US Land Steam Record!!
Posted by chuk williams
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 08, 2014 08:48PM |
Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 35 |
Hi Chuk,
Great job on getting things back together and working. I can imagine the sense of relief.
I was just playing with my spreadsheet and am getting 160+ mph on 80 rear wheel horsepower. One thing that shows up is speed at the 3 mile marker is extremely sensitive to changes in gear ratio. Do you have lots of different sprocket sizes to tune with?
Probably too late to add a multi gear transmission, eh?
Tim
Great job on getting things back together and working. I can imagine the sense of relief.
I was just playing with my spreadsheet and am getting 160+ mph on 80 rear wheel horsepower. One thing that shows up is speed at the 3 mile marker is extremely sensitive to changes in gear ratio. Do you have lots of different sprocket sizes to tune with?
Probably too late to add a multi gear transmission, eh?
Tim
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 12:12AM |
Admin Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 531 |
Chuck, You wrote: "Back in 2003, I bought a Bryan engine just for that purpose-so that could be a possibility..."
Unlike the Stanley engines, the Bryan engine has excellent piston valves for higher speed. But also, it is like the 20 hp and 30 hp Stanley engines, the reciprocating weight is too out of balance for high rpm operation. I have seen additional counter weights put onto the 30hp Stanley engines but they still do bounce a lot at the higher speeds. (I have two cars with the type 8 30 hp engines) ( I also have a Bryan engine) The Stanley Rocket was doing 151 MPH when it crashed, so we know with the proper gear ratio, that the 30 hp Stanley engine can go that fast. How much faster can the Bryan engine turn up than a 20 hp or a 30 hp Stanley engine? On the Stanley Rocket's engine, they had a very large drive gear for doing the higher speeds, but did they do anything for the stock imbalance of their 30 hp engine? Hopefully Tom Kimmel's loaner engine has a better rpm range than a Bryan or a Stanley engine does. Good engine balance throughout a large rpm range would be an asset for a land speed record car. We need the World's land speed record set again by the USA, and we are wishing you the best.
Unlike the Stanley engines, the Bryan engine has excellent piston valves for higher speed. But also, it is like the 20 hp and 30 hp Stanley engines, the reciprocating weight is too out of balance for high rpm operation. I have seen additional counter weights put onto the 30hp Stanley engines but they still do bounce a lot at the higher speeds. (I have two cars with the type 8 30 hp engines) ( I also have a Bryan engine) The Stanley Rocket was doing 151 MPH when it crashed, so we know with the proper gear ratio, that the 30 hp Stanley engine can go that fast. How much faster can the Bryan engine turn up than a 20 hp or a 30 hp Stanley engine? On the Stanley Rocket's engine, they had a very large drive gear for doing the higher speeds, but did they do anything for the stock imbalance of their 30 hp engine? Hopefully Tom Kimmel's loaner engine has a better rpm range than a Bryan or a Stanley engine does. Good engine balance throughout a large rpm range would be an asset for a land speed record car. We need the World's land speed record set again by the USA, and we are wishing you the best.
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 12:26AM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,107 |
Maybe it's because I work with engine balance for a living, but I think it wouldn't be that hard to work around. The first thing to do would be to take an engine apart, weigh everything, calculate the rotating and reciprocating masses, assemble correct ring weights and then balance. Mallory metal can be inserted if the existing counterweights are inadequate.
The second step would be to build a box that is rigidly affixed to the engine with gear or chain driven balance shafts to cancel out at least the greatest part of the primary unbalance couple. A second set of counter rotating shafts geared at twice engine speed and weighted by the throw/rod ratio could be added if you wanted to zap the secondary unbalance forces and have a sewing machine smooth engine.
This is all stuff that is done routinely with IC engines, they just build the balance shafts into the block rather than mount them externally.
Ken
The second step would be to build a box that is rigidly affixed to the engine with gear or chain driven balance shafts to cancel out at least the greatest part of the primary unbalance couple. A second set of counter rotating shafts geared at twice engine speed and weighted by the throw/rod ratio could be added if you wanted to zap the secondary unbalance forces and have a sewing machine smooth engine.
This is all stuff that is done routinely with IC engines, they just build the balance shafts into the block rather than mount them externally.
