Gary Knutson and Tyler Alexander working on Bruce McLaren's engine
This was from 1968
For the Forum members who don't know who GLKD is, it is Gary Knutson. One of Wally Willmott's dearest friends. Here is a story I did on another forum that will explain who Gary Knutson is:
http://forums.autosport.com/index.ph...l=gary+knutson
Last edited by Jerry Entin; 02-06-2012 at 10:12 PM.
"I love deadlines. I especially love the whooshing sound they make as they fly by" Douglas Adams
With only a week to go the amount of work George and his team managed in such a short time really hits home.
Those who wish to find fault with the complete accuracy of this car compared to the origininal will be able to find plenty.
I wanted to get an original Smiths water temperature gauge this week and was quoted around $400 compared to $30 for a gauge made in the country that new Zealnd buys most things from nowdays. What would George have done - right so it has a cheapie for the moment - I'll get a Smiths one later. I do have a Smiths Tacho but it is need of a service and the Christchurch company I have always used for work like this have still not opened their doors after the 'shakes', so that will also come later.
We have brakes, gears, water, fuel.
Oil hopefully finished in the next couple of days.
Still a bit to be done on the right hand side pod, and heaps to be done to the body/mount.
One of the most valuable pieces of equipment I have had for this project is the welding torch George gave me a month or two before he died. It is one of the things that he kept with him through all his moves, and he had it at his house at Hervey Bay. It was used in the building of most of his 18 cars.
I was very surprised when I was told that over in the U.K. gas fluxiing is no longer permitted.
I have used the gas flux and nicklel bronze (and Georges torch) on all the components I have had to remake.
What sort/style of Smiths water gauge are you after. I have a few and it may even have come from McLaren as they were from Peter Bruin's collection of parts, jigs etc (a couple of trailer loads) which I acquire after he died.
Roger, just a full sweep mechanical water temp gauge similar the the 'cheapie'I bought and sitting to the left of the Tacho in the photo.
It ideally would have about 1.8m of tubing, but it could be lengthed (at some cost) if it was only short.
Ta for the offer.
Here is a photo of the ones I have - the only one with full tubing and a sender is the dual oil and water one. If any of the other are of use to you let me know and I will send it down.Originally Posted by Wal Will
What a lovely collection, you could have people beating your door down for some of those. Unfortunatly not the one I need among them.
It is not a problem at all for the moment the one I have fitted will work, I can slow down and do some refining after next weekend.
Once again thanks for the offer, much appreciated.
Barry Keen came in this afternoon to check on progress. By this stage I had Jay (Esterer) at work shortening the doors.
To make the body off the M6 fit the M1B chassis George made the alteration by cutting the back off the doors.
The period correct Dunlop tires arrived from England yesterday and they were fitted to the rims this morning.
This afternoon I managed to finish off the collectors and tail pipes, and if the auto electrician arrives tomorrow morning we have a good chance of getting some noise out of the motor by tomorrow night.
God, this is an amazing thread Wal. Really enjoying it. Re the colour, I know the shade seems to vary from photo to photo, but wouldn't George have painted all his cars the same shade of yellow up to when he switched to black on the FM5 in an attempt to improve his teams luck?
Steve,
I'm going to try to pick a colour this afternoon so we can throw a quick rough paint job for the weekend. body will have to come off for fairing and a good coat after the weekend, so we get a couple of attempts here. I'll have the first pick and it will be no trouble to alter it for the final.
People (who see it in the flesh) can have their say and we can go with the majority opinion.
I never saw the car in the original form so the fisrt coat will be an 'outsiders' opinion.
The photos are more than a thousand words. The work on this car is just breathtaking. And after all those hours in the workshop how you manage to find the energy to write for this thread I'll never know.
Well done Wal.
/R
Doesn't seem to change no matter how many times you do it - the buzz you get when a collection of inanimate bits burst into life for the first time.
Rick Michels, Jay Esterer, and myself on hand for the first burst of life.
The next big step is when it goes down on the ground on its wheels and seems to shrink to 1/4 size. Hopefully tomorrow.
Fantastic Wal. The car look absolutely stunning and great to see so many people pitching in to help out. Jay seems to be enjoying himself - makes a change from just driving them.
Looking forward to seeing the photos of it on track.
Magic effort Wally, I am looking forward to seeing it this weekend.
Close, but no cigar.
We made it to the stage where it is on the floor and running with everythng working and all that remains are 'little jobs', but lots of them. So it won't run this weekend, but it will be at the track on display.
It's definately 'Yellow' and we will throw it open to comment at the track. I like it.
We didn't get a screen with the body and so have had an aluminium 'mould' made off which we can produce screens.
For the moment we have just sprayed it flat black.
For the rest of the weekend I am going to have a bit of R & R, and drive my Wee Star car.
I would say some R&R is much needed,
it looks simply amazing.
I love the colour.
/Rbn
Wonderfull thread, what brand is Georges torch ? would it be posable to see a photo of the gas fluxing unit , i hope the shake down goes well
Choice!
The gas fluxer I have been using was bought second hand through Weld Plus in ChCh. a couple of years ago, along with the flux. They are not rocket science, and basically the gas from the bottle just goes to the bottom of the container and bubbles its way to the surface of the fluid, before exiting to the torch. Thereby picking up the 'flux' on the way through. I have seen many 'home built' ones made out of all sorts of containers that apparently work well, but I have always used a 'manufactured' one. The flux lasts forever to a point that the 'spare' fluid eats its way out of the tin can long before you need it.
The knob on the top allows you to bypass the fluid and use the torch for welding without the flux, but in reality the lines and torch gather so much flux that you need to burn it for a long time before the tell tale green flame disappears, and personally I have found that you need to rinse the lines and torch to get rid of all traces, so it is easier to have a dedicated setup.
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