Copyright © 2007 - 2024, Coachworks For contact data Click Here.
Copyright © 2007 - 2024
Copyright © 2007 - 2024,
Coachworks For contact data
Click Here.
We made it to Bonneville for World of Speed, but were effectively rained out - please see the "blog" section below for more details. However, we may be able to make it to the Mojave Mile which starts at the end of the first week of October, 2011.
If you haven't already, we recommend you read the materials about our first year's efforts, found in the "about our machine" links above. In particular, many have reported enjoying the various sections that describe specific parts of the machine and then going through the (photographically illustrated) "blog" section as the narration there gives the back story and carries you through the process. (One reader opined, "Rivetting!!!!! Like a great novel, I couldn't put it down and wish I had been there to help.")
After achieving our goal as first Karmann Ghia to enter The One Club, we are now focused on entering The One Thirty Club!
This year we were effectively rained-out (please see the "blog" section below for details) at Bonneville's World of Speed. If we can manage it, we're going to try our hand at the Mojave Mile in October.
We retained all our claims to "fastest" from 2009 - we added no new records.
- Fastest Karmann Ghia campaigned as a part of the 36hp Challenge.
- Fastest Karmann Ghia in the DSS class of the 36hp Challenge.
- Fastest Karmann Ghia in The One Club.
- Fastest Denzel powered vehicle to participate in a 36hp Challenge event.
- Fastest known Denzel powered vehicle (with certified timing slip from a sanctioned event)
Similarly, we added no new other achievements this year, so far.
During the off season we semi-prepped the vehicle for painting and then didn't get the new paint on.
However, we realized that our problem in '09 was that we didn't have enough power to pull forth gear to where we felt we needed to be.
Our choices were to either rebuild the transaxle with alternative gearing or add power, and we chose latter because re-gearing would require we have custom gears made, and we'd rather know we had done all we were planning to do with the engine first.
"There is no replacement for displacement," so, we decided to take that to the limit. We adapted pistons and cylinders intended for different purposes to our cause, and the pistons and cylinders came from completely different types of engines from what we're doing and from each other! Increasing the displacement can be done by either increasing stroke or increasing bore, or both. We chose to push the bore out as far as it would go.
Recall that the rules say we aren't allowed to relocate the head studs, so that limits things very directly. We bored the case spigots open as far as we dared - remember, we have high-compression, too, and we can't afford a pulled head-stud either! And we then fitted the cylinders to the case:
This work required that the stud-holes through the cylinders be re-drilled - a particularly challenging task. Of course, it also required that the cylinder skirts be cut down to match.
After fitting to the case, we then fitted the pistons - a fairly easy task. Do note in the image below that the piston pretty much fills all the space in the crankcase spigot - there's not much room for a cylinder in there! We don't think anyone will ever get any more bore in one of these under the 36hp Challenge rules.
We actually hired out the boring of the cylinders themselves because a friend of ours has a special tool for that job. However, through a mis-communication, we thought he was going to complete the cylinders for us - we noted the long skirt, but he said he matched our previous cylinders in that regard. So, we installed the cylinders.
We didn't get very far when we accidentally broke a skirt! Note the broken skirt (left) and the cylinder skirt shape we were looking for (right):
Luckily, the break actually happened at precisely the right spot, and we were able to complete the notching of all the cylinders pretty easily - it was just time consuming at a moment we really didn't want to be working on cylinder skirts. (See the "blog" section below.)
At that point, we could finally reassemble the crankcase - here's the bottom end with the new pistons and cylinders installed:
We think it looks pretty good!
While snapping pics, we caught the one below and like it because it shows clearly the inclined angle of the Denzel valves - they are not horizontal as VW and Porsche valves are!
We sent updates on our efforts to the Karmann Ghia Club of North America's email list - that's as close to actual blogging as we got. Still, it may be of interest as it tells our story pretty well. The writer is Richard.
Hello All,
well, long-time readers - with good memories! - will recall that in 2009
I set the first Karmann Ghia specific Land Speed Record in The 36hp Challenge
with a modest standing-start mile speed of 101.16 or so in a 50 year old, 1959
KG Coupe. And, in 2010, I raised that to 105.777,
which also turned out to be the fastest time recorded in 2010 as a part of The
36hp Challenge, AND, the world's third fastest speed ever recorded for a 36hp
based vehicle of any kind - behind only Ferdinand Porsche's Rome-Berlin race
car from 1939, and Peter Muller, in 1949.
Well, I have plans to best even that someday, but this year events appeared
to be conspiring against me and I thought I'd miss out... Until yesterday when
things changed (!!) and it looks like I'll make it after all.
However, it won't be easy! The engine is in pieces as I was trying to upgrade
things (again!), and the car needs a repaint (still!), and the tow-vehicle needs
work, the tires are still "on the way", etc, etc, etc. A million things
to do, it seems, and I only have a couple of days!
