Date: 26.01.2020
Twin-cam ability for the Celica, long-life batteries, amazing facts about Top Ammunition dragster action, a accolade to the role of the bang and Algid Chisel, added red-motor blues
When I was a kid, my aboriginal appropriate car was a 1976 Celica RA23. My brother and I acquainted it to a standstill, eventually breaking a con-rod and laying the agent to waste. This was lucky. How so? Because it alien me to the joys of the Toyota 18RG; the backup mill, a Yamaha-headed twin-cam agglomeration of adorableness that angry the old RA23 into a 18-carat 120-mile-an-hour car.
And now, decades later, I accept addition age-old Celica with, you estimated it, an 18RG twin-cam beneath its airedale little bonnet. The car, you’ve apparent afore in this fine, ancestors advertisement aback it was still antic its aboriginal 18RC boat-anchor. You ability additionally anamnesis that I was contacted by a best fella in Brisbane, name of Tim, who had an 18RG, salvaged from his own old Celica which had continued gone to God. The agent was, Tim assured me, in acceptable bloom accepting been rebuilt not too continued afore the car was decommissioned. Naturally, I jumped in the MBC tow-truck, calm Torrens on the way and accumulating from Melbourne to Brisvegas to aggregate on Tim’s acceptable offer.
Back in Melbourne I fabricated an important decision. I could try to fit the 18RG to the car myself with a abridgement of accessory like an agent crane and such. Or, I could butt up the bucks to get a acquaintance of abundance to fit the 18RG for me. Aback Tim (let’s alarm him Tim 2, to abstain confusion) reckoned he could do the job in about three or four days, the accommodation was alike easier. So, yes readers, I paid to accept a job done that I could accept done myself. Branch heresy? Nah, because if I’d ashore to the script, I’d still accept a half-completed Celica lying about and you lot wouldn’t be account this.
Anyways, here’s how the job panned out. I accumulating the car to Tim 2’s workshop, adequate for the aftermost time the breathless, abject old 18RC abrasion abroad beneath me. By this stage, I’d already delivered the RG to Tim 2 and he’d gone through the old babe replacing gaskets and crank seals that had sat apoplectic for about 18 years (according to Tim 1). We additionally ashore a borescope bottomward anniversary spark-plug aperture but afar from a slight discolouration on a baby appliance of the bore apparent on a brace of cylinders (the ones that had sat with a valve allotment open) aggregate looked beaut. We angry her over by duke a brace of times to accomplish sure, arrested the timing alternation for amplitude (none) and I larboard Tim 2 to accept at it. Typically, the abandoned things that gave us affliction were the carbies. But it ran and drove, so I took it home to tidy up the fiddly bits. I afresh ashore it on a dyno to accept it acquainted by a bounded authority who took one attending and told me to accompany it aback aback I’d sorted the exhaustion leak(s). Bugger.
So, I afflicted the old Bakelite carb spacer to a set of soft-mounts, arrested and re-checked every nut, bolt and washer on that abuse assimilation arrangement and still, aback I sprayed carby-cleaner anywhere abreast that blood-soaked Celica, the agent revved up like I was aptitude on the burke pedal. Eventually, I did an centralized chase of the assorted and by authentic accident begin a account of it up-ended. And there, hidden up beneath the head, amid the manifold’s capital tubes and abaft the accompanying acknowledgment springs was a exhaustion anchorage that I’d never apparent before. Maybe if you were continuing on your arch beneath the car, you ability accept spotted it. Eureka moment.
So I acquainted the anchorage (which still appropriate removing one of the carbies) anchored it aback together, hit the key and did the mechanic’s achievement ball as that twin-cam brapped into activity and anon idled all bland and even. A quick aerosol of carby cleaner did actually nothing. Achievement was mine.
So that’s area we’re at boys and girls. Abutting job is to booty it aback to the affability boutique and accept the carbs finessed, but alike as it sits now, I feel like it’s abutting to actuality `right’. And I acquaint you what, the aboriginal time I gave it a bootful in additional and third with the exhaustion leaks sorted, I aback remembered how acceptable accompanying sidedraught Solexes complete and what a aces little agent these 80s two-valve twin-cams are. And I was aback 19 years old again.
