Delage Diss Progress

Four wheels on the ground for the first time in many decades I think...

This is such a nice period (mid '20's). Nice engineering and very rakish with those large narrow wheels.

Although unlikely to be the actual car, this is similar to the finished style.

D.W. vs. The Chevy (Very "raw" motorsport, I posted this before, this is in case you missed it)

BSA C15 Faber Spl

Engine test fit to assess fixings, and exhaust.

BSA C15 Faber Progress

The black grease substance is "Graphogen"

Distributor is redundant, Electrex World  STK 010 system to be used.

Coventry Airport

BSA Faber C15 Trials Spl

As the BSA C15 project continues there have been a few small points worth a note.

If you lower the gearing of of the road going BSA by reducing the primary chain engine sprocket (18 teeth),the duplex chain side plates will not clear the inner crankcase seal housing. In my case I didn't realise this until trying to fit the chain!
I did consider making a new spacer to allow the sprocket to sit a little further away but this would mean doing the same to the NEB clutch and there is not really sufficient shaft length to do so.
A word with Terry at Avery Products told me that the accepted method is to fit a thinner oil seal and dress the housing away.
Ideally the housing should have been machined before assembly, however, by fitting an old oil seal and filling the area with silicone I was confident that using hand scrapers and rifler file I could remove and fettle the section.

I then checked the new oil seal, lip position by fitting the spacer with engineers Micrometer Blue around the outside. The seal lip only begins to contact the spacer, this will require a new spacer with a very slight counter bore to allow the unit to sit deeper and provide full lip contact.

It seems there may be a similar problem with the clearance of the drive chain against the gearbox casing. The gearbox sprocket has 13 teeth.

"Slow Old Girl Mate"?

Often as people look in to the workshop I get the feeling that the old cars are regarded as "pipe and slipper slow old things".

I often work with Steve at Stanton Motorsports in Berkshire, here Frazer Nash cars are always under some form of race or road preparation, some of these are some real "wolves in sheep's clothing"....... take a look.

The first video is of a special, this has horsepower approaching many modern sports cars (cant divulge too much). It is very very quick..... all on chain drive and no differential.

The next is "Millie" with real racing history right up to this day.

Pop yer Pipe and Slippers on for a relaxing drive in the next video....relax.! Especially 7min or so in!

Have a look at Stanton Motorsports Website...http://www.stantonmotorsports.co.uk/ Steve and his team certainly have a great deal of successful experience.

One other point... I had an old DFV F1 engine builder give me some good advice... "Never let a non engine builder Dyno test your engine".



Finally, still at Stanton Motorsports, although not vintage FN, I just had to share this with you.

1979/80 Swindon Speedway And TT Sidecar Ace Trevor Ireson News Films

An old local news film about the upcoming 1980 Swindon Robins season. Robins

Also an old Swindon film about a person who became a major engineering influence to me as well as heroic racer and friend Trevor Ireson 1979

Instincts On Target?

It has been many years since I last competed in a motorcycle race, at one time motorcycle racing was my life, even though my abilities were no more than a sportsman level.

Reading the previously posted article by Jenks with Ayrton Senna, Article By Jenks, I began to recognize little similarities to my club level racing.

Have you noticed how, as you approach a 30 MPH speed limit, you have the ability to decelerate automatically and pass the 30 signs at pretty much that speed. This is on a sort of automated "motor" interpretation of your sensory information.
 Apply a little more attention and you find that now you can hit the 30 limit spot on, even without any brake application, just judgement and release of the throttle however many yards before.

Picking up a stone and throwing it at a notional target generally gets pretty close to where you wished on the first attempt, before processing the information to make fine adjustments for the next time,

The field archer fixes his eye on the target and without any aiming, only instinct, pulls the string of the longbow through and releases in one seemingly casual unplanned move.

For me, the start of a race seemed to have something in common with these examples of natural judgement....As I set my head down, committed to the start, I think that I knew the outcome, not just the route or the bumps or the wet patch, but somehow I knew what was going to occur to my left and to my right, all the way down the start straight and around the first corner. Like a sixth sense these events unfolded as expected....  but only on the races where I made a good start and as I committed to concentration I knew when this would happen!

Just like the successful throw of the "target striking" stone and the piercing of an arrow through an obscured target and....... the hitting of 30mph exactly as the signpost passes through peripheral vision.

Now if I had the ability to "see" this race unfold as "expected" for the third, fourth and hundredth corner, is that what a natural champion is capable of?

Perhaps a less obvious process of evolution?

10 Years Ago....

The Austin 12 truck was a filling in job for an older gentleman, it took so long that I finally bought it from him... it is still progressing!

Jacob, age 3, studying Charlotte's, age 14, technique!

Faber Bsa C15 Special Progress

The following pictures show lots of test fitting and making of bushes to recover wear and recover end float settings.

The Gearbox main shaft and Clutch are NEB, some work has been necessary to adapt to the early C15.