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| Rick begins the make over project. |
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| The nose is redesigned for aerodynamics |
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| The remodeled body is extended by 30 inches overall |
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| Rick and Ken |
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| The Model B Ford is cleaned up |
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| "Little Giant's" body is cloned. |
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| Rear brake |
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| Transmissions |
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| Shifter |
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| Driver Adjustments |
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| Nose |
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The master cylinders have 11" of rear movement. Driver Calvin Vesco, (6'6") required 6" extension to the frame. The 11" adjustment will accomodate his sister and fellow driver, Rhonnie Vesco (5'3").
| The new, aerodynamic nose section allows for the movement of the batteries forward for better weight distribution. Note the cable operated battery disconnect switch and a pedo tube for the air speed meter.
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| Cockpit |
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| Fender Skirts |
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| Control Link |
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| Rear view: Fuel cell and lay down Konis with anti roll bar mount |
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| Rhonnie Vesco smoothing out the fiberglass body. |
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| Canopy |
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| Ken McClure and injectors |
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New chute deployment system: The top tube is for the tow lines. The two lower 2" tubes are the pilot chute launch tubes (air burst deployment). A 1" slot is for the pneumatically operated door hinges. The 14" doors open side to side. Two 'D' shaped lower slots are for the high and low speed chutes.
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The new aerodynamic parachute fairing in the closed position. Upon firing the fairings open simultaneously using two pneumatic air activators with mechanically linked hinging.
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Ken McClure, our master mechanic and all around nice guy has complied the following photos of John Vesco's Model A Ford engine restoration. Ken's work is an example of what Bonneville racing and dedicated friends are all about.
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| Model A block replaced Dad's badly cracked Model B block |
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| Second Engine |
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| Homemade Injectors |
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| Custom Girdle |
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Ken has also made three custom camshafts with the help of engine builder Kenny Kloth. The cams have larger cam bearing diameters so higher lift can be achieved. Ken has designed his own roller cam followers. This allows for narrower cam lobes, spread out enough to give clearance to the con rods. This effort will be applied to the turbo engine and will be run on the salt in Oct. 2007.
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This is the Duttweiler C-Gas, 300+ mph record Chevy engine with new 2 7/16 Hilborn injection and a new 5-stage dry sump system. Ken Duttweiler will dyno this engine after Speed Week and Dave Spangler, 300 mph Club member, will be the pilot on a quest for 330+ mph at the World of Speed.
| Mickey Thompson Tires. Thank God for a company that cares about keeping Landspeed Racing a priority, saving a lot of fast cars from being on blocks right now. This new batch of tires (8) all were hand-picked for the Turbinator and our quest to be the First to 500 mph. All eight tires have the rollout specs. Thanks again to Mickey from all the racers!
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| Rhonnie Vesco tests the fit of the cockpit with her suit on while brother, Calvin, stands by. |
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| Paint and lettering complete the project. |
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