I’ll acquaint you article abroad for free, though; my brother’s not accepting abreast this one.
Air it out
Now the weather’s accepting a bit bigger bottomward here, a lot of earlier cars are hitting the anchorage for a Saturday gallop. But alike if you’re not active your car aloof yet, it’s still time to aces a nice, warm, brilliant day and go out and accessible all the windows and let her air out. Alike in a garage, air can get appealing dried and abstract (from clammy winter air) can anatomy in places you wouldn’t believe. While you’re at it, abolish the attic mats and adhere them up for a day or two. These are abundant for accoutrement clammy beneath them, arch to clammy carpets and a aged smell. Accessible the boot, too (but don’t balloon to booty the apple out of the cossack ablaze or you’ll accept a collapsed array abutting morning).
Since there has been actually a bit of agitation about the affliction and accumulator of batteries, I would like to accord my ascribe from claimed acquaintance about the batteries in my 1973 Porsche 911. I purchased two 12-volt batteries in 2006. I installed them in the array accumulator areas which accept collapsed metal attic beneath the bonnet. Afterwards anniversary run I accept them consistently affiliated to a crawl charger. Incredibly afterwards 13 years they are still assuming well.
Jo Seeger, Email
JO, THAT’S an absurd innings for one battery, let abandoned a brace of them. Aloof goes to appearance what a aberration a crawl charger can make, abnormally on a Sunday car like an aged Porsche 911 that allegedly doesn’t see circadian duties. I’ve been appliance those high-end C-Tek chargers for decades now, and I accept one that was in use every day for about 20 years that still works perfectly.
Clearly, too, the batteries you bought were of a aerial affection and a accepted brand, because let me assure you, there are batteries and there are batteries. Buy the El Cheapo one and see how continued that lasts. I agreement you that alike with a trickle-charger absorbed up to it, it won’t be annihilation like 13 years. Meantime, some readers are allegedly apprehensive why you bought two 12-volt batteries for a car that should actually abandoned charge one battery?. But it’s true, up to 1973, the Porsche 911 was adapted with a brace of abate 12-volt batteries rather than one big one. Interestingly, it was all about weight, but not in the acceptable way car-makers anticipate about mass.
Rather than save weight, the abstraction of active two batteries was to actually access the car’s mass. Specifically, to get added weight over the adenoids and try to antithesis out the abominable weight administration that is a accustomed action of cantilevering the agent aback of the aback axle. By appliance two batteries, Porsche was able to advance a bit added weight advanced and by ascent one array in anniversary bend of the boot-space, there was bigger side-to-side weight distribution.
Did it accomplish abundant of a difference? Not really, and as able-bodied as a lot of owners converting to a distinct array on the left-hand ancillary of the boot, the aboriginal 911 charcoal a widow-maker of the accomplished order. Lovely, but dangerous, aloof as in any acceptable accord with a admired one.
The added affair Porsche did on these aboriginal 911s was to ample the corners of the advanced bonanza with advance weights. Again, the approach was simple, alike up the front-rear weight bias. The botheration with all of this, of course, is that while it makes the weight at anniversary end (slightly) added even, whacking all that accumulation way out on the advanced acme did actually annihilation for accumulation centralisation which can be aloof as important as fore-aft weight distribution.
Think about a ladder lying collapsed with a brace of buckets of adhesive blind from the centre two rungs. Aces up the ladder horizontally, antithesis it and try to beat it about and afresh stop it. Now move those buckets to the actual top and basal rungs and accord the ladder addition twirl. Takes a lot added to ascendancy or stop the thing, doesn’t it? Well, that’s actually what accumulation centralisation is all about. It’s not aloof the weight, it’s area it’s carried.
The 18RG Toyota agent – Morley’s one authentic love
G’day Cobber. Regarding your contempo brain-twisters on agent revs and pieces of string: Try the maths on how abounding revolutions a annoyance car does in the division mile…Bloody amazing!
Pete Dobe, Email
G’DAY YOURSELF, Pete. Yeah, this is amazing stuff. And from what I can gather, the acknowledgment to your catechism is – if you accommodate the addict of a Top Ammunition dragster – about 900 times (540 times for the 400m run itself). And still these monsters administer to abort themselves and their owners accede pistons to be `consumables’.
Of course, this accomplished affair of Top Ammunition dragsters led me bottomward addition rabbit-hole of research, and I lucked aloft a appointment column (a computer-boffin forum, no less) by an Aussie adolescent who goes by the handle of NickAu. Now, Nick acutely has a agog absorption in this subject, and the account of cool facts he acquaint had me fascinated. And I account you lot will adulation them, too.
There are factoids in Nick’s column that I accept never heard before, and if you accept a acquaintance who doesn’t recognise the majesty of Top Ammunition racing, get them to accept a attending at this. And, again, aloof for the record, this is all aerial from a forum, but if NickAu is a Different Cars reader, I’d adulation to apprehend from him. Meantime, abounding acclaim for the afterward goes to the lad himself.
Four Buick motors could almost ability the blower on a avant-garde Top Ammunition dragster
One Top Ammunition dragster 500 cubic inch Hemi agent makes added appliance than the aboriginal four rows at the Daytona 500. They accept over bisected afresh as abundant appliance in one butt as a Dodge Viper has in all ten. No one has anytime auspiciously run one continued abundant on a dyno to get a appliance reading. Current estimates are appropriate about 6000 appliance (2015).
Under abounding throttle, a dragster agent consumes about six litres of nitro-methane per second; a actually loaded 747 consumes jet ammunition at the aforementioned amount with 25 per cent beneath activity actuality produced.
A banal Dodge Hemi V8 agent cannot aftermath abundant ability to drive the dragster’s supercharger. The ammunition pump abandoned requires added appliance to about-face than the boilerplate artery car produces.
With 3000 CFM of air actuality rammed in by the supercharger on overdrive, the ammunition admixture is aeroembolism into a near-solid anatomy afore ignition. Cylinders run on the border of hydraulic lock at abounding throttle.
The 1.7:1 air/fuel admixture for nitromethane produces a blaze advanced temperature of 7050 degrees F (about 3900 C).
Nitromethane burns yellow. The amazing white blaze apparent aloft the endless at night is raw, afire hydrogen, afar from atmospheric baptize vapour by the afire bankrupt gases.
Dual magnetos accumulation 44 amps to anniversary atom plug. This is the achievement of an arc welder in anniversary cylinder.
Spark bung electrodes are actually captivated during a pass. Afterwards the run, the agent is dieseling from compression additional the afterglow of bankrupt valves at 1400 degrees F.
If atom briefly fails aboriginal in the run, unburned nitro builds up in the afflicted cylinders and afresh explodes with acceptable force to draft butt active off the block in pieces or breach the block in half.
In adjustment to beat 300 mph in 4.5 seconds, dragsters charge advance an boilerplate of over 4G’s. In adjustment to ability 200 mph able-bodied afore half-track, the barrage dispatch approaches 8G’s. To put this in perspective; a top ammunition dragster, anchored abutting to a Super Hornet on the beef ballista on the accouter of an aircraft carrier, would be in the baptize and biconcave afore the Super Hornet was center bottomward the deck.
Dragsters ability over 300 afar per hour afore you accept completed account this sentence.
The agent is actually rebuilt every run, or every 900 revolutions. New pistons and rings, new rods, new rod bearings. Sometimes a new crank. The aggregation does this in about two hours amid rounds.
Amazing stuff, no? A brace of added things I dug up accommodate the actuality that, on the hit of the throttle, a Top Fueller creates about the aforementioned G-force as the Space Shuttle demography off and that the boilerplate ammunition burning is about 18 gallons to the mile (call it 4300 litres per 100km). Got all that? Good. Now you know. And acknowledgment afresh NickAu.
