54/1690

[GavinT]

Not according to my local Alpine/Renault expert, piston crown too low for a start.

It's difficult to be absolutely positive but you may just be right, Stephen.

Here's some pics of different versions.

From left to right:
Alpine 1800 (82.5mm bore)
R12G or Alpine - 160HP, 11.5 compression ratio.
R17TS or Alpine - 125HP, 10.25 compression ratio.

The middle one is from an F2 engine I purchased ages ago. The head had been shaved quite a bit which necessitated the significant valve reliefs.

[StephenH]

New engine settling down nicely.
On the way to a class win.

[BDA]

More congratulations to you, Stephen!!

[StephenH]

Starting the assembly of my new fuel system.

In addition to correcting what I think was wrong with the earlier system (long suction length and lift from the tank), I'm going for excessive capability as well as a level of redundancy and protection.
Adding relays and circuitry for individual pump control as well as a oil pressure cut out.

Filter and pumps being installed low down, in the void in front of the tank.

[StephenH]

This is titled: 'When things go wrong' .....

[BDA]

Uh... that looks like a problem...

[StephenH]

Not great, but recoverable without too much drama.
My fault, leaning on it a bit before a dyno check for mixture.

[StephenH]

So I haven't posted much in the ongoing history of 54/1690 for a while, with covid interfering and a few other life distractions.

But, as the Europa is to be used as intended, not just looked at I took the opportunity to have a run on a 'skid road' in Canberra.
We had heavy rain the day previous so at times the water depth was about 100mm+, which left me with some issues on a 70mm clearance.
I'm still drying it out......

Some footage from the outside: https://youtu.be/oKSlvohgv90
and from the inside: https://youtu.be/Ae1lCLAIvPw

[EuropaTC]

 

that looks great fun, the perfect way to learn how to control skids. There are a few "skid pans" in the UK which are very similar where you can go to be taught skid control, but generally speaking the ones I've seen are only a simple small circle, not as good as that. You can get both left & right skids going there and that's probably more relevant.

I'm looking forward to your next hillclimb video now.....   

Brian

[JR73]

that looks great fun, the perfect way to learn how to control skids. There are a few "skid pans" in the UK which are very similar where you can go to be taught skid control, but generally speaking the ones I've seen are only a simple small circle, not as good as that. You can get both left & right skids going there and that's probably more relevant.

Oulton Park runs ‘drift days’ on what it calls it’s rally stage - it’s smooth tarmac with a liberal amount of diesel (or something similar) applied to the surface to encourage sliding, no gravel spec suspension or ride heights required!

Looks like you had fun there.

[EuropaTC]

Ahh, Oulton Park.....   (dons scarlet tinted spectacles, cue blurry scenes & 70s music) I remember it well.  Believe it or not, that was the first "date" I had with the missus and it poured down all day, we both got completely soaked. I knew from that day she was a keeper.....

I didn't know they did skid pan stuff though, but then again we left Cheshire in 1980 and only went back to Oulton to watch the odd race. But in true Walter Mitty Mode, I do like tearing round Oulton on the Playstation with Project Cars...   

Back to Topic !
 

[StephenH]

I'm looking forward to your next hillclimb video now.....   

Brian

Next video will probably be a Khanacross held on one of the local hillclimb circuits.
Low speed but maybe some included skids

[StephenH]

For historical purposes, finally got around to getting a 'wet weight' with normally carried gear aboard including tools, spare, jack etc. and about 2/3-3/4 tank of fuel.
716kg

[Bainford]

That seems pretty close to advertised numbers. My Special is registered with the DMV at 710 kg, so, very close to your verified weight. Also, I believe the official advertised weight of a Special is 1570 lbs (714 kg), so again, very close.

I find this a bit refreshing, as advertised weights can often be tweaked by the manufacturer to present favourable numbers. I would expect that the 1570 lbs advertised for the Special would be a car with no fuel in the tanks, spare tire and tool kit not onboard, etc. However, whenever anyone has their Europa weighed and reported back to this forum, the results are very close to factory advertised numbers, and often lower. [edit: On second thought, I see your car is a Type 54, which should be lighter than a Special, so, perhaps the weights are indeed tweaked a bit in original literature]

[StephenH]

I see your car is a Type 54, which should be lighter than a Special, so, perhaps the weights are indeed tweaked a bit in original literature]

The manual and handbooks I have (for S2) give kerb weight at 710kg, so mine coming in at 716kg is actually better than I expected given it carries some additional and changed hardware.

Attached are the corner weights without/with allowance for approx. 70kg of driver.
Not sure how that distribution aligns with the wider Europa community experience.