much use for a Beezer except for the Gold Star single (dirt tracker).  That was a most impressive machine for its day.  I was more attracted to the Matchless G50, or my Ajay.   In any case your BSA is a cool machine for the current scene.

And don't apologize for putting a reliable ignition system in place of the BTH or Lucas crap that it came with.  Times have changed.  In the old days Lucas electrics were the brunt of all sorts of disrespecting jokes. "Why do limeys drink warm beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators."  No more.  The Lucas fuel injector modules, for example, are favored by many of the top tuners. .  They are reliable and accurate.  The Brits have come a long way because they can.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on September 28, 2020, 02:47:23 AM
As one of my Brit friends said, and I've probably said it here before, "Ah yes, Lucas Electronics, the Prince of Darkness!".  ;D Though I surely can't fault that distributor cam for wearing down, given the time frame and the number of times that thing has revolved.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 28, 2020, 02:20:22 PM
the thing is, pointz are fixable in wAys that a transiztorized syztem isnt. on the old BsSAs. one half of the whole ignition can fail and you can ztill get home.

ive fixed worn out automatic advance units with piecez of beer can, and walked up and down the highway looking for wire and piecez of metal to use in emergency repairs.

a hall effect reluctor and silicon switching devicez ibside an epoxy pot dont offer the same forgiveness.


but this one is well and truly worn out, and modern ignition points dont last az long az the old onez. so its time.

i stl have two ither BSAs with pointz. one had electronic ignition and i took it out and put pointz back in because it wouldnt start.

anyway well get it running tomorrow i think
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 02, 2020, 10:18:59 PM
i swear to god BSAs were designed just to annoy me in some fundamental and primitive way.

no room for the control box on top of the oil tank, because there's still a zener diode up there. and i still have the really nice leather tool pouch on the right, which i want to keep. but the strap the holds up the side panels did the trick:

(https://i.imgur.com/MFO9QmRl.jpg)

not many places to hold the ignition coil but there was bare room up under the headstock to fit the tiny little german thing that this smartfire came with:


(https://i.imgur.com/mKahZvul.jpg)


and of course the trigger plate and rotor fit right where they're supposed to. there's a little green light on the control module to indicate power in, the control box, and a little red LED on the trigger that you can use to static-time the ignition. really a nice package:

(https://i.imgur.com/MX1MmYZl.jpg)

so i got it installed and then went looking for the instructions on setting the trigger in the timing cavity that used to hold the points. not anywhere i could find, and i  looked and looked. i tried using the instructions that came with the twin-plug pazon setup i have for when i give up on my ARD magneto in the race bike, but it uses a different rotor design and i couldn't figure out whether to have the various lights on or off and where to do it. so i emailed the manufacturer in new zealand, who was instantly prompt and helpful and sent me instructions for the smartfire unit i'm putting on, and answered my questions about the non-stock wiring i like to use.

anyway, i put it all together and it wouldn't start. wouldn't even try to start. i re-checked the timing and it was where i thought it was supposed to be, and both plugs happily sparked when i kicked th emotor. there was compression, 160 on the right, 170 on the left, so i figured the valve clearances were probably okay. so i took off the old concentric carburetor and went through it, several times. poked my little number78 drill bit through the idle jet, blew compressed air through all the holes, put it back on and it still wouldn't start. fuel was coming out the drain plug, and coming out the little hole in the tickler, so i knew it was getting there. just to check i squirted a bit of starter fluid into the cab and kicked-- th emotor fired right up and then died after a second or two.

fuel! i said, because it was obvious. so i took the carb apart again and looked it over carefully again and checked everything again.

did this over and over, to the point where i went looking for a mikuni to put on, which is not easy to do on a stinking thunderbolt, but i was ready to try. you can put the carb on, but heavens knows how you could put on an air filter. the concentric is shorter than the mikuni, and the shortest spigot manifold you can get is right at 3/4-inch, and there's just flat  not room. a lightning might be okay, because they can go off to the side, but a thunderbolt is way too orthogonal to make it easy.

anyway i finally drained out some fuel to check petcock flow for the tenth time and said, whoa,here,  wait a minute . . .

(people from oklahoma really do say "whoa . . . ". just so you know. we can't help it.)

crap. the can of race fuel that i had emptied into the thunderclone's tank was one that had been opened prior to a serious rainstorm on the way to maine last month. the rain had puddled into the screw cap recess and had wicked into the can. i hadn't noticed because i hadn't ever completely emptied the can into anything, except . . . the thunderclone.

(https://i.imgur.com/tRBPAaOl.jpg)

the thunderclone wouldn't start because the son of a bitch couldn't burn water.

so i drained out all the fuel and flushed the tank with a few cups of fresh race gas. then went ahead and kicked it.

started immediately, which i knew it would, but it still won't run except at half throttle.

ah, i said, i still don't have the timing right in this hybrid motor, and the spark is too retarded and won't run unless the rpm is up on the advance curve. so i went and advanced the spark and it started and ran better, but the trigger is pushed against its slots and so i still have to move the rotor back a bit in order to get this to where it will work okay.

but the bugger runs, so lots of other questions are now moot.

i've got it on teh battery charger now, as there was only 11.91 volts in the system. lots of these things won't run un;ess they have more volts than any points set ever needed. th eold boyer bransden ignitions i used to use wouldn't start at all if you had less than 11 volts. maybe the reason this won't run slower than half throttle is because that's where the alternator give sthe control mmodule enough juice.

we'll find out tomorw. if i get it running this will make eight motorcycles that i have running all at the same time. that almost never happens with the old junk that i own. course, there's at least five that don't.

ive promised my lovely wife that i won't buy any more until all these are running. i tried to sneak in another BSA on her once but she spotted it immediately
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 03, 2020, 05:46:57 AM
Sounds every bit like bike shop lore Billy. Been there done that and quite a few more self administered flubs.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 03, 2020, 03:23:46 PM
 british motorcycles were invented to instill humility

and i use machines in general az a form of meditation. lots of procedurez on theze old things are ingrained so deeply in my lizard brain that i dont consciouzly think about what im doing. i can rebuild a carburetor or adjuzt valvez without conscious thought, just uzing muscle memory, more or less.

its sim8lar in some ways to racing. when i leave the line and accelerate down a racetrack, the rest of the world ceasez to exist. there is nothing going on in my life except a motor and a vanishing point ahead of me.

ive never talked to painters about what theyre doing in tbeir heads while they create. i wonder whether its similar.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 04, 2020, 11:19:01 PM
success!

the 1966 BSA lives again. i ruled out ignition, and narrow3d my problems down to air fuel ratio at low throttle settings. borrowed a carburetor from another machine and it started and ran at two of the three fuel circuits

so now im either going to fix the 50 year old carburetor thats on it

or put on a 50 year old japaneze carburetor thats easier to tune

tge light in the tunnel is brighter
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 06, 2020, 01:28:38 AM
Billy is a nut case when he seeks the land speed record on his primitive bikes.  These Isle of Man racers are way beyond Billie's madness.   The H2R Kawasaki and it's suicidal rider are routinely exceeding 320 KM/Hr  (200+ MPH)  And they are going around corners.  At least, our Billy is going in  a hopefully, straight line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZymALLOa5s
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 06, 2020, 02:58:15 AM
Quote from: Icarus on October 06, 2020, 01:28:38 AM
Billy is a nut case when he seeks the land speed record on his primitive bikes.  These Isle of Man racers are way beyond Billie's madness.   The H2R Kawasaki and it's suicidal rider are routinely exceeding 320 KM/Hr  (200+ MPH)  And they are going around corners.  At least, our Billy is going in  a hopefully, straight line.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZymALLOa5s

I've watched some of that footage. I guess that those guys are made of way better stuff than I am. That driving is simply insane!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 07, 2020, 08:12:12 PM
i would give up everything i've ever done, everything i've ever owned, and everything i could ever be

excepting my family

to have had a successful career at the island

without dying, preferably. but if dying is part of the deal, then i'd want enough time to be really good at the TT first.

then dying is okay.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 07, 2020, 08:25:21 PM
in the meantime the old thunderclone is successfully resurrected.



th eslide in the carburetor was too lean to open th ethrottle quickly, which is why it died at the end up ^^^here. but i used the number three slide out of san old carburetor i had in a box, filed the slots until the choke mechanism slid freely, and put it back together. it runs fine now, except that there's no oil in the forks because it leaked out.

but now its off the lift, and i can start work on the road race bike i've been putting off:

(https://i.imgur.com/CKwSWUNl.jpg)

i have almost everything i need too put this hot rod together so i can go around corners too fast on a racetrack next year, but it keeps getting pushed to the side. no more. track bike is number one.

(https://i.imgur.com/EPMidnel.jpg)

except i've got to braze the hol e in the tank on ^^^this thing and put the 1969 tank back on the other thunderbolt befor ei lose any parts.

only the 69 thunderbolt, the 69 starfire, and the 68 441 victor left to do. all BSAs, for crying out loud. there's a lesson there for me. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 09, 2020, 01:01:16 AM
Billy if you are serious about building a road racing machine, consider abandoning The British Small Arms Machinery.  Look at it this way.  A functional BSA of yore will bring a pretty fair price, more than it cost new.  Sell off a few of those things.  Now you will have some mad money.  Next...........................

Dig around and find an old 70s vintage Kawasaki KZ750.  In its' day it was often regarded as a road toad. Ahhh! but it has enormous potential, it is far more reliable than old Brit scoots.  It is a tad overweight but can be lightened pleasingly. It is a most capable overhead cam sort, and the head flows rather well even in stock form. Replace the pistons with some Suzuki...I forgot which ones....which raises the CR to about 11 plus.  With suitable exhaust and intake mods it will deliver more brute power than any but the most sophisticated pushrod bikes.  It runs even up or a little faster than the Cosworth Triumps.  It can be a ripper out of the corners. The brakes on the stock machine are pretty near adequate.  The swing arm is a bit crude so replace it with a box section alloy unit.  The rear coilovers can be whatever you can find that is better than the stockers.  The forks can stand a little tweaking with the valving so that they are in tune with the weight and position of the pilot (rider)

How do I know all this about a so called road toad?  I built one to compete in the BOTT (Battle Of The Twins) class.  The More I massaged it the better it became.  It was ultimately equal to any thing on the BOTT track.  It could worry the hell out of factory Sportsters on certain courses.  Damned fine machine that Rob Muzzy used to think worth some passionate development. No real money in that class so he never bothered to develop his own version. He was busy with the big time factory four cylinder super bikes at the time.

If you really want to go road racing for vintage bikes, consider the KZ750.  No way you can compete with modern twins like the Ducatis but you can stay with the old time Ducs for a lot less money.

Billy I have a Flow Quick that I need like a need like I need a paper ass.  It is in a box in my garage. I don't know if it still works but it might.  It is a poor mans air flow measuring tool. I will give it to you for free if you have any interest in playing with it. It can use its' own, included, computer program to plot all sorts of information.  Nifty little digital readout. Uses PVC pipe to route air flow past the differential measuring point. You drive it with your shop vac.  I will also give you some books about flow in cylinder heads if that is sufficient to occupy your interest instead of killing yourself on a road course like Road Atlanta, Mid Ohio, Laconia,  Daytona, etc.   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 09, 2020, 05:43:12 PM
i remember BOTT. i went to a BOTT race at laguna seca  long time ago and watched the ducatis clear most everybody out. that is genuinely ancient history.

and you know what? i actually have an old KZ750 in the shop.

(https://i.imgur.com/WpvwN1Ul.jpg)

^^^my son bought this 82 model. it runs but needs minor work on an oil leak. its the early 80s chopster version with extended forks. king/queen seat, and 16-inch drum brake rear wheel. but it could be made better. but i look at it the same way i looked at a friends really nice 1965 right-shift sportster he had for sale a while back: a different design paradigm, a new set of knowledge and a suite of new tooling.

the old british stuff will never be as fast or stop as well as newer machines. but i understand them, and so have a better chance of keeping them running and wo5rking well than were i to focus on things with more potential. i'm not serious about competitive road racing-- to do that means a circuit of races that take more time and money than i have. i'm looking for a weekend track bike that will let me ride on the local race tracks and actually stretch an envelope more than twice a year, which is what LSR offers.   i hadn't considered the KZ750, but i will. i don't think my son is really interested in this machine, and just bought it as a connection to me. it hasn't moved since he went off to college, and now he's out on his own.

Quote
Billy I have a Flow Quick that I need like a need like I need a paper ass.  It is in a box in my garage. I don't know if it still works but it might.  It is a poor mans air flow measuring tool. I will give it to you for free if you have any interest in playing with it. It can use its' own, included, computer program to plot all sorts of information.  Nifty little digital readout. Uses PVC pipe to route air flow past the differential measuring point. You drive it with your shop vac.  I will also give you some books about flow in cylinder heads if that is sufficient to occupy your interest instead of killing yourself on a road course like Road Atlanta, Mid Ohio, Laconia,  Daytona, etc.

i am super interested and that is a very kind offer. i know several people that manage little flow benches with shop vacs and i have a huge rooftop belt-drive squirrel cage ventilation fan that i use for circulate air in the shop that i could convert with just a bit of PVC plumbing. how big a box would this ship in?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 10, 2020, 03:26:53 AM
The electronic chassis is small...12 x 12 x 8 that includes the instruction book the disks and the magic box.  The second box is for the PVC pipe thing that has the differential pressure gimmick built in.  It is probably 6 x6 x 24.  All shippable by postal service.  Weight is not excessive.  If you want to play with this thing I will investigate shipping cost.  My wife is an E-Bay power seller and she has me building boxes rather frequently.  These toys are not hard to package.

Once again I do not know whether the thing still functions but it did work pretty well when I put it on a shelf in my race shop.  Mostly it is a fun tool and is helpful when learning that all that conventional wisdom about head flow is subject to ....bullshit.  Air flow is not so simple as is commonly believed.  Mostly air does not like to go around sharp corners and mostly maybe polishing the ports is not such a good idea, sometimes it is, and sometimes not so good an idea.  and mostly there is much to observe about the simple parts like the valve seats....and no, three angle seats are not always the solution. All that stuff depends on the shape of the combustion chamber, port inclination, radius of the short turn and where the other valves are, and the shape of the piston dome....on and on and ....whew!   All those mysteries are what makes the whole concept so fascinating.

I think that I  have previously claimed that maximum flow rate at maximum lift is pure advertising.  The mid flow range is far more important because the time that the valve is open at mid ranges is so much longer than at the instantaneous top valve lift.  We are trying to furnish the most oxygen to the combustion process not the most airflow at a tiny time interval. SO alright some cams have a plateau at top lift.  Damned well better hurry to get that valve closed out of the way of the rapidly approaching piston.............OOps, I am in the midst of a lecture here so please ignore all the uninvited outburst.

If you want to play with this gadget, PM me with your mailing address.  It might occupy enough of your interest to keep you out of smoke filled bars or whore houses. Or not.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 10, 2020, 06:57:59 PM
i confezs ive never had much affinity for smokefilled bars and my experience with professional women waz long ago in a galaxy far away.

but making a cylinder head work better is a fascinating exercise. especially when you denigrate the holy of holies, the three angle valve job

and im just curious about the world. thats tge only problem with mortality. you die before you can understand anything
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 11, 2020, 02:46:36 AM
I completely agree that we die before we understand all that we wished that we could......................but those remarks do not apply to just everyone. They do apply to we who are so compelled to pursue the worldly as well as the cosmic truths of the world.

I like the seekers of knowledge more than the less inquisitive.  Expressions like; "it is what it is" do not set well with true seekers.  SO yes, we live, we die, and we take our knowledge with us. It was fun while it lasted.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Randy on October 12, 2020, 01:07:03 AM
Quote from: Icarus on October 11, 2020, 02:46:36 AM
I completely agree that we die before we understand all that we wished that we could......................but those remarks do not apply to just everyone. They do apply to we who are so compelled to pursue the worldly as well as the cosmic truths of the world.

I like the seekers of knowledge more than the less inquisitive.  Expressions like; "it is what it is" do not set well with true seekers.  SO yes, we live, we die, and we take our knowledge with us. It was fun while it lasted.
"It is what it is" always seemed like a cop out. I've never liked phrases like that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 12, 2020, 01:50:09 AM
tid' apah
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 14, 2020, 10:57:54 PM
put a roller together now for the trackbike project

made mostly out of junk left over from the LSR build

(https://i.imgur.com/PX8RCp9l.jpg)

if i can turn all th epiles of parts in my shop into motorcycles it will be easier for my wife to sell everything when i die
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 15, 2020, 02:34:04 AM
^ Good thinking Billy.  On the other hand, unless she is keenly aware of the market value of all those old crocks,,,,,No use making them functional. But then ......................

I am the executor for a dear, life long, friend.  He is younger but not nearly as healthy as me.  He has a whole bunch of Bikes. Like BSA , Triumph, Mustang, and  one or m0re  of every Japanese brand, some of them collectors items.   It would be a huge undertaking to dispose of these bikes for collector market value. In your case their are heirs. In my and my friends age there are no heirs and so why does it matter if that old Triumph TT500 goes to the landfill?   

I urge you not to croak before you make some smart decisions about the fate of all those delightful antiques. ..............Greenbacks are far more portable and far more useful at places like the grocery store.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 15, 2020, 04:16:32 PM
well, i consider it polite to try not to cause stress in people. and some of this junk i have, while in the end is just that, would be useful to somebody else who isn't quite as dead.

i'm organizing stuff into labelled boxes associated with each machine, so whoever pulls out the 69 BSA 441 victor, for example, will have a box with the parts that came off it, the factory tools needed to work on it, and the bits and pieces that go with it. there's also a few people who live not so many hours away who would be able to look at something and tell her how and to who to dispose it with.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 19, 2020, 06:45:30 PM
uh oh

went and saw something ive never seen before

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTtVixyXuLU

flat track/TT races 90 miles from the house. about six events a year, other races as close.

they've got  class for old farts, and i'm wondering now:

(https://i.imgur.com/JB9Mnorl.jpg)

there's a slide school that comes by here once a year or so, US$250 for four hours on a royal enfield himalayan.

wondering.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 19, 2020, 11:46:53 PM
Billy if you can find an XR100 Honda in your treasure trove of bikes, get it running.  It is the best little bike for dirt track practice.  It is the chosen bike for learners at the old Kenny Roberts schools.  (Does Roberts, the master racer with the initials KR, mean anything to you?)

An Enfield dirt tracker?  Naaaw!  Maybe you can find a thumper of 500cc or less somewhere in that pile of bikes.  The little Honda is the clear choice however.  I had more fun on that one than almost any other bike that I have had. 

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 20, 2020, 03:27:44 AM
woo

i know exactly who kenny roberts is. i remember when he took the americans to europe and destroyed the conventional wisdom.

and laguna seca, was it? when he went from dead last to sixth place in the first lap. running at 110 percent, which he never usually had to do . .

he was the rival in every way to mike hailwood, absent the comeback.

and he ran a TZ750 in flat track when he was s around 16 years old.

the himalayans are a completelty new machine from the old RE works in india. id never heard of it.  google picturez

(https://www.greatbiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/modified-royal-enfield-himalayan-flat-tracker-righ-0e0e.jpg)

^^^these are for real

ill investigate the 100s. but the advantage of the triumph 650 is that i already have most of a short track bike already and i know how they work

but im just thinking at the moment.

the future is always wide open. just not as much of it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 21, 2020, 05:07:50 AM
That ain't the RE that I once knew Billy.  It looks like a real purpose built machine. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 21, 2020, 08:13:25 PM
i didn't believe it either when i was told about it. for years RE has been just churning out new versions of the old 350 bullet from the 1950s.

johnny lewis uses these things in his flat track slide school. this is him on something else

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7nV118A6o4

i cannot watch this without wanting to be out there

royal enfield has just come out with a 650 vertical twin, recreating the interceptor of the 1960s



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2020, 05:13:25 PM
why are you british . . .so, british?

i'm trying to make a list of all the parts i need to put the motor and frame of this track bike together. the frame is 1965. the motor cases are 1967. the gearbox, primary drive, and crankshaft are 1970.

now in most places a mere five year span of parts for a machine that had been in continuous production since 1959 would not be awkward.

except . . .british . . .

the 1965 and 1967 parts use British Standard bolt and nut sizes. the 1970 parts use SAE bolts and nut sizes. the exact same motor and frame parts parts do not interchange.

plus, the older stuff uses three different thread forms, whitworth, cycle engineering, and british standard fine. they don't interchange either.

the nuts that attach the alternator rotor to the crank are SAE, while the studs that hold the stator to the crankcase are CEI, and the nuts that tighten the stator to the studs are british standard fine. on the same stud, for crying out loud.

the covers are held onto the cases by BSF screws, but any threads in the covers themselves are SAE, or sometimes BA, which is yet another screw size that is almost the same as SAE 10-32, except isn't quite.

plus i sometimes run across 1/4-20 tapped holes in the aluminum that have had metric 10-6 bolts screwed in because the previous owner only had metric fasteners.

you cannot even count on the same system being in place on an undisturbed original machine. my 1972 triumph bonneville is SAE on the outside, british standard and CEI on the inside, and is bored for metric main bearings.

go figure.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 31, 2020, 06:31:11 PM
While Studebaker at least used Imperial fasteners, my neighbor used to have to take the serial number for his truck into the parts store, because rolling changes were made, going down the assembly line.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2020, 08:08:42 PM
that wont even help for sure with british stuff. sometimes triumph changed the size or shape of a bushinh or seal and KeEPT THE SAME PART NUMBER for multiple years across the change

they issued parts books updates for some of them but the looseleaf sheetz havent survived

plus the books were expensive to update and redraw, zo sometimes the old part is illustrated with a new number for a new year

gah. you have to have it in your head
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 31, 2020, 09:17:26 PM
having ranted enough, i will point out that studebakers were among the prettiest vehicles in some lines. i loved their pickups.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 31, 2020, 11:57:21 PM
Some of the Hawks were pretty cool, and I always like the boxy lines of the Avanti. But those "mouse nose" things in the early '50s were butt ugly, imo.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 01, 2020, 10:11:03 PM
they were definitely a acquired taste, i believe. but weird fifties stuff is in a class of its own.

i owned a hudson stepdown once. put a small block chevy in it. sold it when i moved east as just too much to own, but i'd lik eanother

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fmomentcar.com%2Fimages%2Fhudson-super-1949-1.jpg&hash=f29b8f233f7a594edeaac85e57173ba10f99b216)

difficult to put a V8 into because the steering used a bell crank in the middle and two long tie rods, but if you could get the oil pan situated there was still plenty of room under the hood.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 01, 2020, 11:25:57 PM
My take on Hudsons is that they are so ugly they have class. Maybe one of the newer V6 engines with all the electronic controls would fit better.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 02, 2020, 04:19:35 AM
I once ( 19/53) bought a vintage Hudson Town car of about 1935 vintage.  It was an elegant automobile with such stuff as heated shock absorbers to comply with the cold season Of  the Connecticut cold weather,  where I lived.  It was a   machine that had a cork clutch which I had to replace. Otherwise it was reliable and a pleasure to drive, not fast but comfortably.  At that time I did not appreciate its' unique and advanced engineering.  If I still had it in its original glory, Jay Leno would probably pay a hundred times its' original selling price.

I also once had a Willys pick up truck that was a sweetheart little vehicle, all of its' tiny four cylinder engine was pristine.  I wish that I had that one today as well.  That was about 1949.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on January 30, 2021, 03:43:32 AM
I thought of you guys when I saw this sculpture.

(https://i.imgur.com/qGR5hma.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 30, 2021, 03:59:33 AM
The person who did that sculpture was admirably imaginative, skillful,.......and perhaps a bit emotionally disturbed.  I like it none the less.  Crescent wrenches are cool and roller chain hair is appropriate for the theme. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 30, 2021, 05:12:10 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on January 30, 2021, 03:43:32 AM
I thought of you guys when I saw this sculpture.

(https://i.imgur.com/qGR5hma.jpg)

That is fucking cool! It puts my propane tank pig to shame, though. I need to weld on a new face. I used a piece of plywood, which deteriorated over the years.  :-[

I actually threw out a large (2 cubic feet) box of steel parts a few years ago when I realized that making things from them would take too much time from what I am already doing. I regret that now, because I've had a need for some of those things and now have to go buy them as new, which is money spent, as opposed to free. One only has so much room, though.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 30, 2021, 02:14:46 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on January 30, 2021, 03:43:32 AM
I thought of you guys when I saw this sculpture.


i am not entirely sure what to think of this
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on January 30, 2021, 06:36:52 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on January 30, 2021, 03:43:32 AM
I thought of you guys when I saw this sculpture.

(https://i.imgur.com/qGR5hma.jpg)

A Sphinx!

Reminds me of this scene from the movie The Neverending Story (1984), which I would watch over and over again when I was a kid. :P What was I doing with my life? :tellmemore:



Does the sculpture also shoot bolts from its eyes? :sidesmile:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 30, 2021, 07:11:43 PM
Nice double entendre! Lightning bolts or iron bolts?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on January 31, 2021, 01:24:49 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on January 30, 2021, 07:11:43 PM
Nice double entendre! Lightning bolts or iron bolts?

Both. :grin:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on January 31, 2021, 02:48:41 AM
Patrick Alo, the sculptor, titled it Sphinx. I love the way he executed the claws and the hair.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on January 31, 2021, 03:09:50 AM
More of his sculptures.

https://www.tuttartpitturasculturapoesiamusica.com/2018/01/Patrick-Alo.html

https://flooxia.com/post/formidable-scrap-metal-sculptures-by-patrick-alo
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 31, 2021, 03:57:01 AM
Love that art!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 31, 2021, 12:23:08 PM
the claws are half pincers

i couldnt figure them out for a moment
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 31, 2021, 06:31:42 PM
holy shit

i didn't know any of these had survived. less than 50 were built

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKh-V34vFU

The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose by making it appear to be a water transport vehicle for bringing water to the troops at the front line.[3] The type was developed in 1915 to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It could survive the machine gun and small-arms fire in "No Man's Land", travel over difficult terrain, crush barbed wire, and cross trenches to assault fortified enemy positions with powerful armament. Tanks also carried supplies and troops.





Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Randy on February 01, 2021, 03:27:01 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on January 31, 2021, 06:31:42 PM
holy shit

i didn't know any of these had survived. less than 50 were built

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKh-V34vFU

The Mark I was the world's first tank, a tracked, armed, and armoured vehicle, to enter combat. The name "tank" was initially a code name to maintain secrecy and disguise its true purpose by making it appear to be a water transport vehicle for bringing water to the troops at the front line.[3] The type was developed in 1915 to break the stalemate of trench warfare. It could survive the machine gun and small-arms fire in "No Man's Land", travel over difficult terrain, crush barbed wire, and cross trenches to assault fortified enemy positions with powerful armament. Tanks also carried supplies and troops.
Interesting about where the tank got its name. I've learned something new.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on February 01, 2021, 03:30:18 AM
Our very own Tank is also used to carry large volumes of alcoholic beverages.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tom62 on February 02, 2021, 10:06:46 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on February 01, 2021, 03:30:18 AM
Our very own Tank is also used to carry large volumes of alcoholic beverages.

:rofl:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 02, 2021, 02:47:50 PM
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3NkxEYvAwDw/Wmz4UQR4keI/AAAAAAAGDM4/TeFgy2ukMVI7D_RvrFGNozGXbxWa_O7igCLcBGAs/s1600/Patrick%2BAl%25C3%25B2%2BMercurio.jpg)

this is th ereal reason you like his stuff
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on February 02, 2021, 03:20:24 PM
 :grin: You've seen through me.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: xSilverPhinx on February 02, 2021, 10:00:41 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on February 02, 2021, 02:47:50 PM
(https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3NkxEYvAwDw/Wmz4UQR4keI/AAAAAAAGDM4/TeFgy2ukMVI7D_RvrFGNozGXbxWa_O7igCLcBGAs/s1600/Patrick%2BAl%25C3%25B2%2BMercurio.jpg)

this is th ereal reason you like his stuff

:lol: All is explained!

(Just joking, those are all cool sculptures.  8) )
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 03, 2021, 04:56:25 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on February 01, 2021, 03:30:18 AM
Our very own Tank is also used to carry large volumes of alcoholic beverages.

:rofl:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 25, 2021, 09:22:22 PM
all right. i have the race dates for this year, so i arranged for the motel rooms up in maine. the bike is ready to go except for some modifications that won't take a lot of time, so i'm concentrating on me.

five days ago i weighed 211 pounds. i've gone on a strict diet. two or three eggs, three times a day, with a handful of spinach greens and about two ounces of hard cheese, scrambled, maybe one thai chili at 1/25-gram thrown in. no other food at all of any kind. no eating for 15 hours between 700pm and 1000am. not a long term strategy, just a no-carbohydrate fast to burn up the glycogen.

by yesterday i was down to 205.6. most of this is just water weight and clearing the plumbing, but from here it will start to reflect actual fat loss. now that the snow is going i'll start the bicycle again. the weight loss will slow, but fat will continue to be burned up.

five down, twenty to go. if i get inspired i'll see about another ten after that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 13, 2021, 10:26:21 PM
well, i know little about electronics. but today these came in the mail.

