Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Jan 17, 2015 22:50:00 GMT
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Today I got a chance to get the cardboard turbine over to Pete's to decide on location. Also to see the '71 Midget roller bought sight unseen from old friend Murray Wakenham. This was a spare chassis that Murray had ideas for but after winning the Healeysport Spridget hillclimb championship for three years running he decided to move on to single seaters and the roller became surplus to requirements. Working in a small group means that there are always other points of view and senses of humour so this is what I arrived to, I had to dampen down the enthusiasm and explain that the proposed Jetex motor was ineligible under SCTA rules and the turbine would have to stay. The roller was in remarkably good shape due to copious underseal and the good old A series automatic anti-corrosion system of oil leaks. There are a few areas that need welding but it's not going to be difficult. Some bodging but that's rectifiable Now on to turbine placement. We guessed that the turbine would not fit conventionally That's a bust and it's too long to fit in the boot so passenger compartment it is. The easiest driveline solution is as below. Add a 5.8(ish) to 1 reduction box and a belt drive to the end of the propshaft and every thing turns the right way. Trouble is it puts the inlet at the back and the exhaust at the front. This way fits pretty well and we will have to address the rotation problem with either a 3 gear reduction or flip the axle and drive it from the back. Much discussion later we're going to look at a full Lenham GT like the pics below This would give us the best aero package we can get in such a short car. That's going to be pretty important for the best all-out speed as the current 500 and 750 kilo weight category champion is this Going to try my new spanners for the air starter tomorrow
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Jan 17, 2015 23:05:45 GMT
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That shell looks to be in good condition - for that age Sprite! I thought that you were going for an "open" ie no hardtop Lenham body Ian?
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vulgalour
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 7,106
Club RR Member Number: 146
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Jan 17, 2015 23:36:37 GMT
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Well now I can imagine this properly. Putting the turbine in the passenger side is not only a smart looking solution but very sneaky, it's not going to be that obvious from the outside what you've done and that idea I like very much.
You know the roof vent on the Lenham, can that be swapped to the passenger side and utilised as an exhaust location? I imagine the vent at the front won't be too massive either, you won't want the turbine sucking anything of any size in so that opening is going to need to be small and easy to hide too.
I know I wouldn't be thrilled about having a conventional engine at my elbow in part because of the heat, is this an issue with turbines?
This vehicle is inverse to the Bedford in every conceivable way.
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Jan 17, 2015 23:36:50 GMT
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That shell looks to be in good condition - for that age Sprite! I thought that you were going for an "open" ie no hardtop Lenham body Ian? Looking at the SCTA roll cage rules makes a hardtop fastback make a lot of sense. Exhaust is going to have to exit through passenger door as I don't want the noise and heat in the cab with me.
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Jan 17, 2015 23:47:40 GMT
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You know the roof vent on the Lenham, can that be swapped to the passenger side and utilised as an exhaust location? I imagine the vent at the front won't be too massive either. The Lenham roof is glass fibre so the 650C exhaust temperature is not going to make the resin very happy. I can't drop the size of either the inlet or exhaust as the full chat air in requirement is 0.75 cu. metres per second and more exhaust gas out. Back pressure does not make horsepower in a turbine.
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Jan 18, 2015 16:53:36 GMT
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That shell looks to be in good condition - for that age Sprite! I thought that you were going for an "open" ie no hardtop Lenham body Ian? Looking at the SCTA roll cage rules makes a hardtop fastback make a lot of sense. Exhaust is going to have to exit through passenger door as I don't want the noise and heat in the cab with me. I see, I expect that overall the hardtop will mean a greater "A" but the shape will be a lower Cd so the CdA figure will be about the same and having a roll cage in the airstream is always going to increase the Cd. I believe the Le Mans Sprites, which had a similar shape to the Lenham, required less than 5o BHP to get them over 100 mph so - aerodynamically efficient.
