Hope I don't have a dust allergy!
November 11th, 2007.
Let me start by showing you a few pics that Dave Gaskell took for me at Oran pk earlier this year. Dave owns a few buggies and said I was on the money at the time. It's a shame the car rolled into the building later in the day. :o(
Hope I don't have a dust allergy!
Competition has wound up for another year now with my last khanacross for the year on the 26th of october. This was a bit of a miracle in itself as despite heavy rain the weeks before, the course at Cataract (which gets washed easily) was dry enough to drive on in most places with only a few wet bit. The presence of water in the ground also meant that dust was at a minimum until later in the day. Added to this, the temp was in the low 20s and a light breeze made any dust clear off the courses fast enough to make the day very enjoyable. Liz even brought the kids down in the morning. Eleanor and Alistair had a great time playing in the dirt and were suitably worn out when afternoon sleep time came.
A total of seven drivers took the start line on the day. While the numbers of competitors seemed discouragingly low, it meant that those of competing got more runs with less sitting around. The standout on the day was a 4 door skyline powered by a 4.4L leyland V8. It won the event outright and sounded magnificent.
Zak and I places exactly halfway down the field portraying my ability and experience. The only real issue I had with the car all day was that of a brake issue. I have made some upgrades recently to try and get the rear brakes to do most of the work for dirt events. What I found instead was that the front brakes continued to lock while the rear did little. This caused me the slide in one side and out the other of two stop garages costing me a lot of time. In the end I had to revert to using the handbrake to stop.
A few improvements came out of the day though. First up, Khanacross allows for more speed and consequently more practise keep the car unbalance off and on the throttle. I found I could scando (scandinavian flick) the car off the throttle and on the throttle you get it sideways. I also found in lower speed corners feathering the clutch could make the back step out consistently and predictably. Again, understeer was an issue at lower speeds. Part of the issue here on reflection was probably the lack of front swaybar, which I took off for a few reasons (but will return when time permits). On the advice of the fastest driver there, I'm also sourcing some front steer tyres to attempt to help this. I've found 2 very cheaply and only need a bit of time to go and pick them up.
In other news, a mate of mine Craig, put a deposit on a 74 Lbug that he's planning to use in motorkhanas and khanacross. I can't tell you how excited I am about this as there is even some talk of a subaru EJ conversion.
The car itself is in quite good nic with only 100K km on it. It was bought off a car lot who were keen to get rid of it. First up it's off the Uncle Hans and the boys for a look over and a tune. Then next year it will be pressed into service as a competition car. Did I tell you just how excited I was?!
Tell next time...
January 17th, 2008.
After a long period of no action, Zak is on the way to a new adventure. Over the Australia day long weekend, we're heading up to stockton beach. However, this time, we're a bit better prepared. Firstly, the plan is to tow Zak up on a car trailer. This means any mishaps won't stop us getting home easily. Secondly, I've been doing a few things. The first is a buggy whip.
It's made out of a high visibility safety vest I got from Bunnings for $5. My tops sister-in-law, Alicia sewed it up for me. It also has cable tie sewn into a pocket along the longest side to stop it scrunching down on the pole. Which brings me to the pole...or should I say whip.
The pole is made from a fishing rod blank 3.2 metres in length. I was told this was the optimum way of making a pole and that blanks were available in most fishing shops for not much. Sadly this was not the case. Apparently you can only buy top notch blanks now and they are over $100 in price usually. I was fortunate to find this one as part of old stock at a local fishing shop. It set me back less than half of the prices mentioned above. The only problem was, it was one solid length and not very transportable so now it has a joiner about halfway up so I can break it in half.
After a lot of procrastinating and thinking, I finally came up with a way to mount the pole onto the car. Part of the issue was that I didn't want to add any extra metal to the rear barwork that couldn't be easily removed. Secondly, I didn't want to spend lots of $$$ on a flag pole for the odd trip to Stockton. This what I came up with in the end. THe fishing rod is packed tightly inside steel pipe with a layer of overlapped 3mm rubber sheet between the two. A hose clamp stops the rubber and rod slipping out and the end of the rod is corked and has a rubber stopper over the cork. It seems a bit complex, but this allows the rod to be soft mounted while still being firmly mounted. The steel pipe in turn is hose clamped onto the rear barwork with more rubber under the clamps and between the two pipes. This again stops the pipes rubbing on eachother and the rod moving around.
Then came the next challenge. How do you keep the flag on the pole? Thanx to the guys in the Offroad forum on STF. I'll let the pictures talk this time...
The black fitting on the end is a hose cap. It has an even smaller cap inside it.
Here's the final whip and flag in situ. As you can see. It's VERY tall and VERY visible...
Till next time...
January 31st, 2008.