(https://i.imgur.com/9unDXA1l.jpg?1)

one hundred 470-ohm resistors, 1-watt, 1 percent precision. i only need one, but i have to buy them one hundred at a time.

i will take oneof these and pot them in a piece of PVC pipe with epoxy and two screws terminals to make a bridge across the stator terminal wiring in the electronic ignition system of a motorcycle that has happily done without it for 48 years.

i also received 100 680-watt resistors that do the same thing but not so much.

the spark curve looks like this, unaltered:

(https://www.happyatheistforum.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.pazon.com%2Ffiles%2FAL2-advance.jpg&hash=2245c08dd591fb84e8fcfe031d9e36f23178cb88)

^^^there is sometjhing around 13 degrees of advance before top dead center at idle, and 38 dgrees before top dead center at full advance,.25 degrees of total spark advance. the resisstor will decrease  that by 8 and 4 degrees, maybe. i'll try the 470 first, and then the 680 and see where we end up.

nothing like ignoring 50 years of technological advance trying to make an ancient mmotor do things it was never intended to do. by doing this i am hoping to make my machine idle as well as it did when it was built, back in teh days of 104-octane gasoline.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 14, 2021, 01:43:11 AM
The 750 to 1250 curve is peculiarly shaped.  Each of the advance curves top at 3000 and remain flat. Not what I would think ideal.  Ignition timing is a function of, or at least aimed at, the time lapse between ignition instant and full flame propagation.  So that infers that leveling at 3000 is maybe not the perfect setup.. No doubt the Boyer is a better deal than the centrifugal advance mechanisms of the olden days......Or the left hand handle bar on old Harleys. There one could dial in the ignition timing.  All that did was rotate the distributor.  It allowed a human to retard the spark enough to kickstart the beast without risking a broken leg. Some of the battery ignition Brit bikes had a similar gimmick. They had a little thumb lever to fiddle up the spark timing.  Of course the Brit bikes had Lucas or BTH ignitions and would not start in any case.  Aaaah Nostalgia.

Time have changed.  You used to go to Radio Shack and buy one resistor, or one of any other of the parts that they sold to we tinker guys.

After full flame propagation there is still a tiny time lapse before full chamber pressure is reached.  That ought to occur a wee tad after TDC.  And there are so damned many variables that affect this deal than is comfortable for we backyard tuner types.  Ambient air  temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure are enough to ponder.  Engine temperature, compression ratio,  and the characteristics of the fuel further complicate matters. 

I will wager that you are going to get it as near optimum as you can under the circumstances.   I'm pretty sure that I do not need to remind you about over advance wherupon the engine dramatically disassembles itself.   

If you have the time and opportunity, take a look at the piston domes after a few hard runs. You can read a lot there. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 14, 2021, 02:37:00 AM
piston dome reading is useful, but where i run, i try not to take the top end off. but i indeed do take it off to look, and that's why i run four spark plugs per piston these days. look at the aluminum balls on these-- under th emicroscope they were all melted aluminum

(https://i.imgur.com/mRzwsjel.png)

more clear looking at the cylinder head-- see the pecking from the mixture detonating and chipping the carbon on the side away from the spark plug? what could be clearer.  i use twin plugs now, and this problem is nonexistent.

(https://i.imgur.com/b9R3F3kl.jpg)


in the end, i run against the clock. everything that the tuners preach, all the tweaks they recommend, everyting in the end comes up against the clock, and the clock rules.

i tune with ambient temperature, fuel mixture, exhaust pipe length, current relative air density, and the seat of my pants.

with these resisstors in the system, they will work okay so long as i make sure that the mechanical connectioons don't break. if a wire breaks, then the timing adavnces to ten or so degres over-advanced, and the engine blows up.

not good, so i'm looking to make a sturdy container for th ewiring. but i've blown up engines before, too, so i'm willing to to run along the edge of the envelope to get to where i want to be

if i lived to be a 1000 years old, i would never understand enough of the natural world to be satisfied. its an endless journey.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 15, 2021, 03:04:30 AM
The Brits had words for that aluminum erosion: "The mice have been at it"  A sure sign of detonation. It appears that the detonation areas are isolated.  That may be caused by hot spots in the head.  In the head photo the intake valve is much cleaner than the exhaust valve.. That may be because the intake valve runs cooler than the exhaust.  Try using a wider seat on the exhaust to help cool it a bit.   The piston pic looks almost like the dome is oiling. If not oiling, something is really amiss about the way the flame distributes itself around the chamber.   This is not an uncommon situation. Advanced tuner guys use wet flow flow bench equipment to identify the path of fuel distribution after it passes the valve seat.  That has lead to some valve, seat and port mods that lose some flow volume.  But dyno testing has shown that there is, or at least can be, a net increase in output despite lower flow volume.   

We are not getting anywhere near the potential heat energy output in piston engines.  That has been the subject of much study and experimentation so to discover the ways to increase the fuel utilization (economy) of automobile engines.  Basic specific fuel consumption (BSFC) runs in the 0.5 pounds per horsepower hour for ordinaru engines.  The likes of NASCAR engines have BSFC figures in the mid 0.40s.  Note that fuel is measured in pounds, not volume, when calculating this characteristic. 

The bottom line is that pistons of that shape are not very friendly to even distribution of air/fuel and thus tends to uneven burn characteristics. There are reasons for such a shape of course. The main reason is to avoid clashing with the valves during overlap periods. And so all that plays into the head design....valve angle and such.

The whole deal with street bikes like the Triumph is a matter of space limitations. That the carbs and inlet tract are nearly horizontal with the world allows the carbs to not interfere with the tank bottom and on and on about design characteristics.  Better the inlet tract angled downward so as to change the valve seat location to a more efficient location.  But what the hell,  the Triumph, Norton, BSA bikes were not intended as race or ultra high performance machines............despite their claims to the contrary.

All things being equal, or nearly so, you are competing against other people's machinery with similar design characteristics. 


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 15, 2021, 04:11:36 PM
here's the answer i've found to these 1930s cylinder heads

(https://i.imgur.com/X9b6otwl.png)

you're correct about th eflame distribution. i have 11.75 to 1 compression, so at TDC there's a giant lump in the combustion chamber that prevents the flame front from reaching theother side. so i've drilled my heads for extra spark plugs, and use an ignition that fires them both at the same time. this works well both on the street and at teh racerack, but the restoration people don't like it because it doesn't look "original . . ."

(https://i.imgur.com/kFErXSxl.png)

QuoteThe whole deal with street bikes like the Triumph is a matter of space limitations. That the carbs and inlet tract are nearly horizontal with the world allows the carbs to not interfere with the tank bottom and on and on about design characteristics.  Better the inlet tract angled downward so as to change the valve seat location to a more efficient location.  But what the hell,  the Triumph, Norton, BSA bikes were not intended as race or ultra high performance machines............despite their claims to the contrary.

with this triumph, the inlet port is tipped up about 15 degrees, and the exhaist i s completely horizontal. i'v ehad the inlets raised a bit and filled in below with epoxy, but you cant go very high without cutting into th ebottom of the intake valve spring seat-- there just isn't enough metal there. some peopl ewith lots more money and knowledge than me completely weld up the heads with new luminum, and then cut new down-draught ports into thehead. but that's pretty rarified territory.

asyou say, these motors weren't ever designed fo rhigh-performance. they were working-class commuter machines, something that people used beecause they couldn't afford an automobile. but that's what makes them an interesting puzzle.

that's good, because with the money and effort i've expended i could have bought at least two 200-mph hayabusas and gone lots faster. but with lots less interest, you know



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 16, 2021, 01:03:23 AM
You have done a good job of trying to fix a design problem.  I salute you for that along with some of the other clever things that you have done.

I agree that you could go a damned site faster for the same or less money had you gotten a Hyabusa or other fearsome rice burner..(no offense to Japanese genius intended)  But that does not do much to cause our creative juices to flow. Some of us are compelled to make silk purses of sows ears. .............I take that back.  The Triumph  or Norton are not sows ears.  They were pretty good machines in their day.  The new Triumphs are pretty much equal in sophistication to any of the modern competitors. Some models are really Bad Ass machines.

If you could get your paws on a Cosworth head for the Triumph, game over for the competitors.  Alas I suspect that even if you could find one of those the price would be out of sight.  Back in the day when Battle of The Twins was a hotly contested class the top guy in the southeast had a Cosworth Triumph.  I am pleased to say that my much massaged KZ750 Kawasaki was his equal.

My rider was plenty skilled but he was a peculiar personality that would sometimes fail to show up at a race venue. I think that he was into "snort" or other high liner substances. I finally gave up and sold the bike to another good rider who also had a personality disorder.  He had a death wish or something like that.  He would drive far too deep into corners and then curse the escape routes that sent him back to 10th or 20th place. He finally blew up the Kaw and I do not know what became of it after that.  Rob Muzzi once saw the bike and approved of the odd ball choice that I had made.  After all, one is not expected to try to make a fast bike from what was generally regarded as a road toad. Muzzi recognized the potential of the engine.

Keep thinking Billy.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 16, 2021, 02:52:07 AM
Rob Muzzy is Famous.

i think a cosworth triumph these days would be snapped up by the museum collectors people.

and riders are weird. i think lots of them are wired differently in their heads from ordinary people in order to have the skillz to go so fast. im not strange enoughto be really successful.

but id give up a lot to be succezsful at the isle of man.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 04, 2021, 02:14:21 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/gKtb5yH.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Og2HfL5.jpg)

dragged the middle children outbto the airstrip to make surevthry are comfortable on the little ninja. thryll be fine

i climbed on my triumph too and it seems that i can bend my knee enough to ride it if i get set up on that side in advance

so its a go


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on July 04, 2021, 02:50:24 AM
I'm guessing that these are just posed shots, and that the high speed stuff was done with helmets? I personally couldn't ride over about 40 MPH without a bubble on my helmet, as my eyes would tear up, even though I was wearing specs. I'd hate to think about hitting a bug at speed without eye protection.

Good luck with your speed runs!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 04, 2021, 03:05:12 PM
no i was just making them ride around in circles at walking speed, and do start/stops. they need low speed practice as much as speed runs

when they went out on the runway they put on the hat.

the rules require a full leather suit, a recent helmet (mine is on its last year), leather gloevez, and boots.

i hit a beetle once at about 60. exploded against my left eyeball and a leg got lodged under my eyelid. not a happy moment coming to a stop.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 13, 2021, 01:35:25 AM
left the house in the morning and drove some 500 miles north and east. the races are at loring air force base, limestone, maine.

500 more tomorrow and we ll be in caribou.

safety inspection the day after. still have a chain adjustment and taping the lights on the little ninja before its ready.

we ll see how we do. im so close to the edge of the envelope that for me it all comes down to the wind-- where is it coming from, and how do i hide from it
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on July 13, 2021, 09:53:29 AM
Looks fun :)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 14, 2021, 04:16:00 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/ox8ve4z.jpg)

500 more moes, of which 350 werr in maine and oooked )ike ^^^this

tech inspection tmorrow
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2021, 01:24:26 AM
we are back fro maine. did some 200 miles the first day, because the wife wanted to start early. then 610 miles the next day, and i had to stop. then an easy 300 miles the last day, and we are here.

there was lots going on

there is plenty of space

(https://i.imgur.com/X5SOQqRl.jpg)

we set up by the flowers, where we could drop the tent if it rained

(https://i.imgur.com/ckxddRhl.jpg)

and raise it when it cleared

(https://i.imgur.com/VDzX3oxl.jpg)

the triumph looked good, but alas, it had a failing wheel bearing

(https://i.imgur.com/5Vx6Xqyl.jpg)

while the little ninja was going to do very well

(https://i.imgur.com/gPNDV1Wl.jpg)

there was another ninja 250 to compete with, but she was running in modified partial streamlining, and wasn't as fast as us anyway

(https://i.imgur.com/GIq3nbDl.jpg)

the daughter ended up setting a record in the mile at 108.338

(https://i.imgur.com/fWgDNUwl.jpg)

while the son set a record in the mile point five at 108.023

(https://i.imgur.com/zGgjaP2l.jpg)

we snagged a nice set of leathers for him too, which were donated and put up for sale. the y were a good fit, and so he doesn't have to wear mine.

when you run, you have th ewhole 13,000 feet to yourself until its over

(https://i.imgur.com/5nlmseol.jpg)

there were nortns\
(https://i.imgur.com/euqSkXzl.png)

bsas

(https://i.imgur.com/WZgYVvfl.png)

whizzers

(https://i.imgur.com/qSxnSeSl.jpg)

harleys

(https://i.imgur.com/IAwq9Tkl.png)

corvettes with dual controls because the driver is blind

(https://i.imgur.com/T6aQdl4l.jpg)

ancient weird stuff, like this 52 cunningham

(https://i.imgur.com/fWXCioGl.png)

classic hot rods

(https://i.imgur.com/92nxpfNl.png)

and on and on.

tyhe fastest car was running 269 until it blew the bottom end out of the engine. i have a video of that illl put up when i find it
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2021, 01:29:20 AM
and maine was beautiful

(https://i.imgur.com/rH7p6rQl.png)

the potatos were in bloom

(https://i.imgur.com/ZPFSqMal.png)

the old air base still had the storage bunkers for the atom bombs

(https://i.imgur.com/nMAweKQl.jpg)

and the machine gun pillboxes

(https://i.imgur.com/P5BBvi6l.png)

but we all did well

(https://i.imgur.com/Efazkgol.png)

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2021, 01:31:57 AM
except for my rear wheel bearing. i did 131 mph on this, twice

(https://i.imgur.com/Dll4b5Kl.jpg?1)

(https://i.imgur.com/zHRDyWsl.jpg?1)

need to do some improving here, i think
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on July 22, 2021, 04:29:08 AM
Your posts are truly wonderful and a joy to read.  :clapping:

Quote from: billy rubin on July 22, 2021, 01:31:57 AM
except for my rear wheel bearing. i did 131 mph on this, twice

(https://i.imgur.com/Dll4b5Kl.jpg?1)


I can see some sculptural or jewellery possibilities for this.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Bad Penny II on July 22, 2021, 01:58:44 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on July 22, 2021, 04:29:08 AM
Your posts are truly wonderful and a joy to read.  :clapping:

Quote from: billy rubin on July 22, 2021, 01:31:57 AM
except for my rear wheel bearing. i did 131 mph on this, twice

(https://i.imgur.com/Dll4b5Kl.jpg?1)


I can see some sculptural or jewellery possibilities for this.

Reading the lines of your palm I can see a second wife, two children, too many, many too many cats
I see you moving fast, too fast, you should stop that and take up a slow activity, origami maybe.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on July 22, 2021, 06:27:05 PM
Looks like a great time was had by all!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2021, 10:36:10 AM
we have manyfewer kittens.

i suspect the raccoons
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on July 23, 2021, 01:46:58 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on July 23, 2021, 10:36:10 AM
we have manyfewer kittens.

i suspect the raccoons

Gosh!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Magdalena on July 24, 2021, 04:51:15 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on July 23, 2021, 10:36:10 AM
we have manyfewer kittens.

i suspect the raccoons

(https://monophy.com/media/P97b37JwsJUcw/monophy.gif)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 25, 2021, 12:04:55 AM
well, the raccoons are very happy.

they eat my chickens, so kittens are fairgame too
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 25, 2021, 09:21:44 PM
nah, we re only down 8 or 9 kittens after all.  i counted 19 cats on the porch this morning, not to include three or four toms who i havent seen in a long time. but they come back , generally with more scars

good thing we re not feeding elephants
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 19, 2021, 11:08:58 PM
https://www.facebook.com/100009160652437/videos/2668650370116959/?t=8

heavens life is too short

i would love to do this. ive ridden monkey once in my life, briefly, on the chair of an old 650 yamaha up in maine. but the techniquiqe of hanging off the side of th emachine as far out as you can, to keep it from rolling over on the turns is superbly exhilerating.

if i were 50 years younger, i would be a sidecar monkey studying evolutionary ecology of endoparasites in the great barrier reef.

or maybe not
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on September 21, 2021, 01:52:00 AM
There is a certain element of Brit behaviour that is subject to question. They do seem to like the side hack sport.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 21, 2021, 12:44:51 PM
australia too
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Bad Penny II on September 21, 2021, 01:55:15 PM
I'm going to put this grump in this thread, although it should be in the grump thread.

Double lines in the middle of the road, they mean don't cross.
OK, if you can see no one is coming, why not borrow a bit.
People Vehicles can see other vehicles coming but they think it's OK to travel on the lines or a bit over... is this a question of morality or ethics?  The vehicles tradespeople use, probosably called pickups in USA, they seem to do it a lot.  I don't seem to be using all of my road?  But the fkn trumps can't conceive of the poetic line I was going to take through that curve, now curtailed by the stupid trumps.  I'd make them dead if I could be sure it wouldn't be traceable.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on September 22, 2021, 01:06:55 AM
Not too sure about BPs above post.  Sidehacks are one thing and dispensing with Trumps quite another..............Is the word trump an Aussie expression that i do not fully understand?......Quite likely, but I continue below with a line of thought that is more familiar.   It is about Trumpers.

Not using other parts of the road and also dispensing with trumps bring to mind some other options.  In Florida, we have wicked little palm trees called Robelini palms.  They sprout the most vicious of thorns. About 4 inches or 10m cm long and painfully hard and sharp. Those thorns could be tipped with curare or other poison.  When propelled by a reasonably silent instrument, say a slingshot, they could dispatch numerous trumpers, anti vaxers, and 'Stop the steal" lunatics...............

Sorry bout the distraction.  Back to side cars........... uhmmm,  I mean chairs. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 03, 2021, 06:30:33 PM
dammit

im only home on weekends driving flatbed.

here i am on first day with winter closing in and i want to ride my motorcycle.

and its been raining all day.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 16, 2021, 01:46:38 PM



i was listening to this interesting woman and was struck by what she said about her dialog being turned off while she was balancing stones.

this is exactly what happens to me when i race. all my waking time, every day, im thinking, talking to myself, speaking, listening and interpreting and storing and retrieving things in my head. nonstop busyness.

except when i ride a motorcycle, and most especially when i race.

when i leave the start line on a top speed run, all the inner chatter stops, the voice goes away, and it becomes dead quiet. the faster i go, the quieter it becomes. at 130 miles per hour the exhaust is roaring, the machine is bouncing, the vibration is so intense my vision is blurring, my helmet is slamming into the forks, but its completely silent in my head until i pass through the lights and let off on the throttle. id like to do this more often, but life gets in the way

im curious as to what artists are doing in their heads when they create something. not necessarily in the planning or technical preparation, maybe, but in the actual act of sculpting or woodworking or painting or playing a musical instrument.

what is happening in your head when you do this?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on October 16, 2021, 08:45:35 PM
It's making things that absorbs me.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 26, 2021, 02:26:59 AM
well i bought em. havent seen em yet, these are pictures he sent me

(https://i.imgur.com/HSUQXI7.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/WUv3RVO.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/LoiLNPf.png)

these ancient instruments are a pair of the rare and sought after AMAL GP2 carburetors, marketed first in 1962 and mostly obsolete by 1967. racing only- no idle adjustment, complicated to adjyst, parts extrememly expensive and sometimes unobtainable. both then and now.

these were the carbs fitted to the 1966 BSA spitfire mk2, the superbike of its day at 125 mph, supposedly.
the were on the last of the goldstars as well.

hard to find and as arcane a device as they come. but even though these are the small ones, at 1-5/32 inches acrossthe venturi, their smoothbore design makes them flow vast amounts of air. are they better than the 35mm keihin flat slides im running now? i dont know. im not sure i have wrung it all out of what i have yet.

this setup comes straight off a BSA spitfire-- it was an early takeoff around 1966, and set aside. the guy i bought em from had em hanging on the wall for the last 30 years. and they come with an extra body and two extra pairs of slides. hopefully the slides are different cutaways, because GP2s are tuned with the slide, and theyre 75 pounds apiece now.

but theyre a fascinating mechanism, and carburetters have always fascinated me anyway.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 26, 2021, 03:21:33 AM
I'm thinking that the float is on the centerline of the frame, to avoid starvation/saturation during hard cornering?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 26, 2021, 03:40:28 AM
The air velocity of the Amals will be higher than that of the larger bore Keihens. That is if the engine can develop an enough instant negative pressure to pull the lesser air through the throats. 

Billy I like the old time stuff too.  I am not deluded that it is better or even equivalent to the newer items.

Are these made of brass like the old TT Amals ?    Del Ortos are also worthy of collecting but not to use on an aspiring LSR bike.

Aaah yes, I would spend the butter and egg money if I could buy an NSU S-20 Max.  I need it like I need a paper ass but I would buy it anyway.  "There is no fool like an old fool".   

Just to set the record straight I am a much older, more foolish fool, than you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on October 26, 2021, 03:51:09 AM
Enjoy your purchase!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 26, 2021, 12:37:11 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on October 26, 2021, 03:21:33 AM
I'm thinking that the float is on the centerline of the frame, to avoid starvation/saturation during hard cornering?

thats the idea although because a motorcycle leans itsveffect is minimal. sidecar unitscare very vulnerable, as are machines where the riders hang off to keep the machine closer to vertical as they corner

this pair of carburetters only has one float bowl. ive seen other setups where there are two, mounted outboard, but theose are generally straight line machines
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 26, 2021, 01:38:36 PM
Quote from: Icarus on October 26, 2021, 03:40:28 AM
The air velocity of the Amals will be higher than that of the larger bore Keihens. That is if the engine can develop an enough instant negative pressure to pull the lesser air through the throats. 

Billy I like the old time stuff too.  I am not deluded that it is better or even equivalent to the newer items.

Are these made of brass like the old TT Amals ?    Del Ortos are also worthy of collecting but not to use on an aspiring LSR bike.

Aaah yes, I would spend the butter and egg money if I could buy an NSU S-20 Max.  I need it like I need a paper ass but I would buy it anyway.  "There is no fool like an old fool".   

Just to set the record straight I am a much older, more foolish fool, than you.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

i think these are made of the old mazak zinc alloy.  AMAL painted them gold to protect them and also to imitate the old brass youre talking about, i think. the restoration rivet-counters worry amongst themselvesabout the exact shade of paint the factory used, but  an ancient dealer i know says he talked to an amal shop guy about thecolor. he said the shop guy laughed and said; whatever the procuremnt people found was cheapest was what we used. so ths color was variable from month to month.

the NSUs are a rare bird now. not in their day

(https://i.imgur.com/jt1N4f1l.jpg)

OHC too, before it was cool. what wasvyour involvementvwith them?

the old stuff is interesting to me because the interaction is analog, mechanical, and accessible. in terms of function, port fuel injection provides superior metering and flexibility compared to these old amals with their arcane fuel passages and mechanical air correction features. they require a different type of interaction than a bluetooth connection to an onboard CPU, one that is more intimate. to me that is more interesting. i try to follow simplicity in most things, and that means i often reject modern technology, not because it is not better, but because it is no longer simple.

sometimes i wonder how much this rejecting of modernity has genuine philosophical underpinnings and how much is due to just being a reactionary fart. then i stop wondering and go ride the motorcycle

by the way i dont consider you foolish, although ill grant you the father time part
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 26, 2021, 01:57:40 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on October 26, 2021, 03:51:09 AM
Enjoy your purchase!

yes

thank you

i got through the buyers remorse part by gritting my teeth and remenbering that i can flip these on eBay for more than i paid in not much time at all.

stuff like this goes up in value and then declines as the people whi remember it die off. model t fords were like that. their price has leveled off because everybody who wanted one as a kid either got old enough to buybone or died.

but tgese are specialized enough to hold tgeir value i think
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 27, 2021, 12:11:04 AM


the skills shown here are unimaginable to me.

the average speed on the mountain course is now 135 mph over the 38 miles.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Denny on January 13, 2022, 07:26:51 PM
(https://www.projectpuma.com/images/ext/906e560cbed5230c9ca787b35be1721b.jpg)

I drive a 2002 Ford Puma Black. Love it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 13, 2022, 07:50:44 PM
why did they quit making those?

they look like theyd be a ball to drive
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Denny on January 14, 2022, 02:49:49 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on January 13, 2022, 07:50:44 PM
why did they quit making those?

they look like theyd be a ball to drive

Textbook smiles per miles.

They were never serious about improving the car. Everything about it is disposable, even the engine. Designed on the back of the nippy Fiesta but honed and primed by the legendary Jackie Stewart it became a little icon in it's short run.

There is only something like 141 Puma Blacks left in the world.

Weird how they were never built in America.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 15, 2022, 12:00:32 AM
americans are weird.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on January 15, 2022, 08:36:16 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on January 15, 2022, 12:00:32 AM
americans are weird.

Humans are weird, Americans are weirder.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 15, 2022, 10:38:26 PM
i would agree

i left america ad a child and returned to go to university

took me ages to figure the place out. weird attitudes, strange food, incomprehensible slang, and tbey even drove on the wrong side of tbe road
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 09, 2022, 08:10:52 PM
well we re on for the races in july and september.

i called the motel in limestone maine and booked the rooms.

id been hemming and hawing because we re behind on tbe crefit cards and im not making as much money as i want while the new broker gets stuff figured out.

the number one son doesnt race- hes the one who bashes his friends heads with his battle axe for recreation instead

the number one daughter spent last summer in nevada cutting timber and will probably do the same this time the second girl and second boy may or may not be up to a week at a hundred miles an hour. but neither responded ommediately when i asked.

however.

the number tbree son said, sure, ill race, but i need to get certified.

hese never run a motorcycle over maybe 25 mph on the dirt, so its time.

so thats that. the rear end of the old triumph goes in for bearing surgery so i wont sieze a wheel at 140 mph, and tbe little kawasaki gets a workover stripping parts until its legal to race.

two days to get there, four days of racing, and two days back. and we re due now for two new helmets, as mine has expjred.

my heart rate falls at the very thought.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 07, 2022, 03:43:53 PM
dammit

(https://i.imgur.com/YdCk4Qsl.jpg)

i bought this old bee truck over 20 years ago to replace the one i drove down the road upside down one day.

got it yo ohio and parked it. then my neighbor wanted to buy it so i drove it over to his place. then he changed his mind but i couldnt get it started to get it back.

now hes auctioning off his farrm in a week and i need to move it. but its a propane motor and hes emptied the tanks fooling with it.

the propane company wont fill it, but i found a towing company that will take it the 2000 feet back to my place for $500. on friday, and the auction is saturday. 

so my boss says he will come by tomorrow and  well try to move it with a skid steer hes borrowed.

because the rear parking brakes dont come off unless the motor is running, he has to pick ip the back end and roll it home on the front wheels.

sure to be a circus.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on May 08, 2022, 09:47:20 PM
Air brakes? Tie into the lines and pump them up.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 08, 2022, 10:34:21 PM
no if they were air brakes i would have just backed the shoes off and been done. theyre these weird lucas meritor hydraulic things that run the shoes in and out on a mechanical screw or somethin rather than just spring brakes like an ordinary air system. ive been kicking myslef for not buying the F800 i had a chance at that had air brakes and a big block chevy instead of thjis weird 370 ford propane motor. but i thought it was too much money. lomng ago now

but the problem is solved. i bitched to my boss friday and he said, just a minute . . .

came back and told me, my neighbor will let me use his skid steer for $350.

i said lets do it

he came by today and this little skid steer to my abiding amazement picked the back end of this 10,000 pound truck up in the air and we pushed it 2000 feet down the road to my hayfield, with me forcing the steering of the dead stick truck the whole way.

then he pushed it too far and its partly blocking the door to my shop but i said

GOOD ENUFF

and will not complain

especially because he also picked up my outhouse and set it down on top of the new hole too. havent been able to remodel the bathroom for three years because the forklift mast wont go up and the outhouse is on a concrete slab. weve been using five gallon buckets the whole time.

but its repositioned on th enew hole thats been waiting since the coal company dug us a new well.

and my life is more simple than it was when i woke p.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 08, 2022, 10:46:20 PM
and anyway im fed up with the propane motor. im going to take off the propane carburetter and demand valve and just bolt on a 600 cfm four barrel holley, then buy a tank with an electric fuel pump and run the pig on gasoline. its a good truck-- 20 foot flat bed and a beehive loader that i paid $8000 to rebuild and dont need anymore.

but if youre running a farm, a flatbed truck is a good thing to have, and for the price of a carburetor and a fuel tank i can get this thing moving again. it holds 120 beehives but i dont think ill be running a whole lot of bees from here on,.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 09, 2022, 03:38:38 AM
and its racing season again!

two and maybevthree kids are going to run the little ninja up to 110 mph

and im looking for 140 on the 1965 triumph
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 09, 2022, 08:02:36 PM
well, we're headed to th efar north of america in a month.

im racing the 1965 triumph, currently the fastest machine of its kind that has ever been, at 135 mph.

not that im bragging.

and the kids are racing the little 250 ninja, also a record holder at 109 mph.

im going to experiment with oxygenated fuel. its legal in my class, and may give me another three or four mph. if it does, i may break the 139.266 record, which is the fastest triumph 650 ever. that will be a significant record for this machine.

the kids are running a mchine that they hold records in at around 109 mph. but they bang on the rev limiter if theres a tailwind, and i have two smaller rear sprockets to let them overcome that definiciency, if possible.

30 days to prep everything. the triumph needs me to change wheels, and the ninja needs a front tire swap, as the currnt brand new pirelli is not as brand new as it needs to be to prevent a front wheel speed wobble.

i tossed myself into the air years ago at 115 mph on a front wheel speed wobble on my commuter, and i wont subject my kids to the same thing. so the new tire is a requirement.

onwards and upwards.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 09, 2022, 08:09:56 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/RwL3vavl.png)

the number two daughter, me, and the number two son

everybody has records in different classes.

this year the daughter is busy with work, but the number three son is going to race for the first time.

ive run out of children, after him.

time for a life re-assessment, i guess.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on June 10, 2022, 12:27:03 AM
I wish I could take photos at work for you guys. The car collection is impressive. We have a pump for leaded gasoline to keep everything authentic.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 10, 2022, 01:05:08 AM
what kind of place do you work at now?

can you sneak photos out at all?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on June 10, 2022, 12:24:58 PM
It's a rich man's vacation property. He keeps part of his car collection here.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 10, 2022, 01:10:04 PM
ah

i understand the no photography thing
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on June 10, 2022, 01:15:53 PM
I'm contemplating an end to the recession and then, sell some stock without loss to then upgrade to The Deutschmann 3.0 (A Opel Insignia 2018 or newer. Want one of those. All long and comfortable and motorway-cruiser-like)

If I were a sensible Asmo, I'd just wait a few years and get that midlife crisis convertible, buuut... Wants that Insignia. Soon.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on June 12, 2022, 05:16:49 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on June 09, 2022, 08:09:56 PM(https://i.imgur.com/RwL3vavl.png)

the number two daughter, me, and the number two son

everybody has records in different classes.

this year the daughter is busy with work, but the number three son is going to race for the first time.

ive run out of children, after him.

time for a life re-assessment, i guess.




