Spoke to Bobby Hart in California re the G50 trans and side shifter kit he supplies -iirc I used to watch Bobby race in Champ/IRl years ago..
"Jon, 600 hp is a lot for G50 You should be looking at a 50/50 or 50/52 they have better Gear ratios and stronger Ring and pinion I assume you have about 550 lbs of torque, yes we can do a oil system, pump,cooler, oil filter, A 50/52 rebuilt With side shifter 80% or 40% LSD is $11000.00 us Hope this helps Bobby Hart"
This is the thing with Barry's engine - most V8s create huge low ened torque which is a massive problem for traction, hard to drive out of turns and threatens trans longevity - this is also usually coupled with a lazy hammer of a delivery: Barry's engine doesn't have so much torque - maybe about 470.lbft at the full 650bhp (4-bore); and 410.lbft currently with 575bhp (2-bore). But it's a seasoned wincaton/sportsman spec Dart block and heads (348 crank with slight bore to 358) and the torque curve has deliberately been moved up the rev band for traction; but revs outs nicely and spools up quickly with minimal inertia.
It also have a wide power band and redline at 9000rpm engine; but we're limiting to 7400-8300rpm for road circuit use. Only runs off a custom 700CFM Da Vinci 2-bore and doesn't have much porting over the standard Dart.. but all internals are very strong and light. We could run more torque but on road circuits the advantages may be outweighed by the disadvantages; not to mention the extra stresses etc. Aim is to gradually port the engine to give +50bhp each time and see how the set-up feels. Roller cams also pegged for next rebuild.
Some good news - Mike Sekinger is going to sell me the shifter and linkage from John Hazzard's G50 and Hazzard is also going to sell me a pump and cooler kit he had made up for one of his UN1s.
Cheers
Jon
Latest pics (April 2011)
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Update - 23rd Nov 06
I'll start with the good news first - jst passed my ards test - woo hoo. I'm now 'legal'. Blimming easy tho took it all in and appreciate this is jst the start of my learning curve & not the end. Completed my track work in a Ibiza Cupra - it was wet but still fifty times easier than the Esprit in the dry..! What's better is that I can block-book time with one of the instructors to adapt to 'Eleanor's' new set-up and refine my craft.
re trans - Barry's blimming credit card wont accept money from my credit card.. how mad is that - it means I can't order the trns etc until the end of the month when my bonus come sin. Aaaaarggghhhh!
Small world - looks like I may be able to get the shifter arrangment from Mike Sekinger who bought the engine and box out of Eleanor's sister car. That would def work a treat.
team shirt arrived with new logo but I only managed to go and speel Phoenix wrong.. doh! Duly corrected before I order shirts etc for the rest of the guys.
Trying to source a wheel boss so I can order a new one. Hope to get a new carbon bucket from Martyn, new dash, new harness, new shifter, paint inside and new cage covers and hopefully make th ecar look a lot less tired looking and match Gary's eventual exterior transformation.
Parcelforce almost sent the nascar gauge back to the US - still checking whether they caught it in time.
Hoping Phoenix will service the brakes, hubs, bearings soon & I can order up new parts inc. spacers and those lovely Compomotive MOs..
Meanwhile Martyn down at MVS is cracking on with the aero package - rear diffuser is done - he's now starting on front end, wing, roof scoop and engine cover..
Lots to do.. long way to go.
Cheers
Jon
re trans - Barry's blimming credit card wont accept money from my credit card.. how mad is that - it means I can't order the trns etc until the end of the month when my bonus come sin. Aaaaarggghhhh!
Small world - looks like I may be able to get the shifter arrangment from Mike Sekinger who bought the engine and box out of Eleanor's sister car. That would def work a treat.
team shirt arrived with new logo but I only managed to go and speel Phoenix wrong.. doh! Duly corrected before I order shirts etc for the rest of the guys.
Trying to source a wheel boss so I can order a new one. Hope to get a new carbon bucket from Martyn, new dash, new harness, new shifter, paint inside and new cage covers and hopefully make th ecar look a lot less tired looking and match Gary's eventual exterior transformation.
Parcelforce almost sent the nascar gauge back to the US - still checking whether they caught it in time.
Hoping Phoenix will service the brakes, hubs, bearings soon & I can order up new parts inc. spacers and those lovely Compomotive MOs..
Meanwhile Martyn down at MVS is cracking on with the aero package - rear diffuser is done - he's now starting on front end, wing, roof scoop and engine cover..
Lots to do.. long way to go.
Cheers
Jon
Sunday, November 12, 2006
In-progress shots
Got to say Barry's 358ci looks awesome.. what surprised John and the Phoenix guys was just how light the engine was and how compact. Only possible problem may be the Stahl headers: if of course the tranny + adaptor etc isn't too long.