The W124 Benz still presses Morley’s buttons afterwards all those years
I aloof happened to be browsing through my mag accumulating and best up Car Australia July 1989. In a comparo amid a BMW E34 535i and a Benz W124 300E, I noticed you best the Benz. Acceptable to see afterwards 30 years you still absorption it as a appropriate drive, as acclaimed in Our Picks in aftermost month’s Different Cars. Been about a while now huh? Acutely still affection it.
I additionally noticed in the belletrist area of the Car Australia mag that a Mr John Ray nominated you for PM. I admiration how Australia’s motor industry would be today if you had’gone bottomward that road.
On addition note, I do a lot of night active and I am actually buggered by the cardinal of idiots active about with abandoned one headlight. Accumulate up the acceptable work.
Philip Douch, Email
OH MAN, that makes me feel old. But you’re right, Philip; alike admitting I was aloof a kid aback afresh road-testing cars on a circadian basis, I was actual taken by the W124 Benzes and I still account they’re a affair of 18-carat adorableness (in a Bratwurst-and-mustard affectionate of way). And yes, I’d accept one today in a heartbeat. The one-headlight affair is, I anticipate artlessly a case of bodies not advantageous absorption to the action of their own cars. Brake lights are addition one. Torrens is consistently banging on about the accent of annual roadworthies, but I’m not so abiding they’d accomplish abundant aberration accustomed that a ball can draft on the drive home from the roadworthy station. Let’s not forget, too, that a lot of cars active about with absolute lights are new abundant to affectation a admonishing ablaze on the dashboard to let the disciplinarian apperceive there’s a ablaze out about on the car. So it’s not as if every disciplinarian would be actually blind of the problem. And still they get ignored.
My own acquaintance with this is that cars that I’ve adored afterwards a continued spell in a afford or paddock will, over the aboriginal 12 months of actuality recommissioned, systematically draft every globe, one afterwards the other. My approach is that, somehow, minute amounts of clammy get into the apple over the years and builds up until it’s switched on the abutting few times. Anybody abroad noticed this?
As for me entering backroom with a appearance to one day acceptable PM, I candidly don’t anticipate that would accept played out too well, do you? Canberra ability be a actual altered place. In fact, so would the blow of the country. You can aback it in, for instance, that we wouldn’t be putting up with a accomplished lot of babble that minorities assume to get abroad with these days. There’d be no brainless acceleration limits, no antic wire-rope barriers and I’d be authoritative abuse abiding numpties would be accepting appointed for sitting in the fast lane. Active while you’re off your chops on ice? Straight to the big house, pal.
I’d additionally accomplish abiding that adolescent kids weren’t punished for accepting an absorption in cars and I’d be accomplishing article absolute about the alley assessment that wasn’t some complete amount of horseshit with the words SPEED and ALCOHOL in capitals. You’d be accomplished to drive and advance the appropriate attitudes while you were still at academy and if you weren’t interested, you could accumulate communicable the bus. That’s democracy, appropriate there.
And I’ll acquaint you article else: If I had annihilation at all to do with it, we’d still accept a car-making industry in this already accomplished country. Rant ends. Discuss.
Re-reading my July affair ‘Garage Gurus’ folio 126 and Rob Blackbourn’s actual adjustment for replacing a timing accessory on a Holden Grey or Red Motor reminded me of my experience. Fortunately, it happened on a weekday during business hours, but on the alley amid Puckapunyal and Seymour, Victoria the timing accessory in my Holden failed.
The affable Seymour Holden banker attentive lent me the all-important harmonic aerialist puller and provided the backup timing gear. As a acceptable RMIT engineering student, my toolbox included a chiral metal shaper and calibrated knockometer (AKA algid blade and ball-pein hammer). So, off with the radiator, harmonic balancer, and timing case.
Hmmm, arrest fit timing-gear boss, but an accessible keyway. One authentic appliance of algid blade to steel, adjoining to keyway, and, presto, off came toothless timing gear. New timing gear, central bore of bang-up and teeth abundantly coated with oil, teeth aligned, assumption alluvion and bang acclaim abiding new accessory on to camshaft. Added genitalia reassembled, agitation timing checked, adaptable again. Could not do that with a backward archetypal Holden-or, indeed, any added backward model. But the acceptable account is the ancestors Mazdas now accept long-life timing chains.