Well, a bit has happened since I wrote last. We've been to Stockton and returned. But first let me update you on the last upgrade pre-Stockton. I knew that with the new posi of the radiator and the way sand dunes worked that the front of the car would be copping a dose of sand regularly. My big concern was that the radiator might get the brunt of this. Not a good thing. So in the week before we went I was on the lookout for a piece of aluminium with which to make a front skid plate. Near where I live there are two sizeble industrial areas. Neither of these gave me a place where I could get the said ali sheet. Now, maybe I didn't know where to look, but in the end I couldn't find any. I went with some stainless steel which was bent up for about $120 and has proved to be exactly what was needed on the dunes. I took quite a few good hits and still retains it's shape perfectly. So in the full frontal shots of the car, it's the shinny panel on the lower portion of the front bar. It extends just slightly past the beam so everything is well protected. The great thing also is, it won't rust of corrode and should be excellent protection for khanacrosses too. Now for the actual trip to Stockton.
I had decided a while back that the best way to go was to tow the buggy up behind the Pug diesel we own so we could all travel in comfort. The bonus being, if anything went wrong we could just load Zak onto the trailer and deal with it later rather than having to nurse him home like last time. This was just as well, but more about that later. We left Sydney on friday lunchtime after a few dramas getting tie-down straps. There was an initial issue with the trailer swaying due to Zak being so tail heavy but this reduced a lot once I moved him as forward as pos on the trailer. I could then comfortable drive between 90-100km/h as long as I took it easy going down hills. The pug seems more than up to the task of pulling the weight, but I'd want to load the trailer differently next time.
We got to Boat Harbour (near Anna Bay) around 3pm and put the kids down for a sleep. As I was unpacking, Sez came round the corner in his kalita. His new paint job is stunning. It turned our his accommodation was just round the corner. A little later in the arvo, we went out on the beach together and a little muck around in the dunes. At this stage, the beach and dunes were very quiet and it was the most relaxing drive I've had in ages. I got myself bogged once, but Sez unbogged me. Thanx mate. Unfortunately, his mate managed to slice his finger open the new front skid plate whilest helping. I need to do something about that when I pull it off next. It was around this time that I realised I was feeling quite nervous on the dunes and I made the decision that if I was to go out, I should be following someone. It's been two years since the last time I was on Stockton and I'd forgotten everything pretty much. I went home for dinner and agreed with Sez that we'd go out the next day and try to meet up with the other guys off the forum.
The next morning Brian and I set off down the beach to meet up with the guys with the two kids and his daughter. Brian was leading the way in his monster landcruiser. Halfway along the beach the car started making a grinding noise. I put it down to some sand between a few pulleys. We caught the guys near the Lovett's lane entrance where they were camping. After I got bogged (again) and Sez dug me out (again), I went for a drive in the dunes with the buggies.
The noise was still there but didn't seem to be serious. While we were out on the dunes, someone told us another of the forum guys had rolled his manx and the other car with him was bogged from trying to turn it over. We found the cars and helped recover them. At this point, a few of us realised the dunes were less than safe. This seems to been caused by heavy the rain the night before. The wet sand on the top was forming steeper dunes with narrowing crests and soft spots in the faces of the dunes. The upshot was that when the manx went down the face of the dune, the front wheels kept sinking in until the back end went over.
With two kids in the back of the buggy I decided it was time to go back to the house. I followed a few guys back to camp and then headed for the beach and Anna Bay. About half way along the beach, the we hit a bump and the grinding noise became more insistent. Another bump meant I had to hold the car in 3rd to keep it going. The gearbox sounded like a sawmill. At this point I knew I just has to get home. One thing made me laugh, Alistair was fast asleep in his car seat, almost double up with his head leaning forward and sand blown all over his face. Brian had gone home ahead of me when we went on to the dunes with the buggies so I was on my own. I used 1st and 3rd gears depending on which would select. The gearbox finally died about 3km from the Anna bay entrance to the beach. Brian came back and towed me off the beach with a snatch strap. Unfortunately, as we were turning onto the main street of Anna Bay, the snatch got slack and wrapped round the passenger side suspension neatly bending the longer tie rod.
So we just got the trailer and loaded it on near the entrance to the beach. Zak stayed on the trailer and we drove home in comfort again. Now the trick is the fix the gearbox. It looks like I'll be using an 091 and selling off my other 002. More details about that later. In the wash up, I can't see myself going to Stockton again. It's a long way just to break stuff and the repair bill seems to increase every time. Liz and I could both do without that aggravation. Not only that, but the car is really a bit low now for Stockton and better suited to khanas. Till next time...
April 12th, 2008.
Well it’s only taken three months but finally it’s out with the broken gearbox and the new one has arrived. Suffice to say, there was a fair amount of damage when I started to pull things apart.
First up I discovered oil in the clutch and the input shaft support bearing in the flywheel is decidedly notchy and unhappy. I’m guessing the throw-out bearing will also need replacement. I’m not too worried about these things as they are standard sorts of consumables. It was when I got the engine out properly and pulled on the input shaft that I noticed the most unsettling thing. The input shaft all but came straight out of the bellhousing and the reverse gear idler dropped into the bottom of the diff housing. Upon removing the belhousing, I discovered the reason for this. The splined end off the main shaft had broken off altogether.
Left; Note the broken end of the main shaft (top centre) Right; the broken splined section.
There are various theories as to why this might have happened. The one that rings the most true is that the mainshaft bearing at the front of the tranny has collapsed altogether with the gears trying to push themselves apart and the destructive end. This resulted in the mainshaft to be put in a bending load and snapped the splined end off. I think this has been coming for a while and could explain my dramas with the clutch and selecting 2nd gear all along. Second gear was the one I instantly lost on the beach. Surprisingly, the diff looks to be in good order. I guess that can be used for a rebuild of the other 1800 box I have if needed. This box is destined for my Andrew’s 69 kombi, all things going to plan.
I am supposed to be racing the Zak on Saturday at a motorkhana with CACA. However, given the fact that we were given Liz’s old Suzuki Swift back a month ago I can afford to take my time and fix a whole lot of things including the front fender section that was broken last year at Oran Pk. The funny thing about the Suzuki being I took it to a CACA khanacross a few weekends ago (with the buggy out of action) and came sixth outright (about halfway down the field) and first in my class (1000-1300cc). This is really quite impressive given the Suzuki has done nearly 280,000km and has nasty road tyres and totally worn suspension. Liz was bemused. I don’t think she’s sees the funny side of an $800 hatchback doing better than a $25k buggy. Oh well, I guess I can’t blame her. All the Suzuki needed afterwards was a new rear wheel bearing. It’s already back on deck and will most likely do the motorkhana on the weekend. I may yet be converted fully the front wheel drive rally cars.
Back on topic. The new tranny was picked up yesterday and should be much better. But then so it should with not a lot of change from three grand. It’s a fully rebuild and slightly modded 091 (2 litre) kombi box. Kimm from Indian fixed me up with the core for a reasonable price and also recommended fitting a T3 kombi four spider gear diff. This is the factory equivalent of a supadiff. The box was then couriered down to Dunham’s Auto Repairs where the legendary Schimo (gearbox guru) rebuilt it with all new bearings, synchros and a few extra spicy bits. The case has been machined and shimmed appropriated and now contains the T3 diff, a 0.77 Albins fourth gear (for better hwy cruising) and a Chrome-moly pinion nut. An 1800 belhousing also went on so I could still use my current adaptor plate/flywheel/215mm clutch setup. I’ve been informed it’s more than up to the task now and should take whatever I can give it (within reason of course). Schimo reckons modded 091 Kombi boxes are good for up to 600hp which is pretty amazing stuff. My Subie is probably lucky to put out 170hp, so I think I’m pretty safe. BTW, Dunham’s is great little workshop and I’ve never felt so welcome. Talk about customer service. I’d highly recommend them.
While all this is happening, I’ll be endeavoring to fix/modd a few little bit and pieces to drop some more weight in the back and get everything working a bit better. Till next time…
May 20th, 2008.
Well not a lot more has happened but things are moving on the new gearbox front. At the same time I’ve decided that I was not really ever happy with the rear subframe either, it’s been ditched in favour of lighter steel and a triangulated design that is to come.
I received my gearbox mounts and cutting brake from www.pitstopautoinc.com last Friday after spending a few weeks trying to find a supplier that would ship to Australia.
Cutting brake!
I know what some of you will say, “why the cutting brakes?”.
Well, a man needs to admit when he’s beaten and as every other buggy driver is using them, no matter how good their chassis is, I decided I should grow up and get over my personal discriminations. Dave and Sam tell me they take a bit of finesse to get right. Having driven their green khana buggy the other day for a few minutes I can see what they mean. Anyway, back to the main story.
The plan for the rear of the car is to create a kafer cup style brace system to support the rear chassis horns and make the basis for the rear rollbar support. The bracing will be made out of combination of 3mm steel plate and 44mm OD (2.6mm WT) tube and 24mm OD (2mm WT) tube. The 44mm tube will also make up the new engine supports. The goal is to try and make everything as strong as possible with as little steel as possible. The 44mm tube is already less half the weight of the previous rollbar and engine supports, so I’m well on the way.
The blue bits are the 44mm tube, the red the 24mm tube and the yellow is the steel plate. The purple stuff down the bottom are the new engine supports. As you can see, the plate has numerous racing holes in it to try and reduce the weight. Now, As soon as I get better and stop feeling like I'll fall over, I can procede with the next part of the plan. :o(
Till next time...
June 9th, 2008.
Well, rather than lots of pics of what I've been doing, I thought I'd give you a gif to show you the process. There have been other things going on, but most of the work has been going into this subframe baseplate. A quick apology to dialup people. This gif is about half a meg.
As you can see there are a lot of racing holes. A lot of racing holes. I think there will be more yet too. I drilled so many, my bosch hand drill was smoking at one point this afternoon. The rest of the holes need to happen before I weld anything, coz the metal is so much harder after welding and I hate sharpening drill bits. I really want to get to the whole thing to be as light as possible while being quite stiff. My usual tactic is to over engineer everything, but not this time. This time I want light and stiff. So everything that can be is triangulated and drilled to perfection. So far all this work has taken about 15 hours. I realise at plazma cut and or laser cutter could have done it in an hour, bespoke stuff always takes longer.
Till next time...