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clarkspeed

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Everything posted by clarkspeed

  1. That looks damn sturdy. Nice work. Some use 1/4 or 3/8 round steel for supports just so you can adjust a little with a big lever/hammer. Yours looks beautiful and light weight also, AND very exact.
  2. I have GC bolt in plates for the front. I found a universal set on ebay couple years ago. I like their plates best, but they are kind of overkill for rear. The rear actually use the original mounting plate. I just cut it out to match my homemade slider. I wonder if this is considered "bolt in"? No more hacking than cutting out for a set of bolt in plates. Best is to somehow go by all the original holes and reference points. The FSM has a chassis layout drawing with all dimensions. Try to get the chassis as level as possible F/R and L/R. Layout tape or paper on the floor and use plumb bobs to mark points like the strut tops. That will allow you to check all the X and Y dimensions and cross chassis square. And I use a digital level to measure stuff in the Z direction where I can. Across strut tower tops, front cradle, etc.
  3. Just homemade camber plates to save a buck. They don't get as much use as the fronts. These are the holes they slide into.
  4. Oh and here is my 3D printed drivers side door handle.
  5. Sorry have not posted in some time. Been busy making my own brake rotor hats. More on that in a future post assuming I am successful. These posts are now basically caught up with where I am at on the build. Most of the stuff I will be posting from here on out will be relatively "fresh". So here is the rear strut build up. The struts are from a 280 and shortened. The cartridges are a cheap no-name brand I bought off of Rock Auto a few years ago just for fit checks. I just welded a spacer on the bottom so there is no chance of it not seating correctly. I 3D printed the spring spacers and milled a button top for the spring hat to fit a thrust washer in there. The camber plate is also made by me with a 5/8 spherical bearing.
  6. Old wiring is a pain in the ass. Look first at all connectors for corrosion, the wires are probably OK if not modified. Do not assume anything is getting signal, voltage, ground as it should be. Always start with the simple stuff, then work toward the more difficult, like point to point continuity. I once had a fuse that looked fine, had continuity, but would not take any current. Lesson learned, verify the simple stuff first and I mean verify. Someone posted some good detail on this recently. The Bosch L-jetronic is a very simple system. Not many inputs or outputs. When everything is working as it should, it is bullet proof and fairly easy to troubleshoot. It can even be adjusted slightly for mild modifications. If you can troubleshoot components per the factory manual, you are way ahead already. As you can tell I am a big fan of these original systems. I played with them for years. One of the favorite Zs I have owned was a 80ZX with big throttle body, ported 76 intake, mild pocket porting on the head, 6-2 headers with 3" exhaust on stock efi. Otherwise stock. Something about the sound, rear end squat, and flat torque curve just worked right. But I will also never forget chasing that damn fuse problem for 2 weeks. Or the time the heater hose had leaked on a connector and corroded it and I did point to point checks for 2 weeks, and the time.....old cars are tough.
  7. The standard 1/4 turn are easy to find. I don't recommend buying from Speedway, those are made a little too thin. I learned my lesson there. I buy the Panel-fast from Brehents. I use them to secure all my body panels. I think the camloc's are a Euro aerospace thing for interior panels. A lot of aircraft companies sell them. I can't remember who I bought them from last time. These guys seem to have similar. The adjustable receptacle is nice if unsure of panel thickness . https://sri-supplies.com/
  8. I had to Google quick latch. I call those button latches. I used them in my passenger door. Greg uses 2 locking Aerolatch on hood of the EP car. He said people may sabotage car at runoffs. FYI you can get the quick/ button style latches super cheap direct from China. I use true military grade cam lock fasteners on my back hatch. We used the same when I worked in aerospace on space shuttle. They are expensive but small and strong. And damn they work well. I have 4 butterfly camlocks on the back hatch. Plenty strong enough for hood too, but kind of small to fiddle with flathead screw type if you are in a hurry. And I did not think the butterflies would look good there, even though they are tiny. Again, quick and easy to remove/install panel and they align quickly. My crew loves my hatch and hood solutions. A hood that slides into something at the firewall and has 2 button latches in front would be fastest to remove/install of all. It is amazing how critical an interface the hood and hatch are. It is inevitable your crew or yourself will be trying to closeout these spaces as fast as you can go. Quick positive lock with no error is so important. 4 hood pins with cotter pins doesn't cut it.
