Nice Rides with any number of wheels or even no wheels ;-)

[slracer]

hdwgfx, That team is a bunch of really nice guys! Another M/C inspector and I were looking at the car (really closely) and my friend asked why the fenders were so high. One of them said it was to get better gearing which my friend didn't understand. When I told him it was FWD, it all became clear (and we all had a good laugh).

John, the salt is always wet due to underground water so traction is at a premium with higher power outputs! One of our riders found out the hard way as he left the line too hard and spun the rear wheel. he "wanted to go 200mph" so he just held it open thinking it would hookup at some point. Nope, he spun it the full 5 miles (even through the 5 gear shifts) and really "ate" the tire. For this little stunt, we "ate" his license and made him redo his licensing runs for 2 classes.

A good friend of mine, Derek McLeish, was building a new car when he saw Mark's and immediately began talking to them. Derek ran smaller motors, mostly Suzuki Hayabusas in various forms, and won the 2012 Points Championship at El Mirage(with 5 records in 5 meets). I think that makes 4 times, but it may be 5? I have attached a pic of his GT6 (going through the timing trap at El Mirage in Nov). His earlier vehicles include a Side Car Streamliner (a motorcycle streamliner with a sidecar platform) and a Lakester (built from the same platform). I did the aero work on the SCS, but the Lakster was a surprise. Having "added a wheel" for the lakester, he is still planning on "removing one" and running as a full motorcycle streamliner. He has also run the SCS at the BUB meet at Bonneville and had a speed of over 60mph on 5cc (not cubic inches, cc's)! That one was protested a number of ways, but every time he had documentation of what he did being legal in previous events so was awarded the $5000 prize for most mph/cc! The rules were changed the following year! LOL
You can see the lakester and the SCS versions (sidecar not visible here, it's on the hidden side) and the Bonneville GT6 here:

http://www.woolichracing.com/TeamMcLeishBros.aspx

(I don't know who Woolich Racing is.) Check out

http://SCTA-BNI.org

for more details. --- Doug

Doug

[hdwgfx]

thanks doug, a shame there's no pics of how the GT6 front wheel drive/eng./ chassis is put together...

[slracer]

Hey David, A guy needs to have some secrets! LOL Actually, here's a build pic showing the engine in place and the extended shaft for the engine side of the drive poking out behind the tranverse mounted engine (just like in the Suzuki). This engine is mounted behind the drive wheels with the chain drive going forward to the wheels. The differential part wasn't in the car when I got these pics. Another view that might be liked is the interior around the rear axle, fire bottles, part of the roll cage, etc. The third pic is one of the reasons I like Bonneville: unlimited throat wind tunnel testing! Here is a closeup of just aft of the rear wheel opening. Note the stock wheel trim as required for Mod Sports bodies aft of the cowl. There is a 3-4 inch area where the airflow has gone turbulent, then reattaches (just like they draw it in the text books)! Every so often I ask them to not touch the body until I get a look at the salt pattern. There were a few areas that showed where some detailed changes could be made. but nothing major was apparent. I try to get the same look at El Mirage, but the dust isn't as "robust" as the salt.

[hdwgfx]

thanks doug....

[jfholm]

Doug,
I am not engineer, but doesn't mounting the engine transversly like this and having the rotation in synch with the drive train, actually put more power to the ground? In a normal fore and aft mounting of the engine there is some torque lost lifting the left front side of the car. I know this helps plant the right rear wheel, but I think the transverse mounting actually puts more torque into the trans. Am I thinking correctly here?

John

[slracer]

Hey John, It could do that, or it could just have been a lot easier to keep the orientation the same as in the bike it came from? Look, I'm just the aero guy and don't mess with structure or other "hard things". If you can't see it, I can talk about it all I want! Derek McLeish is the guy who designs all the mechanicals and he isn't an engineer either. He does have a great sense about what works and what doesn't. He then knows how to build what he wants. That is a great combination and I've been lucky enough to work on 4-5 vehicles with him. He is also a lot of fun and makes a great wine in Lompoc, CA. --- Doug

[SSR]

Not quite a ride, a bit more of an Ark really, but check this one out:

http://news.yahoo.com/dutchman-launches ... 46265.html

[jfholm]

Not quite a ride, a bit more of an Ark really, but check this one out:

http://news.yahoo.com/dutchman-launches ... 46265.html

That is a very neat story. My projects pale in comparison!

John

[slracer]

Hmmm! I think my bike is slower than the ark! Oh well, quite an interesting story. I got this link this morning and thought some of you might like to "ride along" on a 218 mph Qualifying run at Bonneville. The camera is mounted next to the driver's head so you are seeing what he saw. This car is another of those that I did the aero design package for, actually the first but it took the owners about 10 years to make the changes I told them were needed. BTW, they want to run for a "real" World Record next year (the Bonneville Speed Week records don't have an FIA rep there to watch so aren't certified). The added cost of the FIA makes a few thousand $$$ difference in the fees so if you know of anyone who would be interested in sponsoring the BWS streamliner, PM me and I'll put you in touch. I'm already signed up with my name on the car (about 3 feet behind the driver's head and on the outside of the car LOL).

Here 'tis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm87M0Di ... video_user

Doug

[jfholm]

my tvr ..

I have no idea how I missed your TVR as I love them. They had so many different versions of them. I rebuilt one for a friend that had the Triumph TR6 engine in it. Then my friend Bill who had the Mini (a real one) also had an orange TVR that I think had a V8 in it. Did they come with V8's?

The blue and pink one is the Turner Ford that we really proved the rough ports as being effective.

John

John