Very cool pic!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 16, 2022, 02:07:00 PM
races in a month.

i need fuel, and the price has gone WAY up.

ive been running VP C12 leaded gasoline. it has an octane rating of 112, which works with my machine's 1930s-era cylinder head. used to be US$60 for five gallons, which worked out okay for my motorcycle that gets about 8 mpg.

american gallons.

but im going to experiment with oxygenated fuel. the VP fuel guy recommended two blends, but tbeir octane ratings are only 93 and 101. i am very leery of detonating my motor on that stuff but i called the fuel guy in maine to see about availabolity. doesnt matter about the low octane because he doesnt have any.

what he does have is Q16, an oxygenated fuel he runs in his 130 mph snowmobile.

tbeyre insane up tbere. 130 mph in a snowmobile is bat shit crazy.

anyway, its $153 per can, so im buying only four. my neighbour wants me to pickup some C12 for him too so thats the same price as well.

$25 per US gallon is pretty hot shit gasoline.

ive ordered three sizes up larger carburetor jets to make sure i can jet the mixture correctly but im calling back for three more

amd now my NGK B9ES spark plugs have been doscontinued. ill have to count what i have
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 17, 2022, 03:42:14 AM
Oxygenated fuel has the potential for destroying your engine.  The deal goes like this......you need enough oxygen in the fuel mixture to affect a rapid and complete burn.More oxy will burn more fuel and prduce a hotter piston charge.  Stoichiometric ratios for fuel air is at about 14.7 pounds of atmospheric air to one pound of gasoline. That will give you enough oxygen content in the air to burn the fuel completely. 

We can carburate or inject any amount of fuel that we desire.  We cannot inject more atmospheric air than the inlet system is capable of passing through the inlet passages and past the inlet valves. So it is tempting to mess with the fuel chemistry in order to get more oxygen into the combustion chamber. .............I warn you that excess oxy in the charge mixture will cook your engine in a New York Instant.   Billy, you have been around long enough to know what happens when you lean down the mixture in a two stroke engine. So beware of trick fuels. The idea is right, inject more oxygen, but the possible outcome as in a wasted engine, is to be carefully assessed.   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on June 18, 2022, 08:25:58 AM
Looking for advice and guidance from folks much more knowledgeable than I am.

Though my dad was a mechanic (and seemed to think his knowledge would somehow pass down to his daughters through osmosis), I am not at all all a petrol head. But I do dearly love my 2003 subaru impreza wrx. She has been much better to me than I've been to her. She is still running fairly strong, though I've had to put, on avg., about 800 US dollars into her yearly for the last maybe 8 years. But she's showing her age, and various small things keep going wrong that I'm not willing to put in $ for to fix (e.g., keyless entry hasn't  worked for years--not a battery issue; lock to the hatchback trunk is broken so I just don't ever keep valuables in the car; AC seems to go out every summer; disturbing noises from under the car lately that I've been ignoring as work has been busy). I think about getting a "new" subaru, but have a visceral dislike of computerized cars, so if I were  to get a "new" car, I'd want a subaru from before the computers went in. I know "computerized" means a variety of things, but I'm meaning to convey when the dash panel became like a computer desktop. And I'd want a manual transmission. But when I price these, they're 22K and up US dollars. I could take on a car note, somewhat comfortably, but am trying to weigh whether it's worth it. If you were me, would you just keep on trucking with the 2003 car or get a, say, 2015 or 2016 model, or do something else? I know this is very subjective, but would appreciate others' thoughts. Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 18, 2022, 03:47:02 PM
Quote from: Icarus on June 17, 2022, 03:42:14 AMOxygenated fuel has the potential for destroying your engine.  The deal goes like this......you need enough oxygen in the fuel mixture to affect a rapid and complete burn.More oxy will burn more fuel and prduce a hotter piston charge.  Stoichiometric ratios for fuel air is at about 14.7 pounds of atmospheric air to one pound of gasoline. That will give you enough oxygen content in the air to burn the fuel completely. 

We can carburate or inject any amount of fuel that we desire.  We cannot inject more atmospheric air than the inlet system is capable of passing through the inlet passages and past the inlet valves. So it is tempting to mess with the fuel chemistry in order to get more oxygen into the combustion chamber. .............I warn you that excess oxy in the charge mixture will cook your engine in a New York Instant.   Billy, you have been around long enough to know what happens when you lean down the mixture in a two stroke engine. So beware of trick fuels. The idea is right, inject more oxygen, but the possible outcome as in a wasted engine, is to be carefully assessed.   

yo youre right about the  lean burn thing. ive been talking to the fuel people. they recommend jetting up 3 to 5 percent, so ive ordered 3 pairs of main jets up from tbe 3 higher i already have.

so i can jet richer 6 sizes to start with. but im ordering 3 more to have 9. on tbe airstrip ill start rich and just work my way down.

no idea what to do with the timing. theres a guy up by my fuel supplier who tunes with this stuff and ill be talking to him.

i have never run oxygenated fuel so i dont know what to expect. sure hope i dont blow it up
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 18, 2022, 04:03:33 PM
Quote from: Anne D. on June 18, 2022, 08:25:58 AMLooking for advice and guidance from folks much more knowledgeable than I am.

Though my dad was a mechanic (and seemed to think his knowledge would somehow pass down to his daughters through osmosis), I am not at all all a petrol head. But I do dearly love my 2003 subaru impreza wrx. She has been much better to me than I've been to her. She is still running fairly strong, though I've had to put, on avg., about 800 US dollars into her yearly for the last maybe 8 years. But she's showing her age, and various small things keep going wrong that I'm not willing to put in $ for to fix (e.g., keyless entry hasn't  worked for years--not a battery issue; lock to the hatchback trunk is broken so I just don't ever keep valuables in the car; AC seems to go out every summer; disturbing noises from under the car lately that I've been ignoring as work has been busy). I think about getting a "new" subaru, but have a visceral dislike of computerized cars, so if I were  to get a "new" car, I'd want a subaru from before the computers went in. I know "computerized" means a variety of things, but I'm meaning to convey when the dash panel became like a computer desktop. And I'd want a manual transmission. But when I price these, they're 22K and up US dollars. I could take on a car note, somewhat comfortably, but am trying to weigh whether it's worth it. If you were me, would you just keep on trucking with the 2003 car or get a, say, 2015 or 2016 model, or do something else? I know this is very subjective, but would appreciate others' thoughts. Thanks in advance.

good question, anne

i used to drive stuff that was at least 30 years old but the machines i liked is all either junked or off the roads now

american cars have had their engines controlled by internal computers since about 1981 (for GM) .

my newest vehicle is a 2007 pickup. what do you not like about the dashboard interface?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on June 19, 2022, 04:37:49 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on June 18, 2022, 04:03:33 PMwhat do you not like about the dashboard interface?

It's more of what I (quite possibly wrongly) think the computery-looking dashboard interface means. To me it indicates that the functions of the car are so computer controlled that I probably won't be able to take it to my neighborhood mechanic to fix if something goes wrong but instead will have to take it to the dealer in the burbs to hook up to their computer diagnostic thing. And I have a (possibly misguided) deep-seated distrust of dealers that was instilled in me by my dad.

My sister got a brand new car a year ago, and five months in it stalled out on the highway. Had to be towed to the dealer, and the dealer determined there was nothing mechanically wrong with the car, but a digital sensor went haywire and communicated that something was wrong, which caused the car's system to automatically stop the car. $700 to fix a car that nothing was mechanically wrong with (warranty covered it, but still).

(Less importantly, there's also an aesthetics thing for me with a car dash that looks like a computer screen. As convenient as it makes everything, it just doesn't look like a car to me.  :D  )
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on June 19, 2022, 06:09:45 AM
Anne you are in good company when you are concerned about all the computerized gadgetry on modern automobiles.

The upside of the Engine control module (ECU) which is a computer of sorts,is that it is far more efficient than the predecessor engines could hope for. The downside is that some of the service routines are only available at the Dealership.

Dealership!!!!!  They are criminals who will rape your bank account.. They live by the Upsell motive. If all you need is a new battery they will do their damnedest to sell you a wheel alignment job that you probably do not need.   My local Toyota dealer and my Honda dealer has a shop rate of $127.50 per shop hour. So do most of the other dealers I suspect.

You can take your Subaru to many of the auto parts sellers, Auto Zone for example, They will plug in their code reader gadget to learn what your car would like repaired. That is a free service. Their interest is to sell you the parts that might be needed for whatever  repair or replacement is indicated. Meanwhile the Toyota, Honda, and other dealers charge something like $85 to do the analysis that the auto parts store does for free. 

There are some repairs that can be done only by the dealer because they have access to parts that the parts stores do not have. The independent mechanic does not have the tools or computerized programming to fix some of the problems. Example.  Wifes 2010 Toyota Prius had some brake problems. Turns out that the Toyota needed a new "Bake Booster module".  Wouldn't you know it? The warranty on that particular part had expired only a few months ago. Our cost $2400 to make the damned car drivable.   The "service advisor" at the dealership also urged us to have the air filter in the battery compartment renewed.  That is a bullshit deal that would have cost $240.  The main battery does not need a new filter.  What the hell, that car has only 62,000 miles on it.

If you could buy a 1939 Ford or a 1941 Chevrolet, your local mechanic could fix it in a few minutes. Those cars were not very efficient so time marches on and we now have computerized machines that are so complex and involved  that am ordinary independent  mechanic is squeezed out of consideration for many repair processes.

None of that rant will be of use to you I suspect.  If you can manage the cost of a newer Subaru, I say go for it. Buying an older, non computerized car will only get you an antique that might need a lot of TLC. You might consider a new Kia or Hyundai.  The warranties are very good and they are both decent machines.  But they are computerized, so get used to that reality.

You can ignore the back up camera, the lane change monitor, the headlight sensor, the GPS facility, the heated or air conditioned seats, the rear seat video screen and all the rest of those luxuriant features.  You will have to pay for them whether they please you or not.

Right now, one of the major considerations is fuel economy, what with five dollar per gallon gasoline. Keep that in mind not only for the personal cost factor but also for the green factor.  That feature might influence your decision for a replacement vehicle.  Moped maybe?

With all that palaver, I suggest that your old Subaru might be a keeper. Especially so if you live in a snowy,icy, part of the country.       
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 19, 2022, 02:39:27 PM
In 2016 I bought a Kia Forte, new. It does not have a back up camera or a touch screen; those are optional. I has about everything else, though. I bought the extended warranty (10 years, 100k miles) because of the ridiculous cost of the components if they break. So far, so good. Had my son bought a vehicle of his own sooner, I'd still be driving my '05 Corolla. I have a '70 Chevy truck that is used primarily for towing our travel trailer. It's been driven about 5k miles in the last 6 years. The wife and I went to an old-vehicle meet-up in it, and it started running rough on the way back home. Fortunately, I was a mechanic back in the days when this truck was newer, and I'll be troubleshooting and making the fix today. There is very little that I would attempt on my Forte, though I have replaced the battery on my own. It's 6 years old, and has 20k miles on it. Once it passes out of warranty, if something breaks, it'll get donated. I'm considering getting another old vehicle that I can work on that gets better mileage. I don't drive that much, obviously, so gasoline prices aren't much of a consideration.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on June 19, 2022, 05:12:36 PM
Thank you, Billy, DL, and Icarus, for the advice and food for thought. Icarus, that's especially helpful to know about the auto part stores, that they can figure out the part needed. And I appreciate the info about Kias or Hyundais being decent options. My sister had a Santa Fe for several years, and as I recall it treated her well. I think I'm leaning toward just taking the plunge and getting a mid-teens "new" subaru; still not sure what I'd do with the current car then. Anyway, thanks again. : )
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 20, 2022, 01:11:52 AM
i have a scan tool of my own. cost $25 and lets me pull the codes myself.

but i still prefer the old stuff. im comfortable with that level of technology. but i dont do as much anymore. my pickup is in the shop for ball joints and an alignment.

$900 he says.

i havent done ball joints in years. or a clutch even.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 20, 2022, 02:58:07 AM
I was driving my '70 3/4 ton truck home a few years ago, and the brakes failed. I was able to drive it home on the park brake, using lots of following distance. I ordered a disc brake conversion kit and installed that system. Some of the fasteners are set to 260 Ft-Lbs of torque from the factory, and given their age, were pretty much seized. My 300 pound son stood on some of the parts while I used a 3 foot cheater bar. Good times! Got it done, though.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 20, 2022, 04:01:52 AM
i live in the rust belt, and gigantic torques are often necessary to unscrew things.

the 1965 pontiac starchief i bought from my aunt (48,000 miles after 30 years) still had the paper stickers onthe original shocks underneath.

not something that wwould live in ohio in salt country. we drove the shit out of that car, wore it out (10.5 to 1 compression) and rebuilt it. then wore it out again. it would do the ton in a heartbeat, even with a two-barrel carburetor.

sold my 1950 hudson before we left california. i miss that car.

these days i refuse to be emotionally  involved in automobiles anymore. i buy them like i buy a washing machine, more frequently actually. no attachment, no concern. when they die i line up at the end in the hay field. someday someone will say, look, what a trove of antiques . . .

but in reality they will all be wrecks that i drove there, parked, and walked away from./
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 20, 2022, 04:12:35 AM
What does, "it would do the ton in a heartbeat, even with a two-barrel carburetor" mean?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 20, 2022, 12:50:26 PM
it had a 290 horsepower 390 V8, with a two barrel rochester. a heavy vehicle

the high compression meant it would easily go 100 mph.

ton is old british slang for 100mph. thought it was more generaliy used

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 20, 2022, 12:54:39 PM
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on June 26, 2022, 11:52:58 AM
Quote from: Icarus on June 19, 2022, 06:09:45 AMThe upside of the Engine control module (ECU) which is a computer of sorts,is that it is far more efficient than the predecessor engines could hope for. The downside is that some of the service routines are only available at the Dealership.
In my neck of the proverbial woods, I actually haven't had to take The Deutschmann to Opel for any ECU-related maintenance. My no-brand next door shop has thus far been able to do pretty much everything.

That can of course be an artefact of local legislation or even of how Opel does business over here.

QuoteDealership!!!!!  They are criminals who will rape your bank account..
No shit. 3000USD for a turbo. Got it for 1600 at the abovementioned no-brand.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 26, 2022, 02:09:49 PM
my eife lost the electronic key to her chrysler.

UD$537 for two new keys.

apologies if ive mentioned this before. it still incenses me
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on June 26, 2022, 03:19:54 PM
I paid around 300 for a new key - the old one was worn out. That was at Opel though. Pretty pricey.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 26, 2022, 04:50:22 PM
in the past when switches go bad i have jusr wired my vehicles with on/off toggles and pushbuttons for starting.

keys arent necessary for my old motorcycles as nobody these days knows how to start them
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on June 26, 2022, 04:54:57 PM
Yeah... These days, however, keys do all sorts of weirdness, like remote-open doors and trunks, toggle alarms and what have you. It's all them microelectronics.

Nice when everything works - expensive the moment it doesn't.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 26, 2022, 07:08:14 PM
ive never been impressed by "features." mopst of my vehicles come to me with well over 100,000 miles on them to start with, and by that time lots of the electronics no longerfunction.

key features, or electronic traction, or ABS. im happy if the windows go up and down and th eheater works. everything else is negotiable.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on June 26, 2022, 07:34:49 PM
It's negotiable in my world as well. However, I have a tendency to fix everything that was broken at the time of purchase.

My most-difficult-to-let-go-list, beyond the getting from A to B part is as follows, in descending order;

Cruise control
Climate control
Bluetooth audio
Bluetooth phone
Satellite navigation
Adaptive lights
Electric windows

Stuff like ABS is a must by law, if the car had it when new. ESP... Don't much care for that, as I usually perform better than it on ice.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 26, 2022, 10:37:49 PM
My big dumb truck has none of that ^ stuff. I think that 4 wheel ABS with disc brakes would be a good upgrade, though I've already installed disc brakes on the front. I use paper maps...j/k, my wife has some yappy direction finding app that she just can't leave alone when we're going somewhere.  ::)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 08, 2022, 04:10:54 AM
it runs!

1965 lives again!

this piece of junk is going to carry me to 139 mph.


started it up on C12 gasoline. tomorrow i'll warm it up and change the oil, then re-jet the carburetors for a best guess on the oxygenated Q16 gasoline.

then its just packing stuff up for a 2300 mile road trip.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 09, 2022, 12:25:47 AM
Good luck Billy. 

It's a bit too late to speculate about ways to go faster. 

I suspect your tires may have more rolling resistance than another design might have. We can speculate about that some other time.

Meanwhile, stay safe and have fun. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 09, 2022, 02:02:51 AM
ive experimented with tires  stock is 3.50 x 2.5 inbthe front andb4.00 x 18 rear. thsts whats on it now.

ive had 17 x 2.00 front and back, using automobile drag racing front tires. lowered the bike 4 inches and cut the total weight to 280 pounds. but they ate a wheel bearing last year and i have had no time to correct the design.

these heavy stock wheels with the narrow continental tires were good for the fastest its ever gone, at 135.

we ll just have to see. im at the the leading edge in all the parameters at once now.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 14, 2022, 03:26:07 AM
we be in maine. way up in the way up

unless youre a brit, then its just sort of alongside

(https://i.imgur.com/F0ZZau3l.jpg)

got to the race trac, dumped the trailer and went and picked up 35 gallons of fuel

(https://i.imgur.com/AeUlJmVl.jpg)

very expensive stuff. one five gallon can of Q16 is US$153. but its going to last a year for me.

then back to the air base and set up th epits-- tent, tools, fuel, tables, chairs, and so on. need to have a place to fix stuff as it breaks. something always breaks.

(https://i.imgur.com/cuArbBCl.jpg)

my neighbor is a friend from previous meets in ohio. this 1971 BSA went 125 this afternoon on its first run in five years. he can do better than this.

(https://i.imgur.com/wiafkFml.jpg)

he also brought this old 1952 bantam to scoot around the pits on.

(https://i.imgur.com/Migpezrl.jpg)

the little ninja has a fuel tank leak from a fairing mounting bolt. we plugged it with a screw, and we'll see how well it works tommorow. i'll fix it later.

(https://i.imgur.com/FRdq7w4l.jpg)



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Anne D. on July 14, 2022, 03:32:16 AM
Pretty country.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 14, 2022, 03:35:14 AM
two sone are runnig. both the daughters were busy elsewhere this year. theyre in the record books, but wont stay there if the wind is favourable

(https://i.imgur.com/fhirov3l.jpg)

the first son ran several times today. only 97 mph, but he had a 13mph headwind, so things are looking good.

if we get calm air, or better, a tailwind, theyre on track to beat the 108 mph records they set a year ago.

lots of other people brought all sorts of machines here. today was the first day running.

tomorrow ill take the 1965 triumph out and fill it up with the new fuel. i have enough jets to run it stupid rich at first, which is what i need in order not to start too lean.

i spoke to the expert about the fuel, and he recommended going up 9 to 10 percent on fuel flow on the main jets, and then advancing the ignition timing. this was a surprise to me, as i was expecting to retard the spark. not so, he said. the Q16 is a good fuel, but hard to get the flame front running, so several degrees advance is necessary from normal gasoline.

i have no idea whethe r its true, but the only way to know is to test. so thats tomoorw. then off to the starting line while sherpherding the kids through the process.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 14, 2022, 03:37:00 AM
Quote from: Anne D. on July 14, 2022, 03:32:16 AMPretty country.

its gorgeous

the potatoes are in bloom, like acres and acres of tomatoes except with bigger flowers. spruce, fir, pines, cottonwoods, all sorts of larch and hemlock and junipers i cant identify.

ill see if i can get the lovely wife to take pictures. i have my hands full.

no moose or bear yet this year, but we just got here
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on July 14, 2022, 04:49:34 AM
Good luck on your speed runs. I managed to get my '68 Harley up to 105 in '72 (by the speedometer). But that was on the 126 between Fillmore and the Santa Clarita Valley. Kind of winding, but not mountain pass twisty. It's tame, now, since it's 2 lanes each way. Back when I drove it, there were turnouts and passing sections. Deaths were common on that road, because some people would pass on the curves. That's just stupid.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 10:44:25 AM
back from the races

pix at 11
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 10:44:36 AM
slow
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 12:18:41 PM
slow

maxed at 121

set up the pits

(https://i.imgur.com/cuArbBCl.jpg)

then went and picked up the fuel

(https://i.imgur.com/AeUlJmVl.jpg)

then three days of lining up to race
(https://i.imgur.com/YTcd3BXl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 12:23:02 PM
not just us. i was too busy tuning to tKe photos

(https://i.imgur.com/0tpXcZBl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0QPVUtkl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Migpezrl.jpg)

one car blew up and caught fire, but other than thay, it was either records, not records, or broken motors
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 12:28:33 PM
i spent an entire day jetting the carburetters for the oxygenated fuel. i went up from 150 main jets to 195 looking for rich.

(https://i.imgur.com/uyHeGWpl.jpg)


didnt find it until i borrowed some drill bits and bored two smaller mains out to 206 and 223. even those would carburate at full throttle, but the big ones emptied the float bowls after a mile and would slow down.

the motor hss terrific reversion from the long cams and open pipes, and wouldnt run clean between about 3100 and 5000. so i dropped the needles a notch and went back to the 195s, and it would run correctly. might still do a bit better with 200s, but i dont have any.

drilling jets by hand is really hokey, because it is absolutely NOT exact. but it was all i had.

(https://i.imgur.com/fh6bsrtl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 12:37:47 PM
anyeay, the hot-shot fuel did not work. the bike will run 135 with the old gearing, and i had geared it for 138, hoping a stronger top end would let the motor pull it.

but there was no torque up there. normally i shift at 7200 or so, and the bike is in 4th gear by about 3/4 mile, then accellerates through the mile lights and picks up a few mph by the mile point five.

not this time. it took all of the first mile to top out third gear, even holding the motor WFO to 7500. then tbe rpm would drop to 6200 in fourth and stay there to the lights. 114-115 mph was all it would do, with a 120 and 121.

there was excellent bottom and midrange, but no increase on top where i needed it.

so i left the jets alone and tried ignition timing. this bike runs two sparkplugs per cylinder like an aerpplane, so the timing is way retarded from 38 btdc to 30. the snowmobile tuner who supposedly knrw about this Q16 fuel told me to advance the timing, so i went to 33.

only 114.

so i went to 28.

back to 120.

at this point i was just wearing out the motor, so i parked the bike and went back to helping the kids

(https://i.imgur.com/fhirov3l.jpg)

and they did pretty good
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 12:39:37 PM
first day with the kids there was a 13 mph headwind, but they were pulling 97 mph on the little kawasaki anyway. not bad, considering.

then the next day the wind died down and they started clocking 104 and 106.

and that was about as good as it. goes.

got some videos. ill see if i can post em

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 11:56:59 PM
my machine has no starting mechanism, and the compression is yoo high to push start it. so we haul the starter and a battery around on an old industrial tricycle

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 22, 2022, 11:58:34 PM
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: No one on July 22, 2022, 11:59:07 PM
Just to be clear, does huffing fumes count as being a petrol head?




Asking for a friend.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2022, 12:11:06 AM
i actually did that once

dont recommend it

but fuel has disinct smells. my C12 smelled like honey. lots of people fondly temember the smell of castor oil.

and they tell me nitromethane smells distinct.

cant be worse onnuour lungs than lots ofbothervstuff
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2022, 12:21:00 AM
one of my sons running 98 on the mile



(https://i.imgur.com/VN0akeVl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2022, 12:32:21 AM
other shit


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 23, 2022, 01:29:37 AM
Glad you and the kids made it back alive Billy.  Too bad the trick fuel treated your bike so badly.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2022, 01:52:55 AM
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 23, 2022, 01:54:08 AM
Quote from: Icarus on July 23, 2022, 01:29:37 AMGlad you and the kids made it back alive Billy.  Too bad the trick fuel treated your bike so badly.



nah. not yo worry

i had a ball and learned a lot.

theres a dyno guy the next-fastest triumph tuner recommends in new york.

i think its time to go visit him.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 01, 2022, 03:10:36 PM
yesterday was a good day. enough time to catch up on things. swept out the front of the warehouse, finally put stuff away from the races, sat back and just fiddled with an old motorcycle for a change. i do this for mental health. when i have a malfunctioning machine, i can click my inner monologue off and go intp autonomous troubleshooting mode. i relocate myself into present time, and everything slows down.  so i pulled out the old 1966 BSA thunderbolt to finish sorting it.

(https://i.imgur.com/0Ekmndjl.jpg)

bought this old beater at a farm supply company in the country. had to deal with a leaky fuel tank, a prpblem that you want to solve in the shop, next to four fire extinguishers. not on the road.

i filled the tank with water to force out any gas fumes, flipped it overto drain it,  and then cut away the epoxy that the previous owner had used to ug the leak. thenbrushed it clean, treated with flux, and simply surrounded the leaky bolt seam with a small halo of silver solder. i still dont have oxy-acetylene, so i cant braze anything very large, but mapp gas is way enough heat for silver solder. tested the results eith some left over Q16 and i was good to go.

this old motorcycle suffered a motor blowup some time in its past, and so while everything you can see dates to 1966, the two crankcases have a 1970 number. no idea whats inside em, but everything i can easily reach is 1966, including the ultra primitive charging system, currently held togther behind the primary cover by giant gobs of blue silicone seal i covered it with the last time i looked inside. all the wires were exposed and falling off, but silicone seal works wonders in the right place. while i was messing with the idle, the old air filter fell off. held on just by a hose clamp instead of the usial screw on mount, the little mounting collar had broken its weld. no problem, i thought, i have another on the other old Thunderbolt that ill borrow temporsrilly.

not so simple. to make a long story short, i borrowed the filter, discovered it was a screw on, couldnt remove the mounting collar from the old carb to expose the screw on threads, decided to rob the brand new carburetter from the 1969 441 victor instead, dissassembled old and new carbs to swap the jetting from original to replacement, put the new carb into its new spot, discovered it wouldnt work because id reversed the choke and throttle control cables, corrected the problem, crawled around on my hands and knees multiple times looking for tiny parts id dropped, got everything back together, screwed on the matching air filter which was the whole reason for the entire two hour diversion, started the motor, and it settled down to a satisfying 1966 thugga thugga thugga idle with about 30 seconds of carburetter attention.

tune ups were easier in 1966. plugs and 30 seconds with a screwdriver.

now the next project is to resuscitate the other thunderbolt, a 1969 i bought for no logical reason that has an owner-bodged wiring harness and an owner-bodged charging system. pretty bike, though. ive never split a BSA apart down to the crank, and i may have to with this one because i need to see whats in the sludge trap, if it has one.

(https://i.imgur.com/5v92Nczl.jpg)

when its a runner that will make three BSAs, two triumphs, one each suzuki, buell, norton, and kawasaki that are rideable. against the ledger on the non-running side are another BSA, a triumph project, a honda, and my number one sons hibernating kawasaki. a better ratio than ive seen in years
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 03:03:37 AM
got the wiring installed on the 1969 ^^^A65. and got the new shifter quadrant to replae the one with the stripped out splines that i discovered halfway through. the new one (well, repaired, maybe thirty years ago) is a big improvement:

(https://i.imgur.com/nzTDL3Wl.jpg?1)

(https://i.imgur.com/p6JbldLl.jpg)

what i do with motorcycles is different from what some people do, i suppose. all but two are over 50 years old, and the new ones were built 16 and 25 years ago. so for me, the involvement is pretty intimate. i don't just get on them and go places. i have to know how they work, what parts are likely to fail, what i need to take with me to be sure i can get home, and what ancient maintenace schedules need to be adhered to from the age when dieselpunk wasnt history. not to mention how to accommodate old technology to modern fuels and traffic.

but for me its therapy, like racing. i dont think about stuff when im working inside a machine. everything goes quiet, and the inner monologue just isnt there. i dont really think, either, certainly my brain isn't processing anything verbally. my eyes observe something, and my hands just know what to do about it, apparently skipping the intermediate steps where i use words to process information.

i suspect woodworking and sculpture are both the same way, but creative art is something i only incompletely understand.


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on August 28, 2022, 03:37:26 AM
Yes, especially when I'm carving wood. I focus on the item and what needs to be removed to make what I have in my mind's eye. I used to go to a class/club at the local senior center, and it could be like that, a lot. But some people bring power chisels (bad, they are NOISY) and power tools (OK, but too much dust, and they don't provide protection for everyone).