Oh well, can't be worse than 2009 when I worked for a week averaging about 4
hours of sleep per night, then worked an entire long, hard day, then DROVE ALL
NIGHT to get there and then raced in the afternoon starting at around 1:30 PM,
ending up literally as they closed the race-course at 4PM. Now _that_ was cutting
it close - and just about literally impossible! ...This year I expect to only
have to do the outrageously difficult!
Well, I'd better get cracking!
Remember, keep the shiny side up, the rubber side down, and your foot in it.
Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2011 18:45:23 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: [KG] Bonneville Salt Flats, getting ready
Hi Darrel, (All,)
On Fri, 9 Sep 2011, Darrel Florentine wrote:
>
> Do not relive 09.
Ja got that right!
Similar to '09, though, I had insurance and registration to get out of the way;
car MUST be "street legal!" Got the insurance paid today, visited
DMV and paid them, but they wouldn't complete the transaction, complaining that
some functions may ONLY be done via the internet these days! Imagine the poor
soul who has no internet access! ...Anyway, I now have an appointment for Monday
morning to complete the reg and think maybe AAA can do it for me over the weekend!
The possible DMV delay for Monday AM has a parallel: The tires. My vendor says
the tires just came in, right at quiting time, but they were leaving for the
weekend, don't work at all on weekends, and will mount and balance the tires
on Monday AM. Rats.
So, if all goes well, I'll be motoring off to Bonneville on Monday by noon or
thereabouts...
> Forget about the painting, just get cracking on the
> engine assembly and fine tuning.
Paint, if it happens, is last, BUT, there _may_ be time for it!
Engine: today I _finally_ got the secret ingredients... OK, you know that I've
had this engine campaigned for two seasons. The first time it wasn't in tune,
and the second it was. I found out I "hit a wall" regarding my gearing
- 4th was too tall for the engine. So, rather than change the gearing, I decided
to go for more HP.... To do this, I needed to change out some of the parts.
I did some design work, figured out how to make the new parts, did some of the
work, and in the interests of time I had a long time (22 years+) machinist friend
of mine help by performing some machining operations I don't have tooling for.
...I got the parts this afternoon!
Now I need to do the final machine work steps making parts that exactly fit
the ones my friend just completed. I'll gladly work long into the night tonight
if it requires it, but expect to have all the parts completed by 9PM or so -
maybe earlier. From there, assembly is pretty easy. I figure I can do it in
just a couple of hours - it's already been together, all the parts fit, etc,
etc, etc. The only thing (I know) I'm missing is case sealant - ran out on the
latest engine I just built! So, I figure I'll get some first thing in the AM...
...If I get the engine done in mid-morning as I anticipate, I'll then get the
car into the paint booth and give it a quick one. It's already mostly prepped
for paint as I wasn't happy with it last year and have already done all the
work except shooting it - all I have to do now is clean it from a year of sitting,
mask off the interior, and squirt it. It'll be ready in the morning - that'd
be Sunday morning.
I'd then spend whatever time doing a tune up on the tow vehicle, doing laundry
and packing.
Then Sunday AM, I'll stuff the engine in, fire it up, make sure it runs, but
I CANNOT tune it at sea-level - would do no good. The carbs are already all
set up for Bonneville - and I'm being careful not to mess with them. ...After
the engine goes in is when I do whatever other work I'll be doing. There's a
lot I might do, but little _required._ For example, I still haven't got my oil
temperature and pressure gauges bolted up in the cockpit - maybe I'll get them
installed...
And all the final preparations really happen Sunday.
> Chrome dont get ya home and either
> will fresh paint.
...I don't do chrome - unless it's required. For example, the rules effectively
require stock bumpers.
> What is the goal this year?
Hmmm... Two years ago I really did all the math, and calculated a range based
upon various uncertanties in both HP and CD. I then updated it a year ago after
I had done some engine dyno tuning in Salt Lake City - near the same altitude
as Bonneville. Those numbers suggested that the low-end number I should reach
- power to drag - would be 112 MPH, and the high-end is around 118. But that
was before I knew that my 4th gear was too tall.
It's also worth considering that I am increasing the HP of the engine as my
strategy for improvement, rather than alter gearing, and I've conservatively
added over 20%. So, given a 105.777 number, adding 5% (power law) would mean
that 112 should be in very easy reach. Then, there's the improvement that comes
from having more HP regarding one's gear choices and the ability to "pull"
a gear, which will clearly also be increased. So, I think that unless I have
a mechanical failure - which would probably be VERY expensive at this point
- top speed depends on the dynamic of just how well the new HP fits the existing
4th gear, and since I won't have time for dyno tuning at altitude, I won't know
until I run it. The very first run with this engine build will likely tell the
story, all in one go.... Hmmm... We COULD see something over 120 - and if I'm
really lucky, and it matches up well with the gearing, we might be looking at
the first 36hp Challenger to enter the 130 Club!
