The Bench Racers Journal

[Terry Bentley]

Chapter 70

I dont know when we will get another trip out to the track. My mind has been very preoccupied working out things to test, if that day happens anytime soon. The super modified HL-66 that had come off Franks blown up Power Products looks so cool. I can not believe the transformation from the appearance when he sold the three old carburetors to me just a few days ago. After the paint was cleaned off, this one carburetor looks brand new.

After the serious modifications that were attempted using the lathe, it just made this carburetor look even more awesome. I dont have any idea if it will work or not. It would really be cool to find out. But until then....

Well I decided to drop by Franks house again. It has only been a few days since I bought those three old Tillotsons from him. There is no way Frank will recognize his old carburetor now. If he doesnt figure it out I am not going to tell him otherwise.

After riding my bike over, I saw Frank was in his garage. Just sitting there at his desk talking to himself. He had something plugged in to his left ear again. He is listening, and it looks so strange watching him carry on a conversation with no one. Must be another one of those self help tapes he was talking about. Wonder where his reel to reel player is? I dont see it anywhere.

Hey Frank! Whats up? HEY THERE KID!. OH HECK HOLD ON. He pulls that plug out of his ear. OK now I can talk. Whats up?

Hows your kart, Frank? Did you get it finished yet?

Sure did. This baby is spot on perfect. I wont need to do anything the next trip out to the track. Well except drive the kart. That wont even be much effort at all. I got it set up just good as it gets. This kart here could almost drive itself around the track. That is how well it is set up now. I found several things that were just not right. It is surprising how just a quarter turn of a screw could make or break your max speed.

I figure there were several things I managed to fix that hampered my potential last time out. With a lame engine down on horsepower and now factoring the kart was no where near close to being right, well, lucky I made any consistent laps at all. I figure another second or two easily off my lap times is not even being optimistic either. I am going to set the track on fire out there. So what you got going on today? Anything news worthy?

Frank, I just stopped by to hang out for a few. I also have something to show you. Take a look at this. What do you think? I pull the untested new looking Tillotson HL-66 out of a small box. Then acting very careful handling it, I held it out to Frank. Be careful Frank, it is like brand new looking aint it?

Frank lets out with a very impressed whistle. Then sets the carburetor down next to the one that goes on his Westbend. Wow, this one here is a real beauty.



Well kid, you finally showed some smarts. I knew if you listened to me long enough, well you would figure it out. I know what I am talking about. I see you finally got off your hard headed ideas and picked up this new carby. This must be the new HL-115A that just came out a few months ago. It sure looks like a fine piece of racing equipment. Tillotson did not hold back on this one at all. Really made this for all out racing. It is pure bolt on horsepower.

I knew if you listened to my advice long enough, some of it would eventually sink into that thick skull on your shoulders. You buying this new carb is a good sign of smarts. I give good advice. But cant make people take it. The really smart ones have to figure some stuff out for themselves. Sometimes just gotta be that little birdie in their ear.

Looking over this Tilly carb, I see they went all out pure racing performance in designing this one. It is one impressive engineering marvel to even look at. If this doesnt make a big difference, you got something else seriously wrong.

This baby otta make any decent engine really scream. Look how big that venturi is there. My finger fits right thru it. This one is going to really breathe some air to an engine that is properly setup to handle it.

So you must have been doing a bunch of work to save this much money. That baby is pushing right at $25. Cant say it is a real bargain, but even at that price, maybe a steal when it increases the horse power of a good engine.

So what engine you plan to run this on anyway?  Did you even give much thought to that? You know this baby is probably way too big to help out one of them little Clintons of yours. Even if you did get it to run, would likely turn it in to shrapnel. Wouldnt want to be a round when that happens.

All that time you put into those wimpy chainsaw carbs seems like a big waste now, doesnt it? There is no way you could get one of those tiny carbs bored anywhere close to how big this new hot rod carb is punched out.

I can think of a bunch of things that would have been more worth your time than wasting it on those old carbs. But you would not listen to anyone. Guess you sort of feel a little foolish now thinking about it.

Wow Frank, you sure do talk a lot. Is there an off switch I can flip somewhere? I can tell you really like that carburetor tho. Looks cool dont it? Why dont you think is will work on my Clinton? Just because it is twice as big comparing it to the original stock float bowl carburetor that engine comes with?