Ken
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 07:52AM |
Registered: 14 years ago Posts: 17 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 10:04AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,268 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 10:22AM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,107 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 11:47AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,771 |
Ken
Where off topic hear but my question concerns balance.
I’ve run my model EX at 50 mph with the 40-79 gears that’s 1200 RPM on the engine, no shacking nothing out of the ordinary other then blowing some packing on one rod.
I’ve often considered building a car with two engines like the wet 10’s 3.5 X 4 engines but back to back on the rear-end. See attached.
How in your opinion would be the best crank angles to start with.
Rolly
Where off topic hear but my question concerns balance.
I’ve run my model EX at 50 mph with the 40-79 gears that’s 1200 RPM on the engine, no shacking nothing out of the ordinary other then blowing some packing on one rod.
I’ve often considered building a car with two engines like the wet 10’s 3.5 X 4 engines but back to back on the rear-end. See attached.
How in your opinion would be the best crank angles to start with.
Rolly
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 12:33PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,107 |
Hi Rolly,
From a pure balance standpoint, the best way to go would be to align the cranks so that the car's driver side pistons hit TDC at the same time -- as do the passenger side pistons. The force generated by each piston, crosshead, rod and so on will be offset by its counterpart moving in exactly the opposite direction at the same speed and acceleration. This is exactly what a boxer 4 cylinder IC engine does, and that design is inherently balanced for both primary and secondary forces. Of course, it would help matters a lot to have the cranks balanced by a professional shop and to also weigh the reciprocating parts and adjust the weight so that the opposing parts have identical mass.
This is the best balanced configuration I can think of offhand, the only down side is that now the power pulses from each engine line up and the torque delivery will be no smoother than for just one engine. Given that steamers are generally known for their smoothness, I assume that liability would be negligible.
Regards,
Ken
From a pure balance standpoint, the best way to go would be to align the cranks so that the car's driver side pistons hit TDC at the same time -- as do the passenger side pistons. The force generated by each piston, crosshead, rod and so on will be offset by its counterpart moving in exactly the opposite direction at the same speed and acceleration. This is exactly what a boxer 4 cylinder IC engine does, and that design is inherently balanced for both primary and secondary forces. Of course, it would help matters a lot to have the cranks balanced by a professional shop and to also weigh the reciprocating parts and adjust the weight so that the opposing parts have identical mass.
This is the best balanced configuration I can think of offhand, the only down side is that now the power pulses from each engine line up and the torque delivery will be no smoother than for just one engine. Given that steamers are generally known for their smoothness, I assume that liability would be negligible.
Regards,
Ken
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 09, 2014 07:22PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,771 |
Thanks Ken
My experience has shown that Stanley &Bryan engines are un balanced and could use weight added to the crank through. One friend of mine took my advice and added heavy metal drilling holes around the perimeter of the crank through and pressing in slugs of tungsten. He did the balancing mathematically and according to him it runs very smooth.
Rolly
My experience has shown that Stanley &Bryan engines are un balanced and could use weight added to the crank through. One friend of mine took my advice and added heavy metal drilling holes around the perimeter of the crank through and pressing in slugs of tungsten. He did the balancing mathematically and according to him it runs very smooth.
Rolly
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 10, 2014 01:52PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,441 |
Rolly,
Same with the first Doble F engine. As Besler once said: "You know that first F engine would shake the windshield back and forth three quarters of an inch at 70 mph (pregnant pause here) and that was that Buick sedan." Nate Price designed two extra counterweights to go in the crankshaft, along with a stiffening plate.
Jim
Same with the first Doble F engine. As Besler once said: "You know that first F engine would shake the windshield back and forth three quarters of an inch at 70 mph (pregnant pause here) and that was that Buick sedan." Nate Price designed two extra counterweights to go in the crankshaft, along with a stiffening plate.