[rant] Despite all that, I went there for years, until the guys running the class got to be too much in the way of assholes. I complained to the center management; nothing changed, and I quit going. I've seen the "management", so-called "teachers" drive many a person off. It took 6 years to wear my patience down. At least I complained to the people running the facility. I'd bet money most people just walked away, wanting to avoid a confrontation. [/rant]
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on August 28, 2022, 04:39:37 AM
The only time I get into that state of total absorption in the process is when I am wedging clay using the cut and slam method. My wish is to paint and sculpt in that state, but sadly I overanalyse the painting and sculpting process too much. If only I could be more spontaneous, I feel I could produce better art. But then, I suspect that it is not possible to switch improvisation on by trying too hard to become spontaneous.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on August 28, 2022, 09:06:18 AM
The world goes away when I'm in my workshop. :)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 03:19:19 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 28, 2022, 04:39:37 AMIf only I could be more spontaneous, I feel I could produce better art.

how do you decide when a creation is better? not whether your skill managed to make somethingbthat matched an inner vision, but when youre choosing what to create in the first place?

leaving aside spontaneity for the moment
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on August 28, 2022, 03:55:27 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 03:19:19 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on August 28, 2022, 04:39:37 AMIf only I could be more spontaneous, I feel I could produce better art.

how do you decide when a creation is better? not whether your skill managed to make somethingbthat matched an inner vision, but when youre choosing what to create in the first place?

leaving aside spontaneity for the moment

That is a difficult, perhaps even impossible, question to answer. It's like expressing an opinion about one's own sanity. In my case, the best I can do is precisely what you said: how well I think the work expresses my inner vision. So, I have this suspicion that I may be more successful if I do not over think and over design things. The opinion of an impartial professional critic about the merits of my work may be different, though.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 06:08:58 PM
i am not convinced that critics serve s useful purpose. i think they can offer immensely valuable advice on technique and execution, but to actually critique creativity they have to share your vision of what you wanted to do, and also share your understanding of the rules by which the creativity will be judged.

look at wahols tomato soup can pyramid. its garbage on a pedestal, unless you also share warhols understanding of context.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on August 28, 2022, 06:54:07 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 06:08:58 PMi am not convinced that critics serve s useful purpose. i think they can offer immensely valuable advice on technique and execution, but to actually critique creativity they have to share your vision of what you wanted to do, and also share your understanding of the rules by which the creativity will be judged.

look at wahols tomato soup can pyramid. its garbage on a pedestal, unless you also share warhols understanding of context.

I agree. For most lay viewers, conceptual art is even more difficult to appreciate than Warhol's soup cans or Brillo boxes. Consider for instance Carl Andre's bricks. 😏
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 09:48:56 PM
i would have to see his stuff in person to try to understand what he was doing. just one piece to me is meaningless. even then i might not figure anything out.

it may be a stretch, but conceptual art to me is like trying to read james joyce. i have gotten halfway through ulysses a dozen times, only to be defeated in the middle when he becomes abstract.

yet there are images throughout jkyces work that are vividly preserved in my head, for decades, inclyding out of ulysses.

even reading with an accompanying commentary leaves me behind.

what was he doing? what was he presenting that i cant see? what can i see if i keep looking?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 29, 2022, 01:04:22 AM
Give it whatever name you like. Grooving ? concentration?  Escapism?  I am one of you in that when I concentrate on a project, I might not even be aware of a trainwreck in my front yard. I believe that being "dialed in" can be therapeutic.  It can be a useful escape mechanism from the day to day grind.

I used to be a smoker. When I was at one with my race bike, my sailboat, my mechanical drawing board, I forgot to smoke. I could go hours without ever feeling the slightest intrusion from my addiction.  I am not at all certain that everyone is capable of that kind of focused concentration....or perhaps they simply choose not to experiment with laser focused attention to the subject at hand..

When I was a teacher and later a tutor, I have had people, tell me: "it hurts to think". That was exasperating for me, but maybe there was some truth in their statement. I hope that is not the reality of the human condition.

I am pleased to know that my HAF friends have the capacity for deep focus. 
 

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on August 29, 2022, 01:35:50 AM
In math, physics and programming, we called it "the zone". I remember doing homework as a student and writing code as an engineer, solving propagation and scattering problems for Electromagnetic waves, and being completely oblivious to my surroundings. Once the problem was solved, I'd become aware of people talking around me, or the radio playing, etc. I don't get that as much with carving or running machinery for making wood projects, but that's a good thing. Just running wood through a saw with no consideration of injury is a sure way to get hurt. It's just a lower lever of the zone. I have told my wife repeatedly not to interrupt me when machinery is running. That startle factor is one way to get real hurt, real fast.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on August 29, 2022, 04:38:03 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on August 28, 2022, 09:48:56 PMi would have to see his stuff in person to try to understand what he was doing. just one piece to me is meaningless. even then i might not figure anything out.
...

what was he doing? what was he presenting that i cant see? what can i see if i keep looking?

I think these two points in your reply are the key for me. The key to keeping the little grey cells active and having fun. Even if I have little hope of comprehending what motivates these artists, at least I am enjoying the journey of discovery.

Wow, in a thread dealing with maintaining motorcycles, we have strayed into a discussion of conceptual art. There is something Zen in that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 29, 2022, 06:30:29 PM
lol

one of my favorite books

his inner conversation while adjusting the valves was the best part.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on August 30, 2022, 04:28:58 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on August 29, 2022, 06:30:29 PMlol

one of my favorite books

his inner conversation while adjusting the valves was the best part.

:thumbsup:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 02, 2022, 12:17:22 AM
i have achhieved an odd milestone in my personal relationship with obsolete machinery, specifically motorcycles built before 40 years ago.

i can now look at an exposed wire in a lucas harness and know what it is by the colours.

but only in that very narrow field. elsewhere im blind as a bat.

joseph lucas and son manufactured electrical components for british cars and motorcycles for over 100 years. they were so important to the industry that BSA abandoned one of its most popular and successful motorcycles-- the 500 cc goldstar-- because lucas stopped making magnetos for them. lucas stuff was odd and quirky, but in reality, only because it was pre-modern. their unreliability had more to do with their primitive nature than anything wrong with their design. but after re-wiring an old 1969 thunderbolt with a factory-correct harness, i now know that:

- any brown blue wire is hot unfused, and runs from the battery negative to th ehot side of the ammeter, the horn, or the capacito.

-- any white wire runs from the switched side of the ignition swith to an ignition circuit or the zener diode

-- any white-brown wire runs from the same place to the lighting circuit.

-- any black bro is an oil pressure light

-  any wire with blue in it is one side rr another of the headlight switch. it might be blue, blue-red, or blue-white . .

-- brown is the brake light circuit

-- and so on. i was familiar with all this long ago, but paid no attention to the underlying systems that were carefully organized by color. now i understand the electrics in the same way that i understand the human circulatory system-- pulmonary, cardiac, venous, arterial . . . with a dorsal aorta and a left ventricle, and so on.

apparently lucas wiring was consistent across everything-- triumph, mg, lotus, bsa, norton, vincent, whatever. the wires might go to any of a myriad different makes and styles of components, but the colours stayed the same, because . . . lucas . . .

i hated the lucas harnesses on all my old machines, and generally threw them away and re-wired from scratch. but in the course of working on this BSA, with new conductors, bullets, and snap connectors, i have mellowed somewhat, realizing that most of my wiring problems had to do with aged harnesses than with their designs.

so now i have a box full of new rolls of wire in lucas colours, tins of odd little crimp-on lucas bullet connectors, and the breathtakingly expensive tool that makes th ehexagonal crimp to hold the appropriate bullet on lucas wires of 6-strand, 14-strand, 28-strand, and so on. all set to annoy the next owner in another 50 years.

more to the point, i have come closer to mastering a worthless and obsolete skill. the last of the machines using this system was made in 1983, and the knowledge i have gained is without value for anything built since then.

an arcane skill. but then, how much of what we considered routine over our lives is any less arcane? i can adjust a carburetor, set valve timing, operate a key punch machine, program in job control language, sort cattle, castrate a pig, graft queen bees, predict the weather from the clouds, bake cornbread from scratch, distinguish american fox species by their lower mandibles, navigate at night by the stars, and on and on. some of these skills are useful, some are dead arts, and lots more has been inserted into human culture since to replace them.

i use my teenagers to set the digital clocks in my vehicles, for example. and to show me how to change the settings on my telephone.

lol

one generation cometh, and another generation passeth away. but the earth abideth forever.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on September 02, 2022, 04:55:02 AM
I enjoyed reading your Pirsig-esque musings.  :boaterhat:

I am unable to do most of those things on your list of skills. On the other hand, I can help myself when it comes to computers and software; skills not usually associated with people in my age group.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 18, 2022, 07:29:33 PM
this is why i dont do road racing.

https://i.imgur.com/MeP7wlp.mp4

sorry its an imgur.

got to keep to your line, though, else you run off as well
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 18, 2022, 10:51:37 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on September 02, 2022, 04:55:02 AMI enjoyed reading your Pirsig-esque musings.  :boaterhat:

I am unable to do most of those things on your list of skills. On the other hand, I can help myself when it comes to computers and software; skills not usually associated with people in my age group.

computers are a special case, hermes. kids think that you have to be young to have those abilities, as if age meant that such a technology was mentally inaccessible. but the computer was invented by people who grew up without indoor plumbing. the atomic bombs used to bring in the nuclear age were dragged around the airfields by model T fords. humans went to the moon in a spacecraft held together by pop rivets. and on and on.

an odd period in history, for sure.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on October 22, 2022, 01:30:32 PM

If you go to the 13:00 minute mark, that's where I work. Not in those buildings, but I was there that morning getting ready for the shoot.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 22, 2022, 05:22:53 PM
holy shit

i want the wurlitzer chevy truck at 18 50

and the microbus at 13 24

what an interesting place to work
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Guardian85 on November 06, 2022, 03:05:12 PM
So, since I left last time there has been some drama in the vehicle depertment.

After my ex-girlfriend made a mess of my very pretty Alfa Romeo 156
(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.18169-9/24993134_10154845830890981_2255889558751266570_n.jpg?_nc_cat=109&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=hf1xiYFMLsYAX_6kdxV&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-1.xx&oh=00_AfBTN-N1EompXmSJuDBR5WClUQURVFYmo0lu09iASeHiMw&oe=638F2D18)
I went and got a Peugeot 206.
(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/71591197_10156188734800981_1686935339937038336_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=wJm5CPNAcbUAX9WCRoU&_nc_oc=AQkrBZAl7XD1vQu_5dwoBH5EQwoChdUJze_y9XYc7PSQl79nUWQ2mUUjV3lFdtvzWA4&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-1.xx&oh=00_AfDvGWSZuEa6DWYaJDJynhg2XjdsZZUbEOOKhIJXf_FEUA&oe=638F4B88)
Then I had a total brainfart that I wanted a 4x4, so I sold that to my brother to turn into a Rally Cross car and bought a Landrover.(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-9/118274589_10157025869185981_661150053552793519_n.jpg?_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=nd8dNaMCRTkAX-Yg9zv&_nc_oc=AQmh7zXTmh1fSjiSc0y1xrPb7WrVzeTe34iSt0tplDc3jET5T61F5xUX0O1sM5qJ0As&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-1.xx&oh=00_AfAOoHeHFa2CRSFce3S03IdXvW0pGuRgERh3Y403DlnWzA&oe=638F41B2)
That one promptly lived up to every stereotype regarding British cars and was in the knackers yard inside of a year.

At this point I sat down and had a think, and realized that I really loved owning that old Alfa Romeo that my at-the-time girlfriend decided to launch of a speed bump. So I went and got a new Alfa.(https://scontent-arn2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/314653400_807152013827106_8737671671428568147_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s2048x2048&_nc_cat=102&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=ae9488&_nc_ohc=IliIR5qgd8EAX89WPVt&_nc_ht=scontent-arn2-1.xx&oh=03_AdRoB-WiyTJkbgA0tZ28KcYIyk_sxtJIBaBVJfLS7_JfQQ&oe=638F5577)
Very happy with it. Looks good, handles great, goes like a stabbed rat.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 06, 2022, 08:15:50 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on October 22, 2022, 05:22:53 PMholy shit

i want the wurlitzer chevy truck at 18 50

and the microbus at 13 24

what an interesting place to work

It can be very interesting. I really want that Porsche tractor. And maybe a pedal car.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 06, 2022, 08:51:03 PM
i saw a 1941 wurlitzer chevy 2-ton for sale in california just befor i left.

most people want the little pickup, but i d rather have the full size flatbeds.

$1500

a steal.

id buy it now whether i could afford it or not/

https://hagerty-media-prod.imgix.net/2020/06/1941-Chevrolet-1543-GS-3.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&ixlib=php-3.3.0
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Recusant on November 07, 2022, 01:02:24 AM
I like the Chevrolet panel truck from that era. This one (https://www.motortrend.com/features/1946-chevy-panel-built-run-hard-put-away-wet/) is too tricked out for my taste, but you get a look at its lines anyway.

For pickups, the Wurlitzer Chevies are hard to beat but I think the late 30s Studebakers definitely give them a run for the money (despite possibly being less practical), particularly the '39.

(https://i.imgur.com/61EmryP.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Recusant on November 07, 2022, 01:06:17 AM
Quote from: Guardian85 on November 06, 2022, 03:05:12 PMSo, since I left last time there has been some drama in the vehicle depertment.

After my ex-girlfriend made a mess of my very pretty Alfa Romeo 156

[. . .]

Ah, man, that was too bad. One of my relatives is an Alfa Romeo enthusiast, and I can see the attraction.

Quote from: Guardian85 on November 06, 2022, 03:05:12 PMVery happy with it. Looks good, handles great, goes like a stabbed rat.

But the story had a happy finish.  :thumbsup2:

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 07, 2022, 07:52:38 AM
Top Gear is back and reviewed a £2 million, 2,000 hp, 4 wheel drive, all electric supercar, the Rimac Nevera. As a matter of interest the test was done at Elvinington air base just up the road from me. Quite astonishing to watch.


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on November 07, 2022, 10:06:54 AM
Just a little public service announcement;

Since this thread is in a public part of the forum, you may want to consider not posting pictures of vehicles for which you are the registered owner, with the license plate clearly visible.

In the vast majority of cases, it won't ever be an issue. However, "any and all" personal information can be abused.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on November 07, 2022, 01:19:14 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on November 07, 2022, 10:06:54 AMJust a little public service announcement;

Since this thread is in a public part of the forum, you may want to consider not posting pictures of vehicles for which you are the registered owner, with the license plate clearly visible.

In the vast majority of cases, it won't ever be an issue. However, "any and all" personal information can be abused.

Seconded because cloning number plates is becoming a problem in the UK.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 19, 2022, 04:38:04 PM
winter has finally hit us. fter a n extended indian summer, it turned cold a day or two ago. currently 25 F ouside and 40 F working in the warehouse.

as usual there are important things that havent gotten done. the 1`965 BSA thunderbolt has a slipping clutch. could be springs or plates or something odd. no way to tell until i open it up and look, but usually a simple fix.

the LSR needs a new ignition. im finally taking the ancient race magneto off it and installing an electronic ignition. the magneto is dead reliable and has few  ways to go wrong, but its driven by a rubber belt and has about 4 degrees of spark scatter. too much now that im at the very edge of the envelope.

the BSA 441 victor has something broken in the kickstart. not much of a problem because i cant get the bastard to run anyway, but id like to able to ride it now and again.

the 71 honda is still waiting for a 6 volt battery and my attention.

the 70 norton commando needs nothing except me to ride it, as does the 73 suzuk 250, the 97 buell, and the 72 triumph.

the 69 BSA A65 is running after seven years. i need to install new fork boots and un-bend the rear swing arm, but aside from that it was a very satisfactory resurrection.

whats left? my son dropped the kawasak in the mud, twice, and bent the gear shift and cracked the fairing. i refuse to fix it until we resolve th eissue of him not believing me about needing to ride through the mud slowly, and not fastly. hes brave, but has 18-year-old life experience.

the long-awaited 1970 triumph road racer has once again been robbed for parts, and sits.


i have sold the 1969 BSA starfire to someone with more patience than me.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on November 21, 2022, 09:05:34 AM
Yeah, Stochholm is all snowed in, I hear. Fender bender season incoming. :(

Today's the first day I too needed my winter rubber. It was largely dry and good conditions, but slippery in places. As fortune would have it, I've had my oil change with the new turbocharger, the brakes are good, the ignition system does the ignitey bits, the battery is new because my alternator exploded a couple of months back - that one is new as well... Yeah. I'm pretty confident about the whole winter business.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 22, 2022, 01:10:10 AM
They had a 1904 Oldsmobile out and about at work today. The tires on it were NON SKID, as in the tread pattern literally said "NON SKID" instead of modern knobbly bits molded into the rubber.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on November 22, 2022, 07:55:50 AM
Hang on, it had the text as thread pattern?

That sounds... Potentially unsafe. But also, cool.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 22, 2022, 09:25:46 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on November 22, 2022, 07:55:50 AMHang on, it had the text as thread pattern?

That sounds... Potentially unsafe. But also, cool.

That's exactly what it has.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 22, 2022, 09:28:07 PM
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpSrwgD_cwph9cWBgJUw12glJB_Ytn8cRb3GV7yvgUcfg26rs&usqp=CAc)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 22, 2022, 10:11:49 PM
frankly, that would work just fine in normal; surfaces. you could find issues with it re-directing water away from the contact patch in wet weather, but thats about it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 23, 2022, 12:18:40 AM
With that amount of siping there should be no issues with hydroplaning. Those tires were common as dirt back in the day.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on November 23, 2022, 04:12:34 AM
From a completely different perspective: I like the look of that will keep the photo as inspiration for a future concrete sculpture.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 24, 2022, 01:36:06 AM
Back in the day....waaay back in the day, dirt track race cars used Montgomery Ward knobby tires on their dirt tracks. At the time that was the only source for the knobby tires.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on November 24, 2022, 11:07:59 AM
Quote from: jumbojak on November 22, 2022, 09:28:07 PM(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSpSrwgD_cwph9cWBgJUw12glJB_Ytn8cRb3GV7yvgUcfg26rs&usqp=CAc)
Oh! This doesn't look half-bad. I envisioned something with the letters going along the direction of rotation, if you know what I mean.

That there... Maybe a tad unbalanced, but prolly just fine.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 24, 2022, 02:35:38 PM
tire treadvis an interesting field. on good surfaces, no tread is better than any tread.

but surfaces are not always good.

i have no tread at all on the slicks i use on my race motorcycle.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on November 24, 2022, 02:38:46 PM
Yes, Drag racers and Formula 1 cars on dry surfaces run on no to virtually no thread. Better grip that way. More contact  area, I suspect.

Where I'm at though, it tends to be rainy and/or gravelly and/or not particularly flat and debris-free. Then, things like the ability to drive water to the side come to play. I'm a bit sceptical of the Os and the Ds on the above tires as those make nice pockets to hydroplane with, but then... Maybe not?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 24, 2022, 05:42:10 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on November 24, 2022, 02:38:46 PMYes, Drag racers and Formula 1 cars on dry surfaces run on no to virtually no thread. Better grip that way. More contact  area, I suspect.

Where I'm at though, it tends to be rainy and/or gravelly and/or not particularly flat and debris-free. Then, things like the ability to drive water to the side come to play. I'm a bit sceptical of the Os and the Ds on the above tires as those make nice pockets to hydroplane with, but then... Maybe not?

I think it had more to do with marketing than actual traction. Like, it says right on the tire that it won't skid. It's practically a made for TV infomercial.

Now at work we're rebuilding the brakes on one of the dump trucks. The power steering pump and steering box have both been replaced or rebuilt. New master cylinder, all new rear shoes, hardware, and the drums were turned yesterday. I got halfway through fabbing new rear hardlines as well. Still working on sourcing either a new booster or a proper rebuild kit.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 24, 2022, 05:49:22 PM
ive had truck issues because all the trucks they give me are the old weird ones:

while your ancient beater is in tbe shop the only truck we have i that kenworth that pops out of 3rd and 7th gear.

and . . . ?

you can drive it?

of course.

. . . so i drive it and the U joints are bad. fix that and the clutch linkage parts at the customer.

my usually-assigned mack is down for hydraulic leaks. so i go pick up a third truck at the main yard, peterbilt, only 600,000 miles, auto trans . . .

youre back in tbe kenworth that pops out of gear.

okay. the HVAC blower is failing, btw

we need to put the new guy in the peterbilt because he cant drive a clutch.

. . . i dont use the clutch much so having one or not is not an issue for me.

onwards
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 25, 2022, 04:09:42 PM
1922 rudge LSR!



at brooklands. when i was a kid brooklands was a ruin and you could canoe under the deteriorTing banking. looks better now. somebody is using it.

shame tbey didnt take the rudge out and open it up. i dont care that its 100years old. it was made to run WFO.

they talk and talk but finally start it up around 11:00

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on November 25, 2022, 04:28:20 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on November 24, 2022, 05:49:22 PMive had truck issues because all the trucks they give me are the old weird ones:

while your ancient beater is in tbe shop the only truck we have i that kenworth that pops out of 3rd and 7th gear.

and . . . ?

you can drive it?

of course.

. . . so i drive it and the U joints are bad. fix that and the clutch linkage parts at the customer.

my usually-assigned mack is down for hydraulic leaks. so i go pick up a third truck at the main yard, peterbilt, only 600,000 miles, auto trans . . .

youre back in tbe kenworth that pops out of gear.

okay. the HVAC blower is failing, btw

we need to put the new guy in the peterbilt because he cant drive a clutch.

. . . i dont use the clutch much so having one or not is not an issue for me.

onwards

I want to learn to drive without a clutch. We have a water truck setup that way. It's a heap as a water truck but the running gear is good to go.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 25, 2022, 04:52:55 PM
we have normal clutches and transmissions, i just dont use em

if you double clutch when shifting you only press the pedal down maybe half an inch. keep doing that and eventually you just touch the pedal and dont press it, because youre matching the motot and the transmission speed with your foot on the throttle.  then you dont even pick up your foot anymore. i also sometimes goose the throttle to make the motor speed up and slow down and then just lightly pre load the lever. when the speeds match tbe lever snicks out of or into gear.

shifting into and then out of neutral is two movements

big slow truck transmissions are easier than lightweight auto or motocycle boxes, because they have so much inertia they dont notice you sneaking the gearshift lever around
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 25, 2022, 04:58:26 PM
It's easy to only use the clutch for take off, but even speed matching without clutching can still accelerate the wear on the synchros.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 25, 2022, 06:49:12 PM
the one i have now needs a new transmission amyway. it just casually slides out of 3rd and 7th while youre driving. no pops or surprises, just suddenly youre freewheeling.

the standard for these three axle straight trucks is a 6-speed auto. three buttons: D, N, and R. thats all. they work well with a PTO becaise i can move tje truck at the same time as i.load and unload. with tbe manuals  featheribg tbe clutch to move slowly also means the PTO is dead
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 05, 2022, 01:13:31 AM

the TT is 47 miles of highway and city streets.

you have to learn it in a few laps of practice and then run it at 175 mph, at 10 tenths.

there is nothing like it in the world.

on the average there are two deaths every year. if i could have run a competitive career there i would happily be one of them.

guy martin is number 8
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on December 05, 2022, 01:45:02 AM
One had better be intimately familiar with that course in order to drive it at those speeds. I've had 3 cars that would do 140+, two Chevrolets and one Pontiac. I blew the engine up in the Pontiac, at 6800 RPM. It wasn't prepped for those kinds of RPM. I never tried that anywhere but in a straight line, either.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 05, 2022, 05:34:33 AM
yes  it takes years to master the island, and the fsstest ones still fall down. there are literally hundreds of turns to memorize.

what makes itunique is that the race is on public roads and streets. stone walls, kerbs, streetlamps, buildings, trees. if you go off the road you are guarenteed to hit something hsrd over much of the race.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on December 05, 2022, 05:01:37 PM
Had to pull a dash from one of the mini trucks today. Only broke one piece.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on December 05, 2022, 05:25:42 PM
All that plastic. Once it ages, it's so brittle. I noticed that the plastic headlight buckets on my econobox, which is only 6 years old, is crazing. Not just surface wear. I'm not anxious to look up the replacement cost.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 05, 2022, 10:15:58 PM
we have a 2002 ford. bought it for $2000. it has a bad heater core.

to pull the dash and replace the heater core is 16 hours at $100 per hour.

there are youtube workarounds, but that is the flat rate.

we drove without a heater until the transmission died. now its on its way to the hjunkyard
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on December 07, 2022, 07:53:13 AM
My first long-time car (As in, something I have owned for at least two of what passes locally for MOT test, or three plus years) was an VW Passat from 1993. I bought it for about 3500 Norwegian (Maybe even 2500 - can't quite remember) mid-winter because it had a heater core failure.

There was a local shop where I lived, where you could rent a stall with one of them fancy lifts for a few hours or a day. Very reasonably priced, and you could borrow the tools you did not have from the main shop.

I spent like two days tearing that dash apart, swapping the core and putting it all back together again. The car served me for over three years after that, until rust finally killed it.

In any case, the underdash work is daunting but DIY-able. Still, these days, I'm pretty sure I'd have just driven it to my regular shop and asked them to fix in exchange for money. Getting mechanically lazy as the beard slowly turns gray.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 07, 2022, 11:44:44 AM
in our case the money to fix the core was more than the car was worth.

i could have pulled the dash. but the transmission died first
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on December 07, 2022, 11:58:14 AM
It was kinda' like that with mine - the new core assembly plus hoses, shop time and other such nonsense did cost more than I paid for the car, but then, the car was cheaper than its worth in scrap.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on December 07, 2022, 10:03:07 PM
Today's adventure was pulling the fuel tank from an 88 Ford Ranger to replace the fuel pump. Should've yanked the bed to make it easier but pulling the tank revealed the rust damage. Almost completely rotted out in the front. So, a new fuel tank is being ordered... And we'll yank the bed to install the new one.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 08, 2022, 12:19:31 AM

guy martin 2016. triumph 675

vastly better to watch unedited. this is 5.minutes out of 47 miles. the concentration to go that fast for so long astonishes me
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 26, 2023, 08:27:24 PM
the triumph of moses

(https://i.imgur.com/PcVAbtjl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 26, 2023, 09:55:50 PM
 ^ :far out:  I like it
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 27, 2023, 08:31:57 AM
:rofl:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 27, 2023, 02:53:33 PM
...so that's how he out-ran that there *point* wave crashing down on all them people?!

Makes sense. :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 18, 2023, 04:03:18 PM
yet another Motorcycle That I Would Own If I Were Rich.

thi s is a 1966 BSA spitfire mark 2.

this is the fastest superbike of the 1960s, arguably running 120 mph stock. this one is for sale.

i havent asked the price.

(https://i.imgur.com/xrKhPHZl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Tbw4z73l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/12NZ4rWl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/x5irOAPl.jpg)

a stunningly beautiful example of this phase of motorcycle design. the spitfires were the pinnacle of BSAs development over many, many years. 653 cc vertical twin, four speed, high compression, hot cams, the whole thing. this particular motorcyle is stock, with the original GP2 carburetters.

just the carburetters and the remote matchbox float assembly are worth US$1500 these days. this motorcycle in the condition its in is worth about US$10,000. th ecarbs have never had fuel in them. the tank has never had fuel in it. its a restored, uniused, unstarted perfect example of its kind.

if i owned it i would run the shit out of it at the races in the pure production class, and it would get muddy because i would run it every day from home until i couldnt start it any more.

this is a spectacular museum piece, as is, and is totally worthless unless you thrash it as its designers intended it to be thrashed.

you only live once.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 18, 2023, 04:08:45 PM
i actually do have a 1966 BSA 650, this venerable thunderbolt.

(https://i.imgur.com/YFmfTVgl.png)

mine is not pristine, runs on one old 30mm concentric carburetter, has such poor compression that it only goes 65 mph at screaming top end, and currently is waiting for me to open up the primary drve to see what is wrong with the clutch. but unlike the spitfire, thjis one i own, and can ride.

so theres that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on March 18, 2023, 05:06:21 PM
Both those bikes are beautiful.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 18, 2023, 09:06:35 PM
BSAs were gorgeous.

they were problematic inside though. primitive oil pumps, plain main bearings instead of balls or rollers.

but the 1960s stuff had much more thoughtful cylinder heads than triumph's 1930s relics.

dunno why i keep beating them at the races. maybe i just have a more conservative development programme
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on March 19, 2023, 11:18:18 PM
Buy it and push it to the limit billy.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 19, 2023, 11:42:02 PM
lol

i spend all my money on my kids educatiln these days. but im buying a lottery ticket tomorroe and if i win i will buy that spitfire.

and that 1938 HRD vincent series A thats farther up this forum.

dont need a brough superior. thats too hoity toity for me
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 21, 2023, 12:56:20 AM
That Beezer is scrumptious looking Billy. 

If I had it I would not put fuel in it either...or oil.  I'd leave the oil out on account of not wanting to have oil leaked onto my garage floor. Damned Limey crocks of that era had not yet figured out a way to not use kraft paper gaskets.

Not an exclusive BSA disgrace however. It was not uncommon to see cookie baking pans under Harleys in the dealer show room. Back in the day it was a routine chore to Gunk ones Harley on weekends.

Gunk was an essential item for most of the motorcycle world.  It was a solution of creolic acid (?) that dissolved grease and oil when sprayed with water. Gunk smelled good to motor head types.  sniff..sniff...aaaah!

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 21, 2023, 01:26:58 AM
Yes, those are some really nice looking bikes!

Icarus, I think that you meant cresylic acid, the strongest known organic acid of that era? Cresols were bad news for grease. Shell used it in their gasoline as "TCP"- Tri-Cresyl Phosphate. One could always tell when people ran Shell gasoline, as it left yellow deposits on the spark plugs, eventually fouling them. It was used to scour the tetraethyl lead (used as an anti-knock compound) deposits from the valves and combustion chambers.
My dad used to bitch about my Harley marking its spot in his garage.  8)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on March 21, 2023, 08:36:17 AM
I remember Gunk and I remember that smell!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 21, 2023, 08:16:35 PM
Thanks for the correction DL. We can still buy Gunk branded solution but it is not the same as the original.  The newer concoction does not work nearly as well as the old stuff.

In fact there is little need for specialty products of that kind. Strong soap will do the job nicely. Powerhouse soaps have names like Purple Stuff, Simple Green, and other cute names.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 21, 2023, 10:24:35 PM
um, my shop floor has oil under everything i own except the buell and the kawasaki. the oil under the 441 Victor actually runs across the floor to the drain.

the BSAs and the norton also wet sump so badly all the engine oil drains to the crankcase and makes a mess until the scavenge pump clears it out
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 24, 2023, 12:21:02 AM
Improvement of manufacturing machinery made it possible for parts to fit more precisely. Something like a primary case has a lot of area that needs to be sealed efficiently. Modern bikes, using modern machinery make the interfaces of those parts near perfect. No leaks.

