'56 Oval

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harky
Posts: 252
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by harky »

77 O sullivan bch road , ( GB plastics ----- was Menzel s years ago )
harky
harky
DLRA #643
so far 120mph for$2000---imagine how fast I can go for $20,000
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

Ahh yes Menzels, didn't think of them. Cheers.
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

Progress over the past week has been a little slower than I had hoped. I've still managed to get stuff done but work has been massively busy so by the time I get home I've not felt up to much. But whilst my actual progress might not have been as good as I would have liked the ordered parts have been arriving at a steady rate, its almost like Christmas has come early

In my last post you may recall that the crank arrived from DPR along with the custom flywheel. This week the rods arrived from AA-performance which means that once I manage to source some bearings and cut the case for the larger barrels I can commence with the trial assembly.

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The rods are fiarly heavy at some 530 odd grams and whilst there's plenty of material that could be removed to make them lighter I will only balance them at this stage. Ultimately the engine will not be massively high revving so the weight reduction would be of limited benefit. The rods were only available in one length which is a little dissapointing as I would have much preferred a longer rod to reduce piston velocity. But again I can live with this as the engine will not be high revving. Wrist pin is 20mm to match the 40HP big bore pistons and whilst I will hopefully end up with some custom forged J&Es there is every chance that funds / time may disctate that I have to run with them so retaining the 20mm pin diameter seemed to be the sensible option.

Along with the new rods I received some guage pods, these will allow me to mount the remaining oil temp, oil pressure and the all important boost guage up next to the tacho. I still need to fabricate some kind of bracket to mount these but that is a minor detail and can wait until I need a quick fill in task to carry out.

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Whilst I've not really got stuck into any major tasks since last week I have managed to get a lot of small things polished off. For example running the emergency shut off cable through the dash...

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...and making up a boss for the $10 steering sheel that I bought from Gumtree

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I started with a nice quick release steering wheel boss and some 5mm aluminium

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And cut out a circular boss that allowed me to mount the wheel to to the boss.

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I then cut down the steering column

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And welded the splined portion of the quick release hub to the end of the shaft

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Having a removable steering wheel is a massive advantage when trying to climb out of and into the car with a roill cage, it makes life so much easier.

You may recall that I had planned to fix my moon discs with 6 bolts. Having now got some welding gas I decided to tackle this job so that I could go and get the tyres fitted. I carefully marked out the location of the nuts on the rim and set about welding them into postion. Well after about 20 minutes and more than a few melted nuts I decided that perhaps it wasn't the easiest or quickest option and that my original intention of using Dzus fastners was the way to go...

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After some careful measurment I bent up one of the mounting plates that I bought specifically for this purpose. and drilled out one of the moon discs to accept the Dzus faster. I opted to fit the Dzus fastner along with the mounting plate. Others remove the actual screw part fo the fastner and press a recess into the mon disc so that the screw sits flush. Call it lazyness or trying to be time-smart, I decided that this was too much work.

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The bracket sits at the correct angle to be welded to the inside of the rim like this...

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I can just about get my TIG torch in through the hole in the rim to tack them in position.

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The finished article (apart from some rivets of course).

Whilst in this frame of mind I decided to tackle the bonnet and decklid fixings. The DLRA rules state that bonnets and boots have to be held closed by at least one safety pin. To acheive this I decided to simply remove the existing bonnet and decklid handles and fit in thier place these all-in-one safety catches.

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The pin simply bolts to the valence using two nuts. The bonnet is the same. These safety clips retain the clip should it come undone.

Other goodies to arrive include the 3" harness and the NACA cooling ducts. I also picked up the Lexan / Polycarbonate sheeting that I will be making up the windows from Menzels here in SA.

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It really has been just like Christmas around here :D

One thing that I have been avid waiting for are my heads. The heads are based on a current reproduction of vintage Okrasa tuning twin port heads available in the '50s. I opted to have the heads modified by Brothers engineering in California. The work I've engaged them to do is fit larger stainless valves and bronze guides do a nice port and polish job and machine the heads for twin plugs. They are also opening them up for the larger barrels that I am fitting.