Jim
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 10, 2014 01:57PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 375 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 10, 2014 03:40PM |
Admin Registered: 18 years ago Posts: 2,107 |
Hi Rolly,
That drawing is about what I have to do when the counterweight is insufficiently massive, although I have gone as high as six Mallory metal plugs. Calculating the corrections from a purely mathematical standpoint is something I find myself doing. Basically it all boils down to calculating the center of gravity for the holes drilled in the counterweight and the metal added to the crank. The unbalance correction will be the CG of the metal removed times its mass -minus the CG of the metal added times its mass. The CG is used because, as shown on your drawing, the metal plugs are arrayed across the counterweight and the useful force will be the cosine of the angle times the unbalance force created by the metal. You get all kinds of tradeoffs, smaller plugs are less massive, but their CGs can be closer to the counterweight periphery. Some day I need to write an algorithm that minimizes the mass needed for a correction...heavy metal ain't cheap.
The problem with just calculating mathematically is that it assumes you know exactly what the crank unbalance is in the first place. Given that the density of metals can vary a bit and that the fabrication processes usually result in some geometry differences, the actual unbalance is really an unknown until you measure it in a balancer. At the low speeds a Stanley sees, the error is likely acceptable as the shaking force goes up as the square of rpm, but in a modern automobile it isn't uncommon to see maximum allowable forces on the order of 0.18 inch-ounces....less than what was considered a "racing balance" maybe 20 years ago. Anyhow, if you want to get the absolutely best results, you can't beat having the crank balance adjusted with a drill press and dynamic balancer....and for a modern automotive IC engine it is mandatory.
Hi Mike,
The general rule of thumb for engine balancing (unless you have a pair of counter rotating balance shafts) is that the crank should have a zero balance when the weight affixed to the crankpin(s) equals the rotating weight of the moving parts plus half the reciprocating weight. The reasoning is simple enough; you can completely cancel the force generated by a rotating mass by adding an identical mass 180 degrees away from the rotation axis. The reciprocating forces are a bit harder, they are linear up and down the piston bore whereas the crank rotates. If you add enough mass to totally cancel the piston at TDC and BDC, that mass will produce great force sideways as the crank rotates and the piston force drops off. If you add exactly half the reciprocating mass to the counterweight, it cancels half the force at the dead centers. When the piston is about halfway through the stroke and the reciprocating forces are zero, the force is still half that of the reciprocating mass at the dead centers. If you do the math you find out that the unbalance force is now 1/2 that of the reciprocating mass and perfectly rotary....this is the position that produces the least shake.
The above isn't quite true. As you know, the connecting rod angularity causes the percentage of rotation and percentage of stroke to vary one to another. This mismatch creates a secondary acceleration imposed on the primary acceleration which in turn produces a secondary unbalance. This unbalance propagates twice per revolution rather than once as in the primary shaking force, thus it can't be canceled by changing the counterweight mass. By correct placement and alignment of cylinders, however, the secondary force can be either diminished for fully cancelled....as found in Boxer engines, inline 6s and V-8s. The setup Rolly is contemplating, with two opposed Stanley engines, should be inherently balanced if the pistons are in the correct alignment.
Regards,
Ken
That drawing is about what I have to do when the counterweight is insufficiently massive, although I have gone as high as six Mallory metal plugs. Calculating the corrections from a purely mathematical standpoint is something I find myself doing. Basically it all boils down to calculating the center of gravity for the holes drilled in the counterweight and the metal added to the crank. The unbalance correction will be the CG of the metal removed times its mass -minus the CG of the metal added times its mass. The CG is used because, as shown on your drawing, the metal plugs are arrayed across the counterweight and the useful force will be the cosine of the angle times the unbalance force created by the metal. You get all kinds of tradeoffs, smaller plugs are less massive, but their CGs can be closer to the counterweight periphery. Some day I need to write an algorithm that minimizes the mass needed for a correction...heavy metal ain't cheap.
The problem with just calculating mathematically is that it assumes you know exactly what the crank unbalance is in the first place. Given that the density of metals can vary a bit and that the fabrication processes usually result in some geometry differences, the actual unbalance is really an unknown until you measure it in a balancer. At the low speeds a Stanley sees, the error is likely acceptable as the shaking force goes up as the square of rpm, but in a modern automobile it isn't uncommon to see maximum allowable forces on the order of 0.18 inch-ounces....less than what was considered a "racing balance" maybe 20 years ago. Anyhow, if you want to get the absolutely best results, you can't beat having the crank balance adjusted with a drill press and dynamic balancer....and for a modern automotive IC engine it is mandatory.