But, if not in the 130 Club this year, next year then! -wink!-
(Note, the 130 Club hosts our events at Bonneville and is a sub-set of the USFRA
organization - if you go over 139, you're OUT! (How nice that must be! Imagine,
first 36HP Challenger thrown out of the 130 club for going too fast! ...Well,
a guy can dream, can't he?)
> Good Luck Richard and
> keep us informed...enquiring minds want to know.
Thank you for your interest, enthusiasm and encouragement!
Regards,
Richard
On Fri, 9 Sep 2011, pmelvin c wrote:
Subject: Re: [KG] Bonneville Salt Flats, getting ready
>
> Richard
> Don't forget Justin & Coulton McCalster they will be there as well
and
> I'm sure they will lend a hand if you need them as before.
Yes, and I will be there to lend them a hand too, as before - and, that reminds
me; Coulton owes me some supplies! ...And giving credit where it is due, I'm
especially thankful for the help of Eric Allred in '09...
Right now I'm mindful of my own biggest challenge with time: I'm somehow just
about unable to do work that isn't _clean._ So, I spend so much time cleaning
things that it keeps me from getting other work accomplished! As a perfect example,
this evening; here it is 11PM and I have _not_ gotten the pieces modified as
required. All I've really done is get _ready_ for that job! -smile- It also
happens that my friend didn't do the whole job, only that part that he knew
I didn't have the tooling for, so I have more work ahead of me than I had thought!
...I'm going to knock off for the evening now and get up early and do the machine
work - everything will be clean and I'm less likely to make a mistake when I'm
well rested...
> Good Luck
Thank you.
> I'd come out BUT I'm now 2468 miles further away. Flat
> dragging the Ghia that far was killing me BUT... Had to do it SUCKS
Flat towing is the very best way (most of the time) short of driving it. (Many
people incorrectly think that trailering is better, but the fundamental chance
of trouble works out about the same, but when something goes wrong with a trailered
situation, it usually goes far worse than when towed flat - at least from the
anecdotal data I've collected thus far.)
Regards,
Richard
>
> Paul Cannefax
> Palm Bay Fl.
>
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 16:47:55 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Bonneville Bound Progress . . .
Hello All,
... I spent all my time cleaning the disassembled engine last night and then
spent time disassembling some things one usually doesn't disassemble, so I could
do some machine work. But I didn't start the machine work as it approached midnight.
This AM, I cleaned off my milling machine from former work, vacuumed up all
the old chips, etc, so I could reconfigure the table, and then took a detour
to the FLAPS (Friendly Local Auto Parts Store) to get some case sealant. When
I got back, at about 8:30 AM or so, I mounted up the first part to be machined,
indexed the milling head to the table and started machining the first steps.
I just finished the main machine work steps a few minutes ago - make that just
a little short of 8 hours! I would have figured three should have been enough.
It turned out that some of the parts weren't as well made as I'd have liked
and I had extra work I had not anticipated. Also, there was a mis-communication
with my machinist friend and he made the parts differently than I'd wanted,
and I'm not happy because it puts the engine at increased risk of failure. ...I've
decided to forge ahead and trust to luck! It's either that or not go, but risking
a Denzel engine doesn't sit too well with me.
Continuing on, I now have to do some work in clearancing the sheet metal - "cooling
tin" - and that'll probably also take way longer than I anticipate, so
I'm simply not going to estimate the work!
...Slow, steady progress. I'll get it done...
Regards,
Richard
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 18:38:44 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: [KG] Bonneville Bound Progress . . .
Me again...
...OK, I'm being a little coy about what parts I'm changing on the engine. It
will probably come out at some point, and I also realize it's too late to help
any competitor headed to Bonneville next week - unless there's some fool even
more bound and determined to build an engine in zero time! So ... if anyone
cares to venture a guess ... Anyone?
Since I last posted, I ran an experiment on which ways were faster at performing
a particular cutting operation, and I learned a thing or two. If you're interested
in speed, and looks don't matter, and precision isn't required either, then
the fiberglass cutoff wheel wins over mill, saw, and grinding. Combine it with
some judicious hand-held grinding and you can even make it look pretty good!
So, I'm about half way done with the cutting... Just a bit more, and then I'm
on to mess with the tin.
I won't assemble the crankcase until _everything_ else is sorted. . . .
More soon (hopefully!)
Richard
Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2011 20:45:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Assembly begins!
For those who missed out on it the first time, this is the engine I'm
reassembling:
https://ghiacoachworks.com/share/images/lsr_engine_finished_1.jpg
I've reworked the pages about the LSR - find them here:
* The overall effort: https://ghiacoachworks.com/share/denzel_lsr.html
* First time out, 2009:
https://ghiacoachworks.com/share/denzel_lsr_2009.html
* Last year, 2010: https://ghiacoachworks.com/share/denzel_lsr_2010.html
There are pages for each year, but 2010 and 2011 are still "works in
progress" - web page wise!
