Dry Lakes Racers Australia

Wanted: fibreglass belly tank or access to a mould. Any info would be appreciated.
cheers

Hi Fella
there's an outfit in the states that sell 'em along with all sorts of other bits to build the basics ,

http://www.hotrodssuperstore.com/p38beltanfib.html .

I might be a complete bonehead but none of our project has been easy except getting the tank in the first place! The type of character who goes for this stuff usually want to do their own thing but I'd avoid casting a tank if I could......apparently real ones are now very thin on the ground .Ours is a Canberra that came from Rod Hadfield .There was a guy at the meet this year by the name of Darren Visser who ran the Chamberlain Tractor , he reckons he has two Canberra tanks ...apparently he has been seen at the Indian shop in Ashwood (Vic) ......try Jim there....good luck ....best if you're mad , or single if you're gonna scratch build a tank.

Thanks for the info, yes just the start of a long trek I suspect!

Better to buy those direct and cut out the middle man

http://www.rodnrace.com/rnr/p-38.htm

There's also a guy in LA I met at Long Beach swap several years back who makes 'glass tanks. I don't have contact details but someone at SCTA should know. At least you'd save a bomb on shipping.

I've got a tank here but it's too small to fit anything much bigger than a bike engine between your legs.

Remember, nothing worthwhile is ever easy!

Cheers,
Rob

Thanks Rob, yes We've sent emails, fax and called, but have yet to get a reply!

Still looking for one in glass or an aluminium one.

...........I believe there are some made from steel , if you can find one of them it would be a damn sight easier to sort the bodywork than having to Tig the Al ,dunno how common they are , they're probably rarer than RHS.

There is one on ebay in the US currently. Not sure if you're willing to ship one iin...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Replica- ... 9767QQrdZ1

Good luck

I think it will be a good Belly Tank season next year... Plenty of room for some more homebuilts.

rev H+

I have one in NZ, just looking at shipping. Or we may even just build up a plug and do a glass one if costs get crazy. Shipping across the pond is kinda hard on the back pocket.

Cool. What size is the NZ one?

If you don't mind my tuppence worth, I must say that there is some emotional/sentimental level that in me says don't go the fibreglass route.

Belly tanks have a particular 'found object' used in a new way attraction to them, and have limitations and opportunities associated with that shape.

For example, the rules of the game for our car have been dictated by the shape from the tank. We made the decision that we did not want to extend the tank and maintain its shape as a) it is the most efficient shape wind tunnel tested, and b) non extended tanks look better. (the Broughams will argue it is better to stretch though for space).

This has then dictated all our manufacturing constrainsts internally from maximum engine size, cockpit design, etc, etc.

This has been both a burden and a godsend. The burden bit is obvious, but the godsend part is that there are so many decisions to make when scratch building a car that it actually helps to have such a defining set of parameters as the belly tank itself. It reduces the number of decisions from infinity to a finite number.

If you are scratch building a tank out of fibreglass then you can make it any size or shape. There is some limitation of molds available, true, but essentially you open up a whole new can of worms, and to my mind the spirit of the nature of these cars is broken.

John Lynch's car is a great car, but it is not a belly tank, it just looks like one. It is a hand built lakester, so is GM's Ecotec Lakester.

Al Fountain's is a belly tank, and something from the purist in me says they are different. Something akin to a kit car (or a replica) and an original. (No offence John!)

In my mind if you are going to scratch build the body, then you mosewell go for the best shape possible for the insides that you wish to build (like Lynch did although it feels like its back is broken...?) and avoid artificial constraints.

You could build a streamliner and go faster due to superior aero than a lakester. Why build something slower because you like the "look".

Finally, who wants a plastic car?

These are just some thoughts from a fellow belly tank builder. It is better to think them now rather than two years down the track methinks.

Besides I want to see the best Belly Tanks possible in the club, and there already is a great lineage growing.

Yours sincerely,

Reverend H+

I think the ID plate had 300 gal on it. It's 680mm in dia by 4600mm long. It has the rear section missing (about 250mm in dia) which is where the tail fin is usually bolted on. Built in the 70s.

Looks to be off an A-6 Intruder.
Do you have a link to your build?

Hi Speedster
here's a link to Jon Amo's site in the US where we have a thread "Australian Belly Tank" there's a couple of photos there including one of a nude man on a bicycle...and some of our hi-tech research and developement facilty

http://www.landracing.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=862

...that tank sounds to be about the same size as ours ( I'm building it with the Rev'....)....get onto it , home made cars , whoever would have thought.

It's all slowly coming together
yikes if you're not keen on replicas and plastic cars then you'd better not look in my garage then, it's full of em! http://www.petermcleod.com/petesrides.html
cheers

Nice bunch of projects you have there!

I like the spyder's colour. I had a Renault Floride that colour but with a bit more blue (and probably even less metal - post war steel restrictions!) "Mitchell" Blue I think its called after a US singer in the '50's favorite jumper colour.

They are still plastic cars though and I cannot help think that plastic cars are toy cars.

When do we get to see a photo of the tank?

Rev H+