Even Harley has gone to machinery that can produce exceptionally precise surfaces that will not allow oil leakage.

My long time friend, who recently died, had several Honda VFRs,a silver wing, two Honda Hawks, a Suzuki 350 single, and a sweetheart little triumph 500.  They have been unused, in his air conditioned barn for  10 years. The only oil I see on the floor is under the little Triumph. Modern Triumphs do not have that characteristic. The Brits also have modern machinery these days.

I wonder why I like the little Triumph better than the clearly superior Honda and Suzuki bikes.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 24, 2023, 01:24:38 AM
Well the Harley had a chain oiler. Belt drive obviously changed that source of oil.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on March 24, 2023, 11:01:11 AM
Quote from: Icarus on March 24, 2023, 12:21:02 AM...

I wonder why I like the little Triumph better than the clearly superior Honda and Suzuki bikes.

It's built on a human scale for its riders' pleasures.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 24, 2023, 03:14:26 PM
i like the mechanical accessibility and simplicity of an earlier era of machinery. sometimes its a simple matter of taste, at others its pragmatism.

i can work on an old british machine using a level of skill that i have already acquired. even machines i have nevrr had apart. i understand the designer's mind. not so a ducati, or an aprilia, or anything from japan since the 70s.

 but change is inevitable. not always thought through. i may have mentioned this before, but electric cars will kill the used car market.

a tesla battery is supposed to last 300,000 miles. they cost US$25,000 to $35,000. how much will i pay for a used tesla that will soon leave me with a dead battery? and thats assuming elon is correct at 300,000 miles.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on March 24, 2023, 09:13:35 PM
They got a new motorcycle mechanic at work. I haven't met him yet but damn near took him out on the main road when he was going for a test ride. That joker needs to slow down through there. Popped around a corner on a narrow road.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 13, 2023, 02:12:25 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/TaqjwbXl.jpg)

back in prep mode.

(https://i.imgur.com/rPL3buql.jpg)

im finally goi g to swap out the 60 year old magneto and install a battery and electronic ignition. hate to do that but im looking for one percent gains now.

(https://i.imgur.com/236ba0Vl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/2kiLq6Il.jpg)



still might get something out of riding position. but i dont fold up well anymore. cant get amy more room and still stay within my class.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 13, 2023, 02:19:18 PM
ill be taki g off the top end and resetting the cam timing. i run way unorthodox settings, exactly the opposite of what the ecperts say. but the experts are slower, so i dont give them a lot of credence.

i raised the gearing when i tested oxygenated fuel last year. didnt help but mileage went from 8 mpg to about 4. breathtakingly expensive too.

so ill be resetting the gearbox back to 21 teeth from 20, and tbe rear sprocket from 43 to 46.

this gives me a drop in top speed from 138 to 135, but im hoping i can get another 100 rpm.

(https://i.imgur.com/eyuxQeNl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Rg5R9b0l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 04:36:51 PM
Billy, have you ever made an aluminium petrol tank from the sheet metal? I am asking because I would like to know how you anneal the Al. I'm thinking of doing some sculpting with it. There are quite a few different techniques on YouTube, but I would like to get your perspective on it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PM
Hermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php (https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 13, 2023, 06:34:50 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 04:36:51 PMBilly, have you ever made an aluminium petrol tank from the sheet metal? I am asking because I would like to know how you anneal the Al. I'm thinking of doing some sculpting with it. There are quite a few different techniques on YouTube, but I would like to get your perspective on it.

no , i have no knowledger of aluminum.  aside frim copper, i dont know much about annealing.

metal quenching, anneLing, and other treTment is a mystery to me.

its one of those things i pay someone else to know about.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:05:09 PM
Thank you guys, I appreciate your responses.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php (https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php)

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 07:27:04 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php (https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php)

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.

They're a nice bunch. Take a look at the "Metal Shaper of the Month" project at the top of the splash screen. The guy made those stacks from stainless.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on May 14, 2023, 01:36:39 AM
Billy, you are well advised to do away with the antiquated magneto.  Modern ignitions are a helluva lot more reliable and more accurate as for spark intensity and timing. I imagine that you may very well be able to get another 100 revs from the better sparks. Beware, of course.  If you get two, three, four hundred, more revs the bottom end may revolt.

I reckon that you already have beehive valves springs and other expensive goodies like titanium keepers and such. And then there are the push rods that must  not be heavy but must not flex in a way that will alter valve timing, and a whole lot more to worry with.

Oxygenated fuel my ass! Forget that voodoo bullshit and use an ordinary and mainly reliable fuel source like Chevron, Shell, Mobil and so on. Do not be tempted to use trick fuel doctored with nitro or other magical chemistry. Avgas with its' higher octane is not advised or needed for use at sea level either.

I am going to worry about you riding that antique piece of shit bike at warp speeds. Last time it was wheel bearings, what next? 

OK, if you are destined to do this dumb shit, then I wish you the best of luck and I also wish that I could be there with you to cheer you on. That's what we petrol heads do.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 14, 2023, 03:56:45 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 07:27:04 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 13, 2023, 07:15:17 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php (https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php)

Wow, thanks for the link. That site seems to have a wealth of information and I shall definitely register. I see there are art topics; I can't wait to explore.

They're a nice bunch. Take a look at the "Metal Shaper of the Month" project at the top of the splash screen. The guy made those stacks from stainless.

It's early morning here and I intend to join today, if I am accepted. I am looking forward to looking around there.

My current interest is in making a 500mm diameter aluminium tray that will be held aloft by a kneeling male figure. It is for a life size bird feeder sculpture, but enough of that now. I don't want to hijack this thread, so will post more in the Art thread.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 14, 2023, 04:06:28 AM
lol, icarus. wheres that AJS? you gave up common sense a long time ago.

yes i have titanium retainers and collets. but the beehives are in my spare head. but tbe tge pushrods are indeed aluminu.m tubes.

no steel except in the followers, which are lightened.

the old fairbanks morse magneto was there for reliability-- nothing to it, so nothing to go wrong. but it runs on a rubber belt that has 4 degrees of spark scatter, and i cant afford it anymore.

ive given up on tbe fuel. the ordinary VP C12 has enough octane, and at 150 bucks for a five gallon can is cheaper than the Q16 anyway.

but what the hell? nobody lives forever, except maybe you. if im going to go, what better way to do it than at 140 mph?

ive already got the wife persuaded to just scrape me up and dump me in the meetinghouse graveyard somewhere.

quaker graveyards are cheap too. just a hole and maybe a rock on top.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 14, 2023, 04:18:51 AM
hermes, you cannot hijack this thread. its all one conversation, in the end  and i want to listen to everybody about anything tbey have to say.

the only thing motor heads tell me about aluminum that i have tried is the soap technique.

heat it until abar of soap melts against tge surface. it is hot enough to bend without fracture and cool enoughnot to puddle.

ive used it once on bent foot controls and it workedfor me there.

nobody could tell me what melting point soap to use so i used standard american ivory, a basic lye/animal fat bar.

i think the controls were an alloy similar to 6061, which is pretty damned hard. i dont like it in general because you cant saw it without it work hardening ahead of tbe blade. i use softer stuff where i can and just make things thick.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 14, 2023, 09:17:53 AM
Thanks, Billy. I was anyway intending to report on my bird feeder project in the usual forum I show my stuff in.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on May 16, 2023, 12:47:16 AM
Along the way to nowhere -
burnouts.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 05:00:47 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 13, 2023, 06:20:57 PMHermes, try this site. These guys are ace metal workers. I post there as Dark Lightning, as well.

https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php (https://www.allmetalshaping.com/index.php)

Just to let you know that I tried to register over the weekend, but was flagged as a spammer. I sent a message requesting assistance, but by this morning I hadn't received any reply. I tried again a few minutes ago, but the same thing happened, so I've sent another email to the administrators.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 16, 2023, 05:52:29 AM
how do you know you were flagged?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 06:05:02 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 16, 2023, 05:52:29 AMhow do you know you were flagged?

After filling in the registration form where I gave my personal details, I pressed the submit button. A message popped up to say that my application had been rejected and that I could contact the administrator. That I did, but there was no response. Elsewhere, in the site FAQs, I think I saw that one may be rejected if one is suspected of being a spammer.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on May 16, 2023, 11:56:05 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 06:05:02 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 16, 2023, 05:52:29 AMhow do you know you were flagged?

After filling in the registration form where I gave my personal details, I pressed the submit button. A message popped up to say that my application had been rejected and that I could contact the administrator. That I did, but there was no response. Elsewhere, in the site FAQs, I think I saw that one may be rejected if one is suspected of being a spammer.

I'll bet your ISP has a bad reputation and the approval system is triggering. We get the same problem here sometimes.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: The Magic Pudding. on May 16, 2023, 12:02:58 PM
Quote from: Tank on May 16, 2023, 11:56:05 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 06:05:02 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 16, 2023, 05:52:29 AMhow do you know you were flagged?

After filling in the registration form where I gave my personal details, I pressed the submit button. A message popped up to say that my application had been rejected and that I could contact the administrator. That I did, but there was no response. Elsewhere, in the site FAQs, I think I saw that one may be rejected if one is suspected of being a spammer.

I'll bet your ISP has a bad reputation and the approval system is triggering. We get the same problem here sometimes.

Or his VPN, maybe.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 12:50:26 PM
Quote from: The Magic Pudding. on May 16, 2023, 12:02:58 PM
Quote from: Tank on May 16, 2023, 11:56:05 AM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 06:05:02 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on May 16, 2023, 05:52:29 AMhow do you know you were flagged?



After filling in the registration form where I gave my personal details, I pressed the submit button. A message popped up to say that my application had been rejected and that I could contact the administrator. That I did, but there was no response. Elsewhere, in the site FAQs, I think I saw that one may be rejected if one is suspected of being a spammer.

I'll bet your ISP has a bad reputation and the approval system is triggering. We get the same problem here sometimes.

Or his VPN, maybe.

Oh, that's an idea. I never thought of that. Perhaps I should try without my VPN.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 01:00:05 PM
Nope, I tried again without using my VPN and I got the same message.

vBulletin Message
Registration denied, this forum runs an active policy of not allowing spammers. Please contact us via the "Contact Us" page link if you believe this is in error


I will just have to wait and see whether they respond to my message.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 16, 2023, 04:16:03 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 01:00:05 PMNope, I tried again without using my VPN and I got the same message.

vBulletin Message
Registration denied, this forum runs an active policy of not allowing spammers. Please contact us via the "Contact Us" page link if you believe this is in error


I will just have to wait and see whether they respond to my message.


If you like, you can give me the handle you will be using there and I'll contact the admin(s) to vouch for you.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 05:39:55 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on May 16, 2023, 04:16:03 PM
Quote from: hermes2015 on May 16, 2023, 01:00:05 PMNope, I tried again without using my VPN and I got the same message.

vBulletin Message
Registration denied, this forum runs an active policy of not allowing spammers. Please contact us via the "Contact Us" page link if you believe this is in error


I will just have to wait and see whether they respond to my message.


If you like, you can give me the handle you will be using there and I'll contact the admin(s) to vouch for you.

Thank you so much for the offer. I will use the name Hermes there.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on May 17, 2023, 08:32:04 PM
For me, the Indy 500 kills my insomnia.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on May 17, 2023, 08:36:29 PM
Not long now. Three of the recent practice sessions were rained off. It's funny that Indy cars won't run in the wet, yet have windscreens but F1 cars will run in the wet but don't have windscreens.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: jumbojak on May 17, 2023, 10:16:07 PM
Had a new experience today at work. A "stretchy" belt needed replacing on one of the machines. There is no adjustment at all. Both pulleys are fixed in place at what would be the absolute maximum tension that the belt can stand. And you have to roll the damn thing on. Under maximum tension. We got it on but I genuinely didn't believe it was possible halfway through.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 17, 2023, 11:19:52 PM
take your nuts in one hand and try this:

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on May 18, 2023, 12:19:29 AM
^ Slick, but you wouldn't get me to try it. On the other hand, when I worked as a mechanic, if a car came in with a heating problem, and I could tell the clutch on the fan was bad, I'd show the customer by grabbing a fan blade and stopping the fan. Using a shop rag as a pad of course, I may be crazy but I ain't stupid. That's back when I was young and immortal.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on May 18, 2023, 03:29:57 AM
hmmn.

i would not do that

try this instead

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on May 18, 2023, 04:58:48 AM
Burn, baby, burn!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on May 25, 2023, 04:28:28 AM
Once you burn all the fossil fuels in the world, it will be over, well and truly over.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 10, 2023, 01:59:43 AM
next month we go to maine.

https://www.loringtiming.com/

 ill run the 1965 triumph 650 in modified pushrod gasoline, MPG 650/4.

my son has messed up the little ninja 250, so i have informed him that if we cannot get it fixed tomorrow or soon after, he is going to ride the real motorcycle and run for 140 instead of 110.

at the moment the 650 is sitting on th elift with the motor out. i need to check the cam timing-- i want 106/109, and i dont know how much wear has changed that figure since i put the new cams in. i took the head off to re-anneal the copper head gasket, and said, wait a minute-- those holes are big.

id been running a 750 head gasket in the 650 motor. no problem, 76mm is fine on 71mm jugs, but the little gap reduces compression a bit.

im running 11.75 to 1, though, so maybe its negligibel.

ive pulled my long suffering ARD magneto, and ill be installing an electronic ignition with hall effect indiuction triggers. i like the old magneto, but i cannot argue that running the ignition on a rubber belt is not as exact as transistors. maybe ill get an extra 1 percent there.

im running the old spoked wheels because i havent had time to repar the cast wheels that self-destructed last time. and ill be running standard 112 octane fuel instead of the 116 octane methanol blend that didnt do me any good last time. the methanol didnt help me in the top end, whih is where i need help. i get to 131 mph, and the bike hits th ewind wall and wont go any faster. i need a bunch more oomph to go from 135 to 140, and i dont know where it has to come from.

i could do it in a heartbeat with a fairing or some nitromethane, but thats not where my head is.

i want to get there naked, and on gasoline.

so it s a conservative attempt
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on June 10, 2023, 03:37:43 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on June 10, 2023, 01:59:43 AMnext month we go to maine.

https://www.loringtiming.com/

 ill run the 1965 triumph 650 in modified pushrod gasoline, MPG 650/4.

my son has messed up the little ninja 250, so i have informed him that if we cannot get it fixed tomorrow or soon after, he is going to ride the real motorcycle and run for 140 instead of 110.

at the moment the 650 is sitting on th elift with the motor out. i need to check the cam timing-- i want 106/109, and i dont know how much wear has changed that figure since i put the new cams in. i took the head off to re-anneal the copper head gasket, and said, wait a minute-- those holes are big.

id been running a 750 head gasket in the 650 motor. no problem, 76mm is fine on 71mm jugs, but the little gap reduces compression a bit.

im running 11.75 to 1, though, so maybe its negligibel.

ive pulled my long suffering ARD magneto, and ill be installing an electronic ignition with hall effect indiuction triggers. i like the old magneto, but i cannot argue that running the ignition on a rubber belt is not as exact as transistors. maybe ill get an extra 1 percent there.

im running the old spoked wheels because i havent had time to repar the cast wheels that self-destructed last time. and ill be running standard 112 octane fuel instead of the 116 octane methanol blend that didnt do me any good last time. the methanol didnt help me in the top end, whih is where i need help. i get to 131 mph, and the bike hits th ewind wall and wont go any faster. i need a bunch more oomph to go from 135 to 140, and i dont know where it has to come from.

i could do it in a heartbeat with a fairing or some nitromethane, but thats not where my head is.

i want to get there naked, and on gasoline.

so it s a conservative attempt

Good on you for an honest attempt on your terms. Have you considered adding an octane booster containing tetraethyl lead? And yes, use the proper head gasket(s). I know you know it- records are made with a ton of tiny incremental changes that concatenate. You've enough experience that maybe the few small changes you are making will do the trick. Be sure and pack all the wheel bearings before you go.  :D
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on June 20, 2023, 01:54:43 PM
cam timi g

didnt ike the 108/106 i had. tried 111 on the exhaust but the exhaust valve was coming too close to the piston at TDC.

so decided on this. i was fastest some time ago at 106/109.

(https://i.imgur.com/zxZ5ViUl.jpg)

maine in three wweeks or so

still have to install a new ignition and swap the final drive gearing

time is short

(https://i.imgur.com/vncX8GUl.jpg)


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 03, 2023, 11:43:59 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on June 10, 2023, 03:37:43 AMGood on you for an honest attempt on your terms. Have you considered adding an octane booster containing tetraethyl lead? And yes, use the proper head gasket(s). I know you know it- records are made with a ton of tiny incremental changes that concatenate. You've enough experience that maybe the few small changes you are making will do the trick. Be sure and pack all the wheel bearings before you go.  :D

catching up here

the fuel i generally use is VP C12, 112 octane tetraethyl lead boosted. good fuel. i can still see detonatin with side plugs and 38 BTDC timing.

retarded to 30, using two plugs per cylinder, it doesnt detonate at all. i use up a lot of plugs though

last year i tried VP Q16, 116 octane oxygenated methanol-added gasoline. i was looking for more top end, but it wasnt there. nobody could tell me what to expect from the Q16, but it appears to enhance bottom end, so it makes for a stronger launch on drag racing machinery. but i wanted a boost way, way up on thetop of the power band. i changed the gearing from 135mph to 138 at top, hoping the fuel would push me up thae extra 3 mph. but th emotor could not pull the higher gearing, and would peak out at around 121.

so im back to C12, and ill see what can do. these motors can pull to 175 mph on 90 percent-plus nitromethane, but i still want to run simple. nitromethane and nitrous oxide are too much like just buying horsepower, instead of building it. like running a fairing.

although i have a fairing for it and will eventually put it on to see what i can do.

the head gasket snafu was amusing, what was even more amusing is as i was torquing the last of the headbolts, i realized that id put the rocker boxes on backwards, so the pressure feed to the rocker arms was on the left instead of the right. the assemblies will work either way, but it looks very odd to me. i didnt take it down because it was aesthetics only.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 04, 2023, 08:33:18 PM
fuck the world, i leave for the races in six days. and the machine runs


i got it all together, put some gasoline in the tanks, cycled the accellerator pumps, and plugged in the starter. hit the button.

it did not start.

at all.

tried over and over.

no.

this was very stressful for me, because i was OUT OF TIME.

what to do. i knew i had spark and fuel, because it would backfire. so that meant something less important was wrong. so i took the magneto apart, and it was fine. while it was out i filed the ignition points, which were a bit burnt. but they worked fine on the induction meter i use to static-time the ignition, so they should have been okay. and besides, the thing was still backfiring.

so i popped the caps off the rocker boxes, and readjusted the valves. 0.010 on the exhaust, 0.080 on the intake. i have long since abandoned the practice of using feeler gauges or a dial indicator on the valves when i adjust them. i do it by feel, noise, and angle, and i am good for 0.001-inches listening to the clicking the adjusters make when the gap is correct.

a skill that will not survive this generation. icarus and DL know this.

anyway, i put the starter back n the crank and pushed the button. it fired instantly and settled down to the customary lumpy 1000 rpm idle.

now, i know how to adjust valves, and there are only four of them, with symmetrical cams and a 360 degree crank. so it should have been simple. but whatever, it runs.

i checked the taillights on the trailer, swapped out an 1157 with a bad filament, and now theyre okay.

so now begins the slow and methodical process of assembling every tool, every fluid, every custom part, additional fasteners of metric, SAE, CEI, and whitworth threads that i think i might possibly need. plus duplicates of whatever might break off, fall off, or need to be taken off and replaced.

the goal is 140 mph, but im still trying to catch up to the 135 mph this machine ran before i blew it up the first time. if i get close there other changes i need to make.

if i simply cannot do it, then ill install the full fairing i have waiting and cheat my way up there.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 04, 2023, 08:43:47 PM
the wife cannot go this time, because the number two daughter has a bat infestation problem in her apartment and needs help moving downstairs until they plug the bat holes.

bats under the bed. bats in the wall crevices. up to five bats flying around the apartment in the evening.

bats would not be a problem for me, as i just leave the windows opn and lets the bats out when they come in. but she is concerned about rolling over on one in her sleep and being bitten.

anti rabies inoculation programs are US$5000, and she doesnt have that money.

so its just me and the two sons still living at home. they run the kawasaki, i run the triumph. but maybe theyll try the triumph this time around, if i can suggest it correctly.

i wont live forever, after all.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on July 04, 2023, 08:51:24 PM
Good job getting the bike running. Strange that it got out of adjustment? I still have a set of tappet wrenches, and a tool for adjusting points on V8 GM vehicles so equipped. All kinds of other obsolete tools that I can use on my '70 Chevy truck.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 04, 2023, 11:10:22 PM
Dammit Billy a while back I got the impression that you were planning to trash the mag and use a more reliable CD ignition system. 

Woe is me, I am easily confused. Must be all those years of abusing my brain, which has worn it out.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 05, 2023, 01:37:13 AM
youre not confused. i did tell you i was going to trash the mag.

its a dinosaur that runs on a rubber belt, so the spark advances and retards as the belt flexes. its the nature of the instrument.

but the EI needs a battery. i held the battery in my hand and realized that even though it was a weightless shorai lithium iron piece about the size of a cupcake, i didnt have anywhere to put it. i was going to fit it under the carb bellmouths but there was not enough room. nowhere under the seat, because i have an oil tank there. i could put it in the tail section, but i dont have a tail section.

so i finally said shitfire, i dont know what to do. ill think it over and see what i can do by august.

the electronic ignition is vastly superior in actual function, but the fact that i have to fit a battery someplace isnt as easy as it might be. this is a minimalist machine, but all the space thats there has something packed into it.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 06, 2023, 06:13:18 AM
The Briggs and Stratton on my lawnmower does not have a battery. Neither did my Honda XR100 bike. Either of them will crank on first pull, or kick for the Honda. Same deal on the Kawasaki KR 175 rotary valve, ring ding, road racer that I built a long time ago.  My Battle of The Twins KR750 road race bike did use a battery, I agree.

Wherever you get the sparks, we will be wishing you well and hope you break the 140 barrier.

The drag equation is something like (rho x V square)/ two. So the difference in aero drag between 135 and 140 is pretty big.....39,382/2 feet per second to 42,353/2 ft/sec .....about seven percent. You need the fairing methinks.

DL please check my numbers cause I have been into the sauce and my arithmetic may be a bit dizzy.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 06, 2023, 12:34:39 PM
you never said you did BOTT.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 06, 2023, 11:11:23 PM
loading

one toolbox for tuning tools: RAD meter, thermometer, feeler gauges, plug gappers, metric and SAE allen wrenches, special sized sckets for inner spark plugs, rebuild kits for the keihins, jets, all the way from 120 to 210, glassware, chain breakers,  and so on.

anothe tool box for the socket sets-- SAE, metric, whitworth

another tool box for the wrenches. also SAE, metric, and whitworth, plus a fe w adjustable wrenches, breaker bars,  and so on.

one tub for chassis- tire pumps, pipe extensions, carb extensions,

another tub for specialty tuning-- all the parts to rebuild the magneto, three times, rebuild parts for the belt primary drive, extra this and that. plus the starter motor for the triumph, hand-held.

a gear box for all the different sprockets i might need-- primaries in two sizes for the triumph, as well as two size rear. then three or aso different sprockets for the kawasaki. an extra chain for each.

a tub for fluids-- oil, grease, spray cleaners, cable lube, chain adjusters, funnels and so on

another tub for leathers, boots, and helmets.

another tub for stuff we forgot

then the ticycle to carry th estarter motor and the battery. a popup tend. two folding tables, two stools, two chairs, a tarp

three cans of C12, and three cans of Q16

a five gallon can for high test for the kawasaki. the triumph gets 4 to 8 mpg, depending on which fuel im using. the kawasaki gets about 90, no matter what.

maybe ill bring my leg brace in case i screw up my knee again.

where's the spare tire for the trailer?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 07, 2023, 02:20:21 AM
^ Looks like you have it well organized for the trip, Billy. I/we will be waiting anxiously to learn about your adventure and the development of your quest.






^^ I never rode BOTT but I did build some machinery to compete in that class.  I had a talented rider and a very competitive bike, but my rider was not reliable. Sometimes I would spend a bunch of money and careful attention to the bike in anticipation of a BOTT race. The damned rider filed to show up at the track too many times. I think that he might have had some trouble with pot or worse.  I finally gave up on the whole deal. I did like that Kawasaki though. It would run head to head with top riders who had Cosworth Triumphs and others with factory Harleys.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 07, 2023, 11:40:30 AM
that 750 twin was underrated. theres one sitting in my warehouse right now that my son bought
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 08, 2023, 01:34:28 AM
The Kaw' was regarded as a road toad when in its stock form. It was a docile commuter style kind of bike concealing the heart and muscle of a Lion.  The one I had was bought for junk from a "buy here pay here" used car dealer. It seems that the engine was frozen up.  ;D  The problem was not uncommon. The electric start feature had a sprag assembly that locked up on occassion. An easy ten minute fix, but the used car dealer did not know that. 75$ and I had the beginning of a promising race bike. Of course I lavished a lot more money on the bike. New swing arm, overhauling and customizing front suspension, new adjustable rear shocks, custom pistons, cams (two of them), carbs, custom exhaust, lighter stronger wheels, a lot of tires, and a bunch of other stuff. I had a rev limiter set at 8200. The sound it made caused me to have goose bumps. I expect the Triumph might do that for you.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 08, 2023, 03:59:14 AM
i dunno. maybe im different, but racing the triumph makes my heart rate go down.

when im waiting in the starting box, im tense. i check everything, i start the motor to warm the oil and the cylinder head, i check the stuff that came loose last time. i push the bike forward as othe racers leave the line in front of me

then i pull up to the line with the motor running in neutral and wait for the course to clear. the starter waves me out, and then it all goes quiet. everything goes away. very calm. i dont hear anything but the motor. i dont see anything but the runway. i put the box into first by hand, because i cant reach the foot controls until im tucked, and roll away from the line.

it takes about a hundred feet to get settled into the tuck, and im going slow the whole time, just wobbling along. then when my feet are up and in the right positions and my chest is on the tanks, and my head is down, i open the throttle. the motor looks for the cam, finds it, clears the pipes, and we're off.

first gear is over in about three seconds, second i drag out to 7000, third to 8500, and then in fourth gear i just hold it wide fucking open and concentrate on getting out of the wind. fourth takes me from around a hundred miles per hour to one thirty five, but i still have a quarter mile after i top out. thats where im looking for a hundred and forty. i think a run is about 40 or 50 seconds. id have to look.

the whole time the motor is roaring, the wind is rushing past my helmet, the vibration is trying to knock me apart, but its still dead quiet inside.

the world goes away, and theres nothing in my life except the motorcycle and a long yellow line running out of my sight.

 and then i pass the flags and slowly roll the throttle back. at a hundred miles per hour i can sit up, and that immediately slows the machine down. no brakes to speak of on this old bitch.k then i tool back to the pits at thirty or forty, sitting up and steering with one hand while i unwind.

check the timing slip, decide what to do, and either fuel and tune, or go right back to the line.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 13, 2023, 02:29:18 AM
racing!

took two days and 1200 miles to get here

slow first day. the son did an easy 100, 104, 106 on the little 250.

tomorrow in the morning i run the 650 triumph. tailwind is expected

theres a turbine streamliner here. never seen it. sounds like a jet engine, obviously

my blood pressure is going down. tomorrow when i run it will start bottoming out.

a friend of mine hit 140 on his 72 BSA lightning. another friend has a 1967 BSA hornet in my class. he s aiming at my speed record and has a lightweight rider to do it with. he once held the record at 131, but i bumped it to 135. we ll see what he does tomorrow

i am alive here. ill put pictures up as i take them.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 15, 2023, 08:45:43 PM
Billy check in with us if you can. Your last message was two days ago.  :unsure:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on July 15, 2023, 09:04:04 PM
Quote from: Icarus on July 15, 2023, 08:45:43 PMBilly check in with us if you can. Your last message was two days ago.  :unsure:

He popped on today (15th July) but didn't post.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:29:58 AM
busy!

so much going on

the turbine car went 200 plus. i was adjusting my carbs and heard a low flying jet. it seemed to go by too slowly. so i lookef up and it was a streamliner with a jet turbine engine going by in the pits at ten mph.

i heard a haysbusa go by at 240. i was busy with the kids ninja. they started at 102, 103, 104 . . .

then i got them situated and the air density went up ! and thry started hitting 106 and 107. then yesterday there was a tailwind and the number 2 son cracked the record at 108.814. immediately after his brother broke the same record at 108.433. if the brother had done it first they both would have had records. but only one gets the paper.

i couldnt get mine to go fast. only 126, 127 . . . jetted up and got 130, but thr air density went down and i fell to 126, 127 again. retarded the spark from 31 to 27 and fell to 123, 124. not the right  way to go. so advanced to 30 BTDC and left it thrre. i was going yo run that wsy but a BSA guy pointed out a brokebn fork cap and misding motor mount nut, CEI 26tpi thtead,unobtainable . . .
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:36:13 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/k7TEhi6l.jpg)

a friend had a spare so iput it on and waited for morning. today i got to the course, pulled the fuel tanks and retorqued the cylinder head. then i afjusted the valves and was ready to go when they called the races because of rain.

(https://i.imgur.com/mkIlD2sl.jpg)

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:38:01 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/V2LoOocl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/otmb5zLl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/DwU77Wwl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/VP9cxj4l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:43:56 AM
(https://i.imgur.com/YNsilihl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/OeLYb6zl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/5YzOwi5l.jpg)

i am simply too busy to take ictures of all the incredible machines there. other people eere doing it

ill see what i could find.

