Posted on 11/06/2009 21:43 PM
Wow, that one shot of us going down to the bridge turn is impressive!
Posted on 11/06/2009 16:44 PM
Did Tom ever get the package you sent to him?
And can we get Tom to send us a disc with the NJ videos on it? That way we could post them to Vimeo and they would be on the channel. I know he was having trouble with his computer and maybe this would help him to get them posted.
Posted on 11/05/2009 10:12 AM
So how come there arn't any NJUSBF videos on there?
Posted on 11/04/2009 18:33 PM
A while ago, Jeremy put together the World Wide Soapbox Channel on Vimeo. He has ALL the Best videos posted from groups all around the world.
So you can now go to just ONE place to see all the soapbox videos you need!
http://vimeo.com/channels/undergroundsoapbox
Posted on 11/04/2009 07:36 AM
Here's a video of the Halloween Special just to carry you over until Jeremy gets the good one done! I only had footage from 2 cameras to work with, so don't expect much!
http://www.vimeo.com/7425468 Finishing Positions for this race ARE NOT YET OFFICIAL!!!! 3rd & 4th place are still being contested, so the results posted on this video are NOT yet the "OFFICIAL RESULTS".
If a decision can not be made, both drivers will earn 3rd place points.
Posted on 11/04/2009 07:34 AM
With winds strong enough to blow away your gezeebo, maybe you should consider putting a sail on that cart!
Posted on 11/02/2009 18:54 PM
O.K. boys and girls, the season is winding down! We have just 2 races left for this season.
One Championship Points Race on December 6. You don't want to miss this one! Not only is this the LAST race of the 2009 season, and the beginning of two long cold months of no racing, but this race will also decide the 2009 Championship! Drscope & The Jerm are tied for points. So which ever one of them finishes ahead of the other also wins the Championship!
The other race we have this year is our annual NIGHT RACE! Thats right, a Non-Points NIGHT RACE run in total darkness.
We are still looking for a good location for this run! It's more difficult then you think to find a suitable location. So, if you think you know of a good hill that would work for this, LET US KNOW ASAP so we can check it out!
A few things to look out for when selecting a hill for this race.......
No parked cars - Running at night is bad enough without having to worry about parked cars, or things jumping out from behind parked cars.
Painted lines on the street - Its nice, but not necessary to have painted center lines and edge lines when running in the dark.
Street Lights - Again, not necessary, but depending on the traffic flow and the lay of the course, street lighting would be a nice touch.
Posted on 11/02/2009 10:58 AM
Jeremy, thanks for posting this! I wanted to talk to you yesterday to see if you had the build photos and with all the excitement I never got around to asking.
I wanted to update the "cars" page of the web site since the only real thing there is Jola's car before it had a body.
When I have time, a lot of this will get added with a few detailed write ups.
Posted on 11/02/2009 07:05 AM
Those of you who wimped out and didn’t attend the Halloween race really missed a good one!
The Jerm picked a really great hill on Spooks Hill Road of all places! We only saw 2 cars the entire time we were out there – and we were out there for a longer time then usual.
The fun run was also run on Spooks Hill Rd, just on a much more moderate section. So those of you who noticed the
lack of safety gear can rest assured, we were not in any
danger.
Those of you who didn’t make it because you were too scared of a few spooks and goblins, it’s your loss.
And for those keeping track, Drscope’s win means the championship is now a tie between The Jerm and Drscope! So the December race will really be an important one as the 2009 Championship will be decided in the very last race of the season!
Posted on 11/01/2009 13:31 PM
No Way thats adequate! He was awake at 5 and could have made it!
He gets the punishment we talked about!
Posted on 11/01/2009 11:27 AM
No matter which way you go, keep in mind things can go terribly wrong very quickly.
reference;
http://vimeo.com/6899999So we have now decided that ALL our loaner cars will have roll over and side impact protection. When you are running on the ragged edge, sometimes you fall off! And other times, you are just in the wrong place!
At this point all our cars except the DW1386X which Ice Man was driving, have roll over and impact protection. The DW1386X still has a bent frame and we just havn't taken the time to correct that yet. BUT it will get fixed and the proper roll bar will be installed before the December race.
We still have a few guys who are running open cars, but after experiancing the October crash, I don't think I would put myself back into an open car.
