Projekt Kompressor

[modnrod]

Quite a few more "Fast 'n' Furious" street cars than I figured, but other than them constantly up on the limiter in the pits, they weren't a bother. (they were "tuning". That's why they're called "tuners")

Hehehehehe......

So you take out a heap of lift, short-shift the thing, yawn a bit I spose and have a look around, then run 10.600.
Bloody show-off! HAHAHA!

Outstanding! Well done Mike.

[Mike Lawless]

Thanks Mod!

The bigger trick I think will be getting it to do the same thing at the Bakersfield March Meet. It's gonna be very very difficult to not fiddle with it!

I couldn't be any happier with the way it performed. Seems I can adjust up or down just by varying the shift point and leave the boost level alone.

So, over the winter, trans service and installing my bigger and baffled oil sump, and I'm done.

Not a typical off-season!

[modnrod]

           at the Bakersfield March Meet. It's gonna be very very difficult to not fiddle with it!

Sometimes wins happen in the pits anyway Mike.

Do you know how to skate around the carpark while your BBQ is cooking between rounds perhaps?
Worked for the "Surfers"! 
Wear a great big straw hat and a really loud shirt while your at it..........

[gingabloke]

This pic popped up in a gallery of drag cars today...

[Mike Lawless]

Thanks gingabloke!

That photo had to have been at the March Meet this year. We've only had the car out three times, and the MM was the only event we ran with the D/G designation on the window. Since then, I have new signage on the windows with the class designation being permanent.

We have all of our "Ducks in a Row" for the 2014 Bakersfield March Meet. Our entries are in and once again, we'll be close to the front near the Nitro pits. We have nine VW racers pitted together in one huge pit space. Last year, we got a bit of digital ink, with Bangshift posting photos of our pit area.

Looking forward to the event. We should be able to hold our own in the super tough D/G class. Muffler Mike Shelden, Allen Wiess and perhaps Richie Webb will be running in D/G with me. Mark Lawless, Paul Miller, Troy Palmer, and Jo Clifford will be competing in HotRod, and Dean Nilson will be in C/G.

Richie wanted to dial back to 10.60 so him and I could square off together during qualifying. I hope it works out. I doubt either one of us will be concerned with hitting the index if it works out that way!

[Mike Lawless]

I haven't been keeping up to date in my reports. Shame on me!

So far, we've had the Blue Car out only twice this year. We ran it at the Bakersfield March Meet in the 10.60 "D/Gas" index class. We qualified very well with a 10.608. It was good for the number one spot....for about five minutes. By the end of the first round of qualifying, it was good for number four! By the end of qualifying (two rounds only) I had dropped to number 7. Kinda shows how tough the competition is.

I ended up running under the index and lost in round one, even though I had my opponent covered at the tree. I took too much stripe. Out of practice I reckon.

Our second outing was Drag Day at Irwindale. We ran in Mike Herberts new "Pro Eliminator" class. Pretty much a "quick 16" format on a pro tree. Dial your own ET, but whatever you choose cannot be changed. Qualifying is done with reaction time. My .023 was good for the number one spot and earned me the first round bye because of the uneven number of cars. I dispatched my competitors one by one, and ended up the victor!

This weekend is BugIn and the second round of the three race series. I'm heading in with the points lead and a target on my back. If lady luck is with me, we should do well.

However, I think my very good friend and long time racing rival Mike Sheldon should be back in action. That will add a good amount of spice to the mix!

[Mike Lawless]

It seems the season has barely started, and I'm already thinking of next year, and what needs to be done in the off season

I'm considering going with a simpler engine arrangement in light of the fact that the tune is so soft on the current configuration. I'm only running a 5pounds spring in the waste gate, 24° of total timing, and short shifting to get it to run the 10.60 indexes. It still runs well under even at that.
I have maybe 800 runs on my Scat 84mm flanged crank, and my case has some fretting on the main saddles.

So, I'm thinking of going to a standard journal, 78mm stroke gland nut crank and just use type 1 bearings. I figured that since I'm only running the motor to 7200 rpm, (launch and shift) and about 6800 thru the traps, the simpler set-up would suffice.

Chances are that I wouldn't get 800 runs out of it, but at my current level of involvement, I might get four seasons, (200 runs total) then change the stuff out.

Anyway, off to Sacramento this weekend. We'll run the car in the 10.90 index class, and I'll probably have to put a 3pound spring in the waste gate to slow it down enough for that. We don't have any "skin in the game" as far as points for that series, so it'll just be for fun.....and giving my friends, Allen Wiess and Mike Shelden as hard a time as I can!

