HIGHWAYMAN: Bringing the Devore 928 back from the dead
#436
Banned
Thread Starter
It's not bad at all. Whenever I see something like this I have to remind myself that Bob did not have the ability to log on to a meaningful internet like today, and be instantly presented with 1000 choices that he could have delivered to his door within 24 hours.
When you look at things from that perspective, a lot of his motivations seem clearer.
The functional problem with the unit is that while it looks fantastic when standing still, you cannot really tighten that jam nut enough to cause the wheel not to wobble ever so slightly. Then, when you think you have it real tight, and you turn the wheel a bunch of times forcefully, it reintroduces that play again.
Lastly, modern wheel releases are one-handers; if this nut locks on me for some reason, and I can't twist it off, I will basically be stuck in the car
#437
Banned
Thread Starter
I needed a quick-release too when I had a large round wheel like that. Had to take the wheel off to get in and (more importantly) OUT of the car.
When I replaced the steering wheel with a "D" model (flat on the bottom) found it no longer neccesary.
Still - other reasons to have a quick-release: great to have when working on the car under-dash and stuff, so handy to get the steering wheel out of the way... And moving the steering wheel closer to me by that 1.5" is a lot more comfortable (I have the seat pretty far back).
When I replaced the steering wheel with a "D" model (flat on the bottom) found it no longer neccesary.
Still - other reasons to have a quick-release: great to have when working on the car under-dash and stuff, so handy to get the steering wheel out of the way... And moving the steering wheel closer to me by that 1.5" is a lot more comfortable (I have the seat pretty far back).
#438
Banned
Thread Starter
Brake Lines / Calipers
Pads arrived today (Pagid Black), so I put on the front calipers and Goodridge braided lines on all four corners (Thanks Carl!).
Looking good. This is a major milestone for this car. Who knows when it last had brakes on all four corners.
I'll bleed these in a week or so after the rains and get that part all dialed in.
Looking good. This is a major milestone for this car. Who knows when it last had brakes on all four corners.
I'll bleed these in a week or so after the rains and get that part all dialed in.
#439
Banned
Thread Starter
Something was bothering me
I kept being bothered by the brake lines for the left and right fronts. It wasn't so much that they were damaged; they were still structurally OK. They just had a bunch of bends and kinks in them that told me someone may have been experimenting with their run. They have an ugly brown finish on them (they are not copper), and I just felt replacement was the right thing to do.
The left side had a wholly unnecessary stretch loop built in, which was puzzling. This line goes from the master to the bracket above the left wheel. There is no movement between these two points, or at the very least it is negligible. Also, there was a coupler in this line that existed for no reason; one more failure point.
So i just made two new lines. Now I feel better about it!
The left side had a wholly unnecessary stretch loop built in, which was puzzling. This line goes from the master to the bracket above the left wheel. There is no movement between these two points, or at the very least it is negligible. Also, there was a coupler in this line that existed for no reason; one more failure point.
So i just made two new lines. Now I feel better about it!
#440
Banned
Thread Starter
Still too high
The car was stolen last night, and thankfully recovered in East LA where I found it had been fitted with air bags.
I kid, I kid. Fitting up the spoiler and was laughing at the ride height!
I kid, I kid. Fitting up the spoiler and was laughing at the ride height!
#441
Banned
Thread Starter
A Man's Jewelry, part II
The replacement quick release unit arrived today; it will stand in for Devore's homebrew unit, which will stay in the garage in a box of curios and relics.
I'm sure Jeff Gamroth of Rothsport isn't too well known in these circles; his 911 stuff is legendary and he makes some of the finest 911 racing accessories on the planet.
This is one of those units; it's a one handed quick release. Zero play, zero slop, the kidney shaped receiver is easy to index, and the unit is beautiful to look at. They are not cheap. I think I paid over $450 with shipping. But very much worth it.
I'm sure Jeff Gamroth of Rothsport isn't too well known in these circles; his 911 stuff is legendary and he makes some of the finest 911 racing accessories on the planet.
This is one of those units; it's a one handed quick release. Zero play, zero slop, the kidney shaped receiver is easy to index, and the unit is beautiful to look at. They are not cheap. I think I paid over $450 with shipping. But very much worth it.
#442
Banned
Thread Starter
Achieving the Effect
Today I brought a bunch of the Devore aero bits to my alignment guy to be rendered in CF. Saying"my alignment guy" doesn't give him credit. Andrew Lang of Lang Racing Development is one of the foremost BMW experts in the country, offering many aftermarket parts and built engines for Bimmers. He also runs his own race car, and does racing development for Porsches as well. He does my dyno work, alignment, and corner balancing on every car I have owned.
He has a complete carbon fiber fabrication facility and puts out some nice work, which you will be seeing on the Devore car.
One of the challenges is bringing the aero up to current standards. As I stated in a previous post, the 928 never benefited from any real race development except for at the hands of privateers. I have never seen a 928 out there that has anything resembling modern aero, and that includes Mark Anderson's car, Joe Fan's car, etc. It's basically a plug the holes and slap a wing on approach.
My plan is to better that, in part because I have good resources in Lang Racing that are experienced in making splitters, diffusers, wings, and other devices, and they do it for a LIVING.
Aero makes the car easier to drive, plain and simple. The more it sticks, the better it is.
For now, I am going with the basic shape of Bob's splitter, except in CF, and carrying it much further back. I will tweak it from there.
