Wiring Done

I did not get to work on the "Black Hole" this weekend because it is now Spring in Houston. We had to spend the entire weekend doing spring cleanup of the yard and mowing. Thank God it was beautiful weather and we got everything done that hd to be done. In the next couple of weeks we also have to do the same thing in Bonham!

I have been working on the car every night after work so there has been progress!                                                                                                  

With the exception of some wire ties and a few wires in the back of car, the wiring is completely done.

I built a carbon fiber isolation plate for the wiring terminal strips to mount on. Each wire is labelled with heat shrink labels to make it easy to trace wiring. Everything is now nice and neat!

I have done something a little different than most car builders. I am using a product from Racepak called a Smartwire. I mentioned this in an earlier update but now I have fully utilized the Smartwire. The Smartwire is basically a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) that provides switching functions for every system. The Smartwire has a really neat feature of logging every switching event in the data logger. This will allow me to overlay all of the shifts, fuel leanout valve events, transbrake release, parachute release, and any other electrical events in a chart with all of the other race data so I can see how all of those events affect the run.

Running everything through the Smartwire also allows me to program parameters to a switching event to make it only happen if certain criteria have been met. For instance, the starter will not work unless the neutral safety switch is in the SAFE position.

I have tested all of the circuits and everything is functioning now. I even rolled the engine a few times with the starter. I am getting very close to starting the engine for the first time now.

I still have to tighten and check every bolt from the front to the back of the car, fill and bleed the brake system, install the driveshaft, install the axles, and fill everything with fluids.

I still have a few things to weld up and paint to match the rest of the car. Some of the things that have to be painted are the steering shaft, starting line controller bracket, and magneto support.

Once I finish all of those items, I have to start setting up the suspension, ride height, steering camber/castor/toe-in, etc. At that point, I will start the engine to test all of the systems prior to mounting carbon roof panel and the body for the final time.

I will be shifting my focus back to the trailer once all of my parts for the trailer come in. I will be installing air ride suspension and disc brakes on the trailer to give the cars a nice safe place to ride.

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Engine Compartment Complete

I have been focusing on finishing one area of the car at a time. I pretty much have the engine compartment done. I have all of the sensors connected, all fuel lines are built/installed, all electrical is done, magneto timed, plug wires installed.

One of the requirements for ProMod is to hydrostatically test all of the hoses and tag them with the pressure and date that they were tested. I have every hose on the car inspected and tagged now. I tested each one to 600 psi and let them hold that pressure for a few minutes. I then made stamped aluminum tags showing the pressure test data.

Now I am working on wiring inside the cockpit. Lots of tidying up to do in there.

Here are some pictures of the engine compartment.

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More Billet Porn

Folks,

It has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been waiting for parts and have been working on the trailer and little things on the car.

Today was a big day for me because my new billet rear end housing came today. This rear end is a piece of art!!! The guys at Tim Mcamis Race Cars designed and built this in two weeks and it fit like a glove. They had to do some custom work to get it to fit my car. They are very good at what they do. The service there is outstanding. Scott always gets me exactly what I want and usually ships stuff out  the same day.

I already pulled the old rear end out and have mounted the new one.  It should be very strong and looks awesome! Tim even signed it as a personal touch.

Tomorrow is going to be a good day as well. My trailer cabinets are supposed to be here some time tomorrow.

Here are some pictures of the new rear end. Pure Billet Porn!!!

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Awning is Complete

The awning is now complete!!! It took us two complete weekends and a few weeknights to turn 80 yards of fabric into a new shelter for us to work under. All of the buckles and fasteners are in place and we test fit it tonight. It really turned out nice!

We are still waiting for the new cabinets to come in so we can get everything organized. I also have to do a bunch of maintenance work on Moby and Clifford's running gear and drive train. I have the stuff ordered to do brake jobs, new driveshaft u-joints, New king pins, tie rod ends, change oil and filters, and anything else that needs to be done to get them both ready to travel down the road.

Until all of the parts come in I will shift my focus back to the "Black Hole"

This was the week that I was supposed to test the "Black Hole" for the first time. Mike Janis was right. February is probably not a good time to test a car as powerful as the "Black Hole". It is cold and rainy here is Houston this week. I would have killed myself trying to get everything done only to get rained out anyway. Thanks Mike for slowing me down and talking some sense into me! I will test when everything is done, checked, and double checked.

