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Some of you saw the Meg at the 928 Rendevous in Atlanta 2 weeks ago, and I'm glad you did. I'm taking her back to Bonneville next month during Speed Week to see if I can't break my own record and put down a much better number. But, I am short-staffed and I wonder if there isn't a 928'r that would like the experience of Bonneville checked off on their bucket list.
When I set the 928 record in 2011, I reached 216.6357 MPH at only 5600 rpm - and couldn't go higher because of what I thought was tire slip at the time. Later testing on the chassis dyno showed we had clutch slip then - at 960 HP - and that makes me think that my limiting factor at Bonneville may have been clutch all along, not tire slip. Long story short - the clutch has been replaced (and tested ) with a new Tilton triple-disk, and its holding well. I also have more HP than in 2011, too. I'm excited to go back. As I just had my 63rd birthday and I am expecting a funeral next summer for my wife of 33 years who is in hospice, I think this may be the last time I get out for such a thing. I want to make it a good one.
Where I need help: I need to find a guy who'd like to attend as a member of my crew that has a service vehicle that we can use for the week. Race cars are not allowed to operate under their own power anywhere at Bonneville (unless they are making a run), so they are required to be flat-towed everywhere. This is what they refer to as the "service vehicle". It can be anything - pickup truck or sedan. It will need to seat 4 or 5 guys with water and a fire extinguisher and odd supplies. After I take off from the starting line, the crew takes off down the service road (at 45 MPH max) to meet me at the other end, 6 miles away. They will hook me up, and flat tow me to the pits. It's a pretty easy gig. My last service vehicle in 2011 and 2012 was my Uncle Dale's Honda CRV. Worked fine.
You do not want this car to be too special, its going to get a lot of salt on it. Sure, it can be all washed off later, but its still nasty. I'm hoping one of your guys might not live too far away and might be interested. We also use the service vehicle when we need to run into nearby Wendover (about 8 miles away) for anything.
I will pay for your crew pass and provide food. You can bunk with us in the Toterhome or pitch a tent next to it. Dates are August 10th to August 16th. If you have never been to Speed Week - this is an event you wont want to miss.
Last edited by Carl Fausett; 07-12-2019 at 06:18 PM.
OK - now for the project stuff. When you guys saw the Meg in Atlanta last month, she was already in a state of transition. She was wearing the 345 rears and 315 fronts complete with fender flares that I road race on, yet she had been fitted with the required rear spoiler and parachute too. A foot in both boats, as it were.
With just 3 weeks to go, now we are in full pre-race prep mode. All the road racing stuff has to go in preference for all the land speed racing stuff. Fender flares have been removed and rocker panel flares in this picture. Belly pans with lead ballast have been brought out of storage and laid in place ready to be hoisted up and bolted in place. The big road racing brakes are all removed, in preference to the little 1978 stock brakes that makes no sense. Here are some pics.
Fender flare removed, land speed (300 MPH rated) tire on front. Fender flare removed in rear, land speed tire fitted. Lead-filled belly pan in position ready for lift. Bin full of the brakes that came off the car to do this - wish I had them on the car!
Things that have been done prior to this include: removing the T56 6-speed and replacing it with a custom built TR 6060 transaxle by RPM transmissions that will hold up to the torque this motor is making. Also replaced my 4.10 FDR gearset with a 2.72:1 gearset for Bonneville. Much higher potential top speed. Stronger driveshaft and clutch have been fitted too. Axles are good, I'm a little worried about the CV joints. The traction isn't really good at Bonneville on the salt, so I think I will not be torque-shocking the CV joints much and expect to be OK. If I have trouble with them, it will be next year when road-racing. Made some changes in the shape of our front clip too in an effort to improve aero in some points. Here is the part before the air exit louvers were cut in and the clip went to paint.
I'm a little surprised you aren't working to narrow the front clip rather than widen it. Wrapping the cowl down around the wheel openings rather than opening them and separating air from the cowl with those flair sections. From memory there aren't any corners to manage on the flats. Anything you can do to reduce total frontal area is supposed to be good, right?