130 was my high. the motor is not right but the chassis is fine, tracks straight hands off at 100 mph, no wobble or weave.  i do know that the timing needs to be 30-31, but i knew that before. ive got the jets matched to the typical relative air density, and so ill make some changes
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:53:22 AM
got to ditch the magneto.

a friend went 134 on his 67 bsa hornet. hes my comrtition but he shredded two belt drives and had to quit.

another friend took his 72 BSA A65 750 to 142mph. hes been working on that machine for 8 years that i know of. an imressive record that he deserves.

did i mention the 7s aeromacchi? the trident that cracked 140? the cunninghams and the ford roadsters?

the lowey 52 studebaker had two engines  but they coudnt get the fuel synched between them.

jeez three or four 200mph vettes a 63 ranchero, a few mustangs, only one big bore harley, a tiny woman on a big buell and her huge husband on a tiny ninja . . .

wonderful
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 12:58:04 AM
jainie is like 4 feet 11 inches and runs this buell at 140 something. she has the same tank problem that i did but put on a cut-flat tank to get out of the wind.

(https://i.imgur.com/ySAh2mMl.jpg)

she runs a 250 ninja like my boys, but is in a different class because she has to lower it. shez still ony 107 against their 108
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on July 16, 2023, 01:29:52 AM
Cool beans, Billy! My racing days are way past.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 01:31:23 AM
lol

i discovered myself on youtube


i have no idea who took this
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 01:35:16 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on July 16, 2023, 01:29:52 AMCool beans, Billy! My racing days are way past.

i am 67 years old and start slow because it takes me a while to get my feet up on the pegs and i dont fold easily

but once im up with my feet in positiion, all i have to do is open the throttle and hang on.

youre only old if you cooperate

and it helps to lie to yourself

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on July 16, 2023, 03:40:24 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on July 16, 2023, 01:31:23 AMlol

i discovered myself on youtube


i have no idea who took this

Makes me think of "Vanishing Point", but you got to come back!  :D
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on July 16, 2023, 12:49:15 PM
Loving your updates!!!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on July 20, 2023, 09:24:02 AM
Dreams of Mad Max!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 21, 2023, 08:01:03 PM
Billy, I/we are pleased that you survived the event in Maine. You are a plenty smart dude and doing that LSR stuff aint so smart. That said I do appreciate your reporting and the descriptions of your work on the bike.  In fact I get some vicarious thrills from your descriptions. Thank you for that.

Something tells me that you are going to continue your quest.  I have been thinking about possible ways to get that last little bit from the Triumph. Here is the deal. That rig is aerodynamically extremely dirty. I would guess that it has a drag coefficient of 0.75 or thereabouts. Terrible! 

Lets examine the force needed to go from your previous 134 to the sought after 140
The drag equation ....D = (rho x Area x Cd x Velocity squared)/2.... With air density rho, area, and Cd fixed, then velocity becomes the major item of influence.  If we do the arithmetic it will be discovered that we need eight and a half percent more force to get from 134 to the 140 mark. 8.5% is a lot to ask from that engine because you have already approached the limit of what can realistically be expected from all your modifications. There  may be a little bit more in there if you trash that damned mag.  8 or 10 percent is a lot to ask at this stage of the game. and make damned sure the fork caps are not broken.

Here is a vid that discusses aero drag for bikes. https://airshaper.com/videos/motorcycle-aerodynamics/qrH_QBOrqbw

Your Cd can be improved in several ways. I suspect that the stock fuel tank might improve the Cd a little bit....for starters. All those wheel spokes make a mish mosh of the airflow. I have even had pipe dreams about a drag coefficient measurement method that could be put together out there in the woods, without great cost. It would be crude and inconclusive but maybe fun to play with. 

Imagine that you have a big fan that could move a large volume of air. Suspend the fan by two ropes or cables such that the base of the fan is very close to the floor. We are going to measure the force that the fan has to exert rather than have the bike on some sort of measuring platform, like a real wind tunnel does. Isaac done tole us about equal and opposite force. The fan will swing rearward some amount when exposed to resistance. Tape a little laser pointer to the fan and aim the beam at the floor. A tape measure or yardstick under the laser beam........Measure the movement of the fan when you are on the bike in whatever positions you assume. Flow straighteners could be made from sheets of plywood. I am just spitballing here so forgive me for dreaming up Rube Goldberg stuff.

When I was messing with the KZ750 the engine output was boosted a plenty. Hmmmm, the damned clutch was slipping when at speed. I had to put some hellacious springs in the clutch to fix the problem.   What if your clutch was behaving like that? The Triumph clutch was barely adequate in its original stock form. Are you old enough to remember when Armstrong began  producing clutch plates for bikes? They were far better than anything the Brits had furnished. Yep, Armstrong is the outfit that was more famous for producing linoleum flooring.  Scuse me, I became distracted by that bit of nostalgia.

Then there is tire traction to be reckoned with. If all else is delivering and there is some drive tire slippage........... you get the idea. Fat rear tire, maybe even a slick might be appropriate. At 100 plus MPH the chain is working pretty hard and it is transmitting a huge lot of force. If the chain stretches even a little bit, it will, then the rollers and the sprocket may not fit perfectly and ...............well there are too damned many things to think of and work on.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 21, 2023, 11:55:09 PM
youve brought up some useful points. i have a 40mm bob newby 6-spring clutch in there that i have cranked down pretty hard. its designed for more powerful machines than ui have, so i dobnt thnk the problem is slippage. theres never been any rpm change under load.

(https://i.imgur.com/KAgUgBTl.jpg)

id like to install the katana wheels too, becaause i know that th e40-spoke triumph wheels generate a turbulent zone to each side that the sipstream squeezes. i have these to put back on after i solve the bearing issue

(https://i.imgur.com/vDS8gZCl.jpg)

but ike you said, the biggest issue is really aerodynamics. on an open machine like this where the rules dont permit a fairing, the biggest source of drag is me, and my riding position. heres the guy im tryiong beat- 139.266

(https://static.wixstatic.com/media/48ef06_233d08fc3f9d4eab934ad2900d5d6dcc.jpg/v1/fill/w_705,h_470,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/48ef06_233d08fc3f9d4eab934ad2900d5d6dcc.jpg)

he gets lower than this, but not lower than me. the old road racers used to say that if you got your back intothe perfect position, the slipstream would not detach from your back and it would suddenly go cold. ive felt that one time.

so right now im concentrating on getting everything in the motor going right and seeing if i can twist my body better

i do have a major fan in th ewarehouse, and old rooftop blower with an 18 squirrel cage and a 3/4 hp motor. it will blow a solid stream of air strong enough to do what you suggest. i will think about that.

another thing i have done is gotten on the machine with my kids taking photos from a distance so i can look at the image and see what sticks out. other people use a bright light to cast a shadow on the wall, then measure the surface are.

lots to do still. the electronic ignition is first. i was going to look at it tomorrow but i have to work


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on July 22, 2023, 10:22:28 PM
The contest is between available force and resistance to that force. There is a progression where the engine provides a  varying force that is limited to whatever maximum force it is capable of developing. On the other end of the see saw, is the resistance part.That one is variable but not limited. Somewhere on the graph curves of force vs resistance, the lines cross. At that point you cannot go any faster.

You are flogging the engine pretty hard, maybe near or at its' practical limit. If that is so, then the only alternative is to attack the resistance curve and its causes. Aero is the major part of the calculations but there are numerous other tiny little details that can be addressed. Chains, sprockets, tires, axle bearings, and a whole list of other things to attend to with great detail.

Aero: your carcass is likely to be one of the main producers of drag. Not necessarily the largest of the drag producing objects. Fixing some smaller and less obvious drag producers are worth attention.  An example is the way you have routed the control cables...throttle, clutch, etc. The location and shape of the fuel lines, plug wires,foot pegs, and more. Are you aware that wires or cables generate a drag number that is far larger than would be presumed? 

I know a little bit about drag on cables because of my research concerning sailboats and how to coax them to go faster. Most sailboats have wires called shrouds and stays. When the wind blows they vibrate and sometimes make a screaming sound. If they vibrate they must have some force that causes that motion. We are using energy to drive the boat but wasting some of it because of something as apparently innocent as wires.

OK so wires, or cables, are not a big deal. They are a little deal but the sum of a lot of little deals adds up to a larger deal. The best part of the research and remedies that you might do, is that the fixes are inexpensive.  Did you know that rectangular fork legs create less drag than round ones, within the velocity ranges in which you operate?  That is counter intuitive but verifiable none the less. Not to suggest that you change the fork legs. That damned magneto up in front of the cylinder base will generate a mess of turbulence. Find places or things that can be eliminated or re-positioned in such a way as to minimize turbulence. It takes energy to generate turbulence...nuff said.

When I was in university, my intent was to gain an aeronautical engineer degree. I changed my major for several reasons. One of them was the that the dean of the school was a retired navy jet pilot. He wanted to find ways to make planes faster. I wanted to find ways to reduce aero drag of 18 wheeler rigs. We clashed. In any case I became hung up on drag stuff. I might mention that, at that time, I was also looking for ways to let my NSU Supermax race bike go faster down the straights. The professor was not sympathetic about such worthless,to him, stuff like that.

You have a whole year to brainstorm about the many little things that you can do to lessen the total resistance of the air and the mechanical parts. If I survive, I will be one  your cheerleaders.  I will probably continue to annoy you about tiny details.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on July 24, 2023, 05:31:26 AM
billy rubin, have you watched The World's Fastest Indian with Anthony Hopkins? It could be good for you to watch another maniac on a motorcycle.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 24, 2023, 01:17:52 PM
yes. how could i miss that? hes famous and his record still stands.

in the real world it took him more than one try to get to 200 mph though

beseides, hopkins is a superb actor
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on July 24, 2023, 01:22:01 PM
Quote from: Icarus on July 22, 2023, 10:22:28 PMThe contest is between available force and resistance to that force. There is a progression where the engine provides a  varying force that is limited to whatever maximum force it is capable of developing. On the other end of the see saw, is the resistance part.That one is variable but not limited. Somewhere on the graph curves of force vs resistance, the lines cross. At that point you cannot go any faster.

You are flogging the engine pretty hard, maybe near or at its' practical limit. If that is so, then the only alternative is to attack the resistance curve and its causes. Aero is the major part of the calculations but there are numerous other tiny little details that can be addressed. Chains, sprockets, tires, axle bearings, and a whole list of other things to attend to with great detail.

Aero: your carcass is likely to be one of the main producers of drag. Not necessarily the largest of the drag producing objects. Fixing some smaller and less obvious drag producers are worth attention.  An example is the way you have routed the control cables...throttle, clutch, etc. The location and shape of the fuel lines, plug wires,foot pegs, and more. Are you aware that wires or cables generate a drag number that is far larger than would be presumed? 

I know a little bit about drag on cables because of my research concerning sailboats and how to coax them to go faster. Most sailboats have wires called shrouds and stays. When the wind blows they vibrate and sometimes make a screaming sound. If they vibrate they must have some force that causes that motion. We are using energy to drive the boat but wasting some of it because of something as apparently innocent as wires.

OK so wires, or cables, are not a big deal. They are a little deal but the sum of a lot of little deals adds up to a larger deal. The best part of the research and remedies that you might do, is that the fixes are inexpensive.  Did you know that rectangular fork legs create less drag than round ones, within the velocity ranges in which you operate?  That is counter intuitive but verifiable none the less. Not to suggest that you change the fork legs. That damned magneto up in front of the cylinder base will generate a mess of turbulence. Find places or things that can be eliminated or re-positioned in such a way as to minimize turbulence. It takes energy to generate turbulence...nuff said.

When I was in university, my intent was to gain an aeronautical engineer degree. I changed my major for several reasons. One of them was the that the dean of the school was a retired navy jet pilot. He wanted to find ways to make planes faster. I wanted to find ways to reduce aero drag of 18 wheeler rigs. We clashed. In any case I became hung up on drag stuff. I might mention that, at that time, I was also looking for ways to let my NSU Supermax race bike go faster down the straights. The professor was not sympathetic about such worthless,to him, stuff like that.

You have a whole year to brainstorm about the many little things that you can do to lessen the total resistance of the air and the mechanical parts. If I survive, I will be one  your cheerleaders.  I will probably continue to annoy you about tiny details.

lots here

i will get back
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 06, 2023, 11:29:25 PM
for the moment, found a place for a battery in front of the breather catch bottle and below the oil tank

(https://i.imgur.com/2lRvj7kl.jpg)

its not easy finding places for stuff on this thing. its mostly just two wheels, a motor, and a seat.

(https://i.imgur.com/IUMdQpKl.jpg)

then i could nt find a place for the transistor box, bso i bolted it to the seat pan where it will  ne accessible but out of the wind under my belly

(https://i.imgur.com/g08VJ6el.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 07, 2023, 03:15:34 AM
Good going Billy. Keep thinking.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 08, 2023, 02:50:43 AM
The number plate encloses the top of the rear wheel.......Maybe lowering the rear end of the plate to allow air pressure to escape the top of the wheel...Just brainstorming here...

Your pipes are really short. That is typical of high rev engines. A bunch of hot air comes out of the pipes.. Is there any way to utilize that tiny bit of thrust? or maybe deflecting the flow away from the rear wheel.....just grasping at straws in the wind....

That blunt ended, both ends, fuel tank annoys me. Sure, it is adequate for fuel enclosure but that is not the sum of its usefulness or its harm.

Could some sort of configured pad on the top of the top frame bar, be configured to clean up the air on some of the other bits and pieces nearby.... the ones below the pad. Or on or near your belly. Surely a pad could be within the rules.

The problem with cleaning up small airflow parts,is that improving one thing may cause an increase of drag on an adjacent thing. All that on a naked bike will surely need a lot of head scratching.

Keep thinking. Apologies; I will probably continue to interfere with your thought processes. Maybe DL will weigh in here. He is a physics guy who knows a lot of stuff, including aerodynamics.

   
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on August 08, 2023, 02:56:48 AM
Aw, shucks, I'm nobody. I will say though, that thermal wrapping of the exhaust may provide some HP, as the cooling of the pipes reduces extraction. Are the pipes long enough for that to have an effect? A youtube rabbithole may be in Billy's future.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 09, 2023, 03:26:25 AM


i have not forgotten

Quote from: Icarus on July 21, 2023, 08:01:03 PMThen there is tire traction to be reckoned with. If all else is delivering and there is some drive tire slippage........... you get the idea. Fat rear tire, maybe even a slick might be appropriate. At 100 plus MPH the chain is working pretty hard and it is transmitting a huge lot of force. If the chain stretches even a little bit, it will, then the rollers and the sprocket may not fit perfectly and ...............well there are too damned many things to think of and work on.



the tire slip isnt an issue for me on pavement. on the salt it would be serious, but i dont have the horsepower to slip the tire at speed, even the little 2.5-inch racing slicks ive run. the larger machines lose as much as 10 percent of their wheel rpm on the salt in slip.

on chains, i generally run a brand new chain every meet, mostly because my machine eats an ordinary chain in about 200 miles. i have found some better quality chains that last longer, bnut its hard to get 530 chains without O-rings, and there isnt clearance to run an O-ring chain.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 09, 2023, 03:42:30 AM
Quote from: Icarus on August 08, 2023, 02:50:43 AMThe number plate encloses the top of the rear wheel.......Maybe lowering the rear end of the plate to allow air pressure to escape the top of the wheel...Just brainstorming here...

i may take them off entirely, and just stick the numbers on the side of the engine. i was using them to hide some of the whirling spokes from the wind, but maybe thats a bad idea

QuoteYour pipes are really short. That is typical of high rev engines. A bunch of hot air comes out of the pipes.. Is there any way to utilize that tiny bit of thrust? or maybe deflecting the flow away from the rear wheel.....just grasping at straws in the wind....

ive tested pipes from 40 inches down to 32, in two inch increments. mine are 1-5/8 by 34 inches, measuirng around the curve. two inches either way loses 4 mph on top. i have a set of traditional triumpgh TT pipes-- 1-3/4 inches by 52? that desihn was the hot ticket for years in flat track, and are similar to mine except they are longer and bigger ID. i ran 1-5/8 based on a tuners recommendation, and the length i got by testing. i may weld up a set that tucks in closer in front of the engine, but that will have to be in the later fall. as is, they exitoutboard and blow straight back on my feet.

QuoteThat blunt ended, both ends, fuel tank annoys me. Sure, it is adequate for fuel enclosure but that is not the sum of its usefulness or its harm.

Could some sort of configured pad on the top of the top frame bar, be configured to clean up the air on some of the other bits and pieces nearby.... the ones below the pad. Or on or near your belly. Surely a pad could be within the rules.

i know you hate that tank. so does my son, who thinks the whole thing is really ugly, in a steampunk manner. but directly behind the tanks is me, and im way bigger and a worse shape than the tanks. i suspect that just allowing the aircushion in front to form a dynamic blund end will be enough. what i would really like to do is try to clean up the drag behind me. changing the wheels will help alleviate side friction from the low pressure zones on each side of the spoked wheels, but there's nothing at the end to cxlose up the slipstream except my fat ass. ive tought about trying a kamm tail, and i can make one easily, but i really dont want an aero aid if i can help it. the most id like to do there is close up the business in just behind the carburetter bell mouths with a piece opf flexible plastic. it would also keep the carbs from eating dirt thrown up from underneath.


the rules in modified dont allow anything ahead of the rider that assists air flow or looks like it might assist airflow. i can put on a round headlight, but then i have to use stock mounts. thats the most thats allowed. i cant even put aerofoil rear edges on my fork legs, which actually might help

QuoteThe problem with cleaning up small airflow parts,is that improving one thing may cause an increase of drag on an adjacent thing. All that on a naked bike will surely need a lot of head scratching.

Keep thinking. Apologies; I will probably continue to interfere with your thought processes. Maybe DL will weigh in here. He is a physics guy who knows a lot of stuff, including aerodynamics.

   

drag is weird. if you look at the old information

ill post some of them

things that are aerodynamic at once speed are not sao at another. viscosity effects and so on. it isnt even barely intuitive. i cant afford a wind tunnel, but ive thought about taping yarn all over my leathers and then riding down the practice course with my kids filming alongside to see where the year goes laminar. but theres only so much io have time for.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: MarcusA on August 09, 2023, 03:46:38 AM
I feel the need for speed.
- Tom Cruise, Top Gun
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 09, 2023, 03:48:58 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on August 08, 2023, 02:56:48 AMAw, shucks, I'm nobody. I will say though, that thermal wrapping of the exhaust may provide some HP, as the cooling of the pipes reduces extraction. Are the pipes long enough for that to have an effect? A youtube rabbithole may be in Billy's future.

exhaust is hard for me to understand. i have zero faith in computer models of exhaust tuning, because i done ever see where the constants come from or why they justify holding certain variables like EGT or MAP constant.

i rejet when the temperture or air density changes. how can i hope to understand what do with a pipe when the sun goes behind a cloud?

the old six cylinder hondas that mike hailwood raced at the isle of man would run strong when in the sunshine, then collapse in a fit of misfiring when he ran a stretch in the shade under the trees, because the air was denser there.

i dont even run megaphones on the pipes, not because they wouldnt stretch out the power band but because my needs are so narrow a straight cut off gives me what im looking for while making it easy to test.

but im very interested in anything you suggest. time is th egatekeeper, though. i worked nearly 15 hours today hauling garbage, and got in at 8 pm and told my boss not to expect me tomorrow. so ill have some time for a little while
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 09, 2023, 10:42:57 PM
  Your engine transmits force through the clutch, gearing, and chains. Force is diminished by the ratio of sprocket radius versus wheel and tire radius.  We arrive at some unit of force at the contact patch. (patch force)... We lose some significant force, between the crankshaft and the rear wheel.  All that intermediate mechanism saps some of the Juice.

Way back in time I worked for Food Machinery Corporation (FMC division of Link Belt)  We made food Machinery but also giant fans to use in citrus groves when the temperature dropped below freezing.

The fan had a right angle gear boxes at the bottom and top of the fan pedestal. The gear boxes were operated for days on end with polishing compound inside the gear box. The gears were polished to a fare thee well before the machine was delivered to the customer. The average net gain in efficiency was astounding at more than ten percent. Quieter and longer lasting too.

Consider opposing forces. The engine delivers some potential force to the tire patch. The drag factor is an opposing force. The tire patch pushes you forward, the drag force pushes backward. When drag overwhelms the tire's traction capacity there will be slippage. There is a threshold of force vs traction. If you cross that threshold then the tire is slipping. The question is....at what velocity does aero drag exceed traction?

To identify the possible slippage, within less than a minute after the run, take the tire temperatures at the edges and at the middle of the tire patch. That will give you a clue about how the tire is contacting the ground when at speed. Also use a marker, such as a white out pen, to put several sideways stripes across the contact surface of the tire. After a run the condition of the stripes will give you some information.

You can get a tire temp gauge fairly cheap from one of the auto race parts suppliers. Worst case scenario; the driven tire is dangerously hot and may blow out and cause you to meet Jesus before you are ready.

The pipes are an important element that affects engine output. I suspect that you already know that a pulse travels down the pipe and when it meets an opening, the end of the pipe, a reverse pulse is generated that may reach all the way back to the exhaust valve. Given the correct length for a particular RPM the pulse wave can aid exhaust extraction and suck in some more fresh air/fuel during overlap period. Interestingly, the difference in area of the 1.625 pipes and the 1.75 pipes is about 16 percent. That implies that the exhaust pulse will be slower in the larger pipes and also implies that the larger ones should be shorter. (that Italian guy,Bernoulli, gets involved here.)

If the exhaust blows on your feet it is probably operating in a seriously turbulent zone or even a positive pressure zone...we are dealing with small plus or minus factors all over the whole machine and rider.  If we could identify enough of the little things, and fix them, I wonder whether that matters enough to care about. Yeah! I am pretty sure that the sum of a lot of tiny negative things makes a much bigger negative.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on August 10, 2023, 04:25:51 AM
Looks like you're on a serious diet Billy if you want that world record. And you'll have to ditch the leathers for latex and/or Lycra! Or hire a low cross section midget?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 12, 2023, 03:43:19 AM
ive fallen down at 115 mph, some 46 years ago

im still here, a bit creaky

that 51-year old motorcycle goes 118 today.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on August 12, 2023, 04:42:39 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on August 12, 2023, 03:43:19 AMive fallen down at 115 mph, some 46 years ago

im still here, a bit creaky

that 51-year old motorcycle goes 118 today.

I was doing about 45, I guess, when I slid off the road in '72. I was only 20 at the time, thus immortal, so far. Falling off at 115 is not good business; glad that you survived. :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 12, 2023, 03:37:12 PM
there was nothing for me to hit-- just a speed wobble on a sttaight road and a long slide

i mostly dont do the ton on the public roads anymore
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on August 12, 2023, 11:07:00 PM
Today's newspaper has an article about a local motorcycle rider who is now dead. He was going fast on a twisty road and lost it. Fell away from the bike into oncoming lane. He slid under an approaching Nissan pickup truck.

Going too fast on a 900 pound Harley that handles like a barge is ill advised.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on August 13, 2023, 02:34:23 AM
those things are not designed to go fast.

i dont understand the people who think they are some sort of high performance machine.

like driving a farmall C50 to the drag strip. sure, it will go there.

but why?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on August 13, 2023, 03:01:26 AM
I'm lucky that I slid off the road instead of into oncoming traffic. Simple matter of which way the road turned, TBH...and it was a mountain road with little traffic.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 10:09:57 AM
raced on maine

2500 miles there and back

the elwctronic ignition worked fine on the bench but wouldnt pull more than 6000 rpm, so it maxed out 105mph.

that record i set at 135 sure looks far away

rejetted. nothing

changed from straight gasoline to oxygenated, And rejetted. nada

changed plug gaps from 028 to 025. nada y pues nada.

nothing i could do would get the bike over 6000 rpm.

so it was slow. but the boy rode it to 100, which i found funny. he wasnt expecting it to accelerate the way it does.

"it almost threw me off."

"yes."

i was pkanning on putting the magneto back but i have a friend in oz who is building me an ignition. s all i have to do is get a rotor made
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on September 10, 2023, 10:13:22 AM
I bet that bugged the fuck out of you!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 06:36:07 PM
yes. sitting on the stand the motor will rev to 7000.

thats as higgh as i can risk the connecting rods without a load on them. no problems.

but on the race ciurse it wouldnt pull.

it could have been fuel, but everything was fresh out of sealed cans. and fuel flow was excellent. all the connections were good and there was13.35 battery voltage all through the harness and out to the coils.

transistor box.

or possibly the coils are bad internally. cant change that because they are specialized 0.6 ohm micro units, rather than the more easily avalabe 1.5 to 2.0 ohm units

10 months until i can try again.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 06:52:33 PM
the guy in oz is an expatriate pommy who builds the units on the bench. hw has drawings for the rotor which a machinist has to make. multiple cuts and a taper on the lathe. that will be the expensive part
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 09:20:00 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/x1wTPFGl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/HuEE2Hnl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/trBQKyGl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Xhfw7ZHl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 09:20:25 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/EDvvgI8l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/eeMY7b2l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/PKoHL8Ol.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/UpBU2hLl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/i2AS897l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 09:20:48 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/lhchIPBl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/xxSdxkMl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/7LKNuy2l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/GfNj9R6l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 09:21:10 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/8KUKmWtl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/jGIaxUml.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/gpHpJi2l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/6xeGtH4l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/i91BGq5l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/vQyLTzTl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 10, 2023, 09:21:44 PM
(https://i.imgur.com/Zv9LVORl.jpg)

9115 is my triumph.

135.259 mph

but not this time. the boy has gone 108 on the little 250 ninja, but that is not nearly the crudely dramatic ride going 100 on something built 40 years before he was born.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on September 11, 2023, 01:43:20 AM
A couple exotic looking rigs in those pix Billy. Some puzzling things too.....The rear tire on the metallic orange bike #1459 and the excessive rake and trail built into that vee twin thing #1918. The rear coilover angle on #1918 is also excessive. Tell the owner of that thing that MotGP bikes can run 180 MPH and need no such excessive fork rake. 

The clean looking Beezer looks like a full stock bike. I like it.   The blue four wheeler #343 looks like a Midget circle track racer. He has those big ole Hoosier Asphalt track tires for a straightaway run that will sure as hell hold him back.

I'd for sure get my rocks off while being a spectator at an event such as that one. The variety of equipment and the inventiveness of the participants is most interesting.

I once had, on loan from the NSU factory, a 49 cc race bike that was good for 70+ MPH. I really liked that little thing. As I remember, it had a five speed gearbox and it would turn way into the 14,000s. Rotary valve two stroker with some very imaginative porting. Amazing for its day. Has anyone run a moped or other 49cc two wheeler? I could get enthused with a class such as that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on September 11, 2023, 02:41:13 AM
Moped? Funny story. One of my more adventurous gearhead friends had a Moped that he grafted a 260 CC Suzuki engine onto. Took it for a ride, cracked the throttle wide open, and it stuck. He was running along behind it, trying to get it to throttle down, :lol:
Lest anyone think that I'm perfect...I may have mentioned it upthread. My BiL's brother had a 350 Kawasaki triple and let me ride it. It was in a parking lot where we were repairing some trucks. I knew they were peaky, so I was in 1st gear, slowly opening the throttle. At some RPM it peaked, and stood up in a wheelie, with me hanging off the handlebars, with my belly on the seat. At that position, it was difficult to rotate my wrist to reduce throttle, but I managed, and was able to collect it and not hit the fence I had been heading for. Too cool! Once I figured that out, I was doing wheelies all over the parking lot, hugging that bike with my legs like a cowboy on a horse.  8)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 11, 2023, 12:48:26 PM
Quote from: Icarus on September 11, 2023, 01:43:20 AMA couple exotic looking rigs in those pix Billy. Some puzzling things too.....The rear tire on the metallic orange bike #1459

thats the 240 mph hayabusa. its a tire warmer on the back. the racing tires only get a few cool downs before they harden, so they use warmers all day.

Quoteand the excessive rake and trail built into that vee twin thing #1918. The rear coilover angle on #1918 is also excessive. Tell the owner of that thing that MotGP bikes can run 180 MPH and need no such excessive fork rake.

he normally gets 171. this time he only managed 160 something because of the headwind.

QuoteThe clean looking Beezer looks like a full stock bike. I like it. 

thats my pit bike. 1969 stock thunderbot. everything is original except the tach and later silencers.

QuoteThe blue four wheeler #343 looks like a Midget circle track racer. He has those big ole Hoosier Asphalt track tires for a straightaway run that will sure as hell hold him back.

thats exactly what it is. some old stuff around there.

QuoteI'd for sure get my rocks off while being a spectator at an event such as that one. The variety of equipment and the inventiveness of the participants is most interesting.

I once had, on loan from the NSU factory, a 49 cc race bike that was good for 70+ MPH. I really liked that little thing. As I remember, it had a five speed gearbox and it would turn way into the 14,000s. Rotary valve two stroker with some very imaginative porting. Amazing for its day. Has anyone run a moped or other 49cc two wheeler? I could get enthused with a class such as that.

the little stuff is the most interesting. at bonneville theres a 50 cc streaminer that does 149

there was a guy at my event a coiple of years ago who ran a little puch moped, with pedals. he was an academic physicist and did some creative porting and everything else totally stock. it went 64 mph and told me it was terrifying to ride.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on September 11, 2023, 09:06:53 PM
i think ive posted colin furze before but hes always worth revisiting.


my safety people wouldnt stand for ^^^this, but one guy did mention that nobody has run nitrous oxide on a 250 ninja, and the record is open.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on September 12, 2023, 09:16:16 AM
Ooh, I like the gallery above. Much eye candy. :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 25, 2023, 11:04:43 AM
Billy: I can get  1973 Triumph TR5 for almost nothing.  It is a barn find that has been idle for 15 years or more. Do you suppose it is worth the cost of refurbishing it what with new tires and any other that is flexible or rubbery. Tank will probably be rusted. Will need carb and parts cleaners and more....etc.

This is one of those bikes that is said to have had the triumph engine installed in a BSA frame. It is also said to be an oil in frame arrangement. I'd have to verify all that I reckon.

