Nostalgia Fuel Dragster--Blower Manifold (01/28/23)

[Joe Nunes]

It keeps getting better and better all the time!  What a build. 

Joe

[Straightliner59]

7 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

I like the injector choice it seems to suit the overall concept and it's not just another Enderle hat. The dzus idea is inspired and I may have to steal it. Probably the most complete solution to these fasteners that I have seen to date. You keep raising the bar, well done.

Thank you, Ian. Glad you find the Dzus deal useful! Maybe just borrow it, so others can use it, too! ?Thank you, as well, Bob. I'm always happy when someone else finds any of this stuff useful. 

I am going to build the shotgun hat. First, like you said, Ian, it's not just another Enderle. That's probably why I was drawn to it, for this car, originally. Besides, I went to all that trouble to build the front wheels. It would be a shame to not complete my vision, I think.

6 hours ago, Joe Nunes said:

It keeps getting better and better all the time!  What a build. 

Joe

Thank you, Joe. I appreciate you following along!

[Straightliner59]

I had to make a separate dimpling tool, so that I could do the cowl. Photos below. Also shown are the tools I used to dimple all the panels. I ended up using a second, larger punch, after the smaller one, because it flattens the metal back out, and makes for a crisper recess. All the panels are now ready for smoothing and installation (final will be much later). I'm thinking that next, I will finalize the canard mounts, then build a new seat. I think those are the last of the major components, other than the canards themselves. There are a couple of things that need to be removed from the chassis, and a couple of small repairs, and an addition, or two. Once all the major components can be pinned together, finish work and assembly can commence. Shouldn't be too long. I'll take a short break, at some point, for the 24 hour build. This year will be a Monogram Long John. That should give me a reasonable shot at getting it done! I digress...

As always...Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

I threw some brakes together. I punched a "donut" of .030" sheet, and sectioned it, to make the caliper bodies. I rolled a short length of .010"X.100" strip, to create the "tops" of the calipers. I then cut some thin pieces of styrene hex stock (.080") to make the piston housings/cylinders. I finished them up with a model RR hex bolt head and some model RR rivet heads. They're not replicas of anything, but are loosely based on one of Strange's sets.

I also added some brake dust to the rear wheels, and made a mixture of some silver Rub-N-Buff and some deep gold metal powder, and lightly swabbed it on the front wheels, to give them a slightly more used look. That's all, for now! Welcome to 2023. Questions, comments and critiques are always welcome. Thanks for looking!

[Straightliner59]

I got started on the injector. I have envisioned this car with a Hilborn shotgun injector, since its inception. Ian's comments have only strengthened my resolve, that way!  I only recall ever seeing one in (I think) an AMT Challenger kit. That one looked too short, to me. I haven't found a ton of info on them, either, and maybe 20 photos. I have found, though, that the openings are 5.25" in diameter, so, I can reasonably extrapolate from that. 

Here, the mounting bosses for the barrel valves are too long. They'll be sanded down. I used two short lengths of Plastruct 1/4" rod to create the main body of the unit. I would have used .100" triangle stock to flatten the bottom of the scoop, but don't have any. Fortunately, I have a package of .100" quarter round stock. That did the trick. I think the shape is pretty good, but, the unit might be about .040" too long (I'll probably just keep it, since shortening it would require moving the aforementioned bosses. It'll get cross-drilled for the blade shaft, and aluminum throttle blades will be punched. I'll go with an Enderle barrel valve, and a single pump. 

Questions, comments and critiques are always welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Ian McLaren]

The injector looks good, not sure on the length and I can't remember ever seeing one in real life but  if there is a difference it's a minor deal and  I personally would not make the change.  Nice job on this one.

[iBorg]

Is the parachute pack (not sure what the right name is) all one piece? If not how did you join the metal?

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Happy New Year Daniel, I see you don't waste time to bring us great tips, the solution for Dzus fasteners is just great.  I really like your ingenuity my friend, it's only January and you still have plenty of time to impress us! ?

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

The injector looks good, not sure on the length and I can't remember ever seeing one in real life but  if there is a difference it's a minor deal and  I personally would not make the change.  Nice job on this one.

Thanks, Ian. I think that's exactly what I'll do--leave it alone, except for refining the shape, and polishing the plastic. I punched a couple of discs for the blades, and they're a few thousandths too big. Rather than try to sand them to fit, and keep them round, I ended up turning some aluminum rod to fit the openings. I figured it wouldn't matter, since I'm not making them operable.

13 hours ago, iBorg said:

Is the parachute pack (not sure what the right name is) all one piece? If not how did you join the metal?

Mike, the tail section and the nose are hammered and soldered tin sheet. For the tail, I formed the top and sides over a buck, then used the same buck to shape the bottom. After that, I just soldered the parts together, and took a file, and emery cloth to them!

6 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

Happy New Year Daniel, I see you don't waste time to bring us great tips, the solution for Dzus fasteners is just great.  I really like your ingenuity my friend, it's only January and you still have plenty of time to impress us! ?

Happy New Year, to you, as well, my friend! I am very appreciative of your comments, Francis. To receive a compliment from an accomplished modeler likely means more, to me than contest success. Thank you, very much. I will continue to share the things I figure out, until someone tells me to shut up! ?

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Awesome work on the calipers and the blower hat, love it

[Straightliner59]

2 hours ago, Tortuga Kustomz said:

Awesome work on the calipers and the blower hat, love it

Thanks, Marcos. Much appreciated!

[Straightliner59]

I got some more work done on the hat. Here are the butterflies and the cross shaft, inserted into the hat. I didn't push the butterflies into the injector, because I'm not sure I could get them back out!  I probably could, but, why risk damaging the injector, right? I am having to cut a small piece of angle stock, to offset the barrel valve, as it doesn't clear the blower. It's a minor deal. I am thinking about painting the hat yellow, as a Surfers tribute.

