On Thu, Sep 22, 2011 at 9:59 AM, Chris Lindh <chris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote: > Part 1. > > I flew in, picked up the rental car and drove straight to the salt flats. > I found Ray and followed him to the pits. Ray has to go and take photos > (his job!) and he fills me in on the current situation: > > One of the the rocker arms has worked itself loose. After discussion and > head scratching it is determined the valves need to be adjusted. Also, belt > alignment is off to the point of making the belt roll over on its back. One > member of the pit crew decides to cut the belt off, since this belt is now a > "dead player". I wonder about destroying a belt without knowing another can > be sourced, but I keep my trap shut... usually a good idea when meeting new > people. > > I make a dash for the local parts store, which luckily has *one* > replacement belt. When I return the valves are adjusted and the belt is > installed. Ray and I proceed to tech inspection. Tech inspection points > out a few minor items to correct and we are to return in the morning: metal > valve cap right front, tape stick on wheel weights right front, find a pin > for the fire extinguisher, secure the fuel line to a bracket on the frame > and find a better battery hold down. Although the Monte has the little > triangular battery hold down when the inspector yanks on the battery handle > the battery it pops out. He says that is how they are required to test it. > Ray and I agree it is not a bad idea, you don't want the battery moving for > any reason. > > We take care of all the issues except the battery hold down. Unfortunately > the parts store is out of hold downs, and the hardware store isn't open when > we get there that evening, and it opens later the the drivers meeting the > next morning. > > At some point I decide to stick with Eastern time... the salt flats are > Mountain time, and although Wendover/West Wendover is Mountain time, my > phone changes to Pacific time (Wendover/West Wendover is one city, > straddling the Utah/Nevada state line). So I'm up at 4AM, which works out > because I can answer business emails before the day gets started. > > When I get to the flats and find the drivers meeting I meet up with Jim and > Ray and we drive the course. We find out unlike prior years there will be > no free calibration run, each run counts. Ray tells me he spoke to the tech > and it will be OK to secure the battery with a ratchet strap. Not the > prettiest solution, but a solution nonetheless. We go back to tech, pass > and proceed to registration. This is when we find out that unlike prior > years each driver will have to use up all his runs (up to 5) before the next > driver can run. Ray gets fuel, then we proceed to the 130MPH club course, > inch our way to the front... then there is confusion with the timing > officials: they can't confirm Ray's registration. While they figure it out > the Monte's radiator boils over. Ray turns the Monte off, they eventually > get it figured out, then Ray makes a run. He runs 120MPH: he said he saw > 135 on the GPS (he got out of the throttle for fear of going over 139.9, > which is prohibited). As a side note at some point I heard someone say it > is good to have the engine hot to make a run, something about the air > density... > > When we get back to the pits we have issues to deal with. Power steering > fluid is low, the belt is on its back again and the radiator fan is not > coming on, thus the boiling over. We decide to not run the fan (just push > the car up to the line), I add power steering fluid, and the crank pulley is > spaced out which appears to fix the belt issue. > > Ray makes the next run, the engine sounds good... 112MPH at the half mile > point... 97 at the mile. 97? Then I hear over the official's CB: the last > racer left parts on the track. Immediately some of our pit crew wonders if > the spaced-out crank pulley is the culprit. We get to Ray and see the > carnage: the yoke on the rearend has two of the four ears broken off, the > floorboard near the rearend has significant evidence of thrashing from the > driveshaft, and the driveshaft is a curlicue. Ray is more worried about how > I will get to race than he is about his dead Monte. Getting the Monte back > to the pits is no simple task, nor is getting it on the trailer, but we have > seasoned pit crew members who figure it out. > > My theories on the cause of the carnage: 1. The driveshaft was not in > balance, so at high speed the harmonics caused the driveshaft to break the > yoke on the transmission. A variation on this theory is that the driveshaft > went past its critical speed (defined here > http://www.markwilliams.com/driveshafttech.aspx ) Theory 2. The bolts > holding the driveshaft to the rearend worked loose causing the driveshaft to > come loose from one side, then vibrate until the other side broke. > That's exactly my thoughts. Hit it's natural harmonic and flew everything apart. > > Photos here: > http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.264790873554333.71126.184098811623540 > (I have 79 total to add, then more from Miller Motorsports Park and Museum) > > Please click the "like" button at the top of the page, when I get 25 who > "like" my business page I get benefits. If you're not on Facebook let me > know and I can put the photos in another spot as well. > > Stay tuned for part 2... > Nope not in facebook. I have a hatred for those sites. Robert Adams