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Jan 18, 2015 17:39:11 GMT
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I believe the Le Mans Sprites, which had a similar shape to the Lenham, required less than 5o BHP to get them over 100 mph so - aerodynamically efficient. Any sources for that info?
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Jan 18, 2015 19:32:58 GMT
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Any sources for that info? Hi Ian It is in one of my Healey books - but they are all still in storage following our house move so I cannot, at present, give the exact reference.
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Jan 22, 2015 20:57:07 GMT
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If anything does not go tickety-boo then disconnect exterior electrical feed. Wait 6 minutes for ignitor bleed down resistor to do job, drain excess fuel from gasifier drain tap, purge compressor and repeat. A quick getaway it is not. What spec of resistor are you looking for? I may be able to help...
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'03 Porsche 996 C2 3.6 - Sort of Retro '84 Porsche 924 - Definitely Retro!
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v8ian
Posted a lot
Posts: 3,766
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Jan 22, 2015 21:57:59 GMT
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Iain, Looking at where the engine is going, My thoughts go to, use the lenham front, not use the hardtop, but keep the Kamm back. I would think a hard Tonnau and a aero headrest would look the nuts. probably a wrap around 8" high Perspex screen too. From a practical point, no hardtop makes for easy getting in and out, allows you to keep cool, ease of exhaust positioning
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Atmo V8 Power . No slicks , No gas + No bits missing . Doing it in style. Austin A35van, very different------- but still doing it in style, going to be a funmoble
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Jan 23, 2015 11:05:12 GMT
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If anything does not go tickety-boo then disconnect exterior electrical feed. Wait 6 minutes for ignitor bleed down resistor to do job, drain excess fuel from gasifier drain tap, purge compressor and repeat. A quick getaway it is not. What spec of resistor are you looking for? I may be able to help... Thanks for the offer Steve. Currently waiting to see the ignitor I've ordered and then I can let you know.
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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Jan 23, 2015 18:53:19 GMT
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Any sources for that info? Hi again Ian I have found a bit more info on the Le Mans Sprites - by the end of their development the engines were 110 bhp (1293cc?) and speed up to 154 mph on the Mulsanne straight, lapping the circuit at over 100mph. That info is in the Jan 2015 Mascot magazine #370 and probably on the "www.sebringsprite.com" website.
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Jan 25, 2015 14:37:42 GMT
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Apparently removing the fan from the engine and adding this lid improved the top speed from 95 to about 100, which isn't a bad improvement at all. What do the race rules say about removable tops? I'd have thought the best access to remove the turbine for maintenance would be a bonus...? Phil
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Feb 14, 2015 18:07:28 GMT
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend) 1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing) 1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Feb 15, 2015 20:49:43 GMT
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Nick, Thanks for the link, The longer this project goes on the more turbine cars come out of the woodwork. Cheers, Ian
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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popped into the heritage motor centre the other day and see they have a little gas turbine display I understand the Rover BRM runs and I hear they may be running it a local event this summer.........
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Phil H
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,448
Club RR Member Number: 133
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The SpridJET - The Final CurtainPhil H
@philhoward
Club Retro Rides Member 133
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Apr 14, 2015 12:34:58 GMT
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The BRM was at the Le Mans Classic last year..on track.
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Thought you might like this. Through my contacts at HMC, they agreed to bring the BRM to run on the MotoFest circuit at Coventry. Here it is firing up vine.co/v/ehqgjXdtEEA
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Frankenhealey
Club Retro Rides Member
And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death
Posts: 3,875
Club RR Member Number: 15
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Thanks for the videos guys. It all helps to keep up the enthusiasm during this quiet period. The SpridJET and the Healey have a new base of operations (pictures soon) and I'm building up parts for the static test bed for the turbine. The fibreglass bonnet and body are due end June/early July but until then all my (very little) spare time is going on the Goddess Cummins conversion.
Cheers,
Ian
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Tales of the Volcano Lair hereFrankenBug - Vulcan Power hereThe Frankenhealey here
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