I decided on going with twin plugs after seeing an original pair of twin plug Okrasa heads that a friend had. These had originally been fitted to an aero engine where dual ignition systems are required. I also have another friend that runs a Stan Pobjoy 1915cc engine in his splitscreen single cab. Stan Pobjob engines are also twin spark and have a great reputation - interestingly Stan learned his trade building aero engines.

In a supercharged engine the extra spark plug helps promote an even burn and can help reduce the possibility of detonation by starting two flame fronts - a massive benefit in an old tech engine like this. Ultimately I would have loved to run supersquish pistons or even direct injection and controlled detonation that way, but both of these solutions are currently out of the reach of my budget. However I've not ruled than out as an improvement down the track.

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Combustion chamber showing relocated plug and second plug at bottom of chamber.

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The second plugs are located to the bottom of the heads and are just accessible between the push rod tubes

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A shot of the top of the heads showing the improved spark plug location for the primary plugs

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The machining required for the dual plugs - not a job for the faint hearted.

The heads still have a bit of work to do to finish them. I was really hoping to have them completed and here prior to Christmas so that I could assemble the engine over the Christmas break but it doesn't look like that is going to happen which is a bit of a shame. Hopefully they are not too far away.

Last night I started to take a look at the firewall where it clashes with the scattershield and decided that the best option is simply to remove the entire firewall. Ultimately this will allow for much better access to the engine and gearbox and seeing as I have to make up a cover for this area regardless of what steel remains the logical option. Tonight I will see if I can get the wheels finished and ready for rubber.
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

With Christmas out of the way I managed to sneak out in the garage and spend a day finishing off the window surrounds and moon disk fitment.

The initial fittings that I made up to fit the moon disks worked really well so I simply replicated them until I had enough for three fittings for each wheel which is the minimum requirements in DLRA rules. The brackets are the standard Dzuz fastner brackets bent 25mm from the end. They are bent so that the angle matches the angle of the moon disk.

The moon disks themselves are drilled 25mm in from the existing fixing hole. This is easy enough to mark with a ruler - simply line up the hole with the centre of the disk by placing the ruler through the centre of the pattern on the disk.

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I used a stepped cutter to cut the holes for the Dzus fastners. If you have more time / patience you can also make a die to form a countersunk hole and fit the dzus screw directly into the moon disk. This gives a much neater and smoother finish. Details of this method of fitting can be found elsewhere on the forums.

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With the Dzus fastners riiveted to the disk the next part is to temporarily attach the brackets. This is done by holding the bracket and clip and temporarily clipping them in place. Once all three are done you can then oiffer the moon disk to the wheel.

One thing to take note of is the posiotion of the air valve fitting in the rim. If you are not careful you can easily position one of the mounting brackets over the air valve location which will result in not being able to pump up your tyres. I positioned the disk so that the valve was half way between two of the dzus fastners. I also stamped the disk so I could easily identify the corrrect orientation. I stamped each rim and each disk with a number so that I could also identify which disk came from which wheel.

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When you fit the disk, make sure that the brackets are a good fit, taking the time initially to get them to fit properly at the start is definitely worthwhile. I found it easiest to turn the wheel upside down so that it rested on the disk. Once you are happy with them mark the position of the brackets with a texta and take the disk off.

Next remove the paint from the locations you have marked. Once done refit the disk and flip the wheel over so that it sits on the disk. I opted to tack my brackets on with the wheel in this position whilst relying on the metal disks contact with my welding bench to provide an earth. If you are a bit more precious with your disks and do not want to get burn marks on them you might want to figure something else out.

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Once tacked up remove the disk and fully weld the brackets in place. I TIG welded mine but you can use whatever is suitable. Once welded sand back and give a coat of paint / blast & powdercoat / etc and then repeat for the other three wheels.

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With the wheels finished I moved on to the window mountings. I welded up the frames that I prepared the other day and made up additional frames for the front windscreen and front drivers door. The drivers door needed the quarterlight and original glass window removing so these were removed. 

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Once I had made up the additional frames I welded them together and shot some matt black paint over them. Next up is to make some templates and cut the polycarbonate sheeting out for the windows.