  9. My last couple of cars I mounted a couple aluminum C channels about 5" long on the cowl, then used 2 hood pins to secure the front near the radiator. Makes it quick and fast to remove and install. The Ztrix hood is fairly rigid, I dont think you will have a problem holding with 4 points. For the car I am building I will do something similar in the back, but probably 2 straight pins mounted to hood and a receptical near the cowl. For the front 2 pins I went way overboard. I bought a pair of cheap Aerolatch knockoffs. Then modified the design to something a little better looking and working. Then 3d printed my own version of a hidden latch. Here is a pic of the first prototype. I could not find any finished pics. https://www.facebook.com/262575520591481/posts/1754987928016892/
  10. Well then go for it. It should be a nice car when complete. And dont worry too much about the rules as long as you can reverse things. My tube car is kind of dual purpose in that respect. It could convert to scca gt3 if desired. And I usually tidy things up before I sell because it is worth more if it can be raced in many organizations. Cool, do your enging tuning on the street if able. That can save a lot of time. Of I were starting from 0, I would go ahead and do a race school. One where they provide the car. It's not cheap, but you will learn more in 3 days than any other way. Most likely you will come away motivated, committed, and understand how a good car should feel. Then you will want to do some hot lapping on a track to sort the car out. Plus you can run with open groups since you had the school. Get some help from an expert on setup if you want to speed that up.. At that point you should have a good idea on what you want to do next to support your new addiction.
  11. That is why you don't see aluminum tube frame cars or nothing even close. Aluminum space frame with rivets was popular and aluminum honeycomb, and even aluminum adhesive was popular in the 70's into the 80's. Before carbon fiber took it all over. It is very malable and doesn't like point loads. That is when aircraft switch over to titanium. Still a little cost prohibitive for racing except for F1. Plus steel can still get you under most weight limitations up through Trans Am.
  12. Greg is the Zen master if you want to interpret EP rules. He has been to the tech shed many times. I have personally been there.. Vintage is a little looser for sure. But again there is a gold medallion level and acceptance to Rollex historic in Laguna at the other end. I have seen newer built cars accepted there, but they must be correct. Perhaps a question again, are you going to sell it or race the shit out of it?
  13. Rule of thumb is use aluminum thickness little less than 2x steel. So equivalent aluminum structure is not so light. But when you are not super critical of structure, like secondary structure, then it becomes super attractive. I can tig steel with my welder but not aluminum. Hopefully upgrade someday.
  14. For vintage you want to end up in CP (2.4) Or BP (2.8). 0.40 over max.. That is where they ran back in the day. Many organizations use 1972 scca rules. SVRA has one of the most complete rule books. Engines are fairly unlimited. An EP air dam would not be allowed. Rules enforcement depend on the org. Some are happy to have a lot of cars on track and no one complains, others want parity, and many complain. And even they are welcoming as long as you are not podium. Some will do a displacement check. When I run with SVRA they are critical of obvious things like big brakes and super wide wheels. But I usually run around mid pack. I've even run EFI with no problems. Some groups will let you run with no points, some will bump up a class if you are way outside the rules. Greg's latest car it built to win in that 2.4 CP class I believe. So he is ready for any scrutiny. Vintage is full of cars running much faster than they ever ran in the 70's. I ran against a Jag with twin plug head and 400+ hp. And not unusual to to see 40k Porsche engines with titanium rods and more. And V8 stuff forget about it. Some swap tires before every race.. I think the best answer don't worry until you are running top 5. Then if you want to run at the sharp end, tighten it up. I am usually around top 10 and have a hell of a lot of fun.
  15. So I decided to re-do the rear suspension again. I am confident the Delrin bearings would be fine, but started thinking they do deteriorate over time. So when I got my little homemade mill running I thought about a simple solution I could replace them with using oillite bearings. I have used these in the past with great results. Slightly more weight, but probably less than 1 lb overall. So I milled out some ears that could be welded to DOM tubing with both a top and bottom weld. Slipped in the 1" ID flanged bearings and done.
  16. That is interesting. In my old car I had a cage build out of aluminum angle iron. I had a dude where I used to work tig it all up. It was beautiful, strong, and light and dropped right off with 4 bolts. I don't have the luxury of a full weld/fab/machine shop anymore. So steel for now, fast and easy. I may regret it later.