Lots of work to do - re-loom to start shortly and $7K trans should take 2 wks to come across. Still trying to track down the Chip Gnassi dash.
Friday, November 10, 2006
The challenge is on - the size of task daunts!
Finally ordered the $6000 G50 trans, adapter plate, fly, clutch etc last night - should take a cpl of weeks all in to send from CA to Texas then to Glasgow through Panalpina.
John L had mentioned the carb looked suspect and not a 'Da Vinci'? I spoke to Barry re the carb - it's a handbuilt carb using a holley casing and Da Vinci parts - i.e. a on-eoff: much of which are modified from a 4 barrel - so bigger jets etc but Barry can supply different parts to help set the car up. I believe the parts/time etc run into the $$$$.
Going down to the workshop tomorrow morning for a pow wow. Main thing is to discuss the install - this will of course become clearer once the trans arrives. As mentioned it may be necessary to move the firewall but critical measurements look ok; albeit with no major room left over. Width wise the Esprit is pretty wide to accomodate the block. However the rear roll cage tubes may need to be cut and modified. To run the headers it may be neccessary to re-house the fuel tank in the front and I can get a fuel cell from the US if needs be.
Have asked John if he can arrange to have one of the valve-covers removed then we can have a look at what all the fuss is about. I was suprised to hear the engine had chromed covers - my preference would be the whole thing to be in matt black but will take what we get, and I guess a small bit of chrome will look quite 'bling'. There is approx £35K of internals in that engine I'm told. MSD has a 7200rpm chip in currently but there's chips there up to 8300rpm! The valves are not hydraulic and need to be set-up jst before the engine is fired (and before every event). Race springs are tight and so weaken if let to stand, even titanium ones. They also get replaced every year or 2 because of this.
Before the trans gets here I suggested removing the back-end bodywork for easier access and engine crane the block over the car to see how the block may sit and work out what needs chopping. I reckon the length of the trans, adapter plate etc wont cause any problems. The tubes can be cut as the chassis is backboned and the tubes are part of the cage. However once put together we need to make it look as close to blue book as poss but we can perhaps bolt the rear sections.
Once the tranny arrives I see the project has 5 main stages:
- The initial install: making the hardware, mounts and any chassis mods to accomodate. Clearly a massive amount of work to be done but then this is no normal project. I'm hoping Phoenix enjoy the challenge?
- Re-loom and wiring: hooking up new wiring/fuses to fit the new engine, dash etc. Should hopefully be a lot less than what's in there currently. At this stage we'd probably best put in one very large red top battery or 2 batteries given the lack of an alternator. This will make a massive difference to the car's reliability.
- Engine set-up: Clearly this is the most risky stage for the engine and Barry made a point that the fine tolerances in the engine could be easily damaged from poor set-up. Although I know he's left notes and is a phonecall away - I appreciate this is the first Phoenix will have set up an engine like this; so may look to fly Barry over after Xmas to help set yup the car for the first time and show Alan around the valves etc which all need to be set being race springs. This will then be completed on the rollers for final tuning. Unless Phoenix a pref I thought of calling Gerry @ Dastek for use of their dyno and let Barry tune it up.
- Chassis: Hopefully a fun stage as it means getting the car on track and working out damper settings etc. It's probably worth talking to John at Leda and maybe send down the current springs to measure poundage unless they're marked or you have spring testers? From that John (if we give him the increase in weight etc) will be able to have an idea of what springs to try. I suspect as I'll be running ground effects that the springs will be 1000lb+ (certainly on the rear). At that stage we can work out if the dampers need removed, serviced and revalved accordingly. Brakes should hopefully involve new lines, pads, salve cylinders and that pedal box assembly. I'll likely be going for 17 or 18" (x10J) wheels with new rubber so we can get the power down and sort the corner weights.
- Bodywork/livery: again a fund stage & all down to Mr Codling Jr. We decide on a livery scheme and decide how Phoenix want to use the car for promo work etc. I've promised Rob Barnes a showstopper!
Housekeeping: I'm getting some heat from buyers - I'll pick up the lights and motors tomorrow (Brian is coming over in the avo). I'll also stick the delivery address on the box with the block and chargecooler for Magnus, and have UPS pick that up in the week. Also the main engine needs to be drained and tied to the block - Garry K will then send courier to pick up. The speedo needs to be removed for Darren and I'll pick that up in the week if okay.