Hi Mike,
The general rule of thumb for engine balancing (unless you have a pair of counter rotating balance shafts) is that the crank should have a zero balance when the weight affixed to the crankpin(s) equals the rotating weight of the moving parts plus half the reciprocating weight. The reasoning is simple enough; you can completely cancel the force generated by a rotating mass by adding an identical mass 180 degrees away from the rotation axis. The reciprocating forces are a bit harder, they are linear up and down the piston bore whereas the crank rotates. If you add enough mass to totally cancel the piston at TDC and BDC, that mass will produce great force sideways as the crank rotates and the piston force drops off. If you add exactly half the reciprocating mass to the counterweight, it cancels half the force at the dead centers. When the piston is about halfway through the stroke and the reciprocating forces are zero, the force is still half that of the reciprocating mass at the dead centers. If you do the math you find out that the unbalance force is now 1/2 that of the reciprocating mass and perfectly rotary....this is the position that produces the least shake.
The above isn't quite true. As you know, the connecting rod angularity causes the percentage of rotation and percentage of stroke to vary one to another. This mismatch creates a secondary acceleration imposed on the primary acceleration which in turn produces a secondary unbalance. This unbalance propagates twice per revolution rather than once as in the primary shaking force, thus it can't be canceled by changing the counterweight mass. By correct placement and alignment of cylinders, however, the secondary force can be either diminished for fully cancelled....as found in Boxer engines, inline 6s and V-8s. The setup Rolly is contemplating, with two opposed Stanley engines, should be inherently balanced if the pistons are in the correct alignment.
Regards,
Ken
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 11, 2014 11:59AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,268 |
A question I am wondering?
Old double acting engines, such as the Stanley or Bryan, are being converted (thoughtwise anyhow) to get faster models. Just how much can this type of engines reciprocating weight be lightened?
I think steel pistons could be hollow cans and hollow, larger diameter piston rods would be something to contemplate here.
Best,
Bill G.
Old double acting engines, such as the Stanley or Bryan, are being converted (thoughtwise anyhow) to get faster models. Just how much can this type of engines reciprocating weight be lightened?
I think steel pistons could be hollow cans and hollow, larger diameter piston rods would be something to contemplate here.
Best,
Bill G.
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 14, 2014 05:55PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey-
Here's an announcement I detest making-our streamliner won't be running at Speed Week in August. The Team has labored mightily to make a recovery after the various setbacks we've had in the past few weeks, but we've simply run out of time. We had a heat shield detach from a piston last week and it ruined a cylinder liner. We managed to get replacement parts quickly, but the rebuild required a complete removal and teardown of the engine. After we put it all back together-more test runs over the weekend revealed a blown intake valve seal-another teardown. Nothing was available over the weekend, so we machined a replacement seal yesterday-reassembled everything and did more runs today. More leaks from the remaining seals....New metallic o rings will arrive tomorrow, but we have devoted so much time to correcting these problems that we now only have two weeks before we need to leave for Bonneville-not enough time to make sure that we have repeatable, stable dyno runs-and to deal with a myriad of other things that need to be done before we can be sure our money will be well spent on the five thousand mile trip.
Tom Stoecker and Don Beck have taken time off to help me for the past 2 weeks-and that is making this decision even tougher. Without their help, obviously the progress wouldn't be as far along as it is now.....
This is a tough decision to make-and it's even worse because I've had to make it before. Believe me-it doesn't get any easier.....
Chuk
Here's an announcement I detest making-our streamliner won't be running at Speed Week in August. The Team has labored mightily to make a recovery after the various setbacks we've had in the past few weeks, but we've simply run out of time. We had a heat shield detach from a piston last week and it ruined a cylinder liner. We managed to get replacement parts quickly, but the rebuild required a complete removal and teardown of the engine. After we put it all back together-more test runs over the weekend revealed a blown intake valve seal-another teardown. Nothing was available over the weekend, so we machined a replacement seal yesterday-reassembled everything and did more runs today. More leaks from the remaining seals....New metallic o rings will arrive tomorrow, but we have devoted so much time to correcting these problems that we now only have two weeks before we need to leave for Bonneville-not enough time to make sure that we have repeatable, stable dyno runs-and to deal with a myriad of other things that need to be done before we can be sure our money will be well spent on the five thousand mile trip.
