sgraber
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 06:11 AM |
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Big developments at the Graber Garage!
Long story short - Several weeks ago I met up with a guy named Bill Kibler who owns a CNC machine shop and designs parts for off-road race
trucks/buggies and also does composites work. His shop is just minutes from my house. He called me after seeing my grabercars license plate cover on
my wife's mini-van while sitting at a stoplight. We have a lot of interests in common. You might find this intersting; Bill is
designing/building a V8 engine completely from scratch in his machine shop. Ultra lightweight and high output, I see similarities to the bike-head
engines being built in the UK. Some of you may recall a University of Washington FSAE team that built their own engine/gearbox some years back.
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/viking30.htm The student that designed that engine works for Bill. But I digress. 
We decided that it would be a win-win for both of us if we moved the car over to his shop to finish the plug and pull the molds. The goal is to finish
the prototype car and drive the wheels off it and have some fun doing it and if it can be turned into a business then we already have the facilities
and the expertise to build and market it. Cool eh?
Here's a pic of Jim Williams and I preparing to tow the plug to Bills Shop.
Here's a pic of Bill and Jim unloading the car from the trailer at the new shop.
This is gonna be big!
Graber
I have even more good news, but can't write anymore about it until later. 
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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I love speed :-P
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 06:54 AM |
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Sweet
Don't Steal
The Government doesn’t like the competition
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kb58
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 02:05 PM |
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The Lotus 11 in your avatar ^ is beautiful.
Mid-engine Locost - http://www.midlana.com
And the book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/midlana/paperback/product-21330662.html
Kimini - a tube-frame, carbon shell, Honda Prelude VTEC mid-engine Mini: http://www.kimini.com
And its book -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/kimini-how-to-design-and-build-a-mid-engine-sports-car-from-scratch/paperback/product-4858803.html
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Alan B
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 03:38 PM |
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Funny how tastes vary.....personally I don't think it's all that beautiful at all IMO.....
Mind you there will be plenty who don't like my effort either.....
Good news on the developments Steve...
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zilspeed
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 04:39 PM |
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Steve
Followed the link to the V8 engined student single seater 
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JonBowden
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 04:55 PM |
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I think they are winding you up, it's actually a fizzy drink dispenser
Jon
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sgraber
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 05:00 PM |
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Fizzy Drinks! That's funny!
Here's a video of that engine on the dyno
http://dot.etec.wwu.edu/fsae/videos/vik30dyno.mpg
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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I love speed :-P
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| posted on 4/5/05 at 05:04 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Alan B
Mind you there will be plenty who don't like my effort either.....
Well they need shooting , however it looks better in red
Phil
Don't Steal
The Government doesn’t like the competition
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turbo time
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| posted on 5/5/05 at 04:08 AM |
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Well....out with it....is this guy giving you a little V8 to test out in the bullet or what?
The Projects: www.absurdcars.com
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sgraber
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| posted on 5/5/05 at 01:51 PM |
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^ - There is apparently enough room in the engine bay.... The little V8 is not finished mind you. Probably a few years away. But the CVT
transmission he designed and built is.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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zosima
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 posted on 5/5/05 at 05:28 PM |
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so... any info on the v8? Target weigth/hp? Is it based on motorcycle heads? I assume there is no project website.
Thanks!
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akumabito
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| posted on 8/5/05 at 06:27 PM |
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Wow, that little engine is sweet! Though I don't think it would be of much use for most kitcars though. It's only a 554cc engine, and I
doubt it will produce any usable amounts of torque for something as "heavy" as a locost or similar kit...
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sgraber
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| posted on 8/5/05 at 06:51 PM |
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that little 548cc v8 you see in the photos was used in a University of Western Washington FSAE Student car 2 years ago. The bespoke v8 that Bill is
currently working on will be 2.0 liters. I can't post any photos cause there's nothing to see yet.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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RallyHarry
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| posted on 9/5/05 at 05:45 PM |
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holy smoke !
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kb58
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| posted on 9/5/05 at 06:41 PM |
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The trouble with engines like this is they aren't going to be cheap. By the time it's all said and done, there are other cost
alternatives like a turbo Hayabusa.
The tiny V8 will require some serious R&D effort. A big concern is long term oiling and cooling issues. Presumably it'll use two sportbike
heads, but the block will be custom-made. Keeping the crank happy isn't easy. On the others that have been made, I've seen claims
amounting to saying that if the Hayabusa can go to 13Krpm, then a V8 based on it will go just as fast. I don't think so because it has twice
the recipricating mass...
Mid-engine Locost - http://www.midlana.com
And the book - http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/midlana/paperback/product-21330662.html
Kimini - a tube-frame, carbon shell, Honda Prelude VTEC mid-engine Mini: http://www.kimini.com
And its book -
http://www.lulu.com/shop/kurt-bilinski/kimini-how-to-design-and-build-a-mid-engine-sports-car-from-scratch/paperback/product-4858803.html
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crbrlfrost
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| posted on 9/5/05 at 11:50 PM |
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That engine was built at Western Washington University, not University of Washington. Thing of beauty though and hell of nice guys. Cheers!
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