Of course I will do the work myself. I do not know whether the evil Limeys were still using Whitworth bolts and nuts in `1973.  I gave away all my Whitworth tools years ago. I do have a plentiful supply of US and metric tooling.

I have a bit of a nostalgia attachment to the little 500 Triumph. I met my first, now deceased, wife in 1952 when she owned and rode a 1948 Tiger 500. She was commuting back and forth on that thing Between New London and Hartford Connecticut. She worked at Pratt and Whitney operating a Heald grinder. ( precision ID grinder)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 27, 2023, 12:42:23 AM
icarus, what? a TR5? grab it before anybody else knows that its there. it is absolutely worth the cost of refurbishing, if there is a more or less complete motorcyle in there. if its missing so much thats its just a parts bike, its still worth parting out.

the TR5s are extremely popular among the off-road people in any configuration. if its the 73 TR5T, the machine has a racing history as they brought gold medals that year in the ISDT.

i have seen the TR5Ts go from US$1800 or so for derelict projects to well over five thousand dollars for a complete running and/or restored TR5T. and also stupid high asking prices. but any 500 cc triumph is fun. you dont need to keep an off-road configuration. put street tires on it and burble along to the zoo.

the oil in frame arrangement was swapped in for everything except the BSA/triumph triples during 1971. they are excellent machines. ive ridden a 1972 bonneville for 46 years now. the OIF originated with BSA, iirc, but the companies had merged by that time and lots of stuff was in common, although the factoriy people hated each other.

no whitworth after 1970, except rocker adjusters, fork drains, and a few other stupid relict places. SAE spanners are fine.

seat, fork gaiters, tires, cables, grommets, clutch plates, carb parts, anything that might have deteriorated over time is easily replaced these days, as these machines are now "classics," rather than just "old."

my first motorcycle was a 1962 triumph trophy 500, which i rode around between the opium dens of kuala lumpur when i was 16 years old. lovely old things. the 73 will have sort-of more recent carbs, ignition, and so on, and is easily upgraded to labour-saving and more reliable stuff like better alternators, electronic ignition and voltage regulation. you no longer have to live with lucas. you can even blow the horn with the lights on, if you want.

does the motor turn? if not, as you clearly know from long experience, its either a rusted primary chain, stuck clutch, or pistons. most everything else will sit for years if they left oil in it. expect disassembly of the clutch at the least and lots of TLC on rusty stuff.

grab it. take some pitchers!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 27, 2023, 01:53:42 AM
Yes the kickstarter allows the engine to turn over.  It has been sort of  "preserved" with a messy coat of cosmoline (grease) all over the poor thing. Rusting not a problem.

The deal is that this is part of an inheritance from a life long, now deceased, friend. There are five other bikes in the barn also. They are two  Honda VFRs, VR650, Suzuki DR350, Honda XR600R much modified bad ass single, 1968 BSA 441 whose parts are scattered all over the place. All these bikes have been in what my friend called a pole barn. The elegant  pole barn has always been sealed with drywall interior and air conditioning.  He was a bit of an extremist about such things. He had not ridden any of the bikes for more than ten years. He also had a Norton Commando, in pristine condition, that he traded for a a damned lawnmower a few years back.

The TR5 is in original condition except for the exhaust system. It was converted to a low pipe that was less likely to burn the riders leg I suppose.

I will glom onto it right away. I have not been an enthusiastic Triumph fan although I was in partnership with a Triumph dealer many moons ago. My side of the business was for BMW and NSU bikes. I did work on a mess of triumphs at the time (in the fifties) Did not have to work much on the Beemers or NSUs or wipe up oil drips from the show room floor where the Triumphs were displayed. Nostalgia.

The estate also has three Dodge flat fender Power Wagons from 1946 to 1964. They have considerable value but I have no interest in any of that kind of thing. They are  cult trucks that may have substantial value but only to the collector. I will stick with what I know a little bit about, bikes and boats.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 27, 2023, 11:53:38 AM
the power wagons are quite valuable. my favorite truck was the somewhat earlier weapons carriers, but the power wagons are pretty nice.

the 441 victor is another cult machine. restored and original they sell for about $4700. runners can be found for $3500 occasionally. i have one that i dont ride because i cant start the damn thing.

NSUs themselves are a cult machine. i know of only one, a sifecar rig in california
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 28, 2023, 02:44:06 AM
I sold a bunch of NSU Quickly (their model designation) mopeds in the  college town of Gainesville Florida.  They were 49 cc bikes that routinely blew off Cushmans at traffic light drags.. That was back in the dark ages. The little Quickly could still hold it's own as a town scooter. 

But what the hell, all the powered little bikes are now electric. They are quiet and they do not make smoke out the exhaust pipe.  They do make smoke when recharging batteries and burning down garages and apartment buildings.

I have a city with miles of paved bicycle and walking/running paths One of those runs along the side of my front yard. I see quite few young dudes riding a one wheeled electric skateboard sort of thing.  They go fast as a bandit and the riders appear to be in total control. Amazing!  I am too damned old to understand vehicles of that sort.

The Power wagons have six cylinder flathead engines that are believed to be most reliable.  The ultra motivated Power Wagon guys are likely to replace the flathead with a Cummins diesel. There are listings on the internet that offer refurbished diesel powered ones of those dinosaurs for incredible prices  like 75 to 100K. Sheesh! Most of the stock, operable ones, are priced in ranges of 15 to 40K if they are reasonably rust free and intact. There are wicked big winches on all of them. To pull them out of the mud I suppose.  I have zero interest in beasts of that sort.

There ought to be a LSR class for stock power wagons..........maybe 48 MPH ?

 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on October 28, 2023, 02:51:01 AM
Quote from: Icarus on October 28, 2023, 02:44:06 AMI sold a bunch of NSU Quickly (their model designation) mopeds in the  college town of Gainesville Florida.  They were 49 cc bikes that routinely blew off Cushmans at traffic light drags.. That was back in the dark ages. The little Quickly could still hold it's own as a town scooter. 

But what the hell, all the powered little bikes are now electric. They are quiet and they do not make smoke out the exhaust pipe.  They do make smoke when recharging batteries and burning down garages and apartment buildings.

I have a city with miles of paved bicycle and walking/running paths One of those runs along the side of my front yard. I see quite few young dudes riding a one wheeled electric skateboard sort of thing.  They go fast as a bandit and the riders appear to be in total control. Amazing!  I am too damned old to understand vehicles of that sort.

The Power wagons have six cylinder flathead engines that are believed to be most reliable.  The ultra motivated Power Wagon guys are likely to replace the flathead with a Cummins diesel. There are listings on the internet that offer refurbished diesel powered ones of those dinosaurs for incredible prices  like 75 to 100K. Sheesh! Most of the stock, operable ones, are priced in ranges of 15 to 40K if they are reasonably rust free and intact. There are wicked big winches on all of them. To pull them out of the mud I suppose.  I have zero interest in beasts of that sort.

There ought to be a LSR class for stock power wagons..........maybe 48 MPH ?

 

Power wagons could climb trees if they had traction, and I guess with a winch they wouldn't need traction.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 28, 2023, 06:34:05 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on October 28, 2023, 02:51:01 AMPower wagons could climb trees if they had traction, and I guess with a winch they wouldn't need traction.


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 28, 2023, 06:42:25 PM
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on October 29, 2023, 11:55:40 PM
Billy, to hell with those dirt buggys. We need two of these.....one for you and one for me. Maybe three of 'em so that Tank could have one too. It ain't a F1 but he/we could pretend.


What sort of engine do you suppose that is? I don't think that it is a Guzzi,Indian, Harley, or Ducati.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on October 30, 2023, 12:34:31 AM
shit fire i would cut flesh for one of those. remember the three wheel morgans?  i last saw one of those for sale for thirty grand when thirty grand was more than it sounds like now. they ran with JAP V twins when i was looking at them.

if we are going to try to stay with personal automobiles for transportation--which i think is a mistake-- then these are the way to go


Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 05, 2023, 01:35:22 AM
icarus, here's what somebody just said about TR5Ts acros the  pond at an autojumble

shepton mallet? dunno where that is

QuoteThey are chromed but the chrome is too far gone. T140 panels with the square hole but i will be welding the hole up and removing the chrome then paint black with the new script. I also have to drill for the ignition switch but at £10 a pair i had to buy them. The new Michelin tube at £5 was good and its going on the front when i fit my replacement wheel with the stainless spokes and extended brake arms.
There were a lot of parts there this time for all makes. Two TR5Ts in one stall at £4200 and £4700 which seemed low priced. Needing a fair bit of work but most of these sell at near £7000 when built

4200 quid is currently 5200 dollars

these are brit prices, though. british machines are much cheaper outside britain.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 06, 2023, 12:56:25 AM
Thanks for the TR5 notations. 

I have speculated about the repair costs for the one I have in mind. Depends on how well the engine has been maintained and used.  I am thinking wheel bearings, fork head bearings, clutch springs and disks, tank repairs, all kinds of cleaning supplies (carb cleaners and such) and then the several things that I am not thinking of at the moment..........ring and valve job? Oh yeak rebuild the forks and the rear shocks and so on. I can do all the labor, with some degree of passion. I sold every damned piece of my headwork business, even little stuff like spring compressors.

New tires and tubes will wreck $250 or more....at least I have a pair of tire spoons in my toolbox. and the list goes on.  I will probably do the restore project in spite of my better judgement.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 06, 2023, 01:46:41 AM
maybe just start out with an oily-rag resto?

get it running and then take renovation one subsystem at a time

if you set out to do it all at once it will take forever
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 07, 2023, 03:40:14 AM
Oh no I would not even think of doing it all at once. I am a retired old dude who has nothing else to do other than wait for the grim reaper. I will take my sweet time while tinkering with this project.

In my youth I earned the admirable salary of 35 cents per hour. Later, much later, I was able to be paid as much as six dollars per hour for my professional engineering services. WHoopeee! I was in the big money.  Now if I earn a dollar per hour while messing with a motorcycle that I like, then all is good. No indeed I will not set out to do a concours-de-elegance sort of restoration.

But I do wonder if I could hope to buy a head gasket for a 1973 motorcycle.  If not, perish the thought, I do know how to anneal copper sheet.  I will have to consult my local dealers in order to find sticky stuff like Hondaseal or Yamaseal for places where the British kraft paper gaskets used to be.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 07, 2023, 05:46:25 PM
you can buy every gasket,  nut, bolt, seal, and lockwasher for that machine. pistons, rings, valves, springs, shocks, chains, light bulbs, all of it.

the bad days of the 80s and 90s are over, and these things have gone from being out of date to being classic

https://steadfastcycles.com/products/triumph-500-t-100-unit-engine-gasket-set-kit-63-64-65-66-67-68-69-70-71-72-73-74?_pos=6&_sid=728a26590&_ss=r

the new gaskets and sealants are better than when the machine was built. its possible to put them together now so that they dont leak oil.

not mine, but i dont mind
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 21, 2023, 05:12:42 AM
clever toys  with electric drills.......

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 21, 2023, 02:13:12 PM
my contribution

the inimitable colin furze

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 21, 2023, 02:24:29 PM

i waited all the way through for the button in the shifter lever
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 12:17:21 AM
stupid delays.

ive been trying to get the time together to install the australian ignition on my land speed motorcycle. i have all the components-- coils, transitor box, 5000 ohm resistor plug caps, and custom made rotors.

heres the rotors again:

(https://i.imgur.com/X7usEyJl.jpg)

one of these buggers spins on the end of the camshaft at half-crank speed. its a hall effect device, and the half-round curtain you see runs inside a gap in th efixed ignition stator:

(https://i.imgur.com/FrqbmETl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/ciMLPdbl.jpg)

the rotor fits underneath

(https://i.imgur.com/y4O4u7ql.jpg)

when the mild steel curtain intersects the magnetic sensors on the little stator plate, it induces a small change in voltage that the transistor box interprets as a signal to fire. the little rotor turns another 180 degrees (360 at the crank) and then the end of the curtain passes by the magnet and triggers the second coil to fire the other side.

super easy, and the parts fit inside the oild points cavity.
on the back side

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 12:25:45 AM
so all thats easy. but where do i put the stupid coils? theres no space under the tank. no space in front on the down tube that wont cook them on the pipes. no space under the seat as theres no space under the seat, which really isnt a seat but is actuall y just a flat piece of aluminum. the poil tank and oil filter take up all the space under that.

so finally i said, maybe on top of the spine tube behind th e tanks. theres room there. so i scrounged a pice of aluminum channel and tried it out. it fit okay

(https://i.imgur.com/h7WSEufl.jpg) i used the channel to make a simple bracket

(https://i.imgur.com/ElPUQZ7l.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/5FdkrsOl.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/8beEU8nl.jpg)

it works aesthetically but i cant find a good way to attach the damn thing. theres just no room for nuts and bolts on this packed-tight minimalist machine.

so i gave up and ordered a piece of 5083 aluminum plate, which cost a whole shitton of money since metal is through the roof. but a 12 x 12 x 0.25 piece was here shortly

(https://i.imgur.com/lb8h45vl.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/7oz7O7Sl.jpg)

i copuld have done with 3/16, but the quarter inch will be useful enough on other stuff. my industrious sons have made off with all my scap aluminum and this piece was as much as 30 gallons of petrol in the pickup.

ive always used 6061 aliminum because of the strength, but its a bear to cut as my tools seem to make it work harden in front of th eblade, and after a half inch or so the saws slow down. this 5083 stuff is a softer alloy , and should work better for me.

anyway, tomorrow ill cut a little tablet about 5 by 6 inches, drill it for the coil mounts, drill it for two U-bolts to hold it to the bike, and then all i have to do is devise a strap of metal to hold the transistor box.

then just wiring.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 12:31:53 AM
well, more than that. ill have to hand-file th eignition rotors i think to make them fire at exactly 360 degrees. the machinist is good, but these are 1.75-inches across, and cutting them on a mill with accuracy to 360 degrees is pretty much more than i can expect. ill have to hand file them if the curtain is too big, and if its  too small they just wont work.

but i cant tell any of that until i get them on the bike and attach a degree wheel to the crank so i can see whats going on.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 23, 2023, 01:07:44 AM
First picture, left and right pieces. Are these cut so that they are balanced? I'd hate to see that kind of mass whirling at 7k rpm if the issue of balance wasn't addressed.

That plate cost you $100+?! Next time you need a piece of metal like that, let me know. I may be able to ship one from California for less...unless you mean you had to drive that far to get it? Either way, let me know. I might even have what you need on hand.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 23, 2023, 01:17:35 AM
That is techno high adventure Billy. 

I'd be a little bit cautios about mounting those coils anywhere near my scrotum.

In my forthcoming adventures with the TR5 I will surely have to deal with the ignition system. Fifty year old Lucas or BTH systems do not have my confidence. I'm gonna try to learn about your new system some more.

The old jokes about Lucas lighting being rated in candle power is old hat now. The warm beer one too.  Some of the most critical of tech guys now rate Lucas fuel injectors as the the best in the business. I do remember when I got a new Tiger Cub, it had some new fangled electronic ignition that was ....to be generous.... not very reliable. Quick fix to battery ignition made it just fine. 

Of course the clutch on the Tiger Cub was a piece of shit. The Armstrong clutch fixed the clutch problem very well..........Yeah that Armstrong, the one who makes linoleum for the kitchen floor.  Aside from those fixes, the TC was one of my favorite fun bikes. I won dozens of English Trials with the TC. I am awed at the stuff that modern trial bikes and trial riders can do that would have been unthinkable in the old days.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 03:43:49 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on November 23, 2023, 01:07:44 AMFirst picture, left and right pieces. Are these cut so that they are balanced? I'd hate to see that kind of mass whirling at 7k rpm if the issue of balance wasn't addressed.

i worried anout that too. but its on the cam, not the crank, so its only 3500. i think it will work. i hope anyway.

QuoteThat plate cost you $100+?! Next time you need a piece of metal like that, let me know. I may be able to ship one from California for less...unless you mean you had to drive that far to get it? Either way, let me know. I might even have what you need on hand.

yes. metal is high. price out current cost for channel to build a trsiler. horrifyibg.

i judt needed a piece of plate the size of half a sheet of paper. right now that was 60 somethin fot the metal and 17 postage.

junk metal should be cheap, but o have no junkyards
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on November 23, 2023, 02:31:36 PM
OK, I guess fuel is cheaper where you are. It's hovering just under $5 a gallon, here. I bought some brass and aluminum recently to make a fence for my router. I don't recall it costing so much.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 03:55:45 PM
yesterday it was US $2.86 per US gallon. ohio is way under where you are

thats around 75 cents per litre for you frogophiles. national average is around $3.25.

30 gallons of 87 octane gasoline right now costs $85, and this piece of 5083 was $61 plus tax plus $17 shipping, about $84.

maybe tbe link works

https://www.onlinemetals.com/en/buy/aluminum/0-25-aluminum-plate-5000-series/pid/27824?variant=27824_12_12
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 04:21:03 PM
Quote from: Icarus on November 23, 2023, 01:17:35 AMThat is techno high adventure Billy. 

I'd be a little bit cautios about mounting those coils anywhere near my scrotum.

In my forthcoming adventures with the TR5 I will surely have to deal with the ignition system. Fifty year old Lucas or BTH systems do not have my confidence. I'm gonna try to learn about your new system some more.

The old jokes about Lucas lighting being rated in candle power is old hat now. The warm beer one too.  Some of the most critical of tech guys now rate Lucas fuel injectors as the the best in the business. I do remember when I got a new Tiger Cub, it had some new fangled electronic ignition that was ....to be generous.... not very reliable. Quick fix to battery ignition made it just fine. 

Of course the clutch on the Tiger Cub was a piece of shit. The Armstrong clutch fixed the clutch problem very well..........Yeah that Armstrong, the one who makes linoleum for the kitchen floor.  Aside from those fixes, the TC was one of my favorite fun bikes. I won dozens of English Trials with the TC. I am awed at the stuff that modern trial bikes and trial riders can do that would have been unthinkable in the old days.

there just isnt anywhere else to easily put them. theres no sidecovers or big fuel tank so all the usual space is missing. i could mout them on top of the tank but then id have to rest my chest on em and disconnect the harness every time i took the tanks off for any reason. no room under the seat. i had the pazon coils in the same place but they were much smaller.

electronic ignitions for the TR 5 are available from boyer, pazon, and several others. they replace the points and condensors and should really be run with 6 volt coils, but 12 volts work fine in my BSA.

http://boyerbransden.com/

i have a boyer ignition in a bonneville that has been trouble-free for over 30 years. once you set the ignition timing, you have a rock steady spark that never changes, ever. ive also got boyers in a norton commando and a BSA thunderbolt, and a pazon in another BSA. all are set-and-forget.

https://www.classicbritishspares.com/products/boyer-electronic-ignition-12v-twins?_pos=5&_sid=3ddcc79e1&_ss=r

you can also ditch the old rectifier and zener diode. zeners are hard to come by these days

https://www.thebonnevilleshop.com/product/triumph-norton-bsa-etc-podtronics-16a-200w-regulator-rectifier-pn-tbs-4035/
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 24, 2023, 12:55:26 AM
^ Thanks much for the references to suppliers for the antique bikes. That information will surely save me a lot of time and grief.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 24, 2023, 01:12:15 AM
Quote from: Icarus on November 24, 2023, 12:55:26 AM^ Thanks much for the references to suppliers for the antique bikes. That information will surely save me a lot of time and grief.

lots more than those
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: The Magic Pudding.. on November 24, 2023, 11:10:20 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on November 23, 2023, 03:55:45 PMyesterday it was US $2.86 per US gallon. ohio is way under where you are

thats around 75 cents per litre for you frogophiles. national average is around $3.25.

30 gallons of 87 octane gasoline right now costs $85, and this piece of 5083 was $61 plus tax plus $17 shipping, about $84.


Oh right, wait a minute...
Drums used to be forty fours, forty four gallons, before they became 200 litre-ish.
286/75=3.813
200/44=4.545

"How many Litres are in a gallon Australia?  4.54609 litres"
A US gallon =3.78541

Apparently the oft' quoted barrel of oil is 159 litres, not nearly a proper drum.

Petrol is pushing AUD $2 here, /100x62  $1.24 USD.

Fuel is taxed more here, we accept this because we are more virtuous than your lot.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on November 24, 2023, 02:51:01 PM
american oil barrels are 40 US gallons.

youre right about virtue. not much of that up here
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on November 30, 2023, 04:09:35 AM
Here is a prospective LSR machine that was intended for GP racing.............but alas it did not happen

Notice the departure from common thinking at about 5 minutes in.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on December 06, 2023, 02:53:49 AM
Billy I finally subscribed to Motorcycle classics magazine. The first issue arrived and I am pleased to learn that there are a whole bunch of parts suppliers for old bikes. There is even a place to buy German manufactured replicas of the old tires that were once the norm. In this case the promise is that the tread pattern is the same but the rubber compounds and structural elements are modern.

I can anticipate spending a whole bunch of money on parts for the TR5. Tires, grease seals, bearings, pistons,rings, valves, chains, clutch parts, and only the FSM knows what else. Then there is the forks and the rear coil overs.... Sheesh! Yep, I think that this project is going to exceed any resemblance to my practical budget.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on December 06, 2023, 02:58:40 AM
Billy is it possible to use modern coil on plug setup....like on my Honda Element automobile and a whole bunch of others vehicles?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 06, 2023, 04:47:33 PM
what a strange motor. like halfway between a flat crank and a V? how dou you balance that?

are the cylinders orthogonal to the crankn? if not, what about side loads on the pistons? if so, what about the non planar deck configuration? all in the combustion chamber?

cant do more than glance at it atm
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 06, 2023, 11:31:15 PM
shit theres a lot going on in that motor. the centerline of the cylinders is out of line with the crank, so the sideloads are real. but the block has a single flat deck, so they can be ground in one plane.

but two counter rotating cranks? im wondring about about other double crank attempts like the old ariel square four. im not convinced the torquing is really that much of a problem-- the old BMS would push to the side when you spun th emotor, but it wasnt much. ill have to go through this again.

i also dont understand the camshafts. SOHC with a central third shaft to drive them rather than separte chains? i lhh have to look again
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 06, 2023, 11:36:30 PM
Quote from: Icarus on December 06, 2023, 02:58:40 AMBilly is it possible to use modern coil on plug setup....like on my Honda Element automobile and a whole bunch of others vehicles?

with enough time and creativity you can do anything, and people do. but you would have to engineer more than is necessary to do that. the TR5T will use 14mm plugs, and i think most modern systems use 12mm. that by itself would require welding up and redrilling the pkug holes.

 also modern conventional coils and ignitions are vastly superior to what these things came with. i would suggest an electronic ignition from boyer or pazon. ive used em both and only have had occasional issues.

you can even keep the points, but that has problems as most of the automatic advance units are worn out, and finding quality igniotion points is hard to do these days. but i know people who do, and i run points in an old B44.

you should look over this place

https://www.britbike.com/

its a forum with a great deal of expertise and crazy aficionados for various british marques
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on December 31, 2023, 12:28:27 AM
okay, im almost done withis slow motion ignition upgrade.

heres the new plate mounted coils, and the weird wiring necessary to fire them separately:

(https://i.imgur.com/vxaKWPYl.jpg)

its lkess of a mess than it looks. just two coils connected to positive hot, then to transistor box negative to the trigger. the box is grounded both to th ealuminum coil mopuntint plate and directly to th ebattery. easy stuff.

the battery is mounted onto a coip[le of motor mount bolts under the breather catch bottle. im using negative ground on this, although neither the motor nor the ignition care. most of my machines are positive ground, if i havent changed em.

(https://i.imgur.com/ZKyAmNml.jpg)

from the battery the electrons run up to the kill switch on the left handle bars:

(https://i.imgur.com/17kBXzcl.jpg)

^^^this is a cheap chinese toggle switch. theyre cheap, so i buy them five or six at a time. none have ever failed, but i have so many different ignitions sitting in boxes for thjis motorcycle that i use them up.

from there th ehot circuit runs to a deadman switch on the right handlebar. series wiring-- all the juice runs from the battery through two kill switches and then back to the transistor box.

(https://i.imgur.com/PmfSmhCl.jpg)

the deaman has a lanyard that i clip to right glove. if the motorcycle tosses me during a run, the lanyard pulls a little connector out of th eswitch and breaks th ecircuit to th emotor. so th emachine doesnt rideoff into the distance without me. theoretically, anyway.

tomorrow i have to solder the bootlce teminals onto th ethree ignition sensor leads, then time it. might try to start the pig and see how well the igniotion rotors were machined.

woo lookit the typoes
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on December 31, 2023, 11:43:59 PM
Looks like the LSR scoot is getting xmas presents and some TLC.

Pleased to learn that you have multiple kill switch circuits, especially the dead man switch.

I have not begun to restore the TR5T yet. In fact it is still in the barn across town,(air conditioned barn) where it has rested undisturbed for 20 years or so. It has been lightly coated with cosmoline for all that time. Gonna be a bitch to get it cleaned up. 

Meanwhile I have to make some space in my garage. It seems that the garage has been the keeper of about 60 years worth of gearhead treasures. What the hell will I do with a Jacobs chuck with a R8 mount?  I do not now have a milling machine or anything else with an R8 spindle. What to do with all those manometers, the DC power supply that weighs 50 pounds ( I used that for anodizing aluminum in my other life), Carbide lathe bits, An Adler industrial sewing machine and lots of folder attachments (it is a big brutal walking foot machine that will sew plywood if I chose to do so) I need the sewing machine like I need a paper ass. Plenty more stuff like a whole set of commercial grade grommet setting dies, A sail makers 5 pound rawhide hammer.....etc.. Maker/do-er type dudes seem to collect too much stuff that has "I might need it one of these days" imagined value.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on December 31, 2023, 11:52:33 PM
P.S.  Billy I still have the Flow Quick stuff (poor mans flow bench). I promised to send it to you way back in time. At the time, I plugged it in to see if it still works. It did not work. I checked with the supplier and yes they have repair facilities. I will still send it to you if you want to mess with it, maybe even get it working. The computer program is in the box too. I kinda doubt that it will work on a newer computer but it did work perfectly on a Win95 and computers a few years beyond that.

If you do not want to be bothered with that stuff I will trash it. Let me know.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 01, 2024, 01:16:56 AM
Quote from: Icarus on December 31, 2023, 11:43:59 PMLooks like the LSR scoot is getting xmas presents and some TLC.

Pleased to learn that you have multiple kill switch circuits, especially the dead man switch.

I have not begun to restore the TR5T yet. In fact it is still in the barn across town,(air conditioned barn) where it has rested undisturbed for 20 years or so. It has been lightly coated with cosmoline for all that time. Gonna be a bitch to get it cleaned up. 

Meanwhile I have to make some space in my garage. It seems that the garage has been the keeper of about 60 years worth of gearhead treasures. What the hell will I do with a Jacobs chuck with a R8 mount?  I do not now have a milling machine or anything else with an R8 spindle. What to do with all those manometers, the DC power supply that weighs 50 pounds ( I used that for anodizing aluminum in my other life), Carbide lathe bits, An Adler industrial sewing machine and lots of folder attachments (it is a big brutal walking foot machine that will sew plywood if I chose to do so) I need the sewing machine like I need a paper ass. Plenty more stuff like a whole set of commercial grade grommet setting dies, A sail makers 5 pound rawhide hammer.....etc.. Maker/do-er type dudes seem to collect too much stuff that has "I might need it one of these days" imagined value.



that sort of stuff is priceless, though. the problem is getting ahold of the people to whom it is priceless, because to everybody else it is junk. ive seen truckloads of stuff go to the landfills that somebody would cut flesh to own, but it isnt to be.

my mother in law says, you cant keep everything. where would you put it? and she's right.

ive been cursed by floods, so periodically i lose my possessions like a buddhist monk and start over. except now i refuse to start over, and strip as much stuff out of my life as i can. in my opinion, if you dont have it in your head, its not really yours. you can fool yourself that youre keeping things for a future person who will treasure them, but rust, mice, corrosion, and misadventure get everything in the end.

on that TR5T, nobody even knows what cosmoline is these days, so you can pretend you dont know either. if its been sitting in a climate-controlled building all this time, then if it ran when they pushed it in, it will likely run when you push it out. the TR5Ts are approaching cult status, but screw that, theyre a ball to ride. light enough to burble around the neighbourhood on, fast enough to get out of the way of traffic. depending on how deep you want to get into it, you might consider lowering the compression ratio with different pistons. it makes em easier to start, and lots easier to make em run run on modern fuel without blowing up.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 05, 2024, 03:44:34 AM
I have no intention of riding the TR5 on the street or the road. I might tool up and down and around the cul de sac where I live. That's all. I'm way too old for recreational riding. In addition to that, I would like to avoid unintended crashes into any of the dumb asses who make a sudden left turns.....you know the drill. Plenty more hazards out there too.

I will work on the little scooter for the satisfaction of making it somewhere near its original appearance and performance...............Actually, if I re-do the forks,rear shocks,and brakes, give it a set of modern tires, it may work better than it did when new. The tires mainly accountable for whatever improvement.

I did register with Britbikes.com   Thanks for the heads up. On that site, I was able to discover  that my bike was made in November 1973. Damned near the last of the breed. I do hope that they were not using the old scrap parts that would have accumulated before their final goodbye to the 500cc types. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 07, 2024, 08:59:53 PM
you will find that a competent mechancial person can take one of these things these days, and make it better than new. what you do with it then is a whole different philosophy.

in my case, i i frequently use them as an exercise in understanding physics and chemistry. i have too many motorcycles to wear them out by avtually riding them, and so some of them are intellectual exercises.

like my B44, which i will consider a success if i can just figure out how to start it consistently. i cannot get that achievement under my belt, and dont care about anything else. its not much of a rider anyway.

others i run on the street, some i run on the track. some i just preserve for a possible future person who will be interested in it.

whatever you decide to do, it will be worthwhile to you if its worthwhile to you. its as simple as that.

put up some pictures of what youre planning on doing with this thing. id like to follow along.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 19, 2024, 12:25:35 AM
I will try to make this link work.....if I only knew how to do it correctly.

