Swings & Roundabouts

[VNracer34G]

Some things are never easy.

For starters almost a week ago i left the lappy turned on overnight and windows decided to shut it down and install the latest vista (pos) updates while i had my back turned and it has been giving me greif since

Been keen as to get a wee A12 datto motor finished for a young fulla here for his ministock and on Thusday got informed the cam was still away at the grinders and no sign of rings/bearings/gaskets yet dammit.
After work yesterday went round to my good mates place to bolt on his new 2nd hand flyingwheel to his rb30 VL Production Saloon (he decided to do a skid in his new shed and the clutch started slipping, pulled it down and there were four nasty cracks in the flywheel so just as well it happened when it did and not on the track where it would have been pushed till it let go) . Torqued it up and went to put his new clutch on and no fit - turns out it came off an rb20 (NZ spec VL option) which is smaller he got hold of a guy who plays with skydogs who reckoned he might be able to help out but he was a couple of hours away from home.
Since we had a wait he came with me to the owner of the stockcar i ported the heads for who was waiting for me to bolt them on and was on the same side of town as the guy with the clutches, farkin glad the bro was with me when we got there - shed full of grinding dust, welding spatter and overspray with shortblock on a trolley in the corner with some rags over it. the guys stripped back his chassis and changed some shit around painted it PINK (vomit) and had cut some brackets off to change more shit around and was about to pick up the welder again - he got an earfull, then i took the rags off the short after banning him from picking up any tool of any description till i was done, looked at it and gave him another earfull when i saw the crap down the bores and in the valley. Told him it needed a complete stripdown/clean, he was going to bring it to my place and expect me to do it, i said maybe in a couple of months.

[VNracer34G]

He still expected me to drop all other commitments to do cleanup after him - some people.

I gave him a last ditch option, we clean out as much crap as we could, then have another couple of wipeouts bolt the heads on and when it gets fired up with new oil dump it after a couple of minutes then dump the next sumpfull SOON also with a firm proviso "ALL CARE - NO RESPONSIBILITY" funnily enough he jumped at that - i am sooo glad my mate i'd trust with my life (i've got enough of them to fit on one hand with spare fingers - life teaches us this when things go real pearshaped and we get older/wiser) was with me as a witness, specially as i heard as i was torqueing down the headbolts that the word around town is that i'm doing this guys MOTOR - not. Checked the lifter preloads on a couple of cylinders which amazingly came in between 1/2 - 3/4 of a turn which i measured on my motor with a dti as around .020'-.060' made him raid the kitchen and we wrapped it in rubbish bags and taped it up till he cleans the rocker covers and intake and got the hell outta there.

Went and saw the dude with the clutches and lucked out, as we were now between my place and the freindly neighbourhood bottley i came up with a plan, stockup on bourbons and go play in my shed whilst brainstorming. Upcoming season budgets came up and my man was gonna be tight as to buy a clutch on top of licensing membership etc - we've both got families/mortgages etc and times are a wee bit tight all over. The mates a chippy and the missus piped up that she wants a couple of small projects done and the new kitchen (on the mortgage) came in under budget so shed pay for his clutch good woman that i might have to stay married to her.

Today went a bit different, 34G has been used as a shelving system for the last six months so i got everything out of it hit the starter button and fuck me she fired up, drove it outside and the girls gave a hand cleaning off the remnants of the last six months AND last seasons mud, chucked it on the trailer and went down to the weighbridge for greensheeting - last chance before first practice next saturday, rechecks available at the track. ONE thing to get checked off - like a twat i left my helmet behind for checking head clearance, oh yeah and get my rims stamped

[Holden202T]

it amazes me how much care some people DON'T take when it comes to building engines ..... whats even more amazing sometimes is that they work after it all

[VNracer34G]

Yeah mate true that, pisses me off when jammy rough bastards get away with shit like that.