Richard
Date: Sun, 11 Sep 2011 14:11:13 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Crankcase assembled
FINALLY on a bit of a roll... Just got the crankcase (bottom end) buttoned up.
What was holding me back was that despite all the cleaning, after I'd begun
reassembly, I found a couple of pockets of shavings that were stuck to a somewhat
sticky cavety inside the case. So, it had to come apart and get cleaned a bit
more thoroughly.
Haste makes waste, they say; I'm trying to be quick but not hasty!
Next up, the Ps and Cs, then the heads...
Richard
Date: Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:43:34 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Got the ring(s), back at the wrench!
Hi Folks,
In the previous installment of this saga, I was stopped cold (last night) when
I had a broken ring problem.
This morning I got up early and made it to the tire shop and dropped off the
rims for my H rated STREET tires. These will last longer, can be used in regular
street service, AND are good to 130 MPH. Note that I am forced to use these
truly "high-speed" tires because I've already broken 100 mph - otherwise
S rated would have been good enough!
After dropping off the rims, I made it to the DMV and got the registration sticker
for my vehicle. I had to make this second visit to the DMV because they have
a weird insurance-lapse rule that says they can restrict your registration for
THREE DAYS nomatter how much you pay just because you terminated your insurance
during a period the car was registered... AND, you _cannot_ pay this fee in
person, but ONLY online. Bizarre. So, I paid it, and waited from Friday - and
now have the sticker!
THEN I got on the phone and called around to find a supplier for the broken
ring. ...I'll spare you all the details and simply say I just a few minutes
ago returned to the workshop WITH the rings! They ended up costing me about
$145 when you consider the whole circumstance, and I'll end up with "a
set on the shelf." -frown- NOT happy about this.
In between looking for the rings and getting them, I picked up the tires - the
shop even painted the rims for me! Nice! I had brought my own valve stems and
they were otherwise billing me for them, so they decided they'd trade me the
paint work. ...I didn't argue...
SO... FINALLY back to the engine.
Another feature of today was that I had a long chat with both Richard Davis
and Gerry Young, separately - these guys are the founders of "The Buggy
House" (also at one point known as "Buggyhouse Motor Sports")
a somewhat famous VW shop (and one of the few remaining) in these parts. They
- and Gerry in particular - had good things to say about the engineering that
I've been fretting over. (Yesterday I alluded to a concern with my machinist's
work giving me a dimension I wasn't comfortable with.) So, in short, Gerry says
that if I'm careful and can manage to get it assembled properly, it should work
out OK and I shouldn't be overly concerned.
Hmmm...
He agrees, though, I should be very concerned not to overheat this engine -
it won't suffer it gracefully. And we discussed his ideas for that. For example,
he recommends either increasing the main jet size one step (or decreasing the
air correction jet one size) as a starting point and then adjusting from there,
just to be sure the engine doesn't go too lean.
Enough writing, back to the wrenches!
Richard
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:29:19 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Bonneville Racing Begins TODAY, Wednesday...
Hi All,
by the time I "hit send", it'll be September 14th, and the official
start of our particular brand of Land Speed Record racing.
...From the Better Late Than Never camp, I'll be missing the start of racing,
but I'll be on my way sometime in the mid-morning.
The current Karmann Ghia record holder is waiting patiently for me to sleep,
pack and make last-minute preparations. I only have three steps remaining before
she's "back on the road":
1) Swap the tires onto the vehicle, and;
2) Find the coil to distributor wire (the "point wire") - or make
a new one, and;
3) Adjust the fan belt.
...I'm pretty sure that's it.
I'm just about to eat and am winding down _Tuesday_ and from here my plan is
I'm going to sleep, complete these last chores, valve adjust the tow vehicle,
pack, bathe, and then leave, in that order! Theory says I should be able to
do all that in about 2 hours, experience says 4, so, in other words, I'll be
lucky to leave by noon! It's supposed to be a 9 hour drive, so, barring any
disasters, I'll be with the group tomorrow (Wednesday) evening...
I WILL POST PHOTOS LATER!
Richard
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:51:10 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Bonniville Bound - Update
Hi All,
What A Day...
Last night I got the throttle adjusted - my neighbor came by to help - and I'm
glad I got it behind me because being at Bonneville can be very distracting
and it's difficult to do good work out there with all the stressful conditions
- and blinding whiteness.
So I felt especially good about it, but this morning I ran into issue after
issue after issue... Right off the bat, there was trouble: broken lug bolt.
Damn.
Then, the engine wouldn't start. This one consumed HOURS. There's no point in
going to the salt if the engine won't run! I chased my tail for a while on this,
because I got the wrong idea. The initial symptom was that it simply turned
slowly and would try to fire now and then but not enough to start. I figured
it was just turning too slowly. But why? Turning it by hand was difficult, but
not insanely so - especially regarding the even-higher compression. And turning
it backwards was easier. Still, it didn't turn as freely in the forward direction
as I had expected either...