Tank and other non Americans might find this amusing or outrageous or perhaps revealing of the American culture.

The F1 race at Las Vegas was either a colossal success or a colossal fuck up. The writer has it both ways.

https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/formula-1-las-vegas-debut-successes-failures-1234941512/ (https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/formula-1-las-vegas-debut-successes-failures-1234941512/)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 19, 2024, 03:21:59 AM
vegas.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on January 19, 2024, 12:27:56 PM
I think Vagus is going to grow into a great F1 venue. This year was right at the bottom of the learning curve.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 22, 2024, 09:13:24 PM
hey icarus this is your motorcycle

http://www.epnat.ca/MY%20TIMES%20WITH%20TRIUMPH%20TR5T.pdf
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 23, 2024, 01:42:55 AM
Yep.The one labeled Adventurer.  I still do not have that bike in my garage however. I am trying to make space in the garage that contains a lifetime collection of stuff "I might need so I will save it".  As recently as this afternoon, I trashed a whole bunch of stuff that was once regarded as priceless.

I will pick up the bike in due time. It is safely locked away in the air conditioned and/or heated barn. It has several barn mates.... 2 Honda VFRS, A Suzuki DR350, Two Honda Hawk vee twins, a Honda XR650R that has been been extensively, and professionally, "breathed upon".  For all practical purposes useless. It is a life threatening exercise just to start the damned thing. The other barn, the less fancy one, has a BSA 441 complete set of parts that could make a whole motorcycle if we could only find all those parts. . My deceased friend who owned all those bikes was good at taking things apart but not at all good at putting them back together.

Fortunately he had not taken his wrenches to the TR5T.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 23, 2024, 08:00:26 PM
that 441 is worth $3000 if you put it back together and make it run. if you make it sparkling perfect its worth close to $5000

441s are as much a cult bike as tbe TR5Ts
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on January 24, 2024, 07:42:51 AM
A question kinda' towards that; it can be ridiculously labour-intensive to restore something to perfection - or even to factory default, and yet one sees some Netflix reality shows (Yes, yes, shame be on The Asmo and all that) where they fix up cars and sell them all shiny for 20-30K.

Is it because it's just surface-level? Polished turds, so to speak? Is it "just for entertainment," perhaps, or an actual business model over in the Americas? (We don't really have a restoration/restomod industry as such. Well, we do, but them things cost a lot more than my generally far more sophisticated car did new)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 24, 2024, 12:44:20 PM
yes. lots of trailer queen show machines dont run, have never been started since the resto, or are even incomplete inside.

some show venues require the vehicles to move under their own power, but not all.

the 100 point cars lose points of there is dust on the wheels or a drop of oil on the motor.

motorcycles are no exception. art bikes are not even intended to run.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on January 24, 2024, 12:57:34 PM
I see. I've had my suspicions - not in every case, but for instance, I suspect that Canadian Rust Bros show was only possible as a show, and that the business would not even approach viable as it was without either being a side-gig to more conventional garage operations OR that sweet, sweet streaming cash.

Hmm... Personally, I think art cars/bikes/ATVs/what have you should perform as the vehicles that they are. They can handle like a drunken container ship, but I think the capability for certain from-A-to-B-ness is a must. Now a piece of art depicting a vehicle does not need to do any such thing. Say, you half-bury a car in a roundabout and call it a scuplture. I'd say in that case, it's perfectly fine to remove the engine, transmission and other such reusables/recyclables because by then, it's no longer a car - it's a sculpture of one.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 24, 2024, 03:57:29 PM
amarillo. all were running when placed

(https://i.imgur.com/0f1DoM3l.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 24, 2024, 06:17:37 PM
^ I guess there's already enough oil in the soil of Texas that it really doesn't add to the pollution. I'm curious- did these cars have graffiti on them when planted? That display ("Carhenge"  ::)  ) is enough of an eyesore without the graffiti.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 24, 2024, 11:45:48 PM
no

cadillac ranch was a monument to the tail fin. the cars were stock, but have become a cult mecca for painters

they were running iirc in sequence from the first tail fins in 1948 to some much later type. cadillac tail fins were mostly vestigial by the late 1960s

they drove them into pre-dug holes in the ground and tipped them all up to the same angle as the cheops pyramid.

elsewhere on the ranch is a giant billard table with balls and a huge cue

its a working ranch visible from th ehighway. ive seen this place with wheat growing around the cadillacs, and with cows wandering around them, and then with a path set aside for tourists.

texas is full of pollution. if you drive through the central basin platform where the cable tool rigs have been drilling since 1926, you can smell th esulphur dioxide all the way. mud pits used to be just square places scraped in the ground. the gulf coast is a line of refineries and chemical plants worse than new jersey
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on January 25, 2024, 07:37:19 AM
Cool! I'm adding that there to my to-see list.

I'm not a fan of them tail fins, but it's a neat piece of art.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 25, 2024, 11:30:31 AM
first car i remember in my family was the 58 dodge

(https://i.imgur.com/DVr8tmml.jpg)

push button transmission, no park position.

dangerous
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on January 25, 2024, 11:39:48 AM
...They did have their charm though, did they not?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 25, 2024, 02:40:52 PM
i prefer the 50s hudsobs, personally
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 26, 2024, 02:05:46 AM
I once had a 1937 Hudson sedan. It was a luxury car in its day. It even had heated shock absorbers for use in cold Weather. If I remember correctly it had a straight eight flathead engine.

It was a barn find of sorts. Had been in storage for several years. It did not need much fiddling to get it running. I drove it around in the Connecticut snow and ice for several months before it demanded attention. The clutch became an unreliable coupling between engine and transmission. Turns out that it had a cork clutch. I replaced the corks with about a hundred cork bottle stoppers and it worked very well after that.

That was in the early fifties and I sold it for 75 dollars because I was going to ship out..........I was in the Coast Guard at the time.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 26, 2024, 05:33:57 PM
i would kill for that car.

the fluid to keep the corks working was called hudsonite. no modern interchange exists.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 27, 2024, 01:44:24 AM
That old Hudson was one of the luxury sedan models of the day. The rear seat was separated by a long distance from the back of the front seat.  The upholstery was luxurious. The glass was very thick. Something like a Gangster car I suppose.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 27, 2024, 01:54:16 AM
OK, "petrol" question. I have a plastic quart bottle of charcoal fire starter. I used it to clean some price sticker residue off some wood that I bought today. I thought that that sh...tuff was naphtha? It stinks to high heaven, worse than the spirits of gum turpentine that I used to use. I put the boards outside to air out. So- question- can I dump it in the tank of my old '70 Chevy truck along with a load of corn squeezins and burn it off, or should I return it as hazardous household waste? It has no other use for me, as we have a pellet-fed smoker and a propane grill.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 27, 2024, 09:06:15 AM
sure

i would think you can dump a quart of anything in. it will likely have a very low octane rating because its less volatile, but mixed with some gasoline it should be okay
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on January 27, 2024, 02:35:15 PM
That's what I was thinking. I appreciate the corroboration.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on January 27, 2024, 05:15:41 PM
well , remember, pump gasoline itself is a mixture of all kinds of stuff. th ebasic requirement are just C5s and above, all of which will be liquid at STP

then they put in ethanol, detergents, octane boosters like methyl ethyl lead, tolulene, and so forth. maybe even iso-octane? diesel fuel is around 20 percent simple low molecular weight liquid oil. and the stuff i burn at the race track might have significant methanol in it, and the courageous peiople run nitro methane.

with fuel injection and knock sensors, we can pour a lot of stuf into a fuel tank that would have cause poor running or even damage not so long ago.

these are the people who make the stuff i burn at the race course

https://vpracingfuels.com/product-category/racing/racing-fuels/
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on January 28, 2024, 12:08:23 AM
Most Charcoal lighter juice is composed of "alaphatic petroleum carbohydrates", which can covers a range of sneaky ingredients. But most of the time it is plain old mineral spirits.









 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 10, 2024, 03:56:48 AM
heavens, ive got a line on a 1968 watsonian monaco sidecar for stupid cheap money

stay tuned to this station. ive been looking for a chair for my 69 thunderbolt since i bought it⁹.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 10, 2024, 06:33:38 PM
this is what i have available for a tug

(https://i.imgur.com/wiOlDj7l.jpg)

dont have any full frontals yet but hereis the chair. the only thing missing is th eperspex windscreen, which is absolutely not a problem, as watsonian windscreens were among the ugliest in the business. i can make a small flyscreen easily enough by just warming up and bending a piece clear plastic

(https://i.imgur.com/qT5Llfgl.png)

watsonian had a lot to say about the advantages of a sidecar. they were very popular in britain until the middle of the 1960s, when suddenly the austin mini dropped itself directly into the middle of their niche.

(https://i.imgur.com/CFudAdIl.png)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 10, 2024, 09:42:17 PM
What a beauty.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 11, 2024, 12:01:41 AM
an incredible deal on this old tugboat. some 56 years old, as of today.

(https://i.imgur.com/R7Jyix3l.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/nqRA8cHl.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/GAVEwkcl.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/QO7eie0l.png)

(https://i.imgur.com/dWkkihGl.png)

these are the seller's pictures. he took it down to pieces, completely repainted it, put it on his triumph trophy and ran it around for awhile. now he's tired of it and wants the room.

they do take up a shitload of garage space.

these old stodgy watsonians were the high-quality luxury chairs of their day. well engineered, durable, expensive. you could get them fully-enclosed if you had a lady friend who didnt like to ride in the rain. (didnt help you any, you just had to deal with it.) old used ones like this normally go for around $3000 or so. watsonian is still around, somehow, and new ones are 7500 quid or better, and then have to be shipped across the pond. this fellow asked US$1500 or best offer. i told him i would absolutely pay the full $1500 if it was in the condition the pictures showed, and sent him a deposit.

so its a done deal unless somebody dies. where i live this is about as practical as a four-horse chariot for about half the year. i absolutely dont have the money for this sort of thing, and i need a sidecar like i need a paper ass, but you only live once, and this will never be worth less than what i'll pay for it. so what the hell.

i am accumulating an incredible headache for my lovely wife to deal with when i croak. something like ten or eleven motorcycles, a fuckton of various parts that only i know the applications thereof, and now this thing.

but ill be dead, you know. so theres that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 11, 2024, 01:46:27 AM
The sidehack looks good Billy.

My only experience with that kind of rig was way back in the dark ages. I had a Cushman with a sidecar. Not many people rode in the hack but I had great fun by sliding the rig around corners along with other teenage antics.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 12, 2024, 12:42:40 AM
the only sidecar experience i have is riding monkey on a racing outfit for about 15 minutes. gave a guy a kill switch he needed and he took me out on the airstrip in return.

but this chair is a historical gem. watsonians were the bentleys of sidecars. about 200 pounds, i think. i have that 1969 BSA thundebolt to pull it so we ll see how it goes.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 12, 2024, 02:17:44 AM
You got class Billy!  Only sophisticated gentlemen have sidecars attached to their bike. In which case it is no longer a bike.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 12, 2024, 04:33:11 AM
dunno about real sophistication. to be honest it looks like ill be riding aroud alongside a baby killer whale.

but ill see about getting a tweed jacket and some sort of skinny tie. i can look the part maybe

from the picturez it looks like the sidecar is a british-style tub mounted to an american chassis. in brutain you mount the chair on the left; and in america on the right. this one has the the cutout on the body on the tug side. doesnt make sense to try to climb out of the seat into the gap next to the moticycle.

wonder what the history of it is. you never know with these things after so many years
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 13, 2024, 05:07:03 AM
Way back in the day I had a Harley 74 ci. It had built in lugs on the frame to accept side hack attachment.

These days nary a sidecar can be seen. But there are numerous trikes. Most of then are H-D modifications but I suspect that the H-D factory may have begun to manufacture them. I do remeber that there was an old guy in town who had a sidecar on his Guzzi. I saw him often at the grocery store. The sidecar made a most convenient place to haul his bread and milk.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 13, 2024, 02:37:17 PM
they make a lot of sense for that. or if you want to take a dog along

(https://i.imgur.com/p3YWkCHl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 19, 2024, 03:16:41 AM
Just for fun petrol head video. I would have bet on the electric but Dani Pedrosa thought different.

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 19, 2024, 03:34:46 AM
HP/pound means a lot, but at those kinds of speeds, aerodynamics plays a huge role. Bike wins is no surprise.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 19, 2024, 07:37:42 AM
Important conciderations in addition to HewlettPackards per pound are Newtonmeters of torque, surface friction to apply said torque and then slow the vehicle down and air friction, which... Yeah. A huge role, as stated above. F1 cars are designed to get sucked to the surface and rally cars are "just cars" - they practically become "reverse-sails" at those speeds.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 19, 2024, 01:14:34 PM
motosickles are where its at

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 20, 2024, 08:03:21 AM
Hmm... :thoughtful:

I wonder, could a enterprising evil inventor stick a W12 engine in an motorbicycle, and it still remain a motorbicycle? :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 20, 2024, 03:25:22 PM
they usually cut em down. ive seen pictures of two motorcycles poweredby V twin engines cut from rolls royce merlin V12s.

relly too nice a motor to chop up like that but people do
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 21, 2024, 01:35:32 AM
Back in the day.....way back, several sprint cars used Ranger aircraft engines that had been cut down to four cylinders. These were big displacement slow turning engines. They had gobs of torque and could propel a properly geared race car very well. A machine shop In Tampa Florida, Heukle Machine Shop, was famous for making the conversion.

If that is not far enough back onto nostalgia, there was the Hispano Suiza aircraft engine that was used in race cars. It was affectionately known as the Hisso.

More than a few of the bike crazies have stretched the frame of a Harley and installed a second engine. Those beasts were used mostly as dragsters.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 21, 2024, 04:35:25 AM
not just harleys!

this guy was a friend of mine

(https://i.imgur.com/5wQeeWMl.png)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 21, 2024, 09:18:40 AM
That is one seriously silly, but amazing, project!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 21, 2024, 11:21:32 AM
it worked, too.

it did 142 the first time out on the first run.

the hard part about these things is phasing the two motors so the primary drives dont set up terminal standing waves
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 21, 2024, 01:24:55 PM
Well, they have twin engined aircraft, boats and cars. Hwy not motorbicycles, The Asmo says! ;D

...Still though, have to wonder what a actual W-engine (Basically two V6-es side by side rather than one after the other) would be like to balance on two huwheels...
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 21, 2024, 02:34:35 PM
this one is a twin engine

(https://i.imgur.com/CVEmogsl.jpg)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 21, 2024, 02:56:47 PM
..! It's an motorbichariotcycle. :smilenod: The Asmo wants it, needs it and plans on leaving this cruel, cruel world in a ball of fire on it. :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 21, 2024, 05:12:26 PM
yes. it looks foolish, dangerous, and lots of fun
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 21, 2024, 11:15:17 PM
Indeed. :smilenod: One simply must anticipate them bikes getting loose, going every which way and wreaking havoc of epic proportions.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 26, 2024, 10:24:16 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on February 21, 2024, 02:34:35 PMthis one is a twin engine

(https://i.imgur.com/CVEmogsl.jpg)

Wow!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 27, 2024, 08:58:21 PM
wife texts:

son's car wont start. had it towed home. can you help when you get here?

sure

i get home.

start it, i say to the son behind the wheel.

no start, no click, no whirr. possibly battery, connec tions, starter, or solenoid, or maybe neutral safety switch or ignition circuit.

i twist the battery connections and blow the horn. good horn, no start. so its not the battery or battery terminal connections. could certainly be the starter or the neutral safety switch. or key switch.

i get underneath. i cant even find the starter. eventually i locate it way up in darkness land. i reach up and jiggle the ignition circuit pigtail on the solenoid.

start it, i say.

it starts.

start it again.

it starts again.

i say to the son, its corrosion on the solenoid terminals.

so today we take it to the warehouse, unclip the single solenoid connection, clean the corrosion off the blade with emery paper and plug it back in covered in dielectric grease.

it still starts. i look good, for a change.

the son is leaving home forever this weekend to go live in the distant city with his sister and needs a reliable car. luckily this went bad before he left.

it still has two bad codes, camshaft position sensor and evap emission circuit sensor. but if it runs, i dont care if there are codes or not.

a good day, all in all.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 28, 2024, 04:17:03 PM
A nice little bit of fixing satisfaction :)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 28, 2024, 04:26:28 PM
a couple of weeks ago my daughter had to leave her truck in the woods. wouldnt start.

i worked with her over the telephone and coached her until she could tie a screwdriver to a stick and short the starter solenoid by reaching down from above.

same thing- solenoid worked, starter worked, no start at the key.

she got it to the shop and the mechanic found her lost ratchet wrench in the center console. it was jamming the gear shift lever so that the neutral safety switch could not disengage.

so that was cheap and she got her 10mm socket back too
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 28, 2024, 05:36:25 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on February 28, 2024, 04:26:28 PMa couple of weeks ago my daughter had to leave her truck in the woods. wouldnt start.

i worked with her over the telephone and coached her until she could tie a screwdriver to a stick and short the starter solenoid by reaching down from above.

same thing- solenoid worked, starter worked, no start at the key.

she got it to the shop and the mechanic found her lost ratchet wrench in the center console. it was jamming the gear shift lever so that the neutral safety switch could not disengage.

so that was cheap and she got her 10mm socket back too


 :rofl:  Another 10mm socket found! That's a standing joke on a truck forum I frequent.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on February 29, 2024, 12:48:08 AM
10mm sockets have a soul of their own. They are vagabonds that are inclined to move on. !4mm sockets have also been known to go down the road, sometimes accompanied by 10 and 14mm end wrenches.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 01:48:11 AM
:thumb:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 06:27:27 AM
Quote from: Icarus on February 29, 2024, 12:48:08 AM10mm sockets have a soul of their own. They are vagabonds that are inclined to move on. !4mm sockets have also been known to go down the road, sometimes accompanied by 10 and 14mm end wrenches.
:sadnod: The Asmo's 10 and 12 mil wrenches ran off, too. He suspects that they may have been sleeping together and thought He'd disapprove.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Tank on February 29, 2024, 09:31:23 AM
That explains the 11.5mm wrenches that don't fit anything!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 09:47:50 AM
Yes. >:( It, however, is right there *point,* mooching off The Asmo. >:( 






(He actually does have one, too. It started life as 11 mil wrench, but... Grew. Which may or may not have been due to improper use by a certain The Asmo, but He may or may not never admit to using a otherwise-"uselessly" sized wrench as a somewhat-useful miniature prybar.)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 02:47:09 PM
I'm reminded of tool sets used in the engine rooms of Navy ships. One may only purchase (ship's money) wrenches by the set. The first thing to happen is everything 5/8" and under immediately evaporates. Then we were left with Model "T" Ford-style wrenches in shit sizes like 19/32" and 25/32", which fit none of our fasteners. I wanted to grind the 19/32" to make it 5/8", but was told that that would get me in trouble for "vandalism".  ::)
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 03:08:54 PM
:sadnod:

They are totally sleeping with each other then running away, leaving us enterprising fixers with nothing but their neer-do-well offspring.  >:(
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 29, 2024, 03:23:50 PM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 02:47:09 PMI'm reminded of tool sets used in the engine rooms of Navy ships. One may only purchase (ship's money) wrenches by the set. The first thing to happen is everything 5/8" and under immediately evaporates. Then we were left with Model "T" Ford-style wrenches in shit sizes like 19/32" and 25/32", which fit none of our fasteners. I wanted to grind the 19/32" to make it 5/8", but was told that that would get me in trouble for "vandalism".  ::)

the petcocks on my motorcycles have gland nuts that are all 19/32.

theyre the only reason i keep my 19/32-inch wrenches.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 05:06:01 PM
It's such a weird size for a thing to my metric eyes though... Nineteen parts out of thirty-two.

Could have been worse, I suppose. Could have been base-60 with decimals. 52.7/60. :smilenod: could have been that.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 29, 2024, 05:19:16 PM
its actually 5/16-inch whitworth.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 08:32:33 PM
5/8 is 20/32, so... damned close.

I think I just find it weird because 19/32 is so... Asymmetrical, in a sense. 20/32 is a bit "prettier," but not by much.

But then, it's a born-metric The Asmo talking. I suppose fractions of an inch "make the right noises in the head" to someone used to them, like millimeters do in mine.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 08:43:58 PM
I've had to be bilingual with both systems for most of my working career. The US didn't re-tool for SI units, but I spent about 20 years working with electromagnetic things, mainly antennas. Everything analytical done with them is SI until they get built and go to the antenna range- then EEU.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 08:52:38 PM
Interestingly, aviation is also to a large degree all feet and knots and pounds. I assume space flight is probably (mostly-) SI..?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 29, 2024, 09:16:42 PM
19/32 is the real size, not the nominal size. its also 15mm.

the different grades of wrenches come with greater or lesser qualities of fit. king dick and koken are first quality, craftsman is a second quality.

a complete set of millimeter wrenches, not skipping numbers, will substitute for almost any BSF, SAE, W, or other standard AF.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 09:26:06 PM
I suppose some of that is by virtue of millimeters being comparatively small, no? Like, you could tighten a 14mm bolt with a 15mm wrench. This is especially true for larger sizes, but not very good for the bolts or the tools.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 29, 2024, 09:31:10 PM
yes. this is not true for small bolt sizes but above about 11/16, millimeter accuracy will not damage fasteners.

the small sizes need a finer grip. my SAE sockets run in 1/16-inch steps down to about 3/8-inch, then switch to 1/32-inch steps.

even then there are different smaller standards such as BA.

thread forms are a totally different world.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 09:57:47 PM
Ugh! Don't I know it! My stock hardware store screws never "ever" fit the damned OEM threads I try to screw them in >:(
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 10:59:28 PM
Quote from: Asmodean on February 29, 2024, 08:52:38 PMInterestingly, aviation is also to a large degree all feet and knots and pounds. I assume space flight is probably (mostly-) SI..?
Believe it or not, EEU, and I worked on various aspects of spacecraft and aircraft for decades. I doubt that it'll ever change, just from the inertia.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on February 29, 2024, 11:39:53 PM
see, i had to look up EEU. we re way uneven in the states

i had an odd one recently though. the boy bought a 2002 suzuki samurai. the guy he bought it from kept the old plates, but took the two screws that held it on as well. tapped holes in the metal bodywork.

no problem, i say. suzuki, so metric. so i go to the coffee can full of metric screws of various sizes and pitches.

but no. not M4 in any pitch i have.

and not 3/16 NC, not 3/16 NF, not 10-32, not 10-24, not 2BA, not anything out of my other coffee cans.

we ended up holding the tag on with bailing wire.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 01, 2024, 12:09:20 AM
^ :rofl: That's a Ford Model T fastener size.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 01, 2024, 06:46:12 AM
The Brits  in the past had their own way of measuring wrenches for hexagonal parts.  Whitworth sizes were determined by measuring a nut or bolt head corner to corner. Everyone else measured across the flats. 

I am glad that we have finally agreed to use the metric system for wrenches and fastener geometry. American fastener suppliers continue to sell both US sizes and metric sizes. I do not think that we have yet standardized wire and sheet metal sizes. 

Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on March 01, 2024, 07:52:50 AM
Quote from: Dark Lightning on February 29, 2024, 10:59:28 PMBelieve it or not, EEU, and I worked on various aspects of spacecraft and aircraft for decades. I doubt that it'll ever change, just from the inertia.
Really?! Cool! (Well, "cool" in the sence that The Asmo learneth, that is)

I suppose inertia is the case, yes. It's one thing to learn a new standard, it's quite another to retool "every" shop and assembly line, and even after that has been done, for all practical purposes... There are many interconnected systems at play. Documentation, software, humans, machines, tools, standards... And that's just off the very top of my  head.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 02, 2024, 08:34:59 AM
the swedes decided to change from driving on the left to driving on the right. their method was to change everybody, the whole country, all at once, on the same morning.

there was mayhem

correction. my assertion that there was mayhem was based on discussions with a witness years ago. wiki tells me thar initially it went well, and that it took two years for accident levels to return to previous levels
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 02, 2024, 08:48:38 AM
ive just had a conversation about H day in sweden with chatgpt

chatgpt explains how sweden made the switch in order to achieve greater safety, consistent traffic patterns, and for overall smoother travel.

britain, on the other hand, maintaibs left side driving in order to achieve greater safety, consistent traffic patterns, and for overall smoother travel.

chatgpt steadfasly cites the identical determinants as favouring left side driving among the poms, but right side driving among the bark eaters

it refuses to acknowledge any logical difficult with this
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: The Magic Pudding.. on March 02, 2024, 11:33:53 AM
Grievances:
I have a non digital speedometer that goes up to? 240km? something ridiculous.
You can suffer consequences doing 45km in a 40 zone, I'd prefer that speedometers were designed with regard to reality.

Indicators.  Left turn blink blink blink, intention to cancel, right right right, no no no I'm not turning right, I just wanted to cancel the left!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 02, 2024, 03:39:34 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on March 02, 2024, 08:48:38 AMive just had a conversation about H day in sweden with chatgpt

chatgpt explains how sweden made the switch in order to achieve greater safety, consistent traffic patterns, and for overall smoother travel.

britain, on the other hand, maintaibs left side driving in order to achieve greater safety, consistent traffic patterns, and for overall smoother travel.

chatgpt steadfasly cites the identical determinants as favouring left side driving among the poms, but right side driving among the bark eaters

it refuses to acknowledge any logical difficult with this

Bolding mine. chatgpt should start its own church.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 02, 2024, 06:33:52 PM
i think it already has, judging by the people trying to force it into society.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on March 05, 2024, 08:11:50 AM
Quote from: The Magic Pudding.. on March 02, 2024, 11:33:53 AMYou can suffer consequences doing 45km in a 40 zone, I'd prefer that speedometers were designed with regard to reality.
:sadnod: I blame the Germans with their Autobahn and a occasional Freie Fahrt sign on it.

That said, some of it is standardisation. My speedo goes to 270-280, but the car is only good for around 220. The reason is that the more "long-legged" versions of the same model are good for 255.

QuoteIndicators.  Left turn blink blink blink, intention to cancel, right right right, no no no I'm not turning right, I just wanted to cancel the left!
I had a car like that. Nearly impossible to cancel indicators manually - you either had to do it by turning the wheel sufficiently, or just not engage the indicators fully (As in, when you press on the stalk, but not until it "clicks.")
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 10, 2024, 08:18:35 PM
well, i have just returned from driving 855 miles there and back to pick up thjis very nice piece of kit.

(https://i.imgur.com/ThR0fOkl.jpg)

hard to see under the tarp, but theres  a method there.

more to come



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 03:14:38 AM
time to paint that trailer too.

i have one child left at home. he needs to know how to mix paint and set up a spray rig
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 11, 2024, 05:12:24 AM
That mysterious object under the tarp looks like it might be an elegant sidewagon.  What the living hell are you going to do with that on those dirt roads and backwoods?
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on March 11, 2024, 07:28:19 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 03:14:38 AMi have one child left at home. he needs to know how to mix paint and set up a spray rig
Yes! The younger generations have to learn their place as free labour. :smilenod: The Asmo endorses.
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 11:28:54 AM
Quote from: Icarus on March 11, 2024, 05:12:24 AMThat mysterious object under the tarp looks like it might be an elegant sidewagon.  What the living hell are you going to do with that on those dirt roads and backwoods?

i dont know.

youre asking a practical question, and i dont think theres a practical answer
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 11:30:10 AM
Quote from: Asmodean on March 11, 2024, 07:28:19 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 03:14:38 AMi have one child left at home. he needs to know how to mix paint and set up a spray rig
Yes! The younger generations have to learn their place as free labour. :smilenod: The Asmo endorses.

hes already pretty good about it. no reason not to pile on some more
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on March 11, 2024, 01:50:27 PM
Quote from: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 11:30:10 AMhes already pretty good about it. no reason not to pile on some more
Those are the best circumstances, are they not? When the younger generation does the free labour without even considering that that's what it is? :smilenod:
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 11, 2024, 03:37:48 PM
yes

i picked up a sidecar i bought yesterday. drove 855 miles there and back to get it. forgot to unhook tbe trailer. went out at 0500 this morning to go to work and started to back up. couldnt see the trailer in the dak so i turned the truck. still couldnt see it so i turned tbe other way. still not there. so i got out and the trailer wasnt there. he had taken it off himself without being asked. pretty nice of him. my kids are all so much better than i was

so i drove off and when i looked through tbe windshield i saw the whole front of the truck was covered in mud. so taking tbe trailer down to the warehouse clearly is a story that i will need to hear.



Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: billy rubin on March 12, 2024, 10:45:30 PM
but here it is. took three of us to roll it off the trailer, because its only got the one wheel

(https://i.imgur.com/ik5gQN0l.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/0CxHceDl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/Xj0UAWTl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/kxhE9RHl.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/UgIb8Zul.jpg)

its got this huge escape hatch because the stock windscreen sits up as high as an automobile's, and otherwise you cant get in or out.

i was going to put it on a BSA, but it came with all the mounts for a triumph 650. so im looking at my long-neglected triumph track bike project and wondering. i have everything to make a motorcycle except engine cases and little stuff like a headlight and cables, so maybe i can cobble up a bitsa
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Dark Lightning on March 13, 2024, 12:07:08 AM
:rofl: Batman lives!

Nice unit!
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Icarus on March 13, 2024, 01:04:47 AM
That thing is gorgeous. Don't you dare get mud and dirt on it. 

I have a fantasy that is of a long gone day. If I had that sidecar attached to a nice quiet BMW or maybe a Goldwing, I would take my high school sweetheart to the prom with that rig. To hell with limousines. 
Title: Re: Petrol head thread!!!
Post by: Asmodean on March 13, 2024, 08:28:39 AM
Indeed, it looks good. Motorbicycling with some class, is what it is. :smilenod: