FORMULAVEE.ORG

What a hatchet job. I've driven both the Nurburgring and Monaco, in addition to raced at Roebling, the real Road Atlanta, and other southeast tracks. While I admire Sir Jackie Stewart and his driving talent, he proclaimed Roebling as the most dangerous track he'd ever driven. As such, I've lost resp...

Anytime you have friction you have heat. The cooler the transaxle runs, the less friction you have inside generating heat. Of course airflow over the box cools it, but generally you'll find the coolest transaxles have the least friction.

Ed's correct. Alignment on a Vee is kinda goofy, and I've seen some Vees driven by knowledgeable racers where the alignment was unbelieveably screwed up, in an effort to get the wheelbase the same. Of course the object is to get everything headed in the same direction, and shimming the beam can cure...

I can do an align by eye and get dam close. Formula ford guys used to use a jack handle on the rear uprights and the tires and "shoot" the front end..you do the same on a Vee. Looking down the inside of the rear tires you should see the same spot on either side of the front beam. (I forget...

We used a Morse type cable as pictured, with 2 return springs..one at the pedal, one at the carb. No problems after years of use.

The strongest engine we ever built had NO second ring. Unfortunately, since the major contribution of the second ring is as an oil scraper, it sure smoked when you closed the throttle.

The 3rd (oil) ring provides NO compression.

Vista? Isn't that what Courtney/O'Neill ran? If so, they gotta TON of caster. It's called "caster shimmy". However, it makes a slick front end. Us old farts remember them at old Daytona without the busstop on the back straight.

Pushrod lengths are adjusted to compensate for cut-down cylinder barrels, and to optimize "area under the curve" valve train operation.

Timing retard is an unintended consequence of any electronic device..the processing time, even though minute, translates to unintended timing retard. Bill, with delay (either mechanical or electrical) there is no RETARD of the signal when the RPM goes up. The only affect at higher RPM would be the ...

Timing retard is an unintended consequence of any electronic device..the processing time, even though minute, translates to unintended timing retard. Seems like the term is "skew rate". Some systems/devices are worse than others with regards to the timing retard issue.

some electronic pickups retard timing at high rpms..1-2 degrees per thousand. what's wrong with points..you've got plenty of dwell time with a 4 cylinder engine?

Z-bar..kinda like picking yerself up with yer bootstraps. Been several years, but I ran one on my Beach. Like any swaybar, alot depends on the effective length of the "lever" arm where the bar connects to the axles. Usually you have to push the rear end down to connect the bar..most z-bar ...

The stock spring may be too weak for many Vee engines. They're designed to bypass the oil cooler if the oil pressure is too high.

It is indeed important to cool the heads..much moreso than the jugs. Often too much air is dumped on the cylinders, and not forced through the head fin passages. If you have abnormally high head temperature, address that issue first. Look at you heads closely. Are the passages filled with stones/rub...

1) What cylinder head temperature do you run? I don't believe you have a head cooling problem. 2) That oil cooler should be more than adequate for any vee engine. With enough airflow around the case, you don't need an oil cooler. 3) Do you have a streamlining panel that covers the bottom of the engi...

Lotsa people don't understand the function of the front pressure spring on a VW case. Low oil pressure lets the piston cover the passage to the bearings, and forces all oil through the cooler. As the pressure increases (theoretically COLD engine) the direct passage to the bearings is exposed, essent...

Don't discount the amount of oil cooling contributed by the CASE itself. Different chassis/bodies affect air flow around the case differently. Head temperature is important for performance, but may not be a huge factor in oil temperature. Are you sure oil is going thru the cooler..have you stretched...

for those who don't know who Harvey Templeton is, he fathered the second generation of Formula Vee. Zero roll, aerodynamics, the "think outside the box" generation. The quintessential innovator. He went on to design his own formula ford, which was unconventional, to say the least. A young,...

First, ignore wheelbase. What you want is all 4 wheels headed in the same direction and PARALLEL with the centerline of the car. Personally, I usedta be able to sight down the inside of the rear wheels and see something on the front beam..maybe the shock bolt head. If you don't see the SAME relative...

Martin sports Car club has autocrosses at Martin Marietta on the southside of Orlando. There are also autocrosses at other venues.

Autocrossing a vee is nothing like road racing, but you can check basic operation. Remember, when autocrossing, the rear wheels stick out about 10' on each side........

Y'know, I was driving/racing in the '70's, and crewed a buddy to several regional championships in the last decade. It's REALLY GREAT to see guys I ran with (well, behind) still competitive and active in Vees (sorry Stevan)..

Best wishes to ALL the Vee guys!!!

Bill

We never changed the oil rings, and only changed the bearings if they looked bad. We did move the old top dykes to the second groove. We also tried turning it upside down, and leaving it out completely. bottom line..the second ring provided oil control and drag. Leave the paper gasket off. disassemb...

OK..here's the trick after 25 years. Take your narrowest set of tires, pump 'em up to 25-30 lbs., and stay out of the puddles.

If you really NEED rains, do you want to be out there?

Brian is dead nuts correct. This is one of the most mis-understood aspects of the link pin front end..you can NOT adjust camber with shims..they simply allow the bushings/pins to move as they should.

Listen to Stevan. In the '70's he told me to get with a good engine builder. Being a "do-it-myself'er", it only took me 25 years to get to the point where I felt we did a decent job. I've always been impressed with Rollins stuff...it makes power AND stays together. It doesn't look like the...