During the recent research with the Test Mule I needed to upgrade the brakes. The front brake was fine, but the springs on the rear calipers were not strong enough to hold the pads away from the wheel. Adding a couple of large rubber bands did the trick. It was a crude solution but didn't cost anything.
If you want to see how a modern lakester is constructed, take a look this incredibly detailed website which shows step-by-step how Sum's "Salt Bullet" is being built. It's powered by a 750cc Suzuki motorcycle engine and trying to reach 200 mph: The Salt Bullet Website
In the meantime, here's an overview of what I've done lately.
Progress has been made but the pace was slow. I'm beginning to wonder if I enjoy the pure research more than actually building the thing. The more I find out, the deeper I want to go. The interplay between rake and trail has been interesting, and determining how the steering should work was a great puzzle, but the toughest one of all is keeping the amount of trail constant during bumps, dips and braking. Since I don't know how much the finished vehicle will weigh, I have to use rough estimates for things like the center of gravity and how much the front might drop during braking, both of which determine what kind of coilover shocks are needed. All of those factors have to be considered when designing the front suspension. Everything has to work together to provide the best handling and the safest operation. Having it fall apart at 100 mph and kill me won't accomplish anything.
On another note, I was able to attend the 2008 World of Speed at the Bonneville Salt Flats. It's something I wanted to see since I was a child reading Hot Rod magazine. The two days I spent there was one of the best racing events I've ever been to. Standing next to big block V8s with straight pipes and burning nitro methane was something I'll never forget. The car owners and drivers were some of the friendliest people I've ever met.
Below is my favorite car at the World of Speed. It's a lakester using a surplus belly tank from a WWII aircraft. It features a big V8 fed by a blower and gulping some sort of exotic fuel. The uncorked exhaust sounded like music, and the details of the car and quality of finish were amazing. Sadly it fell short of breaking the existing record of 298 mph. I'm sure they'll try again next year. They've got "salt fever."
I was able to find another '83 VF750. From this distance it looks pretty good, but up close you can see the pain. The seller gave me a little history. The previous owner burned out the clutch, possibly by drag racing, and he must have thought the gray-painted frame was aluminum because a lot of the paint was "buffed" away. It sat outside for a year and the rust and all-over fuzz are proof. The chain was so badly rusted that I had to soak it with WD-40 (my favorite cologne) before it would move. The seller said it ran when he bought it.
Regardless, this fine specimen of Japanese engineering came with a clean title, a pair of keys and was pretty damn cheap at $450. When the prototype is done and I'm ready to build the next version, this unfortunate donor will be torn apart for the frame and engine. The rest will be peddled on eBay to help defray the purchase.
The VF frame I bought thru eBay turned out to be a scam. The scumbag hooked me for $170 and never shipped a thing. I'll get the money back, even if it costs twice as much because I won't let a thief keep what they stole.
I took all of the receipts I could find from last year and the total was just under $1,000. It doesn't include some outside machining, some raw materials and a few duplicate donor parts. I'm sure some receipts were lost. As a best-guess, I think I spent twice that cost. Add that to the costs over the last two years, as well as the new VF donor, and I'd guess the total is about $5,000. It's more than I expected to spend and there's still a lot still to be done, but getting everything right is crucial.
As of mid-December I'm back at the computer drawing what I hope will be the final design with the hopes of a test run by the end of winter. Time is ticking.
At left is one of the latest welds. I did four spots around the tubing with different settings. This was one of the better ones. With a little more practice I know I can do better.