Tom Stoecker and Don Beck have taken time off to help me for the past 2 weeks-and that is making this decision even tougher. Without their help, obviously the progress wouldn't be as far along as it is now.....
This is a tough decision to make-and it's even worse because I've had to make it before. Believe me-it doesn't get any easier.....
Chuk
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 15, 2014 03:05PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,268 |
Chuk,
Your dragster engine used a marine powerhead as I recall. Is that what you are using in the LSR car?
Anyway I wonder how you set up the valves on it? As I recall they were rotary valves? Many said that those kind wear out too fast. As I recall your engine was a V4. Have you thought of some of the bigger marine engines?
Best,
Bill G.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2014 10:09AM by Bill Gatlin.
Your dragster engine used a marine powerhead as I recall. Is that what you are using in the LSR car?
Anyway I wonder how you set up the valves on it? As I recall they were rotary valves? Many said that those kind wear out too fast. As I recall your engine was a V4. Have you thought of some of the bigger marine engines?
Best,
Bill G.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/18/2014 10:09AM by Bill Gatlin.
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 17, 2014 05:11PM |
Registered: 15 years ago Posts: 219 |
July 17, 2014 Dear Chuk, That is tough to be disappointed after a year of work. Here is to answer a few of the questions brought up with the Bryan engine discussion. First of all Buck Boudeman did a lot of work with the Bryan putting titanium connecting rods and pistons in to lower the reciprocating weight. I do not know exactly what he did and at what point in life he is going to be interested in passing that knowledge on. Someone mentioned that I was the source of the loaner engine. That is incorrect. The loaner engine is a 3 cylinder outboard bottom end designed by Art Gardiner. An International Cub rebuild kit was the source of cast iron cylinder liners and pistons. The top end (the hot end) was machined by Jim Tangeman. It is poppet valves in the head with the intake valves pulling up and the exhaust valves pushing down, sliding camshaft and all. It is called the PSL engine which stands for Planing Steam Launch. Terry Williams was in on the original project and he was to make the monotube boiler and the three of them were to surpass the 50 mph more or less speed record of the 'Arrow' steam launch in 1904 or '05 or whatever. With regards to Rolly's back to back Stanley engine design, that has already been done heretofore and the final product is in the late Bruce Green's shop in Tennessee. It was an airplane engine from Detroit designed to not make RF so as to not be detected. Buck salvaged the two 20 hp Stanley engines and replaced them with worn out Stanley engines so it would need a rebuild. The gears and frame and all are there. I did not study it. A final remark about Chuk's work. Engineering development is long, difficult, expensive, and requires a great deal of dedication. Tom Kimmel
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 20, 2014 03:49PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey-
Well the dismay of missing Speed Week is wearing off, and after taking a few days off-I'm back to assembling the engine in preparation for more test runs on the dyno. Many Thanks to Tom Stoecker and Don Beck for spending two weeks here to help work out a lot of both the large and small steam plant issues. I feel confident that we'll get good results on the upcoming runs.
There is a Bonneville Event that I have only recently heard about-the World Of Speed-which runs Sept 6th thru the 9th. That will be our next opportunity to run at Bonneville, and I'm going to tentatively plan on making that event-subject to the results of our upcoming dyno runs.
As Tom K said-projects like this demand enough patience to hang in there long enough to work out the bugs and really develop the machine. Hopefully, we've paid our dues to the gods of speed and we'll have a dependable machine that'll give us stable, consistant runs!
I'll keep you informed of the progress.....Thanks for the support!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
Well the dismay of missing Speed Week is wearing off, and after taking a few days off-I'm back to assembling the engine in preparation for more test runs on the dyno. Many Thanks to Tom Stoecker and Don Beck for spending two weeks here to help work out a lot of both the large and small steam plant issues. I feel confident that we'll get good results on the upcoming runs.
There is a Bonneville Event that I have only recently heard about-the World Of Speed-which runs Sept 6th thru the 9th. That will be our next opportunity to run at Bonneville, and I'm going to tentatively plan on making that event-subject to the results of our upcoming dyno runs.