You are very correct. When I am done I will have partially skirted these front tires and almost all of the rears. Narrowing the front clip would reduce my frontal area up to the point where it becomes more narrow than the rear. However, the improvement in aero is real even when the frontal area is no longer getting smaller. I am limited somewhat in how far I can narrow the front clip because I have only one mold for my front clip, not two. So I started with the front clip as it comes out of the mold for road racing, and then I modify it down from there. Other considerations are the width of the outsides of the 928 front shock towers and such... other than a purpose-built land speed car, nothing much I can do about that.
Besides, I want my number, whatever it turns out to be, to represent a real and recognizable 928.
In this chart, I show the mods we made in the wind tunnel (early 2012) and what each did to our Cd. We started with a Cd of .300 (which was already lower than a stock 928 because the headlights, fog lights, wipers, cowl gap and and mirrors were already gone before that measurement took place) and after the mods, ended up with a working Cd of .251
Not on this chart (because we ran out of time) is the effect of a Gurney lip, skirting those wheel wells, and a 14" chord-line on the rear spoiler. Those should all help drive my Cd down even further.
Last edited by Carl Fausett; 07-14-2019 at 06:58 PM.
This mornings efforts. When completed, the car will have a complete belly pan with tunnel down the center. It ends in a rear diffuser to try to create as much downforce as we can.
However, if air is allowed to slide under the car from the sides, the effects of the belly pan and rear diffuser will be negated. So, the whole car will be skirted beneath the rocker panels. Where I cannot add traditional skirts, like inside the fender wells, I add sheet metal to again attempt to limit the incursion of air into the diffuser from the sides.
before inner fender liner after inner fender liner
Last edited by Carl Fausett; 07-14-2019 at 06:59 PM.
May your attempt be fruitful as well. I have the perfect vehicle, but am on the East coast.
Your work is impressive as I have always been more of a fan for ultimate speed than any other motorsport. I am in the final phases of a 72 Chevelle with a new process overdrive transmission and 2.73:1 gears running a dual quad (one to one) on a 406 roller and gear driven small block with 4 bolt mains. I am building a front air dam for it, but will not be nearly as involved in tweaking for speed as you obviously are.
REPRESENT THE 928!!
Parkinsons, entering our 23 year of it. I was able to care for her in our home for 19 years until her condition worsened to the point where that was no longer possible. Beautiful woman, inside and out. My buddy. Wanted me to race and play with the car even tho she didn't get it, just because it made me happy. There's lots to say - but this isn't the right forum for such things. Just wanted you guys to know why I haven't been able to attend as many events as I might have liked, and why I see next summer as being more difficult still.
May your attempt be fruitful as well. I have the perfect vehicle, but am on the East coast. Your work is impressive as I have always been more of a fan for ultimate speed than any other motorsport. I am in the final phases of a 72 Chevelle with a new process overdrive transmission and 2.73:1 gears running a dual quad (one to one) on a 406 roller and gear driven small block with 4 bolt mains. I am building a front air dam for it, but will not be nearly as involved in tweaking for speed as you obviously are.
Sounds like a cool project. My advice: Do what you can, but always go race as long as the car is safe. Never mind that it isn't "done". Done is in your mind - you will race it, discover even more to do, then come back and modify, race, repeat. Enjoy. Remember that if you come home and the race car looks like it did when you left, you had a successful race.
Today I repaired a very early modification I must've made in about 2004. These were NACA ducts that I cut into the rocker panels to duct cool air to my rear brakes.
Those NACA ducts and the hose that attached to them have been gone for many years now, and hidden by the fiberglass rocker panels this car normally wears. Now that I have removed those, I decided to go "au naturale" and show up with the original 1978 rocker panels showing. So I needed to cover the holes correctly.
The hole for the NACA brake duct before I repair it. The braided line is the fuel line to the engine - a -10 AN. Test-fitting the new sheet metal piece. I like Cleco fasteners for sheet metal work like this. Really handy. Finished repair, ready for paint.
Message received. I have come into possession of a 82 auto that would be destined for some kind of competitive work if it isn't parted out. Stay well and know that there are no mistakes. Keep the greasy side down and the shiny side up!
07-12-2019, 05:27 PM
Bonneville 2019 prep, and a request for help.
So I needed to cover the holes correctly.
