Loring Spring 2015 - Road Trip To The Race (Video Post)

The full video of the road trip to Loring Spring 2015.

Diesel Land Speed Racer Mk2 Part 2 - Fabrication Begins (With a Vengeance!)

This is going to be a huge photo-dump of diesel Sportster progress pics. Work has been progressing steadily on and off since December, and the basic form is starting to take shape. I bobbed the rear fender, discarded the front fender, sandblasted both, and had them powder-coated green metalflake.

I chose powder-coat over paint because the paint on the first diesel got stained by leaking fuel. Powder has a harder finish and better chemical resistance.

The next step has been modifying the frame and engine so they can fit together. I shaved the rear valve cover to improve the clearance.

The final major hurdle before I can assemble a rolling chassis will be fabricate the engine mounts. I am using flat bar stock and a MIG welder to slowly construct a strong foundation for the huge v-twin.

Steam Engine Restoration - Shaking Out The Cobwebs (Video Post)

This is the long-overdue higher resolution video of the steam engine running. It has been on display inside for nearly 8 months, so I pulled it out, wiped it down, regreased everything, and hooked it up to some air. Runs like a champ!

Loring Spring 2015 - Video of the Fastest Pass

Here is the video of the fastest pass on the CL450/CB500T Frankenstein. Full speed was 94.08mph. This set the new record in the class.

Loring Spring 2015 - Tales From The Road - Part 2

It rained and snowed most of the night, but by Saturday morning the track had begun to dry out. We arrived around 9am to set up camp and get some last-minute tuning done. There was a small turnout, but still enough for an interesting day of racing!

I installed the velocity stacks and megaphone pipes, and ran some test passes on the backup track. Most of the carb tuning was fine, but I did have to increase the main jets from 100's to 120's. Once the track had dried off completely, the race officials opened it up for runs. 

Unfortunately, the weather didn't completely cooperate, and there was a stiff headwind all weekend. The first pass went poorly. I am not used to wearing the race boots, so I missed a shift. The next pass was spot-on, but the bike maxed out at 7500 rpm in top gear. We were shooting for 100+ mph, but the best the bike would manage was 94. Still, that was enough to beat the previous record, and I'm satisfied with the results.

Base Camp

Final Prep

Saab 93 Racer

Former Stock Car

Resurrected from a field, and running a Straight 6 truck engine

Datsun Racer

Setup at the start line. 

Fox Body racer

The most impressive cockpit instrumentation of the entire weekend.

500cc BSA Partial Streamliner

Newer former stock car

Loring Spring 2015 - Tales From The Road - Part 1

I'm happy to say that, after a nearly 2 year hiatus, we're finally getting back to Loring for a Land Speed Event. After work on Thursday, I picked up Justin at the Port Jeff train station, caught a ferry to Bridgeport, and we drove to our friends' house outside of Boston. This morning, we hit the road and drove the final 450 miles to Presque Isle. Here are some pictures from the first leg of the trip.

Bridgeport Ferry

Barbeque in Derby, CT

Welcome to Maine

And then the weather took a turn.....