1970 Lynx vee

snookwheel
Posts: 152
Joined: January 28th, 2008, 8:32 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by snookwheel »

Looks like you had a great time! Keep posting the pics. and videos.

Scott
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Thanks for the help with the steering issues. I will look at it tomorrow when I get home. I am looking at the Jamar super shifter assembly. I think I have enough room for it in the car and IMO it should make it a ton easier to shift also. I have seen the rack and pinion setup and would love to have it, but with work being record slow right now I can't afford much. It really amazed me how much attention the vee gets. I have a lot of pictures of it that I can post up, but it will have to be tomorrow before I can post them.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

This is not video's of my vee, but I thought I would share the race that helped me decide to buy it. This was my first hill climb, and I am hooked. The first run was my first run and I took it slow trying to get a feel for everything. Second run was a little faster but was flagged for the person behind me going off of the hill. Then I had a driver issue of not wanting to wreck my car and decided to buy a dedicated race car and retire the Evo. So I didn't run my car the rest of the day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaUzNfRI ... annel_page

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08jOju0I ... re=channel
snookwheel
Posts: 152
Joined: January 28th, 2008, 8:32 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by snookwheel »

Very neat video. I would love to try a Hill Climb. Not a lot of opportunity in Florida though! I have googled quite a few hill climbs to drool over. Here's a couple of my favorites:

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/An-F ... t_1953.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paClRcT39HY&NR=1

Now C'mon, some of you other Solo Vee drivers post up some of your Solo Runs.

Scott
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Been a while for an update. I re routed the fuel lines in hopes that I won't get vapor lock anymore. I also moved the switches so every time I shift I don't shut the car off. That was a pain in the butt. lol I also bought a plate for the steering to shorten it lock to lock. It seems a lot better, but I haven't had a chance to try it out yet. That will be next weekends autocross. :D

A friend came over with his Amod today and we made foam seats for both of them. We both chose foam over bead for the fact that we are still changing to much on our cars to make a permanent seat. This winter after having some seat time I do plan on making a bead seat for it though. Here I have the car ready for the foam in the bag. I don't have pictures of the next step though due to letting it cure for 24 hours. I will post more pictures later after the seat cures and I can move it.

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I also raised the steering bar. But after making a seat I need to re do it again. :x
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snookwheel
Posts: 152
Joined: January 28th, 2008, 8:32 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by snookwheel »

I am looking forward to seeing the pics of the foam seats. I need to put one together for my wife to use. Did you buy a 'two part' foam kit? A friend of mine (redvette on this forum) made one for his Vee using the canned aerosol foam from Home Depot.

Sccott
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

I used to two part foam and it worked very well. When I have a little more time I will do a wright up.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

A friend and I attempted to make our own foam seats this weekend. He has an Amod and I have my vee. We used 32" X 50" utility trash bags and doubled them up for the pore. I don't recommend this as it makes a lot of seams in the foam when curing, but we have read a lot of horror stories about foam seat making and took all the precautions that we could. We used a two part foam from Tap plastics. It worked out great and is very workable when cured. I did put on my coveralls to to make it a little bigger to allow for a jacket, race suit or whatever.
In this picture I prepped the car so the outside of the foam would be the shape I wanted. I used duct tape to seal off all the nooks and crannies so the seat would slide out when cured with minimal effort, and it worked very well. When I pulled the seat out for the first time it slid right out. I also cut a piece to fit the bottom of the car that I put in the bag as a seat base and foamed on top of it. The pink Styrofoam I used was from Home Depot and is the insulation foam. They sell it in a lot of different thicknesses and I used 3/4 inch for my car. One thing I didn't think of though is that when I put fiberglass on it it melted it.
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The pore went well. The first step we put some foam in the bottom of the bag before I climbed in.
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Then I quickly climbed in and had my friend pore the rest into the bag.
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After that it was just sit and wait about 20 minutes. Make sure to sit in a position that you will be driving in because this will be the final shape of the seat when cured.
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The one problem I did have is that the foam did not go completely even and I was missing a corner when done. I went to Wal mart and bought a tube of spray foam to make a corner with. I don't recommend that at all. It added a ton of work. The single part foam will not cure when trapped in a bag. I sat in the car forever last night waiting for it to set and it never did so I scraped some some of it off and just sprayed the corner and spread it around to about the shape it needed to be. This afternoon I started shaping the seat and found that the center of the spray foam was still not cured.
[ external image ]
In this picture I shaped the seat. I didn't like some of the shape so I used some duct tape and fiberglass mat to get the shape a little more even before glassing it.
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To save time filling all the grooves from the bag I just used a layer of fiberglass cloth on the main part of the seat.
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And here is the final fiber glassed seat ready for a seat cover. I am going to take it down tomorrow to a couple upholstery shops and see how much they will charge to cover it. I might do it myself, but figured I will see the how much they will charge first. When I get it covered I will post up the final seat.
[ external image ]