  17. That header is gorgeous! I think you would have a hard time doing 2 v-bands with it because of clearance. I think slip on collector with v-band downstream. Plus the collector needs to be a certain distance from the valves for max extraction, which is probably just after the 2 pipes terminate. You can search for it. The stroker for vintage depends on the rules which you will probably break with that crank. If you race as an IMSA GTU, no problem, 3.0 is allowed. Otherwise, you will want an org that does not care about such trivial things.
  18. Yes all Jon said above. I normally use black button head Allen screws with lock nuts and washer under nut. 10-32 I think or 8's I can't remember. Whatever you do don't tighten too much. Just snug.
  19. I just looked for a local plastic and composite retailer. 4x4 will not work, must be 4x8 for the front. Most people that sell that kind of stuff can order any thickness. Start with little oversize on the cut out and slowly work your way down by fitting and sharpie marks. You can trim with a sander, die grinder, or skill saw or all 3. Once you work with it you will want to use the stuff everywhere. Trick with windshield is try to get perfectly smooth transition to metal for least wind resistance.
  20. Yea, weight is a struggle for me as well. It's hard to tell what is added vs. Subtracted on my hack job. My shell with cage weighed 500lb before I started. When I take it off the stand I will weigh again. I can comment on the Lexan. I always do mine myself. I buy 1/8 generic polycarbonate, I think SCCA requires thicker. Cut it to a pattern little oversize of an old windshield makes it little easier. I trim the edges down until the face is just flush with metal. Spray paint a 2" flat black ring around the inside perimeter. My new process is to drill the mount screws and mount with a little spacer out of vacuum hose to get the right height. Use lock nuts.. Tape up the outside very well to seal to the window frame and tape 3 or 4 inches on the inside. Spray foam insulation around the inside. Trim it along with the inside tape. 1/4 to 1/2 turn on the screws to lock solid. If done correct you can't see anything from outside and about a 1/2 foam filled gap on inside. Polycarbonate is very easy to work with, you can't crack it. I don't think mine has any fancy coatings. As long as you are careful cleaning it with right products and don't get any chemicals on ti, it will last a long time. Not like you are dirt track racing or something. And if you need to bend it 45 or 90 degrees just heat it up carefully. Too hot and it will bubble.
  21. The radiator will have a serious slant forward. So it looks like the shroud will not be very large. I thought aluminum but it is still open for now. It has to slot into the opening in the Gnose. I gotta get it off the rotisserie and fit the nose to figure it out. I am more worried about getting engine air and oil cooler air. Each side of the shroud I hope?
  22. The G-nose came with this crazy body kit I bought. It is exactly 4" wider than stock to match the 2" extended fenders. I decided to do the dam in glass to match what everyone was running back in the day. Like the BSR cars and Frisselle. It needed a few curves here and there that I could not get with pure aluminum fab. And if you have ever seen aluminum air dams, they look little getto. Funny that a lot of people did that back in the day too. My overall idea was to incorporate a lexan lower strip on the bottom that I could adjust up or down to achieve the lowest possible clearance. Lexan is the perfect material for the bottom of an air dam.
  23. These are some pics on progress with the air dam. I kept looking at this wide body G-Nose trying to figure out a way to create a mold. Then I realized it is a fairly simple shape and if I took a sheet of thin aluminum I could hand roll it to get the correct contour. And even better, it would be a nice smooth finish to pull the final part without much correction. I ended up using 2 sheets riveted together so there is a small crease in the middle. I am smoothing the crease with body filler and rounding the corners so there is a nice smooth transition when I lay the cloth. As you can see I laid a ton of glass for this mold and added big cardboard ribs to make it rigid. I figure I will pull 2 or 3 air dams to start but it will always be available to pull more. I have been working on it on the side while I am trying to finish up other stuff. Dirty work.
  24. I agree, mechanically, most of the parts last an exceptionally long time, even when abused. L6 engine with efi and all other. But it is a really old car now. Electrical things deteriorate over time. Electro-mechanical wear is an issue and unless preserved in a low humidity environment, corrosion at every connection. 98% of the time it is something simple to fix by troubleshooting with FSM, but sometimes, it will be very difficult to diagnose.
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