All this by mid-March before the first timeattack event, which the team is already registered and really hope Phoenix still want to be involved with. I'm sure they must have some concerns re' the install but I have no doubt they can work round these and make work what is already £20K+ project. What I need reassurance on, now that I've vested this money, is that they're still enthusiastic and confident to get the job done. Will chat it all over with John L tomorrow.
Hopefully I'll feel more confident in my next update..
John L had mentioned the carb looked suspect and not a 'Da Vinci'? I spoke to Barry re the carb - it's a handbuilt carb using a holley casing and Da Vinci parts - i.e. a on-eoff: much of which are modified from a 4 barrel - so bigger jets etc but Barry can supply different parts to help set the car up. I believe the parts/time etc run into the $$$$.
Going down to the workshop tomorrow morning for a pow wow. Main thing is to discuss the install - this will of course become clearer once the trans arrives. As mentioned it may be necessary to move the firewall but critical measurements look ok; albeit with no major room left over. Width wise the Esprit is pretty wide to accomodate the block. However the rear roll cage tubes may need to be cut and modified. To run the headers it may be neccessary to re-house the fuel tank in the front and I can get a fuel cell from the US if needs be.
Have asked John if he can arrange to have one of the valve-covers removed then we can have a look at what all the fuss is about. I was suprised to hear the engine had chromed covers - my preference would be the whole thing to be in matt black but will take what we get, and I guess a small bit of chrome will look quite 'bling'. There is approx £35K of internals in that engine I'm told. MSD has a 7200rpm chip in currently but there's chips there up to 8300rpm! The valves are not hydraulic and need to be set-up jst before the engine is fired (and before every event). Race springs are tight and so weaken if let to stand, even titanium ones. They also get replaced every year or 2 because of this.
Before the trans gets here I suggested removing the back-end bodywork for easier access and engine crane the block over the car to see how the block may sit and work out what needs chopping. I reckon the length of the trans, adapter plate etc wont cause any problems. The tubes can be cut as the chassis is backboned and the tubes are part of the cage. However once put together we need to make it look as close to blue book as poss but we can perhaps bolt the rear sections.
Once the tranny arrives I see the project has 5 main stages:
- The initial install: making the hardware, mounts and any chassis mods to accomodate. Clearly a massive amount of work to be done but then this is no normal project. I'm hoping Phoenix enjoy the challenge?
- Re-loom and wiring: hooking up new wiring/fuses to fit the new engine, dash etc. Should hopefully be a lot less than what's in there currently. At this stage we'd probably best put in one very large red top battery or 2 batteries given the lack of an alternator. This will make a massive difference to the car's reliability.
- Engine set-up: Clearly this is the most risky stage for the engine and Barry made a point that the fine tolerances in the engine could be easily damaged from poor set-up. Although I know he's left notes and is a phonecall away - I appreciate this is the first Phoenix will have set up an engine like this; so may look to fly Barry over after Xmas to help set yup the car for the first time and show Alan around the valves etc which all need to be set being race springs. This will then be completed on the rollers for final tuning. Unless Phoenix a pref I thought of calling Gerry @ Dastek for use of their dyno and let Barry tune it up.
- Chassis: Hopefully a fun stage as it means getting the car on track and working out damper settings etc. It's probably worth talking to John at Leda and maybe send down the current springs to measure poundage unless they're marked or you have spring testers? From that John (if we give him the increase in weight etc) will be able to have an idea of what springs to try. I suspect as I'll be running ground effects that the springs will be 1000lb+ (certainly on the rear). At that stage we can work out if the dampers need removed, serviced and revalved accordingly. Brakes should hopefully involve new lines, pads, salve cylinders and that pedal box assembly. I'll likely be going for 17 or 18" (x10J) wheels with new rubber so we can get the power down and sort the corner weights.
- Bodywork/livery: again a fund stage & all down to Mr Codling Jr. We decide on a livery scheme and decide how Phoenix want to use the car for promo work etc. I've promised Rob Barnes a showstopper!
Housekeeping: I'm getting some heat from buyers - I'll pick up the lights and motors tomorrow (Brian is coming over in the avo). I'll also stick the delivery address on the box with the block and chargecooler for Magnus, and have UPS pick that up in the week. Also the main engine needs to be drained and tied to the block - Garry K will then send courier to pick up. The speedo needs to be removed for Darren and I'll pick that up in the week if okay.
All this by mid-March before the first timeattack event, which the team is already registered and really hope Phoenix still want to be involved with. I'm sure they must have some concerns re' the install but I have no doubt they can work round these and make work what is already £20K+ project. What I need reassurance on, now that I've vested this money, is that they're still enthusiastic and confident to get the job done. Will chat it all over with John L tomorrow.
Hopefully I'll feel more confident in my next update..
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