McArlus Cars - 14

A plea for help. Please read Simon's post and if you can help let us know and I'll pass on his contact details.

Help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am progressing well with much of the minor, very time consuming assembly.

I’ll detail some of the bits and pieces over the next few days.

But first I may need some help.

Setting up the drive shafts to get the short intermediate shaft made, I spent ages making sure that I had enough travel in the suspension and also for the chain adjustment. On the yellow car I had had trouble in this area before.

To my surprise, and dismay (!), I have just noticed that I have very little bump travel in the rear suspension as the CV joints are bottoming out!

I have done some research on the net today and came across ANF driveshaft in NSW.

In their notes on the KA Laser Driveshaft, they mention that their listed part is “slightly shorter than standard”.

Believe it or not, out of 6, I have one slightly shorter shaft, and I may have used it for the set up!

Does anyone know a driveshaft supplier who can give me a definitive answer, supply the correct driveshaft, or anything else that may help, like mixing shafts with different CV joint ends.

It’s a problem that can be solved, just disappointing that an important part of the design criteria, namely that common standard parts be used where possible has been compromised in a fairly significant way.

For the record:

KA Laser, Mazda 323 driveshaft and it’s the short one of the two.

I measure a “long” one at 614mm, fully compressed, overall length

“Short” one 606mm

Please let me know of any suggestions.

Thanks

Simon

'28 roadster.

On Tuesday we had a fund raiser for our new men's shed in the form of a sausage sizzle outside Bunnings at Munno Para. It was a financially rewarding effort. It was amazing to see some of the cars that rolled up through the day including a nice sounding 1954 Plymouth Cranbrook, an immaculate orange one tonner and this blue rod.

It's a '28 Model A body with a '32 Model B radiator cowl. The body is all fibreglass. It's very authentic looking. The guards, valance and running boards are all moulded in one piece. I believe the bodies are relatively inexpensive. You could make a great car on a budget. Well, a bit more than my budget.

Giocattolo 2.

Following on from the previous post, Peter G has dug out this article from a 1989 Modern Motor. He has others too, by the way.

Giocattolo

For all of my overseas friends who have emailed me asking what a Giocattolo was, here's a few pics starting with Anthony's white one.

And a couple of others.

Basically they started with a new bare Alfa Sprint body and one of the main ingredients is a 308 cu. in. Holden V8 sitting roughly where the back seat would have been and they go like stink.

Outback Whiskey

This is what Bolwell owners drink in Spain.

I've never heard of it.

Christmas run to Glacier Rock

Just a few photos. Thanks to Ken and Beven.

Holden bias from Jason.

Jason Bright comes up with some funny photos at times. His comment on this one is typical.

"Santa should have known he was never going to make it in a Ford!"

The Noname Clubman.

Remember the scratch built Nissan Clubman from Auburn we featured a while back? Well, the no longer single Rick Dathan has a friend, Jim, who built this.

It's seen here at the Haunted Hills Hillclimb. In Rick's words:-
 He built it all himself from scratch - started with some Lotus 7 photos, adjusted the lines a little and made his own moulds. Made his own chassis, suspension, etc.

Electronic Stability Control.

This advertisement from VicRoads turned up in The Advertiser today.

Does this have repercussions on the Victorian Kit Car industry?

A lap or two of Mallala in the Dream Machine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wkx5vPyLeM&feature=autofb

Robert Vanderkamps Improved Production XY GT Falcon racing at Mallala raceway with plenty traffic along the way. The secrect of this event is consistant lap times & to not go under 1.20 or you get sent home packing. Car laps in at 1.17 so detune the engine a bit & have a bit of good old fashion FUN!


And a couple of photos from DG on Officials Ride Day.

Beautiful aren't they? Next to a Stinkin' Hot Nagari or Pantera, what could be a better way to drive around Mallala?

Kapunda - week 17

The mighty P76. This one lives just around the corner. The owners are P76 fanatics and I think this one is the pride of the fleet. 4.4 litres of aluminium V8. You could get lots of horsepower from them. Just ask John McCormack.

How to drift.

Another session from Grant at OBP.

HOW TO DRIFT

Drifting is the art of controlled oversteer for dramatic effect using either rear or four wheel drive cars. There are many different methods of inducing oversteer, your choice depends on the properties of your vehicle. A very good way is to use a bias pedal box system. Once oversteer has been invoked, you'll need to control the drift using the throttle and counter steering. To maintain an accurate line while going sideways is tricky, and will take lots of practice. Many different drifting track days are emerging such as the annual Autocar 'Sideways Challenge' (in the UK) where you can learn this art. 