As Tom K said-projects like this demand enough patience to hang in there long enough to work out the bugs and really develop the machine. Hopefully, we've paid our dues to the gods of speed and we'll have a dependable machine that'll give us stable, consistant runs!
I'll keep you informed of the progress.....Thanks for the support!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 30, 2014 07:24AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
The Latest!
The progress has been going very well-we've been getting consistent, stable runs on the dyno-and I was planning to call it "ready to run on the Salt"! But on Monday afternoon, the timing belt broke for no apparent reason. I checked everything and all seemed fine-installed a new belt-ran the engine on air-no worries. Yesterday when I ran it on steam the engine had a bit of an odd vibration and sounded strange. Upon closer examination, I found a wobbling flywheel and a bent crankshaft. I feel certain that the sudden engine stop that we experienced a few weeks ago when the cracked cylinder sleeve event happened is the cause of this problem. I'm just really glad it finally showed itself-here in the shop!
So-another setback-another teardown. Art is sending me his spare crank, and we'll get it back together/running again as soon as possible. With such good results from the steam plant, I feel this is just another minor detour on our way to the Record!
Hopefully we can still make it to the World of Speed event in September-I'll keep you informed!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
The progress has been going very well-we've been getting consistent, stable runs on the dyno-and I was planning to call it "ready to run on the Salt"! But on Monday afternoon, the timing belt broke for no apparent reason. I checked everything and all seemed fine-installed a new belt-ran the engine on air-no worries. Yesterday when I ran it on steam the engine had a bit of an odd vibration and sounded strange. Upon closer examination, I found a wobbling flywheel and a bent crankshaft. I feel certain that the sudden engine stop that we experienced a few weeks ago when the cracked cylinder sleeve event happened is the cause of this problem. I'm just really glad it finally showed itself-here in the shop!
So-another setback-another teardown. Art is sending me his spare crank, and we'll get it back together/running again as soon as possible. With such good results from the steam plant, I feel this is just another minor detour on our way to the Record!
Hopefully we can still make it to the World of Speed event in September-I'll keep you informed!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 30, 2014 04:05PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,268 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! July 31, 2014 08:36AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Bill-
My dyno is very much a used machine-so I don't trust it with exact numbers. However, it does supply a load, and we've been getting consistent readings of 80HP at 1800RPM. The engine is rated at 2400rpm, so we have enough juice to get us past the present record-if we can keep everything together long enough!
I did a teardown of the engine yesterday-the crankshaft isn't bent-the mainbearing on the flywheel end was gone-allowing the shaft to wobble. I'm going to replace the crank, the bearings, and the seals just to be safe....
With luck, we should be back together and running by the weekend or the first part of next week.....
Chuk
My dyno is very much a used machine-so I don't trust it with exact numbers. However, it does supply a load, and we've been getting consistent readings of 80HP at 1800RPM. The engine is rated at 2400rpm, so we have enough juice to get us past the present record-if we can keep everything together long enough!
I did a teardown of the engine yesterday-the crankshaft isn't bent-the mainbearing on the flywheel end was gone-allowing the shaft to wobble. I'm going to replace the crank, the bearings, and the seals just to be safe....
With luck, we should be back together and running by the weekend or the first part of next week.....
Chuk
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 07, 2014 07:56PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Well-
The engine went back together well-with a new crankshaft, bearings, and seals. It ran on Monday afternoon-sounding very smooth and stable. Tuesday I put it thru its paces on the dyno-good consistent runs with good power. Wednesday morning I did a few more runs to make sure everything felt good, and decided we were ready for Bonneville!
So-since then I've been cleaning up-getting things in order...small items on the to-do list that have been waiting for their turn. Those things are finishing up, and I'm getting ready to put the body back on. I'm going to add a bit of cooling to the aft part of the body, with the aid of two NACA scoops and a coupla louvers. That shouldn't take too long-so we're looking good for making it to the World of Speed!
We'll be there September 6th thru the 9th-join us if you can!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
The engine went back together well-with a new crankshaft, bearings, and seals. It ran on Monday afternoon-sounding very smooth and stable. Tuesday I put it thru its paces on the dyno-good consistent runs with good power. Wednesday morning I did a few more runs to make sure everything felt good, and decided we were ready for Bonneville!