On another bright note i went to a working bee at the track yesterday and got talking breifly to the stockcar teams captain. When he said "i hear your doing up the 'enforcer's' motor for him which got a "NOOO lets get this one crystal clear, i HAVE ported his heads for him" and then i told him exactly what i'd seen the day before, he laughed and nodded sagely as if it was no surprise. Best part of that conversation was now the truth is with a man who is hugely respected within the Speedway community and a real straight talker. My arse and reputation are covered and in this game your only as good as the last job you did.

[Holden202T]

yeah i've been hesitant to do engine work for other people because of getting burned ... atleast if i fuck up or something happens its my engine and im the only one to blame ... when you do someone elses EVERY issue is your fault (in their eyes)

[VNracer34G]

And the latest gripe is...........started putting a wee A12 datsun motor for a ministock together last night after spending ages cleaning after it came back from machining, lubed up the lifters and cam, fitted them then WTF? turns out there are a couple of different blocks. Gear for oil pump lines up sweet, inline with the fuel pump theres nothing on the cam and inline with the dizzy is a fuel pump eccentric GRRR. Won't be able to get right cam till sometime next week so there goes getting it measured and sealed then put in the car to get car greensheeted this weekend . ARSE!!!!!

[VNracer34G]

Got the Ministock motor officially measured on thursday night - sump on head off is how its done - the guy came to my place, looked at it - saw stock standard pistons and wrote down all measurements out of a notebook on the official spec sheet, then he put the official SNZ seals through the sump rail. I offered him the use of my burette to measure the chambers and a DTI to check the cam spec and he reckoned it wasn't necessary farkin horrified after going to so much trouble to make this wee motor JUST within the strict rules for class. Buttoned it up on Friday night and had the car dropped off to me after work Saturday then the family wen't to a good mates daughters 1st birthday party so no work got done. Got stuck in this morning ang got the flywheel/clutch on (lined up with eyecrometer) and slipped on the gearbox and dropped it in the hole, cranked it without plugs and got oil pressure straight away ( i packed the pump with vas and prefilled the filter), that filled the bowl of the carb too. Put the plugs in and it fired straight up, gave it twenty minutes running between 2000-2500 rpm to bed in the rings and cam, put my timing light on (been a while since i used that heehee) total timing 32 degrees- nice, let it idle for a moment and 12 degrees initial, spot on and set on the stand with a ciggy paper no adjustment needed. Seeing the look on the 14yr old lad who owns its face was precious - i think he'll still be beaming when i give his old man the bill. Took him down to the weighbridge for greensheeting - coupla wee niggles which got sorted within 10mins of getting home and one headache which took a sitdown with a ciggy and a bourbon to work out - 100mm clearance required between roof plate and drivers helmet, we had to find another 10mm, turns out he didn't have his skidlid tightly strapped on but wasn't about to take the chance. Seat bolted flat to the floor Hmmm, floor plate sitting on top of frame rails so out came the angle grinder and the mig, took his nice kirkey seat out climbed in and sliced the floor along the rails and shoved it down between them - left the front of the floor alone so its layed back a bit too then welded it up which created another problem - diff head gonna hit back of floor - solution - cut a bit of floor out - still plenty of it behind seat so should be sweet - hopefully that will be all greensheeted tomorrow then its yet another major cleanup in shed then i can finally get stuck in to 34G. The missus has already gone and bought me a tin of white and a tin of red paint and some new vinyl numbers so i can graft on a new arse end and might even shout it some new doors and have it looking schmick for the first meeting

[Holden202T]

Sounds very similar to my speedway mates lifestyle, he never stops, theres always something to do and if its not that being an engine builder he gets alot of people wanting motors done etc.

sounds like your having fun anyways

[delcowizzid]

went to the season opening meating down here last night couple of vn's in the production class one at the front of the field only one front drive car there good night out

[VNracer34G]

Sounds very similar to my speedway mates lifestyle, he never stops, theres always something to do and if its not that being an engine builder he gets alot of people wanting motors done etc.

sounds like your having fun anyways

Hahaa, never a dull moment mate, now i just need to get the shed back into some kind of order and i can get stuck into my car.