[richie]

Hi Mike

how did the weekend go?

cheers Richie

[Mike Lawless]

Hi Mike

how did the weekend go?

cheers Richie

Socially, it was awesome! I love coming to Sac and being among friends!

Racing-wise, pretty disappointing. The index fields have dwindled and counting us, there were only four cars in Super Comp. To top that off, I really haven't been keeping up on maintenance, and a change in between race procedures bit me hard. This year, since it's been a good while between events, I've been draining the system and flushing with gasoline. Big mistake it seems.
This time, the car wouldn't even run above an idle. Opening the pressure side fuel filter revealed why. The sealant that is used to fasten the filter element end caps to the screen had decomposed, and sent that flotsam throughout the system. With all the valves, lines, pressure regulators and nozzles, it would have been near impossible to clean it thoroughly, especially since I'd have to run without a filter. I just didn't want to risk a plugged nozzle, and I really didn't wanna do the work. So, we sat this one out.

Hard lesson to learn. I really wanted to mess with Allen W and Muffler Mike too!

So, essentially, SC was a two round race. Allen got a single into the final since we couldn't run, and Mike had the "Bad Karma" center steer Ghia roadster. Mike won that round, and won in the final when Allen missed his second gear shift.

I'm gonna have to seriously consider how to deal with next season regarding BRS events.
I certainly don't like the idea of only three or four cars in the class. No new racers are coming in, and many of the former Super Gas and Super Comp racers have moved over to the newer heads up classes such as Pro Gas and Pro Turbo. Can't blame 'em. Racers wanna race. There just aren't enough racers to fill in these days.

BTW, Lauffers ran a 7.83 at over a buck eighty on Saturday!

 

[Mike Lawless]

After my little fuel system mishap at the May bugorama, I suspected the pressure side fuel filter was not compatible with ethanol laced fuels. It said so in the documentation when I bought a new element. I figured that since I was using pump gas (10% ethanol) to flush the system before letting it sit for a while, that the ethanol had attacked the sealant in the filter.

As it turns out, just today, I got a call from the supplier. Apparently this same thing had been happening to other racers on a widespread scale. And this was after he told me he had never seen anything like that before, back when I first brought the problem to his attention. Come to find out, the manufacturer had changed formulations on that sealant without notification. Now, they are waranteeing all the filter sold with the newer sealant. So, I get a new filter.

At any rate, the system has been cleaned, checked out, some tweaks made, and ol' Blue car is ready to go for Labor day at Sac.

My son will also be running his '67 street car, EFI turbo on E85.

I'm gonna do a cajun style shrimp boil in the pits Saturday night! Getting anxious!

[andy198712]

Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun!

How much boost do you think you could run safely? do you never get the itch to see what it'll do and say sod the times (you get two chances right?) just for giggles

[Mike Lawless]

Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun!

How much boost do you think you could run safely? do you never get the itch to see what it'll do and say sod the times (you get two chances right?) just for giggles

The fuel system is really overkill. It was built to support 30psi. It only took 15psi to run 9.85 at 143. If, and this is a big IF, I could get the first half numbers to coincide with the last half numbers, the potential for a mid 9 second run is there, based on the 143mph trap speed.

At 30psi....
Kinda scares me to think. But I'd bet it would start hurting stuff. The bottom end of the motor is fairly stout, but the barrels are run of the mill, CIma/Mahle with off the shelf Wiseco pistons. Those would show their weakness in short order I'd guess.

An yeah. I do think "What if we......Just this one time....."
Then reality sets in and I start thinking about the consequences. At least for now, I'll just keep a lid on it and enjoy racing within my means. But someday, I may do something ill-advised and see what happens!

[andy198712]

Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun!

How much boost do you think you could run safely? do you never get the itch to see what it'll do and say sod the times (you get two chances right?) just for giggles

The fuel system is really overkill. It was built to support 30psi. It only took 15psi to run 9.85 at 143. If, and this is a big IF, I could get the first half numbers to coincide with the last half numbers, the potential for a mid 9 second run is there, based on the 143mph trap speed.

At 30psi....
Kinda scares me to think. But I'd bet it would start hurting stuff. The bottom end of the motor is fairly stout, but the barrels are run of the mill, CIma/Mahle with off the shelf Wiseco pistons. Those would show their weakness in short order I'd guess.