So-since then I've been cleaning up-getting things in order...small items on the to-do list that have been waiting for their turn. Those things are finishing up, and I'm getting ready to put the body back on. I'm going to add a bit of cooling to the aft part of the body, with the aid of two NACA scoops and a coupla louvers. That shouldn't take too long-so we're looking good for making it to the World of Speed!
We'll be there September 6th thru the 9th-join us if you can!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 09, 2014 03:44PM |
Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 35 |
Hi Chuk,
Greetings from the Bonneville shallow lake!
Here's a picture from noon today:
And the end of the road:
You ought to thank your engine for saving you a long trip.
It turned out they got 2 months worth of rain last week. Speed week was cancelled this morning, and they're going to try to lengthen the meet in October. It's interesting that other than one grouch in the souvenir line, everyone is cheerful. A lot of cars are opened up and on display in the hotel parking lots. The hot rods are all out.
Hope to see you at the September meet,
Tim
Greetings from the Bonneville shallow lake!
Here's a picture from noon today:
And the end of the road:
You ought to thank your engine for saving you a long trip.
It turned out they got 2 months worth of rain last week. Speed week was cancelled this morning, and they're going to try to lengthen the meet in October. It's interesting that other than one grouch in the souvenir line, everyone is cheerful. A lot of cars are opened up and on display in the hotel parking lots. The hot rods are all out.
Hope to see you at the September meet,
Tim
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 10, 2014 08:51AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Tim-
Sorry to hear that you went all the way out there for such a disappointment......I'm really glad I didn't drag all my stuff all the way out there for nothing. I'm sure you'll have a good trip anyway-there's lots to see!
We're gonna make it to the World of Speed event in September-that is-if it happens. With a foot of water on the salt and only 3+ weeks left for it to dry out-I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
Sorry to hear that you went all the way out there for such a disappointment......I'm really glad I didn't drag all my stuff all the way out there for nothing. I'm sure you'll have a good trip anyway-there's lots to see!
We're gonna make it to the World of Speed event in September-that is-if it happens. With a foot of water on the salt and only 3+ weeks left for it to dry out-I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 10, 2014 05:11PM |
Registered: 11 years ago Posts: 35 |
Hi Chuk,
No disappointment here. My wife and I have been having a blast doing a road trip.
Since yesterday it looks like the water has dropped a couple inches. I think a big issue is an east wind has pushed water to this end of the flats. This water should be long gone by September. New water, however, would be a different matter.
Got some pontoons as a backup plan?
Tim
No disappointment here. My wife and I have been having a blast doing a road trip.
Since yesterday it looks like the water has dropped a couple inches. I think a big issue is an east wind has pushed water to this end of the flats. This water should be long gone by September. New water, however, would be a different matter.
Got some pontoons as a backup plan?
Tim
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 10, 2014 06:18PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Tim-
Glad to hear that your trip is going well! I'm also glad to hear that the water has receded somewhat-that's a good thing!
I'm going to be working on the body this week-adding a few cooling louvers and checking everything again......then we should be ready to load up the vehicle-as well as the rest of the "stuff" that's needed for the trip.
Have a safe trip home....we'll see you at the Meet!
Chuk
Glad to hear that your trip is going well! I'm also glad to hear that the water has receded somewhat-that's a good thing!
I'm going to be working on the body this week-adding a few cooling louvers and checking everything again......then we should be ready to load up the vehicle-as well as the rest of the "stuff" that's needed for the trip.
Have a safe trip home....we'll see you at the Meet!
Chuk
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 11, 2014 12:02PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 1,441 |
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 11, 2014 09:43PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey Jim!
Well-I'm still holding out hope that the track will be dryed out 3 weeks from now! If not-we'll see how it goes for the World Finals in October. They're talking about extending the Finals to make it a week long event, giving the B'ville racing community another chance at the salt.
We'll see how it goes with the weather.....I'm gonna get ready anyway-so I can get on the road to the September event if it actually happens.
