Yeah Patrick, I was wondering about that number, whether you'd bored it or what, but I guess either you typed a 9 instead of a 0 or my eyes are going - don't know, 'cause the email's been deleted now! :-)
Twl, I'm actually starting to become glad I've delayed now - some more time to try and digest the implications of the technical appendix at the bottom of the article (which is frankly over my head) has got me beginning to think that maybe the particular inconsistency or incompleteness I thought I detected in the body of the article is answered or addressed in the appendix. I don't know yet, I'm trying to do further research to educate myself some more, but I'm holding off on any accusations of a "smoking gun" for the moment. I haven't gotten a reply from De Lima yet; he's the one I'd really like to chat with right about now, and I don't think I'm gonna turn myself into an EE overnight. :-) But I will say that further consideration has me thinking that one of my assumptions is probably incorrect, and I'm modifying my approach. When I've got some things settled in my mind, I will certainly be happy to discuss both my thought process and my ultimate conclusions with you, but am begging off at present - still thinking, still researching. Regardless, there are still some aspects and implications of both the theory and some statements in the article that I will post about later, independent of whether I decide the theory is likely to be valid or not. Sorry, that's the best I can do right now. :-( But like the song says, we've got all the time in the world, and I'm taking some of it. |
Hey Z: Discretion is the better part of valor!
Frankly, I hope you come up with something earthshaking. I'll be able to say...."I knew him when he was posting at Agon."
Sincerely,
I remain |
I say we all get into Lugnut's car, drive to everyone's home who posted here, and listen for at least one day.
Everyone is welcome to visit my home and audition my single driver speaker. Unfortunately mine requires at least 50 watts to operate and prefers 200.
Lugnut, we should trade stories. I could tell you about my 1650 pound, 301 cubic inch street automobile. Got me into lots of trouble when I was young. Fast quarter mile and good top end. Too bad I sold it in the late 60's. It's current value would fund my retirement.
TWL, try to stay warm with the near sub zero temps banging into your neighborhood. It might be time to fire up that smoky old wood stove. |
With Lugnut's car we could cross the country in a matter of hours :-). |
Yeah...I see sort of an 'Audiophile Cannonball Run' concept shaping up here...we blitz around the country in stages (trying not to get pulled), with members' houses as individual leg destinations, where we all stop for competitive auditioning of our systems' sound for bonus points, before going out to eat every night...
Talk about a 'power race'... :-) |
Zaikesman, I love the way you think! |
Well, we'll see about the way I think - I've finally got my initial reply from Mr. De Lima, and am proposing to engage in a limited dialog with him about his theory. More later... |
Albert,
I don't have a clue how somebody can put together a car of that wieght. I know it can be done but I can't do it. Get this, I started out with a car that already had a V8 and weighed 2850 lbs. So, it's got aluminum heads, intake, radiator, fuel cell and wheels. The interior only has two racing seats and the door panels are aluminum although they are also powder coated. It even has a fiberglass hood. So, it weighs 3185 lbs. after all that. For everything I did to lighten it up I had to do two things which made it heavier. Such is the price I paid to make it rigid and safe. I envy that light car. Doesn't take a lot of motor to make 1650 go fast and that's cool. Sounds like Tom's Holy Grail/Lowther combo. |
Here is the trick. I started with a two seater Ferrari GT 212, all aluminum body and wire wheels. When the original 12 cylinder engine spun a crank, the previous owner decided to build a less expensive 301 cubic inch small block Chevy with ported heads and Isky roller camshaft.
Instead of a traditional air cleaner (insufficient space), the engine was fitted with 3 two barrel carbs and velocity stacks sticking into the hood scoop. The headers and exhaust system were all formed from custom bent tubing, no mufflers, just twin collector boxes with dual 2" pipes from collector to the rear bumper. Rev capability and sound was wonderful with the roller cam and lightweight Schiefer flywheel assembly.
I have photographs of it, metallic silver with red interior. It was VERY sparse, no radio, no seat belts, with Plexiglas side and rear windows that did not roll up or down. The seats were little more than frames with a thin sheet of leather over them. The car did not even carry a spare tire. Add to that, it was right hand drive, the flaw in the car that made it uncomfortable for me to enjoy long term.
Still it was fun for the $3600.00 I paid for it. It would be worth a small fortune now. |
Albert, Too cool! Let's see, a 9,000 rpm small block chevy in a 1650 lb. car. Hmmm, assuming it could keep the tires planted on the pavement, I would guess about a 10 second flat quarter mile at around 135 mph and top speed? Big time fast....180+? Anyway, it's rare and even though highly modified from factory configuration I can see the value rise you missed. If we would have kept all the cool cars we had when we were younger they would have paid for a modest retirement. Do you think our vinyl will do that? |
9000rpm is a hell of alot of rpms out of a small block Chevy! I had a 1961 Austin Healey Bugeye Sprite that had a highly modified 950cc(58 cid.) inline-4 cylinder pushrod engine, that I could coax 8600 rpm out of, before valve float. It made 104hp, which is about 1.8hp per cubic inch. It weighed 990 pounds. Had 4.22 rear gears. It did under 14 sec in the 1/4 mile, and I could beat Corvettes and E-type Jags in stop-light drags. That wasn't the purpose, it was built for H-Production SCCA road racing, and the real strength was in the corners. I used to eat Lotus Elans for lunch. Those were the good old days! Nobody ever expected much from a 1 liter Sprite. Boy, were they surprised. |
Now *that* sounds like the automotive equivalent of Thomas' audio system! I just hope the system is a little more comfortable and doesn't leave spots on the carpet...(I used to own a stock Spitfire :-) |
Those Brits never did learn how to make a proper oil seal. Everything British leaks oil. Even Rolls Royces need drip pans underneath. |
Tom,
I have an acquaintence that runs a 69 Camaro Z28 that runs in one of the NHRA Stock classes. He pulls 12,500 rpm shift points. If you consider the favorable stroke/rod angle with a small displacement small block as compared to the huge stroke in my 406, you gain more respect for my motor when I buzz it to 7800. Pretty spooky stuff as that's where the rev limiter is set when I miss a gear. Geez, I gotta get out of this car madness. I could buy a lot of stereo gear for the cost of a broken motor. |
He must be running a billet crank. I was limited by class rules to the stock cast crank, nitrided and balanced. It was known with my type motor, that with the stock crank, the engine would come apart at about 9000 rpm, due to crank whip. I even ran an "outlaw" steel main bearing cap on the center journal, to help stabilize the crank. I set the valve spring tension at 8600, so the valves would float at that rpm, and act like a rev limiter. I didn't have high enough lift to worry that I would clash a valve into a piston, even when the valves floated. The chamber was deep enough to keep that from happening.
What kind of pushrods can handle 12000 rpm? We had trouble getting our Lotus 23B over 11500 with DOHC. |
Tom,
The pushrods aren't really the problem at rpm. It's the spring pressure that makes them flex. In this type of motor (and mine as well) we use a rev kit which is just too cool. You use a lighter spring on the valve and beneath the cylinder head, inside the lifter valley, you have another spring set that goes into the roller lifter that works in harmony with the other spring on that valve. Just imagine a spring at the valve and a spring that pushes the lifter down. It takes a lot of stress and flex out of the pushrod. Also, we can use 7/16" big block pushrods. Of course, both the top end and the bottom end use stud girdles. I'll try and find a rev kit photo and send it to you via email. |