What kind of car do I need to drift?

• Rear or four wheel drive with a rear bias
• Lots of power is useful
• Bias Pedal Box
• Hydraulic Handbrake
• A limited slip differential to keep both rear wheels spinning, rather than just one
• The ability to turn off any electronic stability control systems
• Cheap rear tyres!

You can't drift properly in a front wheel drive car - you can oversteer temporarily, but it's impossible to sustain a drift correctly without rear or four wheel drive.

Stages of the drift

We've split the drifting process into four main stages shown in Diagram 1 below.
A. Turning in
B. Inducing oversteer
C. Controlling and sustaining the drift
D. Exiting the drift

Diagram 1: The four stages of drifting

 A. Turning In

When learning to drift, our advice is to approach a tight 30mph turn in second gear at about 3000rpm - this will give you a decent amount of torque to keep the rear wheels spinning once you've induced oversteer. Remember drifting is not the fastest way round a corner so you're not trying to set speed records here. Turn in and aim to apex about half way round at the geometric apex (the green line in Diagram 1 above). If apex too soon you can find that the car will run wide and you'll have to compensate by ending the drift early, too late and you'll be on the straight early and won't have any time to sustain the drift. With practice you'll be able to drift round the corner in a smooth arc which follows the racing line.
Once you have mastered drifting along the racing line, you'll then be able to start the drift earlier and sustain it for the entire corner, and even adjust the angle or steering simply by adjusting the throttle.

B. Inducing oversteer

At the apex of the corner you need to initiate oversteer, which sometimes is more difficult than it sounds. Drifting has developed its own unique terminology for techniques to 'get the back out' which are explained below. Remember that if you have a modern car with clever electronic stability control systems you'll need to turn these off first. 

Power / Power over / Power slide

If you have a powerful car it should be possible to break traction simply by accelerating sharply mid bend - this is the preferred method of inducing oversteer as it is easy to control and repeat. If you increase the throttle too slowly it's unlikely anything other than understeer will occur, too hard and the car may spin. You're aiming for a sharp, sustained hit of power in the right gear - practice will help you get the balance right. You might be surprised about how much power is required on a road with a good surface, so it migh be helpful to chose a road which is either damp or has lower traction tarmac.

Clutch Kick

Clutch kick is a useful technique to use if you do not have a particularly powerful rear wheel drive car. The trick here is to enter the corner and dip the clutch. Raise the engine revs to near the red line, and then release the clutch at the apex. The resulting shock load of torque sent through the driveline should break traction at the rear wheels, thus invoking oversteer.

Changing down / Shift lock

"Shift lock" describes the action of locking the rear wheels momentarily by changing down a gear (or two) rapidly without rev matching. Once you're back on the gas this will give you the benefits of more torque at the wheels due to the lower gear, with high revs helping sustain the drift.

Lift off / braking

Entering a corner fast, then lifting off the accelerator at the apex can cause oversteer due to the resulting forward weight transfer which reduces grip at the rear tyres. If you drive a particularly stubborn car, a quick dab on thebrakes may help.

Handbrake / E-brake

If your car refuses to get tail happy, there is always the option of using ahydraulic handbrake. A sudden sharp application and release mid corner will break traction at the rear wheels. Get on the throttle as soon as the back steps out.

Scandinavian flick / feint

Flicking the car the opposite direction to the corner, just before turn in will generate a rapid lateral weight transfer which can unsettle the car enough to flick the back out. As soon as you turn in, get on the gas and prepare for the resulting oversteer.

Jump drift

This is probably one of the more risky methods – the trick here is to put two wheels onto the inside edge of the track while cornering, with the resulting bump unsettling car enough to break traction at the rear. Use with caution!

Suggested methods of inducing oversteer

 Most of the above methods can be used in combination (for example a 'Scandinavian flick' combined with 'lift off'), but you'll need to experiment with your own car to see which work best. 

C. Controlling and sustaining the drift

Once the back starts to come round (1 in Diagram 2) you need to act quickly. Keep the power on (you might be surprised how much power is required to sustain the drift) and quickly counter-steer in the desired direction of travel (2), and balance the throttle to alter the attitude of the car.
Diagram 2: Catching the drift 

 

To sustain the drift you need to keep the power on to keep the rear wheels spinning - about 80% throttle is the rule of thumb (although you'll need less in slippery or low traction conditions). If the back comes round too far, gently ease off the throttle and apply additional steering lock to correct the slide. If you're finding it hard to keep the slide going, you may need to use more power or take the corner slightly faster.