But it takes time and work to get things where you want them. So if starting with an open car is where you are, then don't let that stop you. All our cars were open cars when we started and each has evolved into something different.
Posted on 10/31/2009 18:28 PM
I've often thought about using bike wheels with coaster brakes. Just run the chains up to a hand or foot lever and use the coaster brake set up.
The one problem with any of the bike wheels is that they are not designed to take any sort of side load. So they will collapse if you get to cornering with too many G's.
I collected up a few motor cycle front wheels that I thought about using on the rear of my car. They are HEAVY and I'm not so sure they would really work well because of that. But they appear to be strong enough that they should handle what we are doing. And they have a nice big brake disc already attatched!
Some guys are running Moped wheels or like The Jerm, pocket bike wheels. His wheels also have 12mm axles, so that is why he has the wheel cages on his wheels. That supports that little axle on both sides.
We did have those wheels with 12mm axles on the front of the DW1386X. They were only supported on one side. We expected them to bend, but the car was light enough that it wasn't a problem. They performed very well with no problems in several races. However, they did get destroyed in the big crash in October. But I'm not too sure anything would have survived that one.
If you are trying to make Applehead, you better start with their rule book! That type of racing is a lot different then what we do. They have a LOT of build rules and you will be up against some serious competition.
We just slap together what ever we want, how we want and go down the hill. The extent of our rules is almost 4 wheels, brakes and we do have a size limit of 8 feet long and 4 feet wide. If the cars get bigger then that it just makes it too difficult to get through traffic.
As for this stuff... (What is this other unrelated stuff ? blue eyed ? winning bitches ?) Thats the New Jersey boys crying because The Jerm won the East Coast Challenge! They are just poor loosers!
We have a year to brag about it and they have a year to cry about it and then we'll try again!
Posted on 10/31/2009 12:06 PM
Reply to uo69 (10/30/2009 19:21 PM)
maryland (misfits)= germans winning the war..... ahhhaaa ha fuck off,..blue eyed bitches..BP
From the movie Grand Prix
"There is no terrible way to win, there is only winning."
Go Cry LOSERS!
Posted on 10/30/2009 10:42 AM
markWoody, WELCOME!
Over the last year, we have had a few folks from the UK inquire and wanted to get something going.
One was from Leads, one from the Island of Jersey and another fromn the south east corner, but inland a bit, I can't remember the name of the town.
So it looks like everyone over there that would like to try this is spread out!
But if you have 3 boys interested in joining you, you are already 2 a head of where we started last year!
Before you start bulding, you may want to consider what to build. Do you want all 4 cars to be the same? That way it is driver skill that gets you to the bottom first?
Or just build what ever you like and who ever has the best wheel/tire/bearing/aero package wins?
We started off simple and built our first 6 cars almost identical. A simple 2' x 4', 1 inch square tube frame with identical seats and all the same wheels/tires.
They wern't real fast, but it got us going and out there. And unless the guys from New Jersey came down to run with us, we were all pretty closely matched.
Since our first race this season, all the cars have undergone extensive modifications. And they are now all different as far as body work, and wheel/tire selections. They have all gotton a lot faster.
So any way, get busy building! Keep us posted! And if I can find the old e-mail address from one of the other guys in the UK, I'll forward it along.
Posted on 10/23/2009 13:47 PM
Nothing like the sensation of speed you can get from an ill handling, out of control car!
Posted on 10/23/2009 05:59 AM
Maybe quicksiler is just a copy cat, trying to be like Neal!
I wouldn't "wreckomend" that in an open car!
Posted on 10/21/2009 11:48 AM
I don't think i would waste much time with anything you have for the rear axle except the wheels and hubs.
Trying to get that axle straight is probably not going to happen. See if you can match it up here;
http://www.azusaeng.com/axles/solidaxles.htmlThe bearings should have a collar with a set screw that holds the bearing in place to the axle. They shouldn't be pressed on, just a tight snug fit. But years of rust and the fire damage burning any oil away should make them pretty difficult to get off.
I think I would just concern myself with trying to save the hubs. Bearings for that, if it is a 1" axle are $9.50 ea. list price. But they also have a bearing kit that has 2 hangers, 4 flangettes, 2 bearings and all the hardware. If this is a 1" with a 2 hole flangette it's part #1861A ($37.95) If 1" with 3 hole flangette, part # 1861B ($38.50)
The expensive part is the axle. They run from $30 to $60 for the standard stuff and the racing axles can get into the hundreds.