I am super excited about my new seat. Hopefully the next race I won't get so beat up. I also want to thank my wife for helping do the glass work, and Brian and his brother for helping out with the foam poring.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

I forgot to mention that I put a couple holes in the bottom for water to drain out. I live in the northwest where it does rain a lot, and we race rain or shine.

I do not know if I did the seat correctly. My friend and I had a very hard time finding a complete write up on the process of making a foam seat. So if you follow what I did if making your own foam seat and it doesn't work I am sorry, but it seemed to work well for me. But what I also want to say it that from all the reading my friend and I have done, a bead seat is the correct way to make a permanent seat. We only did foam seats due to the slow economy and that we are both still changing our chassis a little here and there so we didn't want to spend all the money for a bead seat to turn around and do it again this winter. If you do make a foam seat I highly recommend covering it in fiberglass or some fire retardant. The foam is highly flammable and needs some kind of barrier around it. I wanted to see just how flammable it was and stuck a lighter to a small piece and it burned extremely quick.
vreihen
Posts: 577
Joined: August 5th, 2006, 9:39 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by vreihen »

jaymzz wrote:The pink Styrofoam I used was from Home Depot and is the insulation foam. They sell it in a lot of different thicknesses and I used 3/4 inch for my car. One thing I didn't think of though is that when I put fiberglass on it it melted it.
If you use epoxy resin instead of polyester resin, it won't melt the foam. Epoxy costs a little more and doesn't work with chopped strand mat (CSM), but makes a stronger composite laminate and doesn't contain the styrene that eats foam like polyester resin does.....
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

I did my second race yesterday. The car held up really good besides my throttle cable. I got 7 runs in without any issues and on my last run the throttle cable stuck at mid RMP's. So now I need to figure out a new way to route it so that doesn't happen again. The good news is that after all the work I have done to it in the last month it was a pleasure to race. The quicker steering was a major bonus along with the seat and a higher steering wheel. My friend got some video but can't find the cord to get it off of his camera. I knew they should have used mine. lol When he sends them to me I will get them up. :D
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Just got home from a weekend event with the vee. The car did very well this weekend. The only problem I had was the nut falling off of the shifter, so in between runs I had to shove the bolt through the hole and hope like hell that it stayed in for that run. The first session I ran it was about 32 degrees and raining it's ass off. I had a very hard time keeping it straight for my four runs and got drenched. Over the weekend my times got way better to where I was actually getting competitive. I think that with wider tires and a better shifter that I can do even better. The vee ran extremely well through the whole weekend. I got 16 runs all together this weekend and not any problems. So this was my first time racing it and being able to enjoy it. The coarse was fast enough that I did get to the top of third gear also. All I can say about that is the cones come and go very very fast. lol
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

An update. I did my fourth race with the vee today. It did very well. I am starting to get used to the car and was able to pull a second best time today. I really think that with a better shifter and better tires I can do much much better. I am on hand me down tires right now. I changed my throttle cable routing again and made a pulley for it which worked very well and smooth. The only problem I did have is my left rear hub is loose and leaking. So in the next week I will tear it down and see what the problem is. But all in all I had a blast and can't wait for the next race. :D
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Since my last update I have done a few things to it. I re sealed the axles again and thanks to everyone here got all the shims and seals in the correct spot this time. I also found out that my rear calipers were on wrong and while re sealing the axles put them on the correct way. My brakes are now working 100% thank goodness. I was starting to get really worried about them for next months hillclimb. Today I ran the autocross at the Historic races at PIR and it ran awesome. I rejeted the carbs and it made a whole world of difference. I am now having some major traction issues. I traded some tires I have for some wider tires, but don't have the money to buy wider wheels yet. Now that it is running tip top I have to look out the sides instead of looking forward going down the straight stretches. lol My times have been getting much better with more seat time. Today I got second fastest time, and the guy that beat me had a fully prepped Miata.

