Tough Day at the Office in NZ 6 Hour Race

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by panozracing

Total Engine Concepts (Mike K) answered me today with the following:

Brian, if he only wants to turn 6600, 210 on the seat and 550 open will work with a good shaft rocker arm and intake valves that weigh in the 110 gram range. 40 - 50 hrs shouldn't be a problem with a decent quality lifter that has forced oiling to the needle bearigs.

Awesome, thanks Brian. Yes, currently contemplating the change to shaft rockers given failure of the 2nd set of exhaust valve guides.......

[NZGTRA17]

Brian, as I recall you had carbon fibre blocking rings fitted to your TKO trans a little while back. A couple of questions as I am looking at fitting these to my trans as well;

1. How many hours have you put on the car since the carbon synchro rings were fitted?

2. How has up and down shift quality been compared to previous set up?

3. Have you tried any higher rpm shifts since the carbon synchro rings were fitted (over 6500 rpm)?

Thanks, Kel.

[Cobra4B]

Awesome work Kel... car looks very very sharp.

[panozracing]

Originally Posted by nzgtra17

brian, as i recall you had carbon fibre blocking rings fitted to your tko trans a little while back. A couple of questions as i am looking at fitting these to my trans as well;

1. How many hours have you put on the car since the carbon synchro rings were fitted? Poor info on my end.....i am guessing about 8-10hrs

2. How has up and down shift quality been compared to previous set up? Honestly i couldn't tell...shifting is better but it always is on a fresh rebuild.

3. Have you tried any higher rpm shifts since the carbon synchro rings were fitted (over 6500 rpm)? I have a 6700 redline and shift around 6300 almost always.

Thanks, kel.

1. Poor info on my end.....i am guessing about 8-10hrs

2. Honestly i couldn't tell...shifting is better but it always is on a fresh rebuild.

3. I have a 6700 redline and shift around 6300 almost always.

whats a little troublesome is the last race weekend the 4 bolts that hold the input shaft snout stripped out OF THE ALUMINUM CASE and dumped all the fluid during a 90 min race (about 65 mins. In to the race). The shift into 3rd is now tough to not grind unless i am very slow with the shift. So is it because the fluid drained out before i knew it was leaking or what??? I think i might have the tranny checked. I destroyed my backup 3550 with tko500 upgraded guts the same weekend. First tranny leaked...installed the backup....trashed the backup...fixed the original tko600 and reinstalled only to have brake hat to hub bolts shear off again!!!! Racing is tough sometimes.

also the same weekend had both rear caliper seals fail and had to rebuild. had the brand new fan quit and went back to the stock unit. On and on. I was on track for every session but only finished 1 out of 3 races and turned a lot of wrenches. Race cars are only as good as the prep work. track everything and change parts often is the new mantra on my team. you cannot track enough.

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

Awesome work Kel... car looks very very sharp.

Cheers Brian. Actually I used an old thread from May last year as was first I could find to ping a question of Brian Goldberg.

Car is back under work though as 347 shortblock has been sold (going into a 68 Mustang road car) and 369 build is underway. Dart block, Scat forged crank, Scat H beams and CP pistons. Solid roller cam and Edelbrock Victor Junior. Same Brodix heads at this stage but should still be between 530 - 550fwhp.

I see you are busy with the Vette again. Yup, getting rid of all the rubberised points in the suspension will help. Obviously not to cold in your shed Brian.......!!

Kel.

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by panozracing

1. Poor info on my end.....i am guessing about 8-10hrs

2. Honestly i couldn't tell...shifting is better but it always is on a fresh rebuild.

3. I have a 6700 redline and shift around 6300 almost always.

whats a little troublesome is the last race weekend the 4 bolts that hold the input shaft snout stripped out OF THE ALUMINUM CASE and dumped all the fluid during a 90 min race (about 65 mins. In to the race). The shift into 3rd is now tough to not grind unless i am very slow with the shift. So is it because the fluid drained out before i knew it was leaking or what??? I think i might have the tranny checked. I destroyed my backup 3550 with tko500 upgraded guts the same weekend. First tranny leaked...installed the backup....trashed the backup...fixed the original tko600 and reinstalled only to have brake hat to hub bolts shear off again!!!! Racing is tough sometimes.

also the same weekend had both rear caliper seals fail and had to rebuild. had the brand new fan quit and went back to the stock unit. On and on. I was on track for every session but only finished 1 out of 3 races and turned a lot of wrenches. Race cars are only as good as the prep work. track everything and change parts often is the new mantra on my team. you cannot track enough.

Thanks Brian. Reason I have asked is that the carbon synchro blocking rings seem to be a little unproven over here so people are wary of them at this stage. I need the car to be super reliable for my next 2 outings so am be a little more conservative in my approach.

Yes a tough weekend with that many things going on. Does your TKO have a billet input shaft bearing support? I am guessing you have the one that came with your clutch slave arrangement? I may get mine inserted as insurance when I have the box apart next.

