Hi Gents:

I’ve received the kind offer of having my se7en published in one of the largest auto magazines in the US. Since it is still in its infancy, they are doing an article on the locost movement in the US.

Whereas I’m honored that my car was selected for publication, I’m a bit nervous because the magazine wants to run a full battery of exams—including ¼ mile and 0-60 times. My car has been driven once and has zero testing hours. I have around 30 days to get this thing ready and painted…

So my question is, how reliable are our BECs? Can they put up with the abuse of violent standing starts? How many before clutches start to go (I have the Barnett springs)? I have cut and shunt halfshafts that I had TIG welded. With these hold?

Ideally, I’d like to have a few weeks to slowly bring the car up to speed and make sure everything works OK. But I don’t really have that kind of time.

Any suggestions are appreciated.

--Chris

Sounds like your halfshafts will be your weak point....depends on how well you've welded them...are they sleeved properly etc...

Most people in the RGB can go a full season without changing the clutch....so you should be OK there.

[Edited on 21/3/06 by stevebubs]

Thanks Steve. Below is a picture of my welded halfshafts. Rich Miles seemed to have sleeved halfshafts, so I assumed they were OK.
Rescued attachment HalfshaftWelded.JPG

Crikey Chris - don't let journo's loose on your pride & joy. . . those guys have no mechanical sympathy (or they wouldn't get decent times....)
Never mind the half shafts - there's a whole car there that needs breaking in gently. I'm sure they'll understand it's only 2 days old & has never been in 3rd gear etc. etc. & just take pictures??
I'm also interested in folks experience of welded 1/2 shafts... yours look mighty fine I must say: I'd have thought the zig-zag weld should make it god & tough?
cheers
Bob

All ST's come with sleeved and welded halfshafts, Iv'e tried my best to break them, but they won't have it

Hi Chris

As long as they do the standing starts correctly, the clutch will stand up to lots of standing starts without it frying. See the recent thread on the Yahoo list about standing starts, but fundamentally my technique is to dial in about 6-8k, lift the clutch sharply (but dont dump) then feather the throttle to control the wheelspin until in second gear then nail it. You might (or might not) gain the odd tenth to 60 by dragging the clutch quite a bit at the start, but I would expect it to fry the clutch much more quickly. Having said that, as you know its not the end of the world changing a clutch on a BEC.

I know its not quite the same, but the first day I got mine back on the road after the R1 install it had a 30 mile drive on the road to a local RWYB drag run and she survived to tell the tale admirably

At the end of the day how much you trust them is going to be a factor, if they allow you to be there to oversee all the tests, and take your advice on how to pull away on an acceleration run, then all should be fine.

I would say though that if you're worried about the half shafts then a) will you really be confident in them when using the car yourself assuming you'll be driving it fairly enthusiastically too? and b) if they do prove to be weak, at least you won't be too close when they let go

Edited to add they look nicely welded to me, so wouldnt expect a problem as long as they are balanced properly.

[Edited on 21/3/06 by ChrisGamlin]

any way of getting a written assurance from the mag that if they break it in the test they pay for what they break?

if all the lfuid levels are checked and its warmed up you can treat it fairly harsh straight away just leave a couple of days to fettle anything before it gets tested.

I'm impressed all you're concerned about is the engine. I still don't consider my Mini "trustworthy" and it has probably 500miles on it. EVERYTHING is suspect, every nut, bolt, and electrical connection. Every noise worries me, every clunk and rattle.

My advice is to take a few days off from work and just drive, drive, drive. Put several hundred miles on it just to satisfy yourself nothing's going to fall off, break, or burn up.

Gentlemen:

Thanks for the kind suggestions. I'm still slightly up in the air on this one, but leaning toward allowing the testing. If it occurs, the testing will be done on a Monday, and thus I'll be there. I also get the impression it will be pretty laid back, so we'll see.

Kimini:

You are 100% right about everything being suspect. I agree and I'm anxious about the items you've suggested, i.e., will the driveshaft hold? Did I tighten the engine mount bolts enough? Will those suspension bolts be up to the task? Did I weld everything properly? etc. etc.

I only asked about the engine/clutch holding up because this group cannot really really answer the above questions; only I can after--as you suggest--miles of testing. This group can shed some light on the reliability of BEC clutches though.

So we'll see. Hopefully I can get some testing in before the time comes.

Chris:

I'm well impressed you popped your engine in and promplty took it to the drag strip

--Chris