Edit... Was anyone from here at PIR this weekend? I met a few formula vee guys and a lot of formula ford guys. If so thanks for all the information and giving me a chance to ask a million and one questions. :)
brian
Posts: 1348
Joined: June 26th, 2006, 12:31 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by brian »

Enjoyed reading this thread, boy you've really been working on this car! The front mount issue did arrise from heat expansion not torque. Many years ago, we were developing VW aircraft engines and learned that a front mount was not a good idea. We confirmed engine movement during heat tests and decided not to test the conventional wisdom. I know Deitmar is a Caldwell specialist but I have been told to leave the front mount just snug, not tight, on Caldwells. I have said before the Germans knew what worked and what did not. Granted, it was a street application, but the only front brace VW put on in buses, was rubber mounted.

I realize you're doing solo but I would like to see a bit more bracing on that roll bar. A pair of braces going back to the rear cross member will improve the chassis too.
The above post is for reference only and your results may vary. This post is not intended to reflect the views or opinions of SCCA and should not be considered an analysis or opinion of the rules written in the GCR.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Thanks. I do plan on adding some more bars to the hoop this winter. I am thinking of adding a couple to the back of the car to the rear support, and adding some more to the front of the hoop to protect my hands and top of my head in case of a roll over. I have my first hill climb with it in a little over two weeks and really worried about rolling it and riding down the crest of the road upside down. But this will be my first hill climb in the vee so I plan on taking it slow and learning the car.
brian
Posts: 1348
Joined: June 26th, 2006, 12:31 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by brian »

Hand protection is usually covered by the front hoop. Draw a line from the rear hoop to the front and make sure all the parts of the driver lie below this line. The GCR spells this all out for those going to a track but solo is probably different. I've seen some pretty scary hill climbs so don't be afraid of overkill and make sure you use SFI approved padding on any roll bar fixture you may come in contact with.
The above post is for reference only and your results may vary. This post is not intended to reflect the views or opinions of SCCA and should not be considered an analysis or opinion of the rules written in the GCR.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

I have been working on the vee the last couple of days. At the last autocross I thought I broke the motor mount bolt and it ended up being the whole bar the engine mount was welded to. I also at the last autocross had an oil line come off. It coated the whole back of the car in oil which made for an interesting spin out. lol So I bought some better fittings for the lines and hopefully won't have that issue ever again.
I am tired of getting beat up while driving it so I padded the bars. It was really unsettling sitting in it and making sure I got pad everywhere it needed including in case of a roll over. I also cut the firewall down 9 inches do reduce drag on the hillclimb. It is now at the minimum height per SCCA rules. I am getting really excited to race it at the Bible creek hillclimb in two weeks. I still need to fix the engine mount and figure out some way to mount a dam camera to it.
remmers
Posts: 164
Joined: December 4th, 2008, 10:07 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by remmers »

What kind of camera? The usual option for the road racing vees is to have two downtubes that go from the rollhoop to the top two bolts that hold the engine and trans together. That tends to make for a nice sturdy chassis to the rear of the rollhoop. make sure they're bolt-on, not weld-on, otherwise you'll run into all sorts of hell trying to get the engine out again. Of course.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

Thank you very much. I was wondering where everyone was mounting them.
remmers
Posts: 164
Joined: December 4th, 2008, 10:07 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by remmers »

camera winds up on roll hoop usually. allows you to see how much steering input you're using as well by watching the tires on playback.
jaymzz

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by jaymzz »

I ended up making a camera mount on the side of the car. I couldn't figure out a good spot on the hoop that my head or shoulder wasn't in the way. I really want to watch either my hands or the tire plus the road so that is why I put it on the side.
FM4SOLO
Posts: 129
Joined: June 26th, 2006, 4:17 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by FM4SOLO »

Here is a sample of a GoPro mounted to the side of my sons Helmet at a National tour Solo.

http://blip.tv/file/2217737

It's an interesting angle, gives a good look at the cockpit and the course (would've been better with out the glare!)
Lynn
Posts: 592
Joined: June 24th, 2006, 11:15 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by Lynn »

Helmet cameras are not legal. Not for Solo. Not for Time Trials. Not for Club Racing. Not for RallyCross. They might be legal while riding your paddock bike.
69 Beach Solo Vee, #65 FM

85 Lynx B Solo Vee

71 Zink C4 Solo Vee
FM4SOLO
Posts: 129
Joined: June 26th, 2006, 4:17 pm

Re: 1970 Lynx vee

Post by FM4SOLO »

The question was posed at the National Tour, with the Division SSS in attendance starting with the Jr Karts. The decision was to allow it.
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