Ben's got the block in for hot tank cleaning, so then he'll be able to check it again...

As for the cranks, he's got a race crank already, it's further back in this thread somewhere (use 'search topic' with 'crank' or 'crankshaft' and you'll find pictures). A sideline will be building road engines out of these things we've picked up, either for hot-rodders or other users, and we're aware of the crank details.

Thing is that virtually all truck cranks are cracked. They get such a flogging going downhill in low gears that they develop cracks and some break like the example above. So these engines will be ideal for using new stroker cranks. I think we have six or seven truck blocks.

Slowly on the move again...

The operations necessary to put a girdle over the main caps have been carried out, Ben has his own mill and did it all himself. The current favourable exchange rate led to him buying this girdle now along with some other bits and pieces.



He's put some Hardblock into the water jackets too as he prepares the block to go to the machinist for boring and other operations.

I am coming to this topic very late, seeing it started in 2004. But why are you using the V-8. Wouldn't the Hemi 6 in its ultimate form be a much better engine especially for road racing? Much lighter and maybe not that much down on power?

I would have thought that staying inside the rules may have been a clever idea.

Exactly...

If it was a Valiant from the VG onwards, a Hemi is the answer. And I agree with your point about weight, Ben is very conscious of the weight aspect and that's why he's not putting in a big block. Read back through the thread and you'll see this discussion.

Thats an interesting concept, has anyone done it yet?

and Catalina Park, also a worthy

Nahhh... he raced Vees and HQs, he would never have cheated...

And Ben won't cheat either. Fact is, his model could run with a Slant 6, but that seems pointless when it's the same weight as the small block V8 and has a hundred horsepower lower performance potential.

It is, I can assure you, just as hard to pass off a vertical six as a slant six as it is trying to convince a scrutineer that an inline six is really a V8.

By the way, Kelpiecross, the ultimate form of a Hemi 6 is yet to be seen. We're working on it and the day's getting nearer, if you want one just let me know.

It is only cheating if you get caught or you win. It is not cheating if you are still at the back of the pack!
I have been involved in a few things like painting a Ford top-loader gearbox silver to pretend it was an alloy T-10 in a Group A touring car.
One time on a Sports Sedan the scrutineers measured a front wheel and found it was over 12' wide on the outside of the rim (they were allowed 10" on the inside of the bead) we took it to Dunlop to get the tyre removed under the watchful eyes of about four officials. When it came out the front door of Dunlop minus the tyre and now measured 10" meanwhile another similar looking wheel went out the back door at the same time!

My HQ had a slightly accident bent chassis. It took a lot of deliberate work with a jack and some chains to get the bend right.

I recall a ground effect Formula Pacific with spring loaded side-pods to reduce the gap under the skirts. (not my team but I knew about it)

Enough said...

Didn't race at Sandown I presume? (anti clockwise is bad if I figure you right?).

How does one cheat in FV? Cut holes in the floor so the driver can paddle with his feet?

You pulled the suspension towers in to get more negative camber or maybe back to get more caster. It has been done,,, a lot!At one stage the elegibility had a complete set of measurements for a HQ but very hard to measure with the engine in the way.
Though people did get excluded from results for that.

Being a Vee man, you must surely have heard about this one...

A very vocal Vee driver was complaining about all those blokes beating them and was convinced that several of them had direct top gears in their transaxles. "That's what they're doing, I've heard others talking about it!" he would tell anyone who'd listen.

So the Vee Association thought they'd check and sprung a surprise inspection on all cars coming off the track after a race at Amaroo. The cars were guided from the pit road to the scrutineering bay and had the rear jacked up, every car in the race, and all checked.

Guess which car had a direct top gear?









The one who'd come last, Mr Complainent!

This is HQ racing for non Ozians.
3.3 litre old style siamesed port, pushrod, original carby, 6cylinder engines with 3 speed gearbox - but you can have floor shift instead of the original column shift!

Like most race car series they have been well developed and are actually quite fast relative to their power and weight.



they even "Bathurst" them ...!

The interesting thing about HQ racing is that the cars are full scale radio control models, complete with dummy driver. In this shot you can see the real "drivers" with their RC controllers, lined up along the fence on the left.

Another interesting thing about them is that Ben, about whose car this thread is, started racing in them...

And his engines, that is, engines that he built, were first and second in this year's Qld Championship. And they passed scrutineering at the end of the series. Next interesting thing is that the next cars in the Championship didn't turn up for that scrutineering and were therefore stripped of their points.

The Group Nc category actually has HQs participating, in fact are converted HQ racecars fitted with the biggest engine in the range for Kingswood/Premier. The 308 Holden motor, the same basic engine as used in the L34/A9X Toranas. While not quite quick enough for outright pace they are still a reasonably quick car.
Ben is embarking on a big program and I wish him luck but a HQ 308 would be easier and cheaper. And probably a bit faster too.
Though the Dodge will be a very interesting addition to the ranks as an Nb car. They normally all race together.

If you go back to the opening posts, you'll see his reasons for going with the Dodge...

And why he's deliberately sought to be in Nb rather than Nc.

Ben's posted this on another forum:



There's been a bit of lightweighting going on, too... the lumps where casting risers have been are gone.