Diagram 3: Sustaining and ending the drift 

 

D. Ending the drift

Finishing the drift and getting the car straight again can be tricky - if you end the drift too quickly you might find the car starts to oversteer in the opposite direction, leading to 'fishtailing' and a pendulum effect which can be hard to control. The trick is to ease off the power smoothly and turn the steering rapidly and decisively back to the straight ahead position. Don't let the steering run through your hands as this won't give you the control you need. 

Preparing a drift car

If you decide to get serious and have a car specially for drifting, you should consider a series of relatively simple modifications.

Suspension

It's a good idea to try and reduce body roll and thus increase control due to a more consistent tyre contact patch by fitting stiffer springs and dampers. Adjustable ride height and damping will allow you to tune the suspension to your personal tastes. Fit stiffer anti-roll (sway) bars particularly at the back, which should be stiffer than the front to provide a good turn-in and reduce understeer. And if you're feeling really keen, a few degrees of negative camber on the front wheels will further reduce understeer and give you a nice sharp steering response.

Engine, drivetrain and electronic aids

As drift cars tend to put the engine under high load and the angles they are driven at prevent an efficient flow of air through the radiators it's sensible to fit cooling upgrades for radiator and oil. A limited slip differential with a decent amount of lock up torque is preferred, but budget racers may opt for a welded diff, which shouldn't be used on the road. Clutch upgrades are also a good idea, especially if you're using the 'clutch kick' approach to inducing oversteer. Electronic traction aids should be completely disabled, which may involve the removal of a fuse in cars with over protective systems.

Tyres

Slick rear tyres or tyres with low tread are ideal for drifting. Rear pressures can be increased if you're finding it difficult to get the back out. The best drift tyres have a stiff sidewall which reduces deformation under heavy load and gives a more predictable drift.

This is just a guide that is to be used on the track only. obp do not encourage public highway racing in any way at all.

Ikara No.1

Talking of Roger, he happened to scan the pages of that particular Ikara article in Sports Car World Quarterly. I, in turn have scanned the scans and put them on a disc for this post and what could be better for a Christmas Day post. Not that I'm biassed or anything.

Roger's Mark 7 roadster.

Just have a look at these pics. It's a photo shoot of Roger and his Mark 7. These are low res. versions for the blog. You ought to see the high resolution ones! You'll be able to see some of these photos in the Unique Cars article when it comes out on January 11th.

If you're wondering what that is above that big speedo, it's a map of Kangaroo Island.

Kapunda - week 16

The Ullrich Jensen, a potential front runner in tarmac rallies. Yesterday I was sitting in a meeting at the Council Chambers and guess what went past. On the back of a truck, going down the main street was one of these or the model before with a similar body, unrestored and in undercoat grey. Being in a meeting I couldn't rush outside and get a photo or see which way it went. I wonder if it was just passing through.

Which Nagari?

I've had this press photograph for about 40 years I reckon.

I have no recollection of where it came from. It's 10 x 6 and looks very much like photographs I have had for various things from one of the Murdoch papers like The Advertiser or The Age,  The Age most probably. Unless it came from a regional newspaper after an Easter I hadn't been to. Does anybody recognise the car or the lady in the passenger seat?

From Scotland.

This week I heard from Jim Smith. About 30 years ago he designed and built a nice little VW based kit car in Adelaide. Not long after, his circumstances took him back to Scotland, his birthplace, where he set up a composites business and manufactured once again, his own limited edition kit cars, finally moving on to consulting on and manufacturing Formula 1 components and aeroplane parts. In the early 80s Jim became inspired by our black Ikara, B9/001. He really loved the concept to the extent that we set about arranging a licencing arrangement for him to build such a car in Scotland. This came to an abrupt halt when the Ikara jigs and moulds suddenly disappeared to a wharf shed in Athens. So keen was Jim that he went to Greece in a vain search for them. Anyway, moving up to the present, Jim is now working on his own, making exotic audio speakers and art furniture after 25 years in his own much larger business. All this time he has maintained his interest in kit cars owning a number of them including a GTM Libre. Presently his car is an A M Imola, a 2 litre mid engined car powered by the Opel C20XE. Mildly tuned, it is getting 0-60mph in under 5 seconds. Here's a few pictures of Jim's Imola.