I have to remember that all things happen in God's time not mine! Patience is a virtue and preparation  is everything when you  have dangerous hobbies. I will keep plugging away and I will be done when I am done.

Here are some pictures of the finished awning. Another major step complete:

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"I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

Our project this weekend was a daunting one to say the least. Our new trailer Moby has a huge awning to provide shade over our crew as we service the cars. The only problem was that is was the most offensive green color you have ever seen. Between it and Clifford the Big Red Truck, our rig looked like a bad Christmas decoration! It also had a lot of torn places and really bad repair jobs done on it.

Traci and I believe that if anything is worth doing, it is worth doing right! So an ugly Christmas decoration rig just wasn't going to work.

As you know if you follow this blog, we delayed the testing of the Black Hole to give us more time to get everything right. We have also decided that we should make sure our tow rig is right as well. We are still waiting for some cabinets for the trailer and some other organization accessories that will allow us to store everything neatly.

The first race for the dragster is next weekend but we are not going to have our new trailer ready so we are not going to go to the race. We could probably throw everything in the trailer and make it to the race but we would be thrashing to do that. We have re-prioritized what we want to accomplish this year and have decided we want to take our time, do everything right and perfect our game.

That brings us to our project this week. We started with 80 yards of gray Sumbrella outdoor fabric and  built a new (less offensive colored) awning for Moby. We are almost finished and only like cutting the awning smooth on the front edge and hemming it. It also does not have buckles and snaps  on the end flaps to tighten them up yet.

It turned out awesome and will serve us well for years to come! We made a lot of modifications to the original awning design to make it stronger and easier to put up. It is definitely an improvement.

Here are a couple of pictures before it is finished. I will add some finished photos when we get everything done this week.

This project definitely deserves a quote from the Bible:

"I can do all things through HIM who strengthens me." - Philippians 4:13

We went from this!!!!!

TO THIS!!!! Pretty amazing what a little TLC will do!

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This Week's Progress

Traci and I have been focussing on getting the trailer ready for racing season. We have been sewing a new awning for the trailer. We are about half way done and it is looking nice. The one that came with the trailer is a funky green and color and when combined with Clifford (The Big Red Truck) it looks like a bad Christmas decoration, ha!

The awning is 50 foot long and 14 feet wide so it is a lot of cloth to sew. We hope we can get it ready in time for the bracket race on February 23 in Baytown.

Progress on "The Black Hole" is still happening but has slowed a bit to get ready to race the "Blue Banana".

Parts that I have been waiting for have been slowly arriving. I have been waiting on the carbon fiber brakes for over two months. They are amazingly light weight. Each rear rotor only weighs about 1 1/2 pounds. It is amazing that something this light weight and fragile looking can stop a 260 mph car in several hundred feet without destroying themselves.

We are still waiting on some cabinets for the trailer so we can finish it up.

Still lots of stuff to do. Who said pursuing dreams was easy? If it were easy, everyone would be doing it! Traci and I are truly blessed!

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The "Blue Banana" Has a New Home

We have been working on the new trailer to get it ready for racing. It is mostly done except for waiting for some new custom cabinets, making sure the brakes are in good shape, and putting a modern TV in it. We are also going to wrap it in white vinyl in our spare time, ha!

We also got B.A.R.T (Big @ss Race Trailer and after the famous pirate, Black Bart) ready to sell and listed on RacingJunk.com. (Looks like it may already be sold to a guy in Baton Rouge). We have all of our stuff moved to Moby (the new trailer) and the last step was to put the "Blue Banana" in its new home.

It is so nice not having to back it into the trailer and there is room for it, the "Black Hole", and our Honda pit vehicle. That would have been impossible in B.A.R.T. Also, when we named it B.A.R.T., our frame of reference was not what it is today. Moby is a BIG @SS RACE TRAILER!

Here is a picture of the "Blue Banana" in its new home. The Honda will go on the lift just above it and the "Black Hole" will go in the forward upper storage area.

I can't wait to start racing again. We have a legit racing rig now!

Here are some pictures:

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