An yeah. I do think "What if we......Just this one time....."
Then reality sets in and I start thinking about the consequences. At least for now, I'll just keep a lid on it and enjoy racing within my means. But someday, I may do something ill-advised and see what happens!

The more you think about it, the less it makes sense to try really does it!
congrats either way, a 9 second run is amazing!

[Mike Lawless]

Our season is over and we were able to secure the Pro Eliminator "Triple Crown" championship! Now I'm on to the off season work. Motor and trans are out. Trans is going off for freshening and a return to synchros after a couple seasons using pro rings. Too much maintenance! I use to go two or three seasons without touching the trans, and now it's out about every 30 or 40 runs.

A few things became bothersome over the course of the season. Fuel system became contaminated...twice because of a bad fuel filter. Both instances were because of a break-down in the epoxy adhesive that holds the stainless steel mesh and end pieces together. The solution...(after giving the supplier an earful) is to simply not run a second filter. I run one, up front before the pump and that filter has been doing the job for eight years now. I only added the second filter a couple years ago, and up till then, I've had no fuel contamination issues.

I'm going to move to a dual disc clutch. The single McLeod 8" clutch has too much pedal effort.

Also, since I don't rev the livin' snot out of the motor anymore, I'm making the move back to a more conservative short-block arrangement. A standard CB aluminum case, and a CB 78mm stroke wedgemated crank with all type 1 bearing journals. This will most likely require an increase in boost from 5 psi to maybe 7 or 8 psi to compensate for the smaller displacement. I figure for a max rev of about 7000 rpm, there's just no need for super expensive hardware that requires significant effort to make it fit. The crank then becomes a "consumable." Run for 2 or 3 seasons, replace it. This combo will also use a stock weight flywheel to aid the launch.

Maybe, just maybe, I might put a fan shroud on it after a time to make it more streetable in order to get additional enjoyment out if it.

Then again, maybe not. I'm having a delightful time filling the non racing time by riding both my HD Sportster and my Triumph Bonneville on long road rides up in the mountains just to the east of where I live.

[modnrod]

Then again, maybe not. I'm having a delightful time filling the non racing time by riding both my HD Sportster and my Triumph Bonneville on long road rides up in the mountains just to the east of where I live.

Congrats on the new title Mike!

Original iron stuff or newer smooth,fluffy and cuddly EFI bikes? 
Either way it's good to get out and cruise around, clears the head like nothing else.

Have a good one.

[Mike Lawless]

Thanks modnrod!
The Harley is a 2002 carbed model. It's loud, it's raw, and its unforgiving. It's really an awesome ride! At 70 mph, you can't see shit out of the mirrors!

The Bonne is new. I stopped by the dealer on a whim, just to check 'em out, y 'know?

45 minutes later, I'm ridin' it home! It is everything the Sportster is not. Smooth, quiet, refined....and it turns with very light input!
I'm gonna ride to Sturgis next year for the motorcycle rally, and I'm going on the Bonne. It'll be a 3500 mile round trip from where I live in Central California.

[Fiatdude]

Nice bikes Mike -- It brings back memories of the Triumphs "we" use to hotrod -- they were stretched to the limits LOL -- they vibrated so much, that it wasn't unusual to break the headlight filaments on our rides, LOL, always had to carry spares...

I'm all for the thought of bringing your Ghia back onto the street -- It is always fun for me just to jump in mine and taking a quick trip to the market

[dangerous]

Mike if you go dual disc, can I suggest the smaller 180mm/7.25- 3puck discs?
Even at 7.25 the 4pucks are very heavy, and are hard on synchros.
Even better would be 6" discs!
Congrats on the series!

[Mike Lawless]

Mike if you go dual disc, can I suggest the smaller 180mm/7.25- 3puck discs?
Even at 7.25 the 4pucks are very heavy, and are hard on synchros.
Even better would be 6" discs!
Congrats on the series!

Hey thanks Dave!

Can those be used with the 200mm pressure plate and floater?

[dangerous]

Mike I think you will need the floater to match the smaller discs.
I made my own, and the FW to suit,
but I originally used a stock FW that had surface to suit 180 discs.(late Aussie 1300 beetles had 12v FW with 180 clutch)
but likely McLeod does them for the smaller discs anyhow.
Pretty sure the hats are universal, but best get that info from the source.

If RLR had 3puck discs for their rev six that would be ideal.
The sintered iron material is too inconsistent in my book,
both thru heat range and maintenance....plus HEAVY!