Devastator's upgrade

[Devastator]

Thanks Leather! Did you watch the Holley Hydramat video I posted a link to? Impressive stuff!

[Leatherneck]

It is crazy how it will suck the cavity dry, even with part of it not in the liquid there was no air bubbles in the line. So what is the latest work done?

[Devastator]

My email is sidelining the message notifications from here, so I just saw this. I haven't taken the time to add the reservoir yet, but will before dune season, (winter). I'm also redesigning the spindles to make on my CNC plasma table instead of a CNC mill like I did originally. I'm not changing the design for the machine. I am changing the design because I've found some issues with them I don't like after 10 years.

[Leatherneck]

Get STF outa your spam folder buddy. Making spindles on a plasma table, WOW! Impressive.

[Devastator]

I just realized that I never posted pics of my spindle breaking in the dunes. Here they are.:

[Devastator]

The 2nd pic makes it look like I rolled, but I didn't. The abrupt stop knocked the tire off of the rim. I used some ratchet straps to cinch things up and drove it out of the dunes on 3 wheels, getting hell stuck once, and less stuck several more times. Drove it on the trailer though.

[Devastator]

Easiest climb with no front tire.

[Devastator]

So, I came across a pretty good deal on a Mendeola MD4S-2D that is being removed from an LS powered sandcar. I've arranged to buy it but conversations with some friends has brought up a few things, such as starters, clutch disks, and the like. The topic I'm posting on, however, is converting my junk to mid engine. Ever since I shortened my frame and added A-arms in place of the beam, I've been capable of wheelies, which I REALLY like. Now that I have an impressive amount of torque for a 2000 lb ride, wheelies are...easy. So easy, in fact, that I can't, NOT, do them when trying to climb big hills. Sure, I can add some weight to the front end and help the situation a little, but mid-engine would also cure this issue and have the added side effect of handling like a slot car as I understand it. I've never been in a mid engine car, but already have plans to do so this next dune season, (winter). I'd like to hear your thoughts and ideas on doing a mid engine conversion on my sandrail.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

...Ever since I shortened my frame and added A-arms in place of the beam, I've been capable of wheelies, which I REALLY like. Now that I have an impressive amount of torque for a 2000 lb ride, wheelies are...easy.

Careful when doing wheelies with a short wheel base when going up the steep face of a dune The shorter wheel base is also good for turns in tight places or trails.

Lee

[Leatherneck]

Who on here had the mid engine drag rail? Devastator glad you didn’t roll it, driving it in the trailer counts as mission complete.

[Devastator]

Yeah Lee, I've already done "too much wheelie" on a hill and hit the rear engine cage. It was exciting but completely halted forward movement. Snapping the front axle was a strange sensation. It sounded like someone snapped a 2X4 right next to my head, then I ate a lot of sand as the 'rail came to a very abrupt stop. I turned those axles out of 1018 steel bar and am, actually, surprised they lasted this long. I quickly turned a replacement, welded it on, and made my last trip for the season. Now I want to make new spindles with axle shafts that bolt in so I can use 4140, 1045, or something similar. I actually got cheers from the big group of people in Patton Valley as I drove slowly past them on 3 wheels, headed back to camp. I guess it looked like I was having "more fun" than they were.
Lee, I shortened my wheelbase from 100" to 92" about 10 years ago, for exactly the reason you listed; better turning. This is also one of the motivating factors behind mid engine power.
At first look, switching to mid engine looks like a fab nightmare. Now that I'm giving it a more serious look, I don't think it'll be all that difficult. I mean, yeah, I'll have to remove most of the wiring, all trans and engine mounts, and maybe a bar or 2, (like the original trans "horns"), but I'd have to do a LOT of that anyway to get the Mendi in I believe. Rerouting the coolant lines, supercharger heat exchanger and lines, fuel lines and tank, etc., would be time consuming, but I should only have to do it once....again.

[Leatherneck]

Good to hear. Your build thread was gathering Cobwebs anyway.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

..."too much wheelie"... "Too much wheelie" is when the cage doesn't stop your "backwards flutter" . Seen a couple of them towed back into camp usually after their first trip out (the cages were bent also).

Moving the engine forward is going to change the balance of the rail. I got to look at a couple of different "more mid-engine" styles but I didn't get to take pix as I didn't know where my camera was. He was having clutch problems from (my guess) playing with the clutch pedal too much.

Anyway, the trans was still in the same place (in this case the rail was still swing axle but I don't know anything about the trans) but the engine was facing forward (not sure who made the kit to mount things like this but i did see two of these kits and both had clutch problems but different ones). He did sit a bit forward so it wasn't rear heavy but probably a bit more nose heavy than expected. One had a Pinto motor and the other one I think was a Honda V6.

Lee

[Devastator]

Too much wheelie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRhgHXdjJwY
FWIW, I was trying to wheelie, but not that high. Front and rear view are from the same wheelie.
Here's another video where I don't wheelie, but I could have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_mNA9x_zFU

[Devastator]

I think my measuring tape may have dashed my mid engine dreams into delusions of grandeur. If I locate the engine a few inches behind my seats, the drive flanges on the trans will be behind the stub axles, (which I'm not sure will be too big of a problem), and the nosecone will stick out several inches past the rear engine cage. PBS makes a cable shifter that would replace the nosecone with a shorter assembly though. I'm having a friend with a mid engine Honda, measure his trans, (which has this adapter) for flange to front and flange to bellhousing lengths. This Ecotec 4 banger is quite a bit longer than I thought, however, and I might have to cut and lengthen the cage between the seats and the, (empty), torsion housing, a few inches if I still want to chase this dream. A little preemptive, since I don't have the trans yet and won't be doing any of this until summer 2021.
My build thread might have been collecting cobwebs Leather, but my sandrail is ALWAYS under re-construction.