Never before has so little power been made from so much displacement! (Page 8 of 57)

A dragstrip run is planned. but I'm expecting something more like 16-18seconds down the 1/4 mile. that german car is much lighter and the motor is much larger.

thanks for the video, it's fantastic i like how the launch sounds like he's just launching at idle.

How about the big chains used in the drive systems of the V8 Toronados and Eldorados? I'm sure they're hell to pull out of a junked car, but you should be able to find plenty of late-70s Eldo donor cars.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#roller-chain/=axn9p0

Take chain load rating in pounds, then divide it by output (engine-side) sprocket radius in fractions of a foot, and see if it's more than 600. If it is, the chain will work. If not, get a bigger sprocket or a stronger chain.

Mount the sprocket on the engine, maybe with an extension shaft (to put the engine behind the transmission). Then assemble a light flywheel, a clutch, and a 2x-3x smaller sprocket together and attach said assembly to the transmission. Connect the two together with a chain, with the engine sitting behind and somewhat on top of the transmission, and then rigidly couple the engine with its transmission. That's how I'd do it.

I think Saab uses a very similar system, and so did TH425, as Murilee mentioned (although TH was automatic only, and Saab had manual gearboxes).

That engine would be happier as a constant speed unit, so why not build a hybrid?  Hook the radial up to a generator and use an electric motor for propulsion.  Risk of dramatic engine failure AND electrocution!!!

On your 550 degree temp number, if I see cylinder head temps heading past 400 degrees, I am pretty sure that I have a serious problem.

Just googly it.. Some of the ones I found have a mind numbing amount of calcs to them, but call any belt supplier and tell them how much RPM, torque and pulley size you want and they will tell you how much belt... need about a 4" belt for this prolly. I've just been doing this as I am converting my 12x37 lathe to CNC with timing belts....

here's a quick google, but the gates people or distributors can size it right for you
http://www.durabelt.com/instructionsbeltsizer.php
http://www.gates.com/index.cfm?location_id=560

heh. with that much torque you could have left the interior in. or pull it out and replace the interior with solid gold ingots...yeah, that would be sweeeeet.

Ooooh, far more Lemons experience with this than I want to admit.  First there is a big difference in what the different style of CV joints can handle.  A rezeppa style where the ball cage is sliding can barely handle 1deg at 6K, a tripod style CV can handle the 4deg you mentioned as long as you have good grease in it, but a double-cardan CV can handle out to 7deg at that speed because the only sliding contact is the spherical phasing joint in the center of it.  Take a look at Spicer 1310 CV's (aka Ford Ranger front driveshaft) if you can handle the longer length.

If you need a quick change gearbox the one I made for the previous incarnation of the Angry Hamster is up for adoption...I can't remember if I left enough room in the case to fit 3:1 gears though.

As long as you have a bike chain running in even the slightest oil bath you will not have any problems.  All of the commercial chain life calculators are incredibly conservative and will have you spec. chain that weighs more than your car if you add in all of their load multipliers.  Heat is what kills drive chains in bike engined cars because you can actually put down all the power.  So you need to have an oil bath and keep the sprocket diameters as large as reasonable to minimize the flexing of the chain.

Just pay the shipping costs and it's yours.  I don't even want to think about how much labor I have into it.  Yes, I'll give you any drawings you need and it's set up for 10 spline gears right now.  When I checked the model you can fit a 4.25" gear in there but you will need to modify the vent system because it's going to act like a positive displacement pump sending oil everywhere when the gear gets that close to the case.

-Tim

Marc, I woke up at 4am this morning thinking about your project.  I get the publication from the Aviation Engine Historical Society http://www.enginehistory.org/ and remembered an article on the power pulses and how the flywheel effect of the propeller was necessary for the engine to run properly.  So I called a company I know that rebuilds radial engines and they also suggested that even with the load of the drivetrain that engine is going to be happiest with a flywheel or clutch arrangement of some sort attached to the crankshaft similar to what they did with WWII radial powered land vehicles, the M4 Sherman tank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_Sherman and the tracked landing vehicles.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landing_Vehicle_Tracked    Pretty cool fan and duct setup

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6tL69gHybk

I subscribe to this magazine and they have a good search engine  http://www.enginehistory.org/

This is why Squirrelly Z600 is a Legend of Lemons!

Also, please don't make some kind of sketchy-ass flywheel out of manhole covers, tires full of concrete, etc.

It's worth mentioning that it's this kind of stuff that separates Lemons from the rest of the entire freaking automotive world. It's awesome when "crackpots unite" is a rallying cry.

Credit where credit is due.  Phil is the one who taught me that when someone is this far "down the rabbit hole" the only fair thing to do is toss in another carrot and kick dirt over the exit.  It makes for maximum entertainment that way