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momec3
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by momec3 »

Lookin good.
Chris
vetteracer
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by vetteracer »

Wot Chris said...
Denis
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

Thanks guys.

Managed to get one of the windows in yesterday, if I get time later I will update my blog and post it here.

Mick.
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harky
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by harky »

So Mick
is it going to have that "found in a padock "look , or be bright and shiny ???
I liked the kombi that ( had the padock look ) and turned up ( 2013 i think ) and went bloody quick --- for something shaped like a brick

like a man I worked for a long time ago said ----- keep working ----and @ 5 o clock just think you have started a new shift
I did it for a few days but then fell down asleep --- dont know why
harky ---- must be close to you @ M / vale
harky
DLRA #643
so far 120mph for$2000---imagine how fast I can go for $20,000
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

I'm in Mile End just outside the CBD

It's going to retain all of it's patina although the body will be waxed to protect it. Apart from a few small bits of welding the shell is rust free and pretty straight, it was probably a good candidate for a concourse restoration before I got my hands on it, but never mind. :twisted:

Got to admit I'm not really a Beetle fan myself, the oval just happened to turn up at a time I was looking for a candidate for a race car to put my big block VW engine in. Guess it was in the right place at the wrong time. :D

The bus was Steve Mullers, he has a similar engine in his bus to the big block VW engine I was originally putting in the oval, although his is N/A and mine is turbo'd. I might bring that engine next time around, it's a beast of a thing which I think will need aero to see the full potential. General consensus is that without aero the handling starts to get pretty sketchy at around about the 130mph mark. From what I understand the beetle shape (much like an aeroplane wing) starts to develop lift.

Current record for a beetle with no aero is 132.1mph. Current record with aero is 174.705mph. I want to see how far I can go without having to put a hideous wing on the back. I've got a few ideas but will see how the car runs this year with the smaller motor in it first. I don't expect to get anywhere near those speeds with the smaller motor so it will act as a good shakedown for when I do finally install the big engine.
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks trying to get the shell and running gear finished so that I can make a start on building the engine. The body is pretty straight and only needs a few small patches welded in but having cut out the rear floor (for a variety of reasons) I needed to make up some interior panelling. After some deliberation I decided to go with aluminium panelling simply as it is easier to work with and requires no finishing. I had originally wanted to make the panelling and door trims out of reclaimed corrugated fence panels - the stuff you would typically see on a 100 year old Aussie property - just like the stuff I replaced on my house a few years back and retained for exactly this purpose but decided that the time that it would take to iron out the corrugations was time I did not have so aluminium won the day.

I originally got the idea of the fence panels from a guitar I own - a DonMo rust bucket - a resonator guitar made from recycled fence panels. Truly a thing of beauty - especially if you are into rat look cars and playing the blues.

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As you can see the rear includes the original branding mark found on the corrugated panels. I have heaps of these and thought that they would look great in my Aussie rat rod oval. but alas time is against me so for the time being they will be aluminium.

Making the door panels was a simple case of cutting out a rectangle with rounded corners and then adding a bead with the bead roller. The rears were a little more complex as they were curved but this was made easy with the template that 'Rusty Ovali' brought round. He also mucked in and helped out rolling the panels as well as making some extra for his own oval.

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After fitting the door panels and rear kick panels I turned my attention to the rear seat area. This area had been cut out to allow the cage to be made - it allows the bode to be removed from the pan over the cage. It also gives great access to the gearbox. I decided to make this out of 1.5mm sheet as this is called for by the DLRA rules. I made it in three sections with the centre part removable so that I could still access the gearbox / starter / fan fairly easily. You can also see the beginnings of the fire system being mounted up too...

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Whilst I was working with aluminium I decided to knock up a couple of other items too, namely some headlight covers - this both gets rid of the glass and also is a requirement for the Altered Coupe class in which I have entered. I made these by putting some shape into a flat blank with the english wheel and then bead rolling a step around the edge to allow it to fit in the original position like the glass sense did.

