SLC 24 Howard Jones

Howard Jones

Supporter
Wayne, Here's some pictures of the complete wheel well shields. In one I have the tire/rim mounted. It's really not all that far forward. I made it that way so it wouldn't interfere with the tire. Maybe it could be a bit closer. Whatever.

There is also some progress on the doors. Here's a couple of the drivers side. It took me awhile to figure out how the latch links would work so that the latch could be released. Mine is a bit different because I had to change the interior panel to fit the roll cage. Now everything works fine.

I really wanted to be able to reach the door open lever from inside the car with all the belts on, that's why it is located near the forward end of the door. The cardboard piece is the template for the stiffening panel. There will be one in the inside also once the door position is perfect. Then I will bond and bolt them together through the fiberglass door end. I drive around a lot in the paddock with the door open to cool the inside of the car in my GT40. Stiff equals no flex, no crack, just trying to avoid any problems later.

As I dupicate the passenger side I post pictures of the interior door parts so you can see how I did it.
 

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I think front and rear wheel wells should be included in the respective shells. Running open ITBs in that engine bay would be asking for trouble with all that extra debris flying around. As I'm sure everyone here knows, the Ultima has the wells built into the bodywork to expose the wheels when the hood and boot are up.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
My car was sort of a special order. I didn't want any of the "street" parts because I knew I would only have them left over. Many of the changes you see me doing are related to the track only nature of my build.

I know that there are complete interior panels avaiable for example from Fran. But if I had ordered them then they would have not fit with the one off roll cage in my car.

The wheel well panels in my car serve two purposes other than road crap shielding. First, I made them to direct airflow from the side scoops across the exaust system with the hope that I will be able to cool the engine room well enough that I can completely close the bottom of the car. And second I have made them strong enough to mount a cooler or other components on if I use them for the gearbx and engine oil.

It fact, the fiberglass trailing ends of the side pods are so rigid that I push the car around sideways on the tire wheelie things in my garage with out ANY defection of the bodywork.

Engine air should be filtered. Period, unless you have a junkyard motor that is already ruined.
 
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I was just informed that the wheel wells are a upgrade available, and are made of fiberglass.

Howard, are you going to spray coat your aluminum wheel wells with something like Rhino Liner? I'm remembering the noise my Lotus made as I traveled across pebble strewn roads. Sounded like 50 kids were shooting BB guns at a aluminum shed.
Cheers
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
OK, so here's what is going on inside the door. Pretty simple, not to much monkey motion, and everything is a straight pull to unlatch the door from both handles inside and out.
 

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Nice work.
Howard does some nice practical sturdy engineering (strong like bull). His car, once finished will enjoy many hours of track day thrashing without a whimper I am sure.

I would put money on his car finishing a 24... uh make that...a 25 hour event.
 
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:thumbsup: - nice to see all the progress on your car Howard. I'll have to stop by again to see your car "in person".
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
Great! Mesa is going to fund ("put my money on") a 25 hour race effort! yeaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!

Not gonna happen, No way I can afford to do a long race like that. I do expect the car to last at least 25 hours of track use without much unscheduled maintance cost. Fuel, oil tires. Not much else. At 4-5 weekends a year, 8-10, 30 min sessions a weekend, that's at least a year of track days to get to 25 hours. I hope the car will be my track car for at least 10 years. That is about 10 of those 25 hour races. Pretty big hurdle to clear if you ask me. We'll see how it goes. Watch this space.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
I started on the exhaust system. Fran gave me a set of sprint car headers to play with and here's how the first side came out. I have never even tried to make a set of header before. My previous experience is making an expansion chamber for a dirt bike 40 years ago.

So I did it just about the hardest way you can. In hind site starting with a built header is a very hard way to do this. It would have been very much easier to build from scratch. At least this way I could experiment with very little investment.

The first pictures are of the sprint car header. Then the one I made from it. It is intended to use a slip on collector that I have also. It fint into the car pretty well. Come right out in one piece without taking apart the car except the big chassis brace. Spark plugs come right out also.

When I get the collectors cut down to size and finish the muffler connection and mounting I'll post some more pictures.

I wish I could have made the primaries a little longer and more equal length but at this point I'm still learning. I may still start over and do a set from scratch but at this point I really want to get the car running and begin R&D.
 

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Howard Jones

Supporter
Collector done. I cut off the straight pipe and added a 45 degree section to make the change in direction so that I can mount the muffler along side the shock.

Ran out of argon. More later, I still need to complete the other side and exaust is done.
 

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u are a wild man my friend. i bet that only took a billion hours to do too, huh? u really worked those things over. nice fortitude. looks like it will work great.
 

Howard Jones

Supporter
They don't call me the cheap Italian fo nothin! Maybe I should call my team TCI racing.

So far I bought two 180 degree tubes, two 45 degree 3 inch pipes, a set of v band clamps, some paint, half a tank of argon and a few rods. I could build a set of these for a few hundred bucks in parts starting from new pieces pretty easy.

Hobbie time is fun time for me so the labor is free. I can see why headers are so expensive to have made however. First you have to have the car. Then if I made another set of these it would take me at least two full days. I am sure a pro would work faster but then they need to make some money also. I figure I saved a couple of grand.

The orginal headers are a set of Shoenfield standard SBC sprint car headers and the collectors are a set of slip ons from them also. Fran got them for me. Thanks Fran.
 
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Howard I have been catching up on all the threads, I had Headman/Hustler headers make a custom set for me along with the exhaust, including CATS and Mufflers, they are 3" pipes for the exhaust, I know they can build more since they used my car to develop the pattern, I have an LS-7 motor. Fran is aware of the headers with them and I am sure he can work out a set for people interested. I can tell you it was a big difference in torque with the headers vs the stock manifolds. The problem is keeping the heat from the headers effecting the components around them, that has been a challenge for me. The car looks great and I hope to see it on the track soon, I have tracked mine at Road Atlanta at speed and the only thing keeping up was a corvette race car GT-1 and a twin turbo Porsche GT3 R I think it was, but I was on old slicks 3 years old so I had no grip, or I could have left them behind.
 
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