Overall, though, I surmised (and only one shop owner, later, rebutted the idea)
that the problem was the compression being too high for the lowly 6v starter
to cope. So, I tried a 12v battery on it - usually 12v to a 6v starter makes
an engine rev like Roadrunner's legs, but in this case it seemed to even turn
more slowly ?! OK, so now what?
I talked to several VW shop owners / mechanics and they all said pretty much
the same thing, with a few minor varriations - that a new engine usually is
stiffer and turns more easily after the initial firing of the engine and this
is nothing to worry about but can stress a starter, etc. And, it turns out that
there are RARE high torque 6v starters designed for those of us with high compression
engines and who refuse to "upgrade" to 12v - they cost around $200
- I wouldn't be eating for a month! - and getting one wouldn't happen for a
few days anyway. So, I keept at it.
On the agenda were trying another starter, checking the armature bushing in
the transaxle bell housing, cleaning all the wiring bits, among other tasks.
After spending WAY too much time on this, I went back to basics (and NONE of
the other mechanics suggested anything like this): Since it would try to fire
once in a while on the 6v system with NO changes, I decided to remove the initial
advance of the distributor, and went back to a static zero setting even though
it "should like" ten degrees or so of initial advance. After only
a moment or two, and a judicious pump of the pedal, and it fired right up! Sounds
GREAT too!
Ya Hoo!
...OK, now I THINK I'm on my way! BUT, where the heck is that damned HELMIT?!
I had kept it IN the vehicle, but it was gone?!?! I hunted and hunted and hunted,
and FINALLY found it. ...I suspect I had removed it from the cabin to hunt for
rubber parts for a customer's car (as there were a lot of rubber bits in the
car, waiting for reassembly after painting, of course!), and once out of the
car, it drifted a bit until coming to rest behind something rather like loose
snow. Ah, well...
So, PACKING NOW, and on the down-ward end of that already too!
I can hear the salt calling! (It's saying, "I want to rust your car!")
Richard
Date: Mon, 19 Sep 2011 20:00:18 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [KG] Bonniville Update and Wrap-up
So... Last I posted, it was already about 3PM on the first day of racing and
I was still in California - heck, I was still in Oakland!
After posting, I still had some packing to do - food, clothes, tools, spare
parts, etc - and bathe. I practically brought the kitchen sink! And, I finally
got on the road when it was still "rush hour". Oh good!
-frown-
The Adventure Wagon (the lesser known camper sold by VW in 1971) was running
well - I'd put Babe's 912 engine in there - and I was making up time as best
I could through the traffic. I had a bit of a row with the bridge toll collector
as he charged me tripple the usual fee and I was REALLY bent out of shape by
it, but forged ahead. When I came down the hill into the central valley I was
making time through the evening traffic and suddenly - "bubble-gum lights!"
Yup, I got pulled over.
The officer claimed he had me for FOUR moving violations, including about 85
miles per hour. But he decided not to charge me with anything except towing
in lane number 2 which, according to him, I was not permitted to do. He indicated
he wasn't going to charge me with speeding because it might get laughed out
of court!
So, onward I drove. And drove.
In Reno, I passed Dick Beith and his "special" - a kind of shaved
Beetle. Why he's doing it is anyone's guess. ...Anyway, I passed them, but we
met at the next exit as we both stopped for fuel and talked a little. They had
a 3 man crew and were going to drive all night. I took this as inspiration that
maybe I should too, but I didn't have the extra drivers!
I left the fuel station before they did and proceeded for a few more hours,
but ended up at a rest area at about 1AM. I got up at 3AM and continued and
arrived by about 9AM Thursday morning - the "it's only a 9 hour drive"
is just flat wrong.
In any event, I drove straight to the tech inspection area as there was nobody
else getting teched at the time, and set about getting all the paperwork done.
To my shock and surprise, the right rear tire only had about 8 pounds of air
pressure in it and I'm VERY lucky it didn't just pop! But other than that, they
were happy with my organization (I had all the paperwork in a binder), and I
was almost out of there when a technician leaned into the car and stabbed the
brakes.
I was horrified when the man said, "She ain't got any brakes!" "What?!"
"Yup, went straight to the floor."
-gulp-
I leapt into the cockpit. Back in Oakland before hooking it up, I had driven
the car all of a few feet, but DID use the brakes, so I knew it had brakes in
CA... But, sure enough, the man was right. My heart sank.
Low on funds, and have at home _everything_ I could possibly need, but not _with_me!_
One of the very few areas I didn't prepare for was brakes. Why, I don't know
- maybe because at the moment I walked past that box I said to myself that I
was already practically bringing a second car! Doah!
The guys then practically gave me permission to, um, do less than the full job,
saying pointedly that the fronts do 80% of all braking, and the rears aren't
needed, that all they need to see is a firm pedal... I was really surprised!