I've also added a couple of shots of the data recorder I built when I was originally working on the car. I just was going through an old issue of Car Craft's Drag Racing magazine from the late '80s that has a nice article about RacePak data recording systems. It will help some, with sensor locations, etc. I think it's cool, the way the paint has chipped off the metal case. I won't be touching that up!

Mike Ditchen--I have also attached a few pics (Mark Brown hated "pics". It's the main reason I so rarely use it.) of the bucks I made, to form the nose and tail sections. As you can see, I also soldered them on the bucks. As always, questions, comments and critiques are welcomed. Thanks for looking!

[Ian McLaren]

Very cool!

[Tortuga Kustomz]

Impressive 

[Straightliner59]

15 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Very cool!

 

2 hours ago, Tortuga Kustomz said:

Impressive 

Thank you, kindly, gentlemen! Maybe I can have another injector update, before bed, in the morning. I hope to get the offset bracket for the barrel valve worked out, tonight.

[Straightliner59]

As hoped. Since these photos, I've worked out the clearance issue with the barrel valve, and white glued the injector to the blower. Any comments are appreciated. Thanks for looking!

[Ian McLaren]

Actually, now that it's on the blower the proportions look correct.

[Straightliner59]

19 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Actually, now that it's on the blower the proportions look correct.

I think it'll do! I need to drill the base for the nozzles, then I can shoot some primer on it. I might just go ahead and paint it, and finish it--might.?

[Scott8950]

Amazing work!

[Straightliner59]

18 hours ago, Scott8950 said:

Amazing work!

Thanks, Scott.

[Straightliner59]

I didn't get a lot done to this, today. I got new supports and end plates made for the canards. Then, I got sidetracked: I decided to see if I could get through the steps needed to make a valve cover on the mill. I didn't try to make accurate measurements, and note them, so that I could duplicate it. This isn't about that--yet. It's not done, but I did get it drilled for the plug tubes, along with a general overall shape, and some milled ribs on top. I still need to mill the reliefs for the mounting bolts, and the flange. You can see that it shifted in the vise on me, and is therefore not square. Nonetheless, it's a learning experience. The plug tubes are lengths of 1/16" aluminum tube, pressed into drilled holes. Afterward, they were filed and finish-sanded smooth, flush with the top surface of the ribs. 

Finally, I bought these setup blocks a couple of months back. I used a few sizes of them, during the aforementioned millwork. The 1/8" block was useful in marking the injector hat for the butterfly shaft. I really wasn't sure what I'd use them for, when I bought them. I just had an idea they'd come in handy. They have! Even more so than I expected. Thanks for looking!

[Ian McLaren]

Daniel that valve cover is showing a lot of promise,  I see shiney things in your future.  The set up blocks look interesting.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

You're headed in the right direction Daniel ! ?

Note that you could make the flange by gluing a thin sheet of aluminum under the valve cover and then drilling the holes for the bolts.

[Straightliner59]

17 hours ago, Ian McLaren said:

Daniel that valve cover is showing a lot of promise,  I see shiney things in your future.  The set up blocks look interesting.

The set up blocks have proven to be more helpful than I ever expected. When I marked the hat, since it's 1/4" rod, I just laid the 1/8" block on a piece of granite, and used a mechanical pencil to draw the marks across the front, and front sides. It was super-simple, compared to trying to measure! Yes, I am pretty excited by the possibilities, once I've learned a few more things about the mill. At least I finally made something that looks like something! It's too big to be of any use, but, it does, like you say, show some promise. I decided to try it, so I could use the new toy, for the mill. I just got the rotating angle column attachment. Now, I can drill at an angle, and milling angles is easier than setting up the angle milling table. Not a bad $100 spent! Thank you, Ian.

16 hours ago, AmericanMuscleFan said:

You're headed in the right direction Daniel ! ?

Note that you could make the flange by gluing a thin sheet of aluminum under the valve cover and then drilling the holes for the bolts.

Thanks, Francis! That's good advice, regarding the flange. I will keep that in mind, once I decide to mill some "real" ones. Who knows? That may happen sooner, rather than later. I just ordered four 12" lengths of 1/4"X1/2" bar stock. Not that I needed four, it's just that's how the guy sells them! That will be a good size for heads and valve covers. And a ton of other small parts. I have several short lengths of 1" square bar stock that will work for engine blocks, if I want to do like Tim! ? Yeah, like I even could! Maybe in a couple of decades...

[Straightliner59]

I've built new canards, and changed the design for mounting them. Once I had cut and stripped a section of flashing (5/8"X1-5/8"), it was annealed. Once that was done, I took apart my Incra T-square, and used it to lay out the rows of rivets, and guide the tip of the scriber. What a piece of cake, that was! After the rivets were made, I flipped the sheet and rolled the handle of the scriber over the rivets, which kind of flattened them.  I like the way that looks! I decided to glue a length of 1/8" Plastruct tubing into the leading edge of the wing, for two purposes: First, it helps to hold the wing's shape. Second, it provides a larger area to apply cement, to attach the end plates. 

Next, I began forming the wing around various pieces of round metal, increasingly working toward the final shape of a proper-looking y-type airfoil. I soldered a length of .032" brass rod into a length of 1/16" brass tube, which was then cemented into leading-edge form tube. The entire assembly can then be inserted into the receiver tubes, soldered into place at the base of the motor plate. I sense a mockup may be coming soon!

You'll notice that the wings aren't perfectly straight, just yet. That's okay! It's one of the advantages of metal. As always, questions, critiques and comments are welcomed. Thanks for looking!