Are you able to cleanly downshift the box Brian (particularly 4 -3 and 3-2) without careful rev matching? This is the main thing I want to improve with my box.

Kel.

[Cobra4B]

Originally Posted by NZGTRA17

Cheers Brian. Actually I used an old thread from May last year as was first I could find to ping a question of Brian Goldberg.

Car is back under work though as 347 shortblock has been sold (going into a 68 Mustang road car) and 369 build is underway. Dart block, Scat forged crank, Scat H beams and CP pistons. Solid roller cam and Edelbrock Victor Junior. Same Brodix heads at this stage but should still be between 530 - 550fwhp.

I see you are busy with the Vette again. Yup, getting rid of all the rubberised points in the suspension will help. Obviously not to cold in your shed Brian.......!!

Kel.

At what power level do you think you'll have to beef up the chassis, if any?

My "shed" is attached to my house so I just open the door to the garage when I want to work and leave the garage doors down. Takes the edge off. We've actually had a colder than normal winter here and had one storm that dropped nearly 14" of snow!

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by Cobra4B

At what power level do you think you'll have to beef up the chassis, if any?

My "shed" is attached to my house so I just open the door to the garage when I want to work and leave the garage doors down. Takes the edge off. We've actually had a colder than normal winter here and had one strom that dropped nearly 14" of snow!

Yes, looks mighty cold to me Brian.

While power certainly has some effect on chassis load I think the prime loads are most likely generated by cornering. As I am running DOT's I think the car will do OK with my expected power level. The bigger and stickier the slick, the more the chassis would be hurting.

The other factor in my favour in this equation is that I am running a "mid cube" engine at 369ci. I.e. while the engine will be capable of producing anywhere up to 600hp if revved harder (7000+), max torque will probably never exceed 475 - 500ftlbs. This will also help the chassis live and will make running on DOT's a little more practical as they will be able to harness the available torque/power.

As always, only time will tell. If I start "cracking up" I will post on it!!

Kel.

[panozracing]

Originally Posted by NZGTRA17

Does your TKO have a billet input shaft bearing support? I am guessing you have the one that came with your clutch slave arrangement? I may get mine inserted as insurance when I have the box apart next.

Are you able to cleanly downshift the box Brian (particularly 4 -3 and 3-2) without careful rev matching? This is the main thing I want to improve with my box.

Kel.

I am not sure about the bearing support. I have not used the clutch slave cylinder in a LONG time. The tranny shop sold me the Mcloed hyd unit. Tell me more????

I have found that downshifting was never much of an issue for me even back with the TKO2 tranny's. Now that I am thinking about it.....The last race was very easy to get into the gears and I found the rear tires chirping when I let the clutch out on a 5-2 downshift at the hairpin at Sebring. So that would be a successful down shift without rev matching.

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by panozracing

I am not sure about the bearing support. I have not used the clutch slave cylinder in a LONG time. The tranny shop sold me the Mcloed hyd unit. Tell me more????

I have found that downshifting was never much of an issue for me even back with the TKO2 tranny's. Now that I am thinking about it.....The last race was very easy to get into the gears and I found the rear tires chirping when I let the clutch out on a 5-2 downshift at the hairpin at Sebring. So that would be a successful down shift without rev matching.

Brian, I am also running a hydraulic throwout bearing. I am using a Tilton unit. The Tilton unit comes with a billet bearing support that replaces the standard TKO support. I have had these holes strip out in other boxes (normally due to combination of fatigue/age) and have normally had them inserted with helicoils.

Good to hear that downshifting is better. Do you know what brand/part number the carbon synchro rings are?

Kel.

PS - After lifting my new Dart 8.2" deck block around the workshop I now know why my car was always much lighter than yours Brian!! It might be only a 40lb difference between the factory 5.0 block and the Dart but it feels like 100lbs!!

[panozracing]

Will the billet support do anything for me? I have not cracked the support or anything like that. I stripped the bolts out but I think that would have happened with any of the supports.

I dont know the brand of the synchro's. I will ask when I go to promotion powertrain with both trannies soon.

Im sure my 351W based block is even heavier then the dart 302 block.

[NZGTRA17]

Originally Posted by panozracing

Will the billet support do anything for me? I have not cracked the support or anything like that. I stripped the bolts out but I think that would have happened with any of the supports.

I dont know the brand of the synchro's. I will ask when I go to promotion powertrain with both trannies soon.

Im sure my 351W based block is even heavier then the dart 302 block.

Only if there are signs that the current support is moving Brian. Question is why did the bolts strip out - undertorqued or overtorqued? The box should handle what you are throwing at it so should not have this type of failure.

Would be great if you can identify the carbon synchros for me.

Ya, the 9.5 deck block will be another 20lbs plus on my 8.2" deck block I am sure Brian. Dont fancy your chances of throwing that around the workshop on your own!! Have to say though, the billet caps etc, quality of the cap register machining etc make these blocks worth having.

Kel.