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[img]ihttps://vdubber.com/mages/photos/1/668/51e0986bb9d97ddde1389729.jpg[/img]

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Back when I originally started building the car there were not requirements for a HANS system or head restraints other than a head rest. With the changes in safety that have happened over the past few years there is now a requirement for head restraints. Having already bought a low back seat with the intention of using a head rest mounted to the cage I had to go back to the drawing board and come up with an alternative. I didn't really want to replace the seat, but a new high back Kirkby with the optional shoulder and head restraints would definitely be the go if I was buying a new seat - or maybe even a full restraint seat.

Inspired by the new Kirkey full restraint seats I set about adding a suitable head restraint to the existing low back. I started off with some 5mm x 100mm aluminium flat bar and bent it up into a similar shape as the Kirkey unit - fortunately all of the measurements for the Kirkey unit are available online as a fitting guide. I then added some additional support in the form of some aluminium angle that I had in the spares pile. I TIG'd this on (my aluminium welding skills need lots of honing).

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I then set about mounting it all up. I had already decided to mimic the way that the kirkey full restraint seats mount the head rests as this left a nice clear area for the harness plus it allowed me to mount the restraint directly to the seat back. Here's the end result. I still need to get some flush bolts and SFI padding to finish it off but it works really well.

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Other tribulations include having a custom flywheel and clutch disc made up to allow me to marry up the 1950's VW 36hp engine to the 1980's 911 gearbox, and even though this should allow me to get the power to the wheels (once I have drive shafts that is) I still need to engineer a way to release the clutch. 911 gearboxes are an anomoly in the automotive world, not only does the starter ring gear bolt to the flywheel but instead of pushing the thrust bearing into the clutch to release it - it pulls the bearing (which is attached to the clutch pressure plate) away from the clutch - it's basically backwards.

This means that the usually way to get everything to marry up is to use the complete 911 clutch setup which is what I did on the original big block engine when I built it by having a custom flywheel made up. This time I decided to move away from the 911 setup as it is  massively heavy - especially for a little engine like this one so the only option was to use a stage 1 200mm VW pressure plate on a custom flywheel (with a 12 volt starter ring gear instead of 6 volt) married to a 200mm clutch disc with the VW centre swapped out for a Porsche centre. This is a good setup for this engine but leaves me with the issue of operating the clutch, there is simply no way to retrofit a normal style clutch fork.

My current thinking is to use a hydraulic style release bearing, these are like an oversize release bearing that you can hook up to a hydraulic master cylinder, they simply sit on the input shaft tube and expand to push the clutch fingers. Next pay I will order one and figure out how to change my existing cable pedal to a hydraulic one.

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I also had some tyres fitted to the rims and managed to find some V rated (150mph) in suitable sizes. This is way over what the current engine is capable of powering the car at so will do very nicely indeed. The front are Nangkang 145R65/15s a popular size for use as front runners by street cars and the rears are run of the mill 195R65/15's - a tad wider than I would have liked but as none of the narrower tyres are available in a V rating they had to do.

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Still lots to do and not much time left to do it in. I'm hoping to have the body work done in next few days so that I can move on to machining the engine case and getting stuck into the engine build.
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RGV
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by RGV »

Ive got a Lysaght Referee kicking round some where. Ill dig it out and have a look. It tells you where and when sheets were made by the markings on them.

Dave

Last Minute Racing
DLRA #928

2010 MPS/G 250 118 MPH
2011 Washed Out
2012 Washed Out
2013 MPS/G 250 131 MPH (RECORD)
2014 MPS/G 250 140 MPH (RECORD)
2015 MPS/F 250 DNF
2016 MPS/F 250 114 MPH (RECORD)
2017 MPS/F 250 DNF
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T-34
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by T-34 »

RGV wrote:Ive got a Lysaght Referee kicking round some where. Ill dig it out and have a look. It tells you where and when sheets were made by the markings on them.

Dave

Cool, did't realise you could tell that from the markings.
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Rob
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Re: '56 Oval

Post by Rob »

That's coming along well Mick, keep it up!

Make sure you seal your removable panel with a fireproof sealant.

Dave,

The three numbers left to right are day, year, month so that'll be 27/8/51

Cheers,
Rob
I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.
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