Hmmm...
So, I drove to the pits and set up.
It turned out that the day before only a few people had run. First, there was
strong wind and they closed the track for that, and secondly, there was someone
on a motorcycle who took a spill and was taken to the hospital, and they closed
all the racecourses while the ambulance was away. So, a lot of people had gotten
out there in the AM and were returning to the pits as I set up.
Britt pointed out a place for me to pit and after a half hour or so futzing
around I got the vehicle up in the air.
There was no brake fluid to speak of in the reservoir. There were no visible
points for it to leak. I deposited what brake fluid I had on hand into the reservoir,
but it didn't help. And there was still no visible leak.
I milled around talking to people for a while. Ed Fall offered his spare master
cylinder, but it turned out to be the wrong type. Someone, I don't know who,
left a full pint of brake fluid on the roof of the vehicle, and I was grateful
for that. Eventually, I arranged with Coleton (sp?) McAlister to get some parts
from the VW business he works for in Ogden, UT, and they'd be brought there
by his brother in law, Jake, that evening. YAY! The owner of the business agreed
to take back parts I didn't use. Double Yay! So, not knowing what all was going
to turn out to be failed, I had him send a new master, brake line set (all the
metal lines - the installed ones didn't look too good and may not survive R&R),
front wheel cylinders, and the reservoir fill parts (grommet, line and hose).
While waiting, Craig Smith took me into town in his wife Rose's vehicle. We
picked up a large bottle of brake fluid, a bolt to seal off a brake line with,
and topped up the air cylinder (for tire air). Once we returned, we still didn't
know where the leak was, so I installed the bolt in place of the line that goes
to the rear, effectively blocking off all the rear system, and then bled the
front system. This didn't help, and led to the conclusion that the master cylinder
was the problem.
I took the old one out and by that point it was getting late, so I headed back
to "the bend in the road" where many VW people were camping. This
was where Jake was going to go and so it was where I could get my parts as I
anxiously waited! I set up the vehicle to make it relatively quick to install
the new master as I really wanted to get onto the salt first thing in the AM.
A fellow named Harold invited me to join his motly crew for dinner and they
were great.
Jake didn't arrive until quite a good bit after dark, so I was very disappointed
I couldn't do the work then, and get the car ready for the morning. I hung out
with Harold and crew until maybe 10PM and then headed for bed.
I was worried about the possibility of rain, so I asked someone who had access
to the internet to check for me and they replied via phone txt message. It indicated
there was little to worry about during the night.
Overnight, I was awaken at about 3AM by the sound of raindrops on the camper's
roof.
I shot up with a start. ...It continued a bit, so I got up and put all my tools
away in the darkness. After I was done doing that, to my great surprise, Coleton
walked up and we chatted for some time. He agreed that if it did rain, he'd
collect up my few things I'd left on the salt and care for them until next year
or whenever, and I very much appreciated that. And we talked of other things,
but both went back to bed shortly.
I was awakened again at about 4AM by more sounds of rain on the roof, this time
heavier drops, so this time I got into the driver's seat and drove up off of
the salt flats and the 1/2 mile or so to The Salt Flat Cafe, where I parked
on the asphalt. At about 5:30, it began to rain hard for a while. Looking out,
one could see showers all around, but mostly in the distance.
I got up around 7AM and it looked dismal, but there was no standing water visible.
I waited.
At about 9:30, I got on the phone and called folks to ask about how the actual
racecourse was, as rain can be very isolated on the salt flats. Burlie said
the racecourse is still dry but they were not permitting racing at that time.
They expected it to "blow over" in a while. They had opened tech.
Burlie suggested I install the new master, but I decided to wait as I could
still return it if we were rained out. I talked with other people who were out
at the racecourse and who had just returned from it to the Salt Flats Cafe and
found there were very different opinions on what was going on, etc. So, a little
reluctantly, I did indeed install the new master cylinder, and all the metal
lines in the front (right, left and reservoir). I then topped up the tires with
air and went to the pits.
I found someone at the pits to help me bleed the brakes - they were most kind,
and I told them so. They told me that no, they were grateful for a chance to
help someone - and that's how it goes out there on the salt; people are really
helpful to one another.
While doing this, I had my back to the ground a few times and learned that no,
the salt really isn't dry - it soaked through my shirt and pants after laying
or sitting on it for a while. This had me very annoyed.
After bleeding the brakes, we put pressure on all the lines and there was still
a leak somewhere. Damn!
What I think happened was that the original problem persisted, and is probably
the long metal line that runs fore-aft along the tunnel. The master had failed
as a secondary problem when it was allowed - due to lack of fluid in the system
- to travel the entire length of the cylinder (beyond where it would normally
sweep) whereupon it encountered some rust, rough area, or other malady which
caused the "cup" to fail. If it had not traveled beyond its normal
range, it probably would not have failed.
