Modified roadster construction

[Rex Schimmer]

I really have to agree with Mark  that nothing is harder to find and easier to fix than a bad ground. You cannot have enough of them! I have worked on every thing from Indy cars to giant CNC machine tools and they all can suffer from bad grounding and your discription of how it runs great on the dyno and has problems in the car just screams "grounding problems"! Of course all of this means that the real problem is in the fuel system!
Rex

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Rex said:  "... a bad ground. You cannot have enough of them!"  Well, actually, Re, I kinda think you meant to say that you cannot have enough GOOD grounds.

Hummmm?

[Dynoroom]

Today we built & installed a simple tow bar to move up & down the salt a little easier. Pushing the car required someone to be in it to steer & brake. Now we can debrief on the ride back to the pits with the a/c going.

Regarding the above comments, We did indeed add more grounds to the car before we went to the chassis dyno. I think we solved those issues....  :|
The Great White Dyno will confirm.  8-)

[tauruck]

That's great news guys.
I love this car.

[Glen]

Mike, add a salt shield to the front of tow bar to keep all of the salt spray from the rear tires on the tow truck.

[jdincau]

We have had good luck with big, low, mud flaps on the tow truck.

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Quick tangent:  On our pickup I use semi-style mudflaps cut to fit.  I let 'em hang to within 4" or so from the ground, and the flaps I use are the kind that have "nubbies" on the tire side to help reduce spray.

Caveat:  With that little ground clearance you'll need to be careful when backing over stuff, like a curb.  They're easy to pull off.  That's one way to keep the fasteners fresh - replace 'em each time I rip off another piece - of mudflap, that is.

[Stan Back]

We use what might be called a "brush" that you see on motor homes.  I cut it down for width and height and it's attached with just a couple of bolts to make easy removal when at home.  It's flexible enuf if you run over something or back into something.  Same one worked for years.

[mc2032]

Check craigslist for "Rock Tamer" style/brand mud flaps or similar.  I scored a set locally for half of nothing.  Has a built in bracket that slips over and bolts to the draw bar prior to slipping the draw bar into the receiver hitch.  Easy on/easy off, adjustable and designed to keep stuff off what is being towed.  Heck, you might even be able to build a set based off of the design.

[Dynoroom]

BONNEVILLE SPEED WEEK 2016

Well, we've had time to get home, clean our equipment, & catch up on some rest from the vacation we call Bonneville.

I'm really disappointed this year. Mainly because it's been 2 years since we have been able to run yet we still stubbed our toe. If you remember we went to the chassis dyno in early July to make sure the corrections we made to the car were valid & we could start to improve on our past lack luster Speed Week performance.

Not gonna happen. We made 3 attempts to get down the course. The first two tries were turn outs, we couldn't run fast enough to get out of our own way. The last run Kevin said the hell with it, and stayed in the throttle until the end of the first timed mile. That netted a lowly 191 mph. Disgusted is an understatement.

We feel the condition of the salt & access roads contributed to our issues. The car ran well during dyno testing but the bouncing & banging the car took on it 3 mile ride to the starting line seems to have effected our low budget wiring harness. We constantly had intermittent electrical issues that kept cropping up affecting our performance. Everything seemed fine in the pits but not so on the course.
These types of problems are not only frustrating, they can be almost impossible to track down. I think our only choice is a professionally constructed wiring harness. Big $$$ but so is going to the salt & not running worth a damn.
So there you have it, another years effort only to be no better off than last time.

I have already made contact with a competent racing wiring harness builder/supplier in the off road arena. We will take the car in for a complete custom harness then head back to the chassis dyno.
No one ever said Bonneville was easy...  But we WILL be back!

A couple of glamour shots, Kevin talking to Rob Fryvogel in the staging lanes with his Carbonite streamliner in the background.
Also a left & right 3/4 view of the hot rod...

[Seldom Seen Slim]

Mike, all I can do is quote the old adage:

Ain't this racin' fun?

[Rex Schimmer]

Mike,
Sorry to hear of your problems but it was great to finally meet you at the salt! The G/FL tank that I was with, Steve Nelson's no. 221, didn't like the rough conditions also. Steve turned out at the 4 on our only "good" run because of the rough salt. The car has a solid rear suspension and it really was shaking and wondering around so he turned out. We hurt the motor on that run so that was it for the week. Next year!

Rex

[ggl205]

Mike,
Sorry to hear of your problems but it was great to finally meet you at the salt! The G/FL tank that I was with, Steve Nelson's no. 221, didn't like the rough conditions also. Steve turned out at the 4 on our only "good" run because of the rough salt. The car has a solid rear suspension and it really was shaking and wondering around so he turned out. We hurt the motor on that run so that was it for the week. Next year!

Rex

If we have a track for 2017, we will see you there with another G/GL - G/FL. I think I have talked Stainless into putting in the "big" engine and that would make at least three lakesters in un blown G class. More the merrier.

John

[Rex Schimmer]

I made a mistake regarding the class that Steve Nelson's lakester is in, it is F/FL not G. Motor is a 3 liter Arias aluminum "iron duke" with the Arias hemi head.

Rex

[Freud]

Mike, every chance I have had with the Carbonite crew

has always been "top notch." They are a marvelous

group of people. It's just another team from the middle

of our nation of which we can be proud.

FREUD