motoTrooper
True Classic
I really enjoy your process of developing this little beast. Haven't commented for a while but I've been watching.
850 Sport Coupe series 2 track car.
- Thread starter ramona300
- Start date
ramona300
True Classic
The engine cover has one coat of acrylic over the reverse NACA vent and the patch where the scoop used to be. I will blend it in tomorrow so it looks presentable for Wednesday's track day. I will have to get some more paint and do the whole engine cover. It's interesting how much the vent has affected the look of the car. It looks much softer.
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motoTrooper
True Classic
Very nice, I think the reverse curves in the outline of the NACA shape compliment the reverse curves of the 850's roof to tail transition. So many lovely shapes on these little cars that I appreciate.
SuperTopo
True Classic
Hmm, looks great, but a reverse NACA duct isn't the best way to exhaust from what I've read.
ramona300
True Classic
The top of the supercharger is just inside the slot and they get hot! Even if the Naca vent does not suck the draft in the engine bay will probably just push the air out anyway. There is no radiator in the back and the rear panel is open so there will be a decent flow through I think. The whole exercise was to remove the scoop and the Naca vent is a good way to add stiffness to a lightweight fairly flat panel. The air cleaner is in the right-hand side compartment behind the rear wheel arch and I sealed that off from the engine with sticky back heat tape yesterday so now the engine will just breathe cool air. Track day tomorrow and the forecast is for 31 degrees C so cool air is a relative term.
ramona300
True Classic
Wednesdays trackday was a success. I had an improvement of nearly 2 seconds a lap and I managed to drive the car back onto the trailer at the end of the day. The new front suspension settings are a massive improvement thanks to the increase in castor. These cars really need the 9 degrees of castor. There have been quite a few alterations to the car since the previous event apart from the front suspension mods. The gearbox now has MTL oil. The drag-inducing scoop has gone. The intake air now comes from the car interior via Naca vents. An Odessey AGM battery replaces the Lithium one which has added about 6 kilos but the starting is much improved. The fuel cooler keeps the temperature down and the hottest I saw Wednesday was 41 degrees C. On the warm up session I used my laptop to adjust the fuel map to match the new intake changes but forgot to switch on the water-methanol injection. The car felt lively without it so when I did the first competitive session I used it so I could do a comparison. The final two sessions I ran without and had better times! The E85 fuel I get mixed by a friend is far superior to the pump stuff I used to use so the water methanol tank is coming out!
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ramona300
True Classic
On Sunday I competed at the local Hillclimb. The car ran fairly well and on my last run scored my personal best. The week before I removed the water-methanol injection and now rely on the E85 for charge cooling. I knew the water meth was reducing the hp at the top end but I installed it sometime back after taking the tops off a couple of pistons? When I fixed that problem I machined a bit off the top of the pistons to lower the CR and added the water meth as a safety measure but it's obviously not needed. Because of covid there have been a lot of changes to the car since the previous hillclimb and they have probably all helped. The front suspension alterations certainly make the car easier to steer! The last two outings have had indications of a wideband oxygen sensor failure so there is a new one on the way.
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GregS
ProjectX
Good to hear it's going well. Hillclimbs seem to be getting popular down under, Ian Maud won his class at Bryant Park (Vic) last weekend, and I did Willunga Hillclimb (SA) in December.
ramona300
True Classic
That's a pretty serious hillclimb! Lots of Armco and no tyre walls. Does Motorsport Australia run that one? I watched a couple of Youtube videos. My sister lives nearby and I think I have driven up that hill.
kmead
Old enough to know better
I prefer the in car videos, the infinite view from below the bumper doesn’t impart just how narrow the road really is or the relationship of the car to it.
Looked like a great run.
ramona300
True Classic
I've watched it a couple of times and there are a lot of trees without barriers! Especially at the top. A couple of other people's videos have spectators running loose!
ramona300
True Classic
Track day at Wakefield Park yesterday. Could not get down to my previous best lap time but still had a great day. Weather was fine but we have had a lot of rain lately and the edges of the track muddy and the grass very slippery as I found out when I had a track excursion. Couple of laps later had the throttle cable snap. Fortunately I had excited the corner and it was just a weird experience when the accelerator just hits the floor and the noise goes quiet! Lashed up the cable with some coat hanger wire and finished the day. The photo shows the tow back to the pits.
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ramona300
True Classic
The steering wheel is in its new position. It's now 45mm lower and hard over to the left in the adjustment. It was 25mm lower. Does not seem to make any noticeable difference to the rag joint.
Installed NOS rear brake shoes. Mintex from England, probably full of asbestos. Adjusted up as per the workshop manual and this time they will actually work.
Installed NOS rear brake shoes. Mintex from England, probably full of asbestos. Adjusted up as per the workshop manual and this time they will actually work.
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ramona300
True Classic
Modifying the Suzuki head for my next engine. I'm going to use the Fiat exhaust and have to do a fair bit of dumping aluminium around the exhaust ports. The Suzuki exhaust face is 10 degrees down and I have had to extend the bottom edge out a bit [20mm] and change to a vertical face to suit the Fiat. The Fiat flange will have to be altered. The centre bolt is right in front of a spark plug! The plugs are on the exhaust side of the Suzuki!
Extending the edge out 20mm or so also covers up the pushrod hole in the block.
Extending the edge out 20mm or so also covers up the pushrod hole in the block.
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kmead
Old enough to know better
Wish the BMW head fit like it does on the A Series Mini engines…so sweet.
That is some odd isht. Why couldn’t the exhaust on the head remain as is and just adjust the exhaust assembly? Cutting and welding steel is much easier than welding and machining aluminum. Hope you have an extra head just in case.
That is some odd isht. Why couldn’t the exhaust on the head remain as is and just adjust the exhaust assembly? Cutting and welding steel is much easier than welding and machining aluminum. Hope you have an extra head just in case.