However, whatever the cause, the brakes worked if you pumped them, but would
slowly drop to the floor if you paused even a little. This is NOT good.
However, I braved it anyway, and drove the vehicle to tech. I showed the people
there the box for the master cylinder, etc, told them the story of the parts
coming from Ogden and even though they noticed the problem - and THREE OF THEM
got in the car and checked it with their own feet - they passed the car through
tech anyway, without much more of a word than a murmur of the sort, "hmmm,
that's a bit low..." I was VERY grateful - and they DO work, you just have
to pump a little!
As I was doing the paperwork subsequent to tech, I learned that the pressure
altitude was OVER 5800 feet! That's REALLY bad. The higher the pressure altitude,
the harder it is for the engines to produce power, so usually the times are
much slower.
It was mid afternoon by the time I had it all done and got to the 130 club's
racecourse. The line wasn't long. Most people were either done already or were
waiting for the next morning for better weather. ...I ran my first run.
It sounded GREAT, and I was up to about 90 (indicated) well before the half-way
point - I was SURE I was going to up my record again. But then, when I dropped
into fourth gear, "nothing happened!" Nothing as in, no significant
(if any) acceleration! Crap!
When I got back to the starting line area, I had a flash of insight: THE THROTTLE
LINKAGE!
It turned out I was right, verified by several people: When the pedal was all
the way down, the carburetors were barely even 2/3 applied. Damn!
Someone volunteered as an assistant to hold the pedal down while I adjusted,
but the adjustment isn't easy to make because the problem was the line from
the pedal to the engine, and NOT the up-link on the forward side of the fan
shroud, or either of the down-links at either carburetor. This meant that the
space to work in was close to zero (about 3"), and experience says it's
something you dont' rush. But, my helper was clearly anxious. So, I tried to
only adjust the up and down links. It seemed to get full throttle, but it was
not even close to a closed throttle for idle!
We tried it.
The engine would not fire. So, interestingly, the group of people at the start
line, before I could even respond really, just push-started me! And, as there
was no idle, I was forced to an immediate take off!
I hadn't thought about giving the engine time for the fuel to evaporate, so
the fuel pumped by the accelerator pumps doing their thing every time I had
my helper push the pedal "all the way" was puddled in the top-end
of the engine, and so of course, it fuel fouled immediately. And once you are
fuel fouled, you're not burning the fuel already in there and MORE fuel keeps
coming because the cylinder is still cycling. So... of course, yes, it was a
terrible run, though interestingly enough, also came in at around the same number,
92 or thereabouts. Quite a few people reported to me about the cloud of smoke
that rose as I started my run. Yuck.
It was by then already late afternoon and the sky had cleared - it was beautiful,
really. Things were good - except for the pressure altitude. I confirmed with
the track steward that there would be racing the next day and decided to go
to the bend-in-the-road and adjust the throttles there. There was time enough,
and help enough, and plenty of time for the fuel to evaporate out for the next
day, so, that's what I did.
The McAlisters had called for a big party and everyone came, so it seemed, though
now that I think of it, there were several who I did notice didn't make it.
And the party was right where I was staying with my camper, so I didn't have
to go anywhere. And while we were all enjoying it, a rain shower came.
We could all see it coming, so we ate quickly, but eventually we got caught
in it. This was a BIG one, in comparison to other rain that had come our way.
People went dashing out... It stopped soon enough, though - it only rained perhaps
an hour - but that was plenty. Worse, it never really cleared and drizzled a
tiny bit off and on through much of the evening.
I got up around 3 AM and it was clear and drying fast. Perhaps there was a chance...
I got up at 7AM, unhooked the Ghia from the Adventure Wagon and headed out to
the end of the road. What I saw on the way wasn't pretty: lots of water.
At the end of the road, the queue was long - a bad sign. A long walk to the
end revealed a lake of salt water perhaps 4 to 5 inches deep and I had already
decided I wasn't going to drive through it but I was spared any possible claims
I was a wimp for not driving through that VW-eating pool of acid by the fact
that the racing officials declared an end to this years racing.
So, I hooked up the Ghia and drove home.
...Hope you have enjoyed the story...
Richard
We headed home. I know we have photos of this, but they seem to be missing from our archive. If we find them, we'll add them here!
Friends of the Challenge
Below are the top speeds achieved by each of the racers at World of Speed. I
would like to offer a BIG thanx to all of the racers, crews and VW spectators
who ventured to Bonneville to be part of the USFRA's 26th annual World of Speed.
And thanx to Hot VW's for sending RK Smith to cover this unique VW event and
for The Samba's moderator, John Moxon to come all the way from England to be
part of our race.
I would also like to offer a sincere debt of gratitude to Wolfsburg West and
Tony Moore for his support of the 36hp Challenge and the $1000.00 contingency
award they provided to the fastest Wolfsburg West cylinder head equipped record
breaker, Bill Hatfield of Harmony, Indiana.
