Show all posts by user
Happy Holidays Everyone!
This year has been quite a “big” year in the life of the STEAMSPEEDAMERICA project. We’ve progressed from a bare-bones machine- running without a body at Bonneville in October 2012-to fielding a real streamliner at the Ohio Mile. Granted, our performance at the Mile event wasn’t impressive-but then we weren’t expecting much from such a short track.
The construction o
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Ken-
I wish I'd thought of that angle!! We could call it the "LSR-ICE"! Put blades on the front to cut the tire drag.....spiked tires on the rear! I'd say the Brits would have a hard time recognizing such a record......
Cheers-Chuk
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hi EBG!
Hey-Thanks for the heads-up about the Oregonian lake bed-I have never heard of it before. It would be quite a stretch for us to travel that far-but suitable areas/tracks are very hard to find! The photos shown at your link seem to show that the surface is somewhat loose-which-if so-would add a bit of tire drag. Perhaps their vehicle was simply so heavy that it sunk in a bit-probably our
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Ken-
I think you've done a great job! A huge amount of work has gone into putting all that info together-it's a great site! The new chapter that was discussed at the last Directors Meeting will fit into the mix of the old and new quite well also.
Now-if we can just find someone to keep it well maintained.....
Chuk
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Bill-
We are all interested-"Good On Ya Mate"! Tis good to hear the constant updates on your progress....not many of us have the fortitude to keep up with the updates like you do!
Keep up the good work-it's gonna be fun to hear and see how your machine turns out!
Cheers--Chuk
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Everyone!
We’re halfway back from the Ohio Mile, sitting at Art Gardiners’ in Cookeville, Tennessee. We’re headed home to Florida after a coupla days here, but I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on our experience at The Ohio Mile.
As I’m sure most everyone knows by now-they cancelled the World Finals at Bonneville because of rain. I called Art to let him know the sad news, and he sai
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey!
We're getting loaded up to make the trip up to the Meet! I hope to see all the usual "fiends", as well as a few new faces. We're bringing the Streamliner, and plan to do a few refresher runs to make sure we have it all just right before heading on out to Bonneville for the World Finals.
So--join us for the Meet-then come on out to Bonneville and help out with the fun of going
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Bill-
It's called product development! If you don't have a failure now and then-you haven't been pushing the envelope!
It's a good thing you're going to be the photographer for us at Bonneville-it's usually me that does the job, and that's why my images/videos are less than optimal-I'm too busy doing other things. This time we'll have a good record of how it goes.....
Good Luck with the
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Well-
After Jerry's positive slant on the upcoming runs at Bonneville:
"The acceleration run will begin four miles back. If the pumps keep pumping ,and the piston rods stay connected, and the generator does not melt, then 190 mph will be achieved somewhere between gates. The average speed will be slightly less than 190 mph."
---I felt that I must jump in and give a bit of a
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey-
Our testing program has finished, and I am pleased with the results! Our tweaking and redevelopment of the burner has done away with the issues we had before and the numbers from the dyno have shown that we have the power we need for Bonneville. Quite a few details remain to be dealt with, but we're looking forward to seeing everyone at the Berrien Springs Meet-before heading on out to Bon
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Bill-
Your machine is lookin good! Are you running it around town yet? I agree with you-the new fronts give it a good stance.
Keep on steamin!
Chuk
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Well-
Our Steam Speed America Record Attempt is going to be postponed until the World Finals at Bonneville in October. We have run into problems that have delayed our testing program, and we haven’t achieved the consistency that we want.
This decision has been a very tough one to make, as I’m sure you can imagine. We have planned on making this event for years now, but going to Bonneville w
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey-
Thanks for the continuing support everyone! Time is passing, and we're keeping the pace up-we're just about ready to begin our test runs on the dyno. Tom Stoecker has taken time off and driven down to help me with the shakedown work. We finished up most of the small details today, and we should be ready to run tomorrow. Lots of work has gone into making sure we have a dependable machine t
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Everyone!
Finally the paint shop finished with the body and it's back where it belongs-on the vehicle! Seems like it always comes down to the last minute with the paint job-eh?
The vehicle is back together-ready to run! We've gone thru everything-lubing, pressure testing, etc, etc, making sure there are no glitches or problems when the time comes to rev it up and go! The continuation of
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Jim-
The limit on our speed at Bonneville in October was partly our gearing, partly the fact that the vehicle hadn't been run at speed before, and partly because of problems with swagelok fittings. We ran our lowest gear ratio since we weren't after real speed-the whole point of going to the World Finals was to get the vehicle inspected and to test all systems. The swagelok problems were very f
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Jim-
A bigger engine and generator are in the future plans for our LSR Project, but for our upcoming runs in August-we don't need a bigger engine. The "converted outboard" engine, along with its generator, produces adequate power to achieve our goal.
