Tornado in Vermont

[Bill Cooke]

Just a report on recent progress. After getting all the brake lines fit I put fluid in the system and bleed the brakes. I'm happy to say all 4 corners bleed well and no leaks showed at any place in the system. I will re-bleed the system again tomorrow.
Bill

 

[Bill Cooke]

It's late, 10:30 pm here in Vt, I'm tired, been at it all day, but I had to let you all know that the engine is now sitting in place. I'll post pictures tomorrow.
Good night, Bill

 

[TrevS]

Awesome, can't wait to see the pics Bill. You are motoring along at the moment (no pun intended).

Trev

 

[Bill Cooke]

After a long day yesterday I ended the day with the 347 in place with no pictures posted, so here they are. No problem with setting the engine in after finding out it had to go in nose low then dropping the back end down onto the rear mounts. I've since fit the distributor with no clearance problems.
Here's what I've got. The second set of pictures is a 6.5 ltr. Bentley engine I've just finished a rebuild on as it is being refit to the car, a Speed Six with a four door touring body. The engine alone is 39" tall.
Bill
All that for 190 HP.

 

[Bill Musarra]

Bill, You might want to check your half shaft alignment to see where the motor mounts line them up. From your pics, hard to tell, but it looks a little short. I would suspect it will have to be moved forward just a touch. With that looonng water pump, you may not like it under your elbow. Worth checking.

Bill

 

[Gus Richmond]

Looking realy good Bill!
Can you tell me some details on the engine (going into the GT40)?
Cheers, Gus.

 

[Jimmy P]

Bill Cooke, Bill Musarra brings up a good point about the engine placement. The waterpump photo jumped out at me since the pump I've been using (a Ford Racing short necked pump) has suffered two failures via its internals. The pump you're using looks much stouter and stronger but will it fit? What type is it? I've since ordered a Stewart WP which is being made for my car's 347 motor. Continued Good Luck with your build.

 

[Bill Cooke]

As a update, I've checked the line up across the chassis and the line up with the output of the trans to the rear uprights is just fine. The water pump is from Edelbrock, Victor Series. The bulkhead center cover fits fine, I'm waiting for pulleys so I'll know more about fit when they are here.
The engine is a 347. It was built by R.A.D. Automotive in Springfield Ma., '88 302 block with a Eagle stroker kit. Roller cam and roller rockers with good AFR heads. It did 420 HP @5900RPM and 435 torque@ 4000RPM with at least 400 lbs torque from 3000 to 5500. I used the same water pump on the engine in my Daytona coupe now with 6000 miles in two years with no issues as far as reliability.
I'll let you all know of any fit issues if they show up. I think that as the whole car has come from Tornado as a engineered kit there should be no problems with engine and drive line fit.
Bill

 

[Bill Cooke]

While I've been getting the household ready for winter here in northern Vermont,wood for wood stoves stacked ect, I still have made some progress on the GT. I've fitted the fuel lines from the tanks, to the fittings on the rear sills and then to the pumps. I found that cutting the fuel line with a cut-off disk not a hacksaw gives a cleaner cut and eases assembly of the line fittings.
While others have to have Webers $$ or injection $$ I've gone with a simple Holley 4-barrel double pumper. I've used these carbs for years on many different cars and find them easy to tune, makers of good power and throttle response and affordable. I can't justify the cost of the other systems. I've other places where I can better spend the $$. If it goes off, I can fix it.
Anyway,here are pictures of the work done.

 

[Ian Bissett]

Bill,
Looking good. When you say a 'cut-off disc', do you mean an angle grinder with a metal cutting disc? The reason I ask is that I am about to start running the fuel lines and if this is easier than a hack-saw, I'll follow your recommendation.
Thanks
Ian

 

[Bill Cooke]

Yes, Ian that's the ticket. I still wrapped the hose with masking tape to prevent the metal from fraying and the disk gives a much neater cut.
Bill

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Nice looking car, and lovely work on it. I see you used two of those filter/regulator units; was that to get enough flow through a pair of them? I have only one, but somewhat less horsepower; I wonder if it will be enough. We are using 6 AN fuel lines. We used SW pumps, also; I don't know what the flow figures are for the modern Facet pumps but I suspect they flow more than the SW pumps do, they are probably more efficient.

 

[Bill Musarra]

For what it is worth,

I think if you use a Dremel tool with its cutoff disc you will get better results. The disc are very narrow. When you make the cut, do it with a gentle touch and cut through the braid first all the way around. Then cut the tube. I think it keeps from transferring too much heat to the steel and causing it to expand(fray). I have done this many times and even without any tape on the tube. The heat causes the tape to melt and loose all its stretch or holding power.

Bill

 

[Bill Cooke]

Jim, thanks for the compliments on the GT. I do take great pride in the work I do and always try to get it done right the first time, I hate to do things twice. The twin pumps and filter units are because I'm pluming two independant systems so each tank will have it's own pump and filter unit.
Thanks for the tip on use of a Dremel Bill. I agree it will give a smother cut.
Bill

 

[Bill Cooke]

While I've not got a lot done as of late I haven't been lazy either. With the engine sitting in place I needed to get the spacing correct for belt alignment for alt. drive and a/c drive. I turned a .250 spacer for the crank pulley which then put the crank, water pump and alt. pulleys in alignment. A slightly thicker spacer for the a/c compressor put it in line with the outer pulley groove on the crank pulley as well. I've also gotten the water transfer pipes fit.
It's been a while since the chassis has been on the ground but I had to fit the wheels, drop it down and roll it forward in the garage so I could get the tractor in to get the snow blower fit. We had 3" of snow today with more to come. I'd forgotten how low a 40 is until I saw it back on the ground. Up on jack stands it seems so tall.
Any way here's what I've got.

 

[Bill Cooke]

No pictures to post today, just some info on the build. Chassis work is now at a point that any further work demands that the body gets fit. Thursday I will be taking the chassis to my friend Randy Beaudoin and his shop North Country Signs to begin the body panel mounting and painting process. Randy did the body and paint work on my Daytona coupe which wins awards when ever I show it. I will be working with him Thursday, Friday and Saturday to get the roof spider,nose and the rear clip fit. At that point I'll leave it to him to work his magic. The car will be on the road this spring. I'll post pictures when I return from the weekends work.
Bill

 

[Woody]

Hi Bill
Your car looks great and The attention to detail is inspiring. Very cool build. One question, Why choose copper over say mild steel or stainless for your cooling tubes. Is it personal preferance or is there any real advantage?
Woody

 

[Bill Cooke]

Hi Woody,
Thanks for the compliments on my build. As I restore Rolls Royce and Vintage Bentleys for a living, it's all about the details. Do it correctly the first time and you won't have to say,"gee I wish I'd done done that".
As for the copper cooling pipes, these are the pipes supplied by Tornado. I bought the delux kit from Tornado which is a complete kit. The cooling pipes need to be assembled by soldering once in place. Soft soldering is a easy way to assemble the parts of the pipes. I don't have any problem with the fact they are copper.
Any way, I hope that you have a safe and happy holiday season. Thanks again, Bill

 

[Eric Johnson]

Looking good Bill. It's going together very nicely. Great craftsmanship !

 

[Bill Cooke]

Just a quick update. Getting ready to take the 40 to the body shop for the weekend. At just 7* it would be a bit cold to go for a ride in this go-kart.