May the Speed be with you..................
Burly
2011 World of Speed VW results:
36hp Challenge
SS36 Bug T33 Juan Cole...............................................75.534
New Record 9/16/11(old record 75.277
T60 Dan Durie(Beaver Geezers)....................................75.277 New
Record 9/14/11(old record 73.492
T77 Ralph Dotson.........................................................71.480
DSS36 Bug T20 Bill Hatfield/Wolfsburg West.............108.324 New record 9/15/11(old
record 103.056
T54 Gene Dannan/Wolfsburg West................................59.709
SS36 Ghia T777 Bill Smith............................................73.752
New Record 9/15/11(old record 71.314
DSS36 Ghia T67 Craig Smith/Wolfsburg West..............84.442
T143 Richard Troy-Denzel............................................92.808
DSS36 Bus T51 Ronnie Fietelson/Wolfsburg West........68.851 New Record 9/16/11(old
record 67.909
T8 Matthew Kenney.....................................................67.909
New Record 9/15/11(base record
36hp"1"Club T11 Larry Mocnick/Cheetle......................75.105
NA36 Bug T903 Tom Bruch/Gaylen Anderson...........126.236*New Record 9/15/11(old
record 106.514
* Top 36hp Speed of the meet !
H/FCC 3601 Dick Beith........................................handling run only-no
speed
Big Block(40hp & newer engines)-130/150 MPH CLUB
Ghia Coupe T70 Britt Grannis/Geoff Hart...................139.756 Dual Carb
130 Club Member-new
Ghia Coupe T701 Tom Simon/Grannis/Hart...............138.520 Dual Carb 130 Club
Member-new
Formula V X150 John Milner....................................134.707 Dual Carb
Bug T363 Justin McAllister/Burlile.............................127.480 Dual
Carb
VolksRod T1967 Richard Luna.................................119.207 Dual Carb
Bug T51 Dick Wakefield...........................................118.510 Dual
Carb
Bug T4 Scot A Harig.................................................109.051
Turbo 2bbl
Bug T48 Karl Barnett................................................107.777
1600cc SSS (Single 34PICT Carb S/P
Ghia Coupe T15 Larry Gregg....................................107.296 Dual Kadron
Ghia Coupe T65 Greg Silkenson...............................102.630 Dual Carb
Buggy T122 John Dahlstrom.......................................97.171 Dual
Carb
Ghia Coupe T711 Warren Grannis/Grannis.................93.180 Dual Carb
Watercooled
Golf R32 X57 Gabe Adams.......................................160.047 Turbo
VR6 150 Club Member
Streamliner 1479 Kevin Winder..................................149.182 Turbo
4 Diesel
(new G/DS record 2 way avg 147.909
Golf R32 T59 Chris Adams........................................137.499 Turbo
VR6 130 Club Member-new
Golf R32 T57 Andrew Augustain...............................137.036 Turbo VR6
130 Club Member-new
Golf R32 T337 Norma Fergus(Garys mom!)..............134.551 Turbo VR6 130 Club
Member-new
Rabbit X8383 John Finn............................................110.906 Turbo
4
Rabbit P.U. 479 Rick Winder....................................103.075 Turbo
Diesel
Dasher WagnT6802 Dan Kingery................................91.516 Turbo Diesel-Vegetable
Oil
https://www.saltflats.com/WOS_2011.htm Link to USFRA WOS results for 2011-130
Club
https://s149.photobucket.com/albums/s65/wickedwagens/WOS%202011/ Photos by Mark
Ortiz(Thanx Mark!)
MORE RACES IN 2011-See Below
Sept 24-25 East Coast Timing Association (36hp Challenge). One mile standing
start time trial, Maxton AFB, Maxton, NC. All VW racers and spectators welcome.
For information visit www.ecta-lsr.com . For 36hp Challenge guideline information
visit www.burlyb.com.
Oct 8-9 The Mojave Mile (36hp Challenge). Mojave, California. This will be
their second event for the Southern California/Nevada area. Volkswagen racers
welcome. For information, visit https://www.mojavemile.com . For 36hp Challenge
guideline information visit www.burlyb.com .
Oct 21-23 The TEXAS MILE (36hp Challenge). One mile standing start time trial,
Goliad AFB, Goliad, TX. All VW racers and spectators welcome. For information
visit www.info@nasatx.com . For 36hp Challenge guideline information visit www.burlyb.com
.
Oct 29-30 East Coast Timing Association (36hp Challenge). One mile standing start time trial, Maxton AFB, Maxton, NC. All VW racers and spectators welcome. For information visit www.ecta-lsr.com . For 36hp Challenge guideline information visit www.burlyb.com .
QUESTIONS ? Please contact Burly Burlile at burlybug@comcast.net or call 435-752 4359 or 435-890 8832 M.S.T..
Comments? Errors? Additions? Please email us!