Homebuilt Mid-Engine Sports Racer

Neil

Supporter
Hey Neil, Anyone can go out and buy a Ferrari or a Rolls. But not everyone can build a car like you've done. That's what makes it special.
I too, would have been hanging around your car, without much interest in the other cars around you. You should be proud.
Regards, Udo.
Thanks, Udo. It took a long time to build but I can honestly say that I learned a lot during the build. I met one young fellow, Tristan, at that show who spent quite a bit of time carefully inspecting my car. He told me that he was just starting to build a car himself and was interested in how I had done it.
 
Still on the build take. Engine will be done In November December. Lots of work left. Front suspension is about done but I'm going to back half the car and start in the rear in January I hope. How was your run at Bonneville?
 

Neil

Supporter
Rod, go back one page to my posts of 13 sept 2021. I posted some videos that I put on YouTube. I ran 157.458 mph in the "150 Club"and I was just loafing along. I could not go 160 or higher or I would have been disqualified in that class, so I thought I'd better quit before I went faster. I had lots more power so 157+ was easy.
 
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Neil

Supporter
Yesterday I stumbled on a fascinating interview with Jim Hall, one of the most important innovators in the history of auto racing. He goes into detailed descriptions of his cars and covers interesting details of their design and construction.


In 1970 or '71 I moved to Tucson and passed through Midland, Texas on my drive across country. I asked a local gas station attendant where Hall's shop was and headed south a few miles to where it was located. Someone met me at the closed gate and I explained that I was designing and building a small sports racer and wanted to know about what they recommended for shock damping ratios. I was admitted and introduced to Jim Hall who was with a few fellows trying to balance a crankshaft on a machine whose normal operator was off work because it was the weekend. Hall took time to talk to me about suspension design among other things. I appreciated his interest in what I was doing. Jim Hall was, in addition to being a first-class race car engineer, a very nice, soft-spoken person.
 
Jim Hall
(My Slot Car Hero as a child)
Big reason why my car is white and it wears a number 66

Wing 66.JPG
 

Neil

Supporter
The Motive Power 0100 European Power Brake Bleeder Kit is a basically good idea but is a PITA to use, Why? Here's the problem;

The pressure tank hose is provided with a male brass 1/4 NPT fitting that is intended to screw into a female brass 1/4 NPT fitting on the end of the hose connected to the fluid reservoir cap. Simple, right?
No, screwing the pieces together winds up the hoses since there is no provision for rotation- the plastic hoses are crimped on both ends.. Screwing the two hoses' pipe threads together first and then threading on the cap winds up the hoses. too. A simple modification will solve this problem. Here is how:

Thread an air hose fitting on the tank hose end. Seal the threads with Teflon tape.
Buy a replacement brake fluid reservoir cap or sacrifice your original cap.
Drill a 1/2" hole in the center of the cap with a step drill and thread in a 1/4 NPT fitting as shown in the photo. This will probably seal in a plastic cap but for added insurance against leaks I added some JB Weld epoxy around the threads inside and out.
Now you can screw on the cap, connect the push-on fittings and pressurize your master cylinder. No tangled hoses!
 

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similar mods on mine. One bummer is that my nice machined aluminum adapter for the Girling reservoir is no good - apparently Girling changed the thread sometime around 2010, so if you have an old one, you'll need to make a lid out of an old cap.
 

Neil

Supporter
I'll post this picture of Bruce McLaren for no particular reason other than I liked it. When I was in the US Army, stationed in Germany I had the opportunity to attend races at the Nurburgring now and then. I took this picture in the paddock after the 1962 ADAC 1000 km race.
 

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Joel K

Supporter
Neil,

Thought you would enjoy this series, 1st episode of a new Mirage with twin turbo LS power plant.

 

Neil

Supporter
Neil,

Thought you would enjoy this series, 1st episode of a new Mirage with twin turbo LS power plant.

JK; Thank you for posting this video. I'll be following this development as it goes along. The red Mirage body in this video is probably the one I sold Charlie Strickland early last year. He said at that time he was thinking about continuing what Manta Cars had started back in 1973. Not as early as the GT40 but .... Charlie went to Bonneville with me last September and we had plans to do it again next month but Speed Week and the World of Speed were both cancelled due to 10" of water on the salt bed. World Finals in October is probably not going to happen, either. I'll make a few suggestions to Charlie about the Mirage. His current chassis looks like a good deal for only $11k.
 

Neil

Supporter
One more picture from last year. I'm in the car waiting in the staging lane behind the start line. My friends were helping me as my "crew"- Wayne Luddington sitting on the door sill and Charlie Strickland standing in the yellow shirt. This year there was 12" of rainwater on the course. :mad:
Stagng Line 1a.jpg
 
I have been waiting impatiently for the next M6 Twin Turbo build video. Ahhh Charlie, always easily recognizable in the obligatory Hawaiian race crew shirt!
 

Neil

Supporter
When I was building my black Mirage for Bonneville, I needed to use SCTA compliant wheels. Aluminum or magnesium was out due to salt corrosion but painted or powder coated steel wheels were OK if they were 100% welded all around. It turned out that wheels made for circle track racing met that requirement and they were cheap and lightweight. The problem facing me was that my Porsche 996 hubs has a 130mm wheel bolt pattern and the circle track wheels only were available in a "5 x 5" pattern ( 5 studs on a 5" diameter bolt circle)
I plotted out the patters on CAD and Surprise!- the patterns were almost the same! With 5/8" diameter wheel studs the wheels would fit with only a slight bit of machining. It worked out great!
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Hub & Wheel Closeup.jpg
Hub & Rotor Remachined.jpg
 

Neil

Supporter
The last TWO YEARS Bonneville has been rained out and I'm getting anxious. Here is what it is all about-

Staging lane preparation.
IMG_9299.JPG


Ready.
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At the starting line.
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Starter is checking to hear if the course is clear.
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The result- no prize money, no TV contracts, no trophy, just a timing slip and the satisfaction that I did it.
IMG_9341.JPG
 
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