Claude Palmer, FRMIT, CPEng, Email.
I’M TIPPING that little adventure happened actually a few years back, Claude. But nice assignment and it aloof shows how applied the boilerplate adolescent in the artery was aback then. These days, the aforementioned adolescent fella would allegedly grab his phone, booty a account of the agent bay (once he’d formed out how to accessible the bonnet) and column it on the internet for his `friends’ to discuss.
Somehow, admitting the bazillions of kliks I’ve covered in red-motored Holdens, I’ve never had the alarming bare timing accessory problem. Apperception you, it consistently beyond my mind, and the aboriginal affair I’d do aback the agent didn’t appetite to blaze was casting off the addled cap and analysis that the rotor was still accomplishing laps of the cap. If it wasn’t, you could bet your timing accessory had aloof bundied off. And maybe allotment of my luck was to do with the actuality that whenever I had a red afar for whatever reason, it consistently went aback calm with the GTR-spec admixture timing gears.
And here’s affidavit that some of us never abound up: The agglomeration on my agent angle appropriate now, this instant, is a red 202 that’s accepting a jazzed-up butt arch and a big cam (for my hillclimb car). Oh yeah, and a set of admixture timing gears.
Tried and authentic Holden red motor with timing apparatus still accomplishing the business
Re: Undersize bearings in Red Motors. Again. I can assure you, Morley, that it’s a actuality and not a theory. I aboriginal addled it in a aboriginal HR station-wagon that had not alike been sold. The rear-main oil allowance was aperture abominably and I was accustomed the job to fix it.
It was during this band bottomward to alter the allowance which, incidentally, had been put in with bisected the allowance aback to advanced (they had a two-piece neoprene seal) that I spotted this phenomenon. Anyway, aback I was putting the crank aback in, I alone a address cap and the address fell out. This is aback I noticed it was billowing (luck or fate?).
I addled it afresh a brace of years afterwards on a HK auto I was accomplishing a quick rings-and-bearing job on and Greg from Authentic Bores on Parramatta Alley in Burwood abstinent the motor and said we would get abroad with accepted rings and bearings. While I was accumulating the motor, I remembered my antecedent botheration and a quick analysis of the old address shells anon begin addition archetype of a 10 thou billowing big end bearing. Had to get Greg aback to admeasurement all journals so that we could put an billowing in the appropriate place.
Geoff D, Email
YEP, I’VE heard abundant belief like this one, Geoff, that I accept no agnosticism there was a bit of mix-and-match engineering activity on aback Holden was architecture the red motors. So here’s my abutting question: Did Holden accept the aforementioned problems with its 253 and 308 V8s?
These were a lot beneath accepted aback in the day, so maybe the applique backward added authentic over the years. But then, the pistons for both sixes and V8s were allegedly casting and machined on the aforementioned tooling, so maybe there were agnate `challenges’.
And what about Ford and Chrysler? Did their engines affectation agnate idiosyncrasies? Anybody played with abundant old Falcon or Valiant six-cylinder engines to action an opinion?
A adolescent is active home from the pub, three churns in and a bit wonky on it. He swerves to absence a blush albatross and finishes up backward in a ditch. He’s trapped. The car following, apprenticed by Mr and Mrs Smith, stops to help. So does the abutting car, apprenticed by Mr and Mrs Ball. Luckily, the adolescent was pulled out by the Smiths.
Speaking of Toyota 18RG twin-cam engines, I’m anxiously abreast that pistons are accepting appealing adamantine to acquisition for these engines. Along with timing chains and guides, apparently. But some ablaze atom has affective a set of verniers and formed out that the agent from a Yamaha SR500 motorcycle makes a absolute replacement. Could a agent from an air-cooled, 500cc distinct butt agent applicable a water-cooled four-cylinder anytime be a thing? Or is it article to do with the bike’s maker, Yamaha, additionally actuality the aggregation that congenital the 18RG’s butt head? Anybody?
Write to Morley c/o uniquecars@bauertrader.com.au or Different Cars magazine, Locked Bag 12, Oakleigh, Vic 3166
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