Hi,
'The book' recommends not placing your sump any lower than 1" below the building surface plane. I'm fitting a Rover V8 in my 4inch wider locost and would like to get the engine as low as possible. Is Ron being over-cautious here or is it about right.

Also, if I modify my sump would you recommend cutting the deep part of the sump and then adding capacity to the front, shallow section or on either side of the cut section. What is the best way of restoring the sump capacity without inviting surge problems?

Cheers,
Craig.

There seems to be an unwritten rule that you need at least 4 ins under the car. put a pessnger in it and hit a bump and it will go lower than that!.

Another factor is the speed bumps in your area - or in general - some are pretty agressive and you dont want to lose your sump on them.

I took the sump out on a rover 820 ten years ago on a speed bump - some are bigger than you think - those bumps got reduced later tho...


atb

steve

Im going to put a sump guard on mine. Will prob. make it from stainless.

Steve/Carnut,
Thanks for your comments.
Yes a sump guard would be a good idea, my Dad used to have one on his rally car (Mini 970 Cooper S) which was made of something called Duralumin or something like that. I think it was a very hard type of aluminium which meant that it was light even though it was thick (1/4inch) and strong. That's what I'd use I think if you can still get it.

Steve, yes 4 inches sounds about right I think. We should bear in mind that most road cars have there wheels in the same line as the sump and thus the sump is better protected than with a Locost where the engine is quite far behind the wheel line. That means that when you go over a bump, the sump will be in the "bounce zone" if you see what I mean and will tend to hit the bump that the wheels have just come down from.

So, how many inches high does the chassis "normally" sit on a book chassis then with typical running gear and wheels. I know this is probably a daft question but a few examples from some of you guys out there would be helpful. I'm aiming for a 500-600Kg car with a Rover V8 up front and a de-dion axle in the back so weight will probably be towards the top end of my range I think.

Cheers,
Craig.

Remember, there is no point cutting the sump any shorter than the bellhousing

Hi Mark,

That's a very good point...
I think in the case of the Rover V8, the standard sump is actually attached to the bottom of the bellhousing so as you say, no point in shortening it.

Thanks for pointing out what should have been obvious!
Cheers,
Craig.

This is a big reason for dry-sump systems, to eliminate the pan and lower the engine as low as possible. Then of course you need a small diameter clutch, flywheel. It get's expensive.

Do any of you guys know how high off the ground a typical book chassis is?
Cheers,
Craig.

If it's any help, the West field manual recommends around 6" - 6.5".

(This is for the Westie that looks remarkably similar to the Locost...)

DJ

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins

....This is for the Westie that looks remarkably similar to the Locost.......

DJ

---

You'd think Westfield would have been more originality than to just copy a Locost eh?


Thanks for the info on ride height.
Craig.

do bear in mind that some of the evil speed bumps are like 'pillows' in the road where your wheels run on the edges and the 4 inch or so rise goes under the car.

a westie is 6.5 ins......that sounds a lot. my non std car is at 8.5 ins and I thought that was fairly high......but just 2 ins over a westie....hmm

atb

steve

just for the record the car pictured left has a ground clearance of 102mm, my avon has a ground to chassis clearance of 114 mm the bell housing will be about 25mm lower than the chasiss, so 89mm (3 1/2" ) aint a lot

[Edited on 26/3/2003 by Viper]

[Edited on 26/3/2003 by Viper]

Though not entirely relevant, my car has 5" (127mm) from frame bottom to ground, with nothing lower. i.e. 5" ride ht and 5" min.clearance.

W*******d recommend 6 - 6.5 inches! So how much ground clearance has the Wetsport SDV pictured in Which Kit (March)?

Scanner power supply in meltdown so perhaps somebody could post the evidence.

I did say "the west field that looks like the Locost"! I'm talking about the original "post litigation" model with the fixed rear axle - can't remember the model number.

DJ

[Edited on 26/3/03 by David Jenkins]

quote:

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Originally posted by David Jenkins
I did say "the west field that looks like the Locost"! I'm talking about the original "post litigation" model with the fixed rear axle - can't remember the model number.

DJ

[Edited on 26/3/03 by David Jenkins]

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As if you'd do such a thing, Alan...

8-)

DJ

Thanks to all who responded and sorry for the delay in getting back to you, my ADSL connection is knackered and I'm back on nasty old dial-up...

So, a variety of answers it seems eh? I think I'll follow Ron's advice and stick to sump 1" under the chassis although I may need to stretch this 1" to nearer 1.5" to give me enough clearance between my gearbox and the upper scuttle rails.
Otherwise I won't have enough clearance above the gearbox to allow me to lift it off it's rubber mountings when removing engine and g/b together.

One thing which is already apparent with the RV8 gearbox is that my centre console is going to be basically one height rather than higher at the front and loping back to a lower central section. This is due to the gearchange being that much higher than with a Ford g/b for example. I might need an aerodynamic device on the gearknob since it will be pretty close to entering the airstream... (not quite thankfully...)

Also, the gearlever is going to be about 6 inches farther back than in the book but I don't think this will be a problem and in fact it feels quite comfortable.

Thanks again for your posts,
Craig.