Also, watch for an integration of RSR-like fender vents like the ones shown. Remember that the RSR and Devore car share the same rubber width, except the RSR has a way to relieve wheel well pressure, which reduces lift.
Goals:
- vent the hood and front wheel wells to reduce front end lift
- create a full body undertray at some point, after everything is tested.
- add a diffuser to the car
He has a complete carbon fiber fabrication facility and puts out some nice work, which you will be seeing on the Devore car.
One of the challenges is bringing the aero up to current standards. As I stated in a previous post, the 928 never benefited from any real race development except for at the hands of privateers. I have never seen a 928 out there that has anything resembling modern aero, and that includes Mark Anderson's car, Joe Fan's car, etc. It's basically a plug the holes and slap a wing on approach.
My plan is to better that, in part because I have good resources in Lang Racing that are experienced in making splitters, diffusers, wings, and other devices, and they do it for a LIVING.
Aero makes the car easier to drive, plain and simple. The more it sticks, the better it is.
For now, I am going with the basic shape of Bob's splitter, except in CF, and carrying it much further back. I will tweak it from there.
Also, watch for an integration of RSR-like fender vents like the ones shown. Remember that the RSR and Devore car share the same rubber width, except the RSR has a way to relieve wheel well pressure, which reduces lift.
Goals:
- vent the hood and front wheel wells to reduce front end lift
- create a full body undertray at some point, after everything is tested.
- add a diffuser to the car
#446
Developer
I have nothing to report. There was no physical change or different feeling inside the car at all. We seemed to pick up a little more speed on the main straight at Road America, but that might be just because I was coming out of the last corner before the straight at a higher exit speed as much as it might be the venting from the wheel wells.
I wish I had before-and-after front brake temps to share, but we don't have that set up on the car.
I wish I had before-and-after front brake temps to share, but we don't have that set up on the car.
#447
Chronic Tool Dropper
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I'm lagging my coverage of this thread. Looking back a few posts, you were working on the brake lines. Comments from you lead me to believe you are not aware that the lines are originally CuNiFer, a copper-nickel-steel alloy that is functionally corrosion-proof in service. The brown coating you note is the copper component that's a little tarnished from exposure to air and moisture. It's quite normal. Further, the original bends are pretty much finger-formed, witnessed by the various bend radii I see around the MC and ABS units in my car. The lines around under the chassis have formed turns that closer resemble what I'm used to seeing in production cars.
You are or will soon be aware that the diagonal braking plumbing is different in the rear too. The later cars have a T on the rear face of the bulkhead just forward of the original battery location, with both rear brakes plumbed together. Diagonal cars have individual lines all the way to the MC. I'm sure you'll figure it all out.
I'm enjoying the work you are doing, and appreciate the time you are taking to share your adventure with us all.
You are or will soon be aware that the diagonal braking plumbing is different in the rear too. The later cars have a T on the rear face of the bulkhead just forward of the original battery location, with both rear brakes plumbed together. Diagonal cars have individual lines all the way to the MC. I'm sure you'll figure it all out.
I'm enjoying the work you are doing, and appreciate the time you are taking to share your adventure with us all.
#448
Banned
Thread Starter
Hi Dr Bob!
Thank you for the inisight! Which brings me to another good point. Most everything I have seen on this car is of the highest quality, even the home brew stuff Devore made. It must've been an expensive build in its day, and I am not surprised to learn that the brake lines are good stuff.
The two fronts I replaced were 100% sound, and there was nothing wrong with them, except for at the risk of sounding vain, they were ugly. Too many kinks and curves for my tastes, and it looked like they were bent and rebent multiple times/
As to the rear line, have not looked past the Bias valve in the cockpit, and will do so soon.
Thanks for all the kind words!!!! And your help.
Thank you for the inisight! Which brings me to another good point. Most everything I have seen on this car is of the highest quality, even the home brew stuff Devore made. It must've been an expensive build in its day, and I am not surprised to learn that the brake lines are good stuff.
The two fronts I replaced were 100% sound, and there was nothing wrong with them, except for at the risk of sounding vain, they were ugly. Too many kinks and curves for my tastes, and it looked like they were bent and rebent multiple times/
As to the rear line, have not looked past the Bias valve in the cockpit, and will do so soon.
Thanks for all the kind words!!!! And your help.
#449
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Sadly Bob Devore who worked at Intel dies in the Cobra kit car as a passenger Jan 22 nd of 1993 . At which point all design work stopped on this 928. That was 24 years ago. Also learned from a post by Lucky Eckman that the much touted 700 + hp dyno run happened when they accidently buzzed the engine to 10,000 RPM ..... 6.4 liter 2 valve engine In other words a "flash reading" . Finally makes some sense...
"Maverick " just put on lipstick , some race rubber....and his signature driving lights
Good to see the project moving forward after all those years.
"Maverick " just put on lipstick , some race rubber....and his signature driving lights
Good to see the project moving forward after all those years.
#450
Banned
Thread Starter
Wow! So much time spent idle, waiting, patiently waiting. This car is SOOO special to me that I would never willingly sell it.
I never believed the 700HP thing either. Like you said, not realistic, or at least not realistic for more than 30 seconds LOL.
Any idea who owned it directly after Bob? Or any other of the ownership data???
Thanks for the insight Jim. It was a real motivator to keep going.
I never believed the 700HP thing either. Like you said, not realistic, or at least not realistic for more than 30 seconds LOL.
Any idea who owned it directly after Bob? Or any other of the ownership data???
Thanks for the insight Jim. It was a real motivator to keep going.