I want to give the steam plant we have now another chance on the track. The machine has been running better than it ever has-I feel it's got the juice-if we could just get enough room to run!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
Well-I'm still holding out hope that the track will be dryed out 3 weeks from now! If not-we'll see how it goes for the World Finals in October. They're talking about extending the Finals to make it a week long event, giving the B'ville racing community another chance at the salt.
We'll see how it goes with the weather.....I'm gonna get ready anyway-so I can get on the road to the September event if it actually happens.
I want to give the steam plant we have now another chance on the track. The machine has been running better than it ever has-I feel it's got the juice-if we could just get enough room to run!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 17, 2014 07:22PM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey-
We're winding up here-getting the Streamliner ready to run on the Salt! The body is on, and I'm finishing up the installation of the NACA Ducts and the louvers to assist with the cooling of the steam plant area. There's also been lots of other small details that I've been able to take care of-since the time crunch eased off a bit.
So-we're keeping an eye on the Salt Flats weather and hoping for the best! We'll be leaving on the 28th......
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
We're winding up here-getting the Streamliner ready to run on the Salt! The body is on, and I'm finishing up the installation of the NACA Ducts and the louvers to assist with the cooling of the steam plant area. There's also been lots of other small details that I've been able to take care of-since the time crunch eased off a bit.
So-we're keeping an eye on the Salt Flats weather and hoping for the best! We'll be leaving on the 28th......
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! August 24, 2014 09:27AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey-
Well-we're almost loaded up...the trailer is down on the springs already-and I have some heavy stuff left to load. The latest reports from the Salt sound good, and we're pretty anxious to hit the road!
The extra cooling effect of the louvers and ducts should help keep the temps down in the engine/generator area, so I'm glad I had time to get that job is done. I'm feeling good about our potential for some good speed this time-hopefully the rain gods will give us a chance to exercise that potential!
We've got a good crew lined up-again! So far, we have Tom Stoecker, Jim Anderson, Nick Mesmer, George Knight, and possibly a couple of others making the big trip-it's definitely gonna be a fun Event!!
It's going to be a beautiful time to be on the Salt-a bit cooler than Speed Week would have been. There's a motorcycle speed event going on this weekend, and we should get some feedback from that event about salt conditions. The World of Speed Event that we'll be a part of is a relatively small event, and will only have approximately 150-200 entries-which means we'll have more chances to run the streamliner.
We'll keep in touch as much a possible.....
So-join us-if you can...the more the merrier!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
Well-we're almost loaded up...the trailer is down on the springs already-and I have some heavy stuff left to load. The latest reports from the Salt sound good, and we're pretty anxious to hit the road!
The extra cooling effect of the louvers and ducts should help keep the temps down in the engine/generator area, so I'm glad I had time to get that job is done. I'm feeling good about our potential for some good speed this time-hopefully the rain gods will give us a chance to exercise that potential!
We've got a good crew lined up-again! So far, we have Tom Stoecker, Jim Anderson, Nick Mesmer, George Knight, and possibly a couple of others making the big trip-it's definitely gonna be a fun Event!!
It's going to be a beautiful time to be on the Salt-a bit cooler than Speed Week would have been. There's a motorcycle speed event going on this weekend, and we should get some feedback from that event about salt conditions. The World of Speed Event that we'll be a part of is a relatively small event, and will only have approximately 150-200 entries-which means we'll have more chances to run the streamliner.
We'll keep in touch as much a possible.....
So-join us-if you can...the more the merrier!!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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Re: US Land Steam Record!! September 01, 2014 11:00AM |
Registered: 19 years ago Posts: 338 |
Hey-
We're on the road-enjoying the beauty of Colorado at the moment. Tis a great time to be on the road-the weather has been great! The salt conditions at B'ville are great also-we're looking forward to seeing how the machine is going to perform. We're gonna have a great Bonneville crew this time-even Canada is represented!
We'll be on the salt Wednesday-join us if you can!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
We're on the road-enjoying the beauty of Colorado at the moment. Tis a great time to be on the road-the weather has been great! The salt conditions at B'ville are great also-we're looking forward to seeing how the machine is going to perform. We're gonna have a great Bonneville crew this time-even Canada is represented!
We'll be on the salt Wednesday-join us if you can!
Chuk
WWW.STEAMSPEEDAMERICA.COM
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