I'm sure you are well aware that we're not dealing with rocket science here....all it takes to make speed is adequate power combined
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey-
It's been awhile since I've posted-I've been layin on the beach in the Caribean with a pina colada in one hand and the blonde in the other....no.....wait-that was just a dream-I've actually been here working on the LSR Project!
Things are going well! The body has been completed for awhile now, and is now being prepped for paint. The steam generator has been torn down for a good look/ins
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Everyone!
The STEAM SPEED AMERICA Team will attempt to set a new Land Steam Record at Bonneville Speed Week which runs August 10th through August 16th, 2013 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.
This will be an event you won’t want to miss! Our Bonneville Record Attempt will be the fruition of approximately 10 years of dreams/hard work and support from our fellow SACA steamers, and we h
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
The second annual SE SACA Spring Meet-scheduled for March 16-has been cancelled. Regrettably, we have had to make this decision-there are simply too many prior committments demanding our time.
Last years' event was well received, and all of us were looking forward to having fun with everyone again soon-but it's just too much to manage this spring.Hopefully, those of you who have already made
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Howard!
Tis good to hear from you! I hope you're doing well...Yes, it would be nice to be able to go to the Space Center to do our Record runs-with the F.I.A. doing the timing. But unfortunately it costs big bucks to use the NASA runway, and requires jumping thru a lot of hoops to satisfy their security requirements. A yearly lease agreement has to be signed and the cost is $2000 per day of
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Everybody!
Thanks again for all the kind words and support! Sorry if I haven't gotten back to everyone lately-I'm having fun building the body for the Streamliner. It's coming along nicely, and is beginning to look slick'n sexy-like it should! I hate to work with fiberglass but it's easier than dealing with metal, and it'll be a bit easier to modify when we upgrade to the larger steam plant
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey-
After a week of being back in SW Florida-I can really appreciate the great climate that we're graced with here! Tis very nice to be home.....I've spent a large part of the week cleaning and washing the Bonneville salt off. Another good reason to have a body for the Streamliner-it helps keep the salt out of everything!
We're in the process of designing the new body, which is the first pr
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Greetings from the road!
We're on the way home from Bonneville...tired from the drive, but feeling very good about the events of the past week. Firstly, I want to again pass on my heartfelt Thanks to all the SACA members who rallied around the Project and helped us get to Bonneville. This came in the form of both financial support and hands-on labor-we couldn't have made it without you!
The
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Greetings from sunny Nebraska!
Hey-We're on the road-heading out to Bonneville for the 2012 World Finals! We tied up some loose ends and did a few more tests before hitting the road west on Friday afternoon. The Streamliner is running well and ready to show her stuff!
The SSA Team is moved by the continued support and time/effort that so many people have continued to give to the Project. A
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Bill-
It's good to see another of your steam projects taking shape! I visited Jay Carter a few years ago, and he gave me the tour of his steam shop. It hadn't been really used for quite a few years, but still had a lot of real history laying around everywhere. While we were talking, he said that one of the biggest breakthroughs he had with the design of his bash-valve engine was the chamber imm
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey Everyone!
The 2012 Berrien Springs SACA Meet is going well, with the usual attendees-and quite a few newcomers-enjoying the interesting talks and the comeraderie of the Event. There are attendees from the NE Chapter, the West Coast, the deep South, and the usual larger group from the central and Midwest parts of the country. We have two Stanleys in attendance, and both ran around all after
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Jay was a genuine "nice guy"! He, along with Art Gardiner and Jim Tangeman, was the instigator for the group build of my Dragster. His steam generator, coupled up to Art and Jim's engine-made the Dragster possible.
Everytime he came to the Meet, he brought an open mind, a willingness to listen to everyone, and the ability to give out some of his own well thought out advice to any of u
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Rolly-
You sure do beautiful work! What is the scale? What do you plan to do with the finished item?
Cheers--Chuk
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Hey everyone!
As you probably know by now--Speed Week at Bonneville is well underway-and we're not there! We tried like ___ to make it-but it just wasn't possible to get everything done in time. The new engine installation required that the aft section of the Streamliner frame had to be redesigned and built-as well as building the engine mounts, drive train and other necessary adaptations.
S
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
Keith-
I have used the clear ceramic "glass" as sold by McMaster Carr for viewing windows in my steam generators. It's good for up to 1200F-as long as you're careful not to let cold water get to it when it's hot.
As Pat says-the biggest problem is getting your design right-so the window doesn't cloud over with soot. I usually build a truncated pyramid shape to hold the glass away
by
chuk williams
-
SteamStuff
