I'm posting for slofomoco on the forum / this is his build

[gregm784]

Love the new hoop. 

Fun stuff!

[slofomoco]

Thanks for the comments dreracecar & rooman , I will discuss them with Dan who is rebuilding it. I thought the pushbar was so cool, never for a minute did I consider it's danger.

[slofomoco]

I have found some of the FED's history. Dan bought it 3 years ago from Hal in Belleville Ontario. Hal got it from Greg Williams maybe 5 years before that. Greg raced it around SW Ontario for many years with a coupe body on it. Greg is the man I have to talk to. Does anyone know him?  thanks

Terry   

[janjon]

Strange Arrange at the steering bellcrank. What geometry effect does spreading the inner attachments of the tie rods have?
Also notice that what appears to be torsion arms are welded to what appears to be torsion tube, making either, neither.
Is this a retro-look thing as regards front axle mounting? Or just conversion to solid-mount?
What would be the right way to strip chromed parts to weld to them, new tube ends in this instance?
Could you strip them with abrasives, or should it be done chemically?
I also did the same cage conversion from 6 to 5-point, I agree yours looks great!

[slofomoco]

Thanx janjon, Dan did a nice job on the cage, definitely not for a big guy, I'm 5'7" & 160, it fits well.

I have learned that the front end was replaced after it was damaged in an accident at Lancaster NY quite a few years ago. Changes to that system are planned.

I don't know why the torsion tube was welded. I spoke briefly to Greg, the 3rd last owner, when we chat again, I hope to learn much more.

I spoke to Dave Tuttle (CCE), he has assured me this chassis is not one of theirs, so the search continues. Any ideas will be appreciated.   


This is how the FED looked for years racing at Cayuga, St Thomas & Lancaster.

[JeffV8]

I love comp coupes.

[PSweeney]

I drew out some variations on paper when designing my bellcranki, and the spacing of the holes affects the difference is steering angle at the wheel.  I was more inclined to have them as close as possible on my 138in car, but I imagine on a long wheelbase car you would want more as the Ackerman angle on a 180in car would be 3 feet in front of the rear axle centreline.   At the top of the arc, there is a period of dwell where they move equal amounts, then as the travel around arc increases, the tie rods articulate and one will steer to a greater degree. 

[janjon]

Ah, I see it. Backdoor Akerman. But would get extreme at the... extremes. Useful for encouraging the rear to slide even further in the direction it's already sliding. Never linear, approaching so, close to straight ahead only.
 Please show us what you come up with in that area, and what more you find out about the car's history.
Carry on...
John

[GlennLever]

You are correct Glenn, last time you posted 20 to 50. Can you please post # 1 to 19 of those and 4 & 5 from this set of 6? That will be all for a while, thanks a lot.

Terry


This is 4 & 5

[GlennLever]

Hi Glenn, I finally found them, my computer (or the operator) seems to be acting up, I'm not sure just what you may get here, hopefully it's not all the text to the other people I may have sent these pix to. If you would please post only the first 19 pix with no text, that would be appreciated. Thanks very much


This is 1 thru 10

[GlennLever]

This is 11 thru 19

[slofomoco]

We made it to the track this year before the snow!
Dan completely took the fed apart & put it back together with all the changes we wanted. We had hoped for more track time, but were pleased that Dan was able to make one pass. Now we have to wait for spring, it's going to be tough.
The first two pix show Dan & I at "Sparta" (St. Thomas Raceway Park, Ontario, Canada). That's me sitting in the car with Dan looking on.
Thanx again Glenn for posting these.   

[ricardo1967]

Terry, this is one nice looking FED! Any luck in identifying its maker? Many hints of being a California car... If wasn't for the front axle and another detail or two, I'd suspect being a SPE.

[slofomoco]

Thanx Ricardo. The front axle was replaced after an accident a few years ago. The search for the builder has not gotten too far, I am now looking for two guys north of Toronto that Greg the 3rd last owner bought it from. The Sema tag led me to Dave Tuttle (CCE) , he says it's not one of theirs. He thought it may bear a resemblance to the chassis built by the guys that built "The Freight Train".

This is what the tag looks like :

2-2

Sema

EM 7 | 7

Any ideas will be appreciated.