SLC 24 Howard Jones

[Howard Jones]

The short block is home from the machine shop and assembled. The block was decked, bored with a torque plate, and the mains line bored. The rotating assemble is a Scat forged, crank, I-beam rods, and pistons. The compression ratio is going to be 10.25-10.30 to 1 with these pistons and the 64cc heads heads I have. It came out real nice. Next is another order from Summit and putting on the heads and front dress.

[Howard Jones]

So here is my solution to mounting the alternator. The idea is to get the alternator as low and out of the way as possible. Here you can see the self made mounts. The bottom one is steel and very strong. The top adjustment anchor is triangulated so there will be a little flex as possible. If the alternator is moving around then belts come off. The idea here is to prevent this as much as possible.

[Mark Clapp]

Howard, super looking motor so far. Are you also making some brackets to mount the distributor on the front? Juss kiddin'.

[Howard Jones]

Mark I was wondering where it goes? The front you say.... I may have a few pictures more interesting than the chevy engine soon........................

[Randy V]

Hat's off to the boyz at Scat - They make some very handsome stuff.. And competition worthy from my experience and what I've read...

Like the bracket - it looks very well designed for the job and then some..

Don't let the Ford Blue-Bloods get to ya... At least it's sticking with an engine that has some heritage rather than the LS series (which I like - but not sure why..)...

[Howard Jones]

My thinking on the engine choice was, least money spent for best power to weight ratio. I got the block for the cost of a bottle of Jack. I'm doing all of the building. The heads were a very good modern Alum head from Brodrix for $900/pair and I got to pick the valve train I wanted. The oil pan, cooler, and additional system will be designed for the car correctly the first time and included into the price of the motor. The machine work including the balance work was done by a company known to me to do exceptional work and the machine shop man has taken an interest in my project. I have received a great deal of good free advice form him on part selection saving me a lot of money.

I also get a racers discount for Summit in the neighborhood of 10-15% off their already very low price. This Chevy engine is going to cost me at least a 1000 dollars less than a LS-X and be exactly what I want the first time. Since everything except the block is aluminum I really don't think there is much of a weight difference either.

[Mark Clapp]

HoJo, If she's half as sweet as Betty, we're all in for a treat! Go steady.

[Howard Jones]

Here's some pictures that Fran sent me, Yap it's mine. We had a talk about the roll cage a week or so ago and I decided to add door bars. Then as we talked about it we ended up with a full cage. The one thing that was important to me besides it's function was the ability to convert to a streetcar in the future should I want to. Thus nothing is non-removable.

I'll let Fran discuss pricing as this was a prototype one-off and I don't think a comparison to my car would be appropriate in relation to an ongoing option in future cars. I will say however that I wouldn't build a track only car without it. One of the concerns I have and was a factor in doing this is the direction I believe tec requirements will be going for these kind of cars at track days in the future. I think it is going to get tighter for what appear to be very high performance near race cars. More and more guys are showing up with full-on race cars and a its just a matter of time before a comparison is made between old race cars like used NASCARS and home built prototypes like GT40s,T70s, Ultimas, the new Factory Five mid engine coup, and the RCR-SLC.

All of these cars are very fast cars and should include the same types of driver protection that is required in full on race cars when on track and running lap times as quickly as they are. It's a good thing IMHO and I want to be ready for it.

Thanks for working with me Fran at this late date.

[Kevin]

Like it. It is developments like this that make me feel better about not being able to pull the trigger just yet.

[Howard Jones]

Heads on and valve train installed.

[Randy V]

Too clean Howard... You need some assembly lube on those lifters and pushrod ends to protect them when you first light it up..

It's going to be a very nice Mill... Are you going to Dyno it?

[Howard Jones]

Big foot, This is a mock-up assembly for now to check fit, interference of valve covers etc. Plenty of Comp Cams lube in the box the rockers came in. I will give them the business with the cam lube and prime everything with a oil pump drive before I put the distributor into the block. Thanks for the advice anyway, you can never be too careful.

I may put the car on a chassis dyno when I get it together. The same one I have had my GT40 on so it ought to be a good comparison. My GT40 is making 294Hp at the wheels. My guess is the drive train losses and all others total about 50HP in my 40 so I have about 350 at the crank for about 1.1hp per inch. I'm looking for about another 100 or so out of this motor. So that would put me right at 400 at the wheels and about 450ish total at the crank for about 1.25hp per inch. That's the target anyway. We'll see.

[Randy V]

Gotcha Howard... Didn't know she was being mocked up first.. Just trying to be helpful on this end..

You might want to think about hauling the engine to a Dyno to get it broken in right, check for leaks, etc... Sure is nice to be able to bolt in something you have confidence in.. I now dyno everything before it's installed.. Costs between $200-$300, I get the jetting and timing optimized and can handle any anomalies before installation..

[Rick S.]

[Dave]

I'm thinking you took delivery of your new toy today. I'll bring the beer when you get settled in and let us oogleers come over to drool on your car.

Keep us posted please and POST PICS!

[Howard Jones]

You guys are quick! My SLC is here in my garage. The truck came this morning and all went smoothly. The truck driver is a old bike racer and we had a nice chat.

So I gave Fran the down payment on 9-19-08 and Fran told me that it would take approximately 16 weeks. I asked him to do a special roll cage for me so there's a couple of weeks delay on me for that and then it took a week to get here. I also delayed things by sending personal checks in the mail so that added a couple of weeks for them to arrive and clear. Today is 3-5-09. That's about 23 weeks total with about 4 or five of them on me and transportation, pretty damn good if you ask me. Good job Fran.

Here's some pictures of SLC-24 in my garage today. I have also posted a couple of pictures of my motor. It's pretty much done for now.

[Howard Jones]

Oops, forgot the engine pics. I have plumbed the intake the same way I did my GT40 SBF with a self air bleed system. I put it in as I built the motor this time. The idea is to allow any air trapped in the rear of the motor to circulate back to the header tank. This really worked on my GT40 so I did it this time right out of the box.

[Gregg]

I don't know Howard. Tail is crooked, door doesn't close properly, you can't see out the windshield and the most egregious thing is the "kids for sale" sign you tried to hide behind the American flag and ladder. Whats up with that?

Congrats on the arrival. Looking forward to the build thread.

[TrevorM]

So all us bay area guys are coming over this weekend right? Really I would love to come and see the car (we have met before at either a BACC event or somewhere else) and meet you. Just let us know when you are ready for us and you can charge us all a six-pack for the privilege of viewing your car.

Trevor

[Molleur]

Congrats Howard! You are now in the SL-C "Club".

Jack...