You might want to consider just going with a 5/8 rod axle out back and the Harbor freight wheels with new bearings and tires we discussed earlier. That would help keep the cost down. Then just rig a simple scrub brake.
Up front, new bearings, tires and tubes and you are ready to go. You might want to think about new tie rods. They run about $20.
Posted on 10/20/2009 20:26 PM
Yes it came through! I had to cut and past the link, but I got to it!
So you have a frame and a pair of front wheels. If thats all you have, you are going to need some sort of brakes, a rear axle and a pair of rear wheels, tires and bearings all around and you might want to think about a seat that will keep you in place.
This type of car used a solid rear axle that had a key way it's full length. The wheels were fixed to the axle and so was the brake disc or drum. The axle is mounted in bearings.
That set up works OK, but it will be scrubbing off speed as you turn. What a lot of the guys do who run this type of set up is to get additional bearings and hangers and mount them inboard. Then they cut the center of the rear axle. This gives independent rear axles while still being able to run the brakes.
Or, you could just go to a 5/8 rod and use a standard wheel. Thats what we started out with. we used a Harbor Freight 5" wheel on the rear of all our cars. This one;
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37767They worked OK when ALL the cars had the same wheel. But to go fast, this didn't work out too well.
We STILL use this wheel!!!!! We have just upgraded to a better bearing AND a better tire. The bearings they come with just won't hold up. One or two runs down the hill and they are shot. After all, this stuff was made for walking speed!
But we install the good AZUSA bearings part#8205 $2.15ea. they will last a LONG time.
The other problem is the tires. These tires are just NOT made for this. They are NOT round! And when you get a tire thats out of round, it really keeps it from gaining speed. So we still use that wheel, with better bearings and better tires. We run Azusa tire #7164 $17.25.
I have recently made up the jig to be able to drill and mount the Azusa 4 1/2 or 5" brake drum to these wheels. Before our next race, we hope to have that set up on the rear of 3 more of the loaner cars. That will give ALL our cars, foot operated drum brakes as well as hand operated scrubs.
It looks like your car originally had a band brake on the right rear.
And you may want to also replace your front tie rods! Once they have been bent like that, they won't stay straight and you'll have a very difficult time trying to do a wheel alignment.
Your seat might be Ok if you weld some sides to the frame of the seat to help hold you in.
And it would be easy to fit this thing with scrub brakes.
So, how's your tool collection? Do you have access to a welder?
Here's a link to the Azusa stuff;
http://www.azusaeng.com/azusaline.htmlI'm trying to get things ready to post on the Allied Motor Sports web site, buts its a lot more work then I thought. Once they are posted, you will be able to go there and see whats available and also prices! Keep in mind, all prices are LIST prices, and you should receive at least a 20% discount from there.
http://www.alliedmotorsports.us/
Posted on 10/20/2009 18:37 PM
Ok, here's the deal on posting pictures...
Right now, the Aimoo message board that we are using is FREE. It's easy and FREE. It is also limited.
In order for us to be able to post pictures on the message boards, we have to step up to an Aimoo Diamond account. And that is NOT free.
I'm CHEAP! I have enough expenses now without adding the $6.67 every month it takes to upgrade us to a Diamond account.
BUT DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!
As Ice Man pointed out, you can go to tinypic and open an account. I just did it and it was QUICK & EASY even for me!
Go here;
http://img2.tinypic.info/info.php?act=about_usIn the upper right hand corner, click on the Register link and in just 2 minutes you will be able to start uploading those pictures.
Once uploaded, you can click on the "my gallery" link and go to the thumbs for each of your photos. Click on the thumb and then go to the "enter links page" down near the bottom of the page. Then copy and paste the "direct" link here like this;
http://www.tinypic.info/files/zkzhno0x1l9lpk08evek.jpgThen we can click this link, or copy and paste it to our browser and go right to your photo.
Over the winter months when we aren't doing much racing, I hope to update our "cars" page on the web site. We havn't updated that in a long time! I want to dedicate almost a full page to each of the cars. Fortunately, Jeremy has been taking photos a lot during all the builds and updates. So we should be able to put together something really informative.
I hope this helps! Pictures will help us see what you are dealing with and we should be able to offer all kinds of opinions!