Yea kid that is one good reason to figure out it is way too big. Your engine barely puts out more than 2 ponies anyway. Then you think just bolting on a really big high performance carb like this one, will make it instantly fast? I guess you need a course in basic engineering. Maybe a crash course will do you some good. Dont know if I have the patience to beat the facts into that hard head of yours. I might end up pulling out the rest of my hair trying to get a good education to stick to any of your brain cells.

Well, Frank, all I can do is waste more time to find out for myself. But since you did bring up those old crappy chainsaw carburetors, I was wanting to ask you some questions. One in particular. What was the deal with that old red carburetor I got from you the other day? The one from your Power Products AH-82. I know you said it would not pump any fuel.

You know, I am almost sorry for selling those old junky carbs to you now. I see it as wasted money. Then here you go spend this much more hard earned cash of a super trick carb right after buying those old ones from me. You just need to accept your losses and give up that sinking ship. You got the best of the best carby right here, and still want to waste time with those old ones.

Frank I just want to learn things, not buy my way to the front. There is no fun in that at all. Couldnt afford it that way either. You really have no idea how much it will satisfy me if this pretty carburetor here works out better than other ones on the kart engines right now. Even if you think it is too big for my Clinton, I still want to try it out just because. You know I just have to.

Well to tell you the truth kid, I would want to try it on any engine I had, just because it looks so fast. I know you wont be happy with the results, but I would be tempted to do the same, if I was you without an engineers education. Even before my years in college, I would have already known this new carb would just be too much for your engine. Just common sense. I guess it is something that comes with age and experience. A brain already full of smarts doesnt hurt either.

Frank, you told me your old red carburetor would not pump fuel right? That you had tried it out on the Westbend? What gas tank did you use? I an just trying to figure a few things out, but need some information to confirm what I am thinking.

Fine kid, what do you want to know? This is like ancient history to me. All of it went in to file 13. My old Power Products 82 had a small gas tank mounted on top of the engine. There was not a tank for the Westbend, so I bolted that old one to the rear cross member on the Sears kart. It had good flow running out. I did all of the checks when it wouldnt pump fuel. After confirming fuel supply was not the problem, decided to quit wasting any more time thinking it might be better than the newer one on my Weatbend. What difference does it make anyway?

Frank, I just wanted to confirm what my thoughts were about why it didnt work on your engine. That is all. When I got back home, I tore those carburetors apart to figure out why the two of them didnt work. Are you interested in what I found out?

Well kid, tell you the truth, it doesnt really matter now. I dont have any reason to run either of those ancient carbs on my engine. I already told you this engine of mine has a much bigger carb from the factory. Those others were just a waste of time. Just like you trying to bore out the chainsaw carbs you been toying with. Give it up already. Just a waste of your time. You are too smart to keep going backwards. Look forward, not behind you.

Just to prove my point, I remembered after you left here the other day, there is something about that red carb. I sent it out to a real professional tuner. He guaranteed me all kinds of improved performance with his precision modifications. I paid some serious coin for a custom bored out carb job. Maybe that is why my old engine finally took a dump. Or maybe not. But it didnt run any faster than the previous time out of the gate.

Took some fiddling just to make it start and get around the first few laps. It ran about the same as before. Then the motor finally took its last breath. Ancient history. Learned my lesson and fortunately didnt cost me my lifes savings. Motor had a ton of hours on it anyway. My Westbend had already been bought. I was planning to retire the big ole PP, but ended up retiring itself.

One of the first things I did was to swap carbs around. Since that red one was supposed to be so hopped up, I wanted to find out for myself if it was faster than the new one. Common sense already told me otherwise, but curiosity get the best of me. Guess I know how you feel about this new carby of yours here. But experience keeps me from going down that road much anymore these days.

So Frank, I dont guess you have any reason to give this carburetor a test run on your Westbend 580. More than likely even your engine is not set up for a bigger carburetor like this one here is. I guess it will just have to sit on the shelf until I get a future project engine in line to being built up for the kart.

Kid, I will tell you that my engine may just be about perfect enough for this new carby to make some improvements on. That HL-88 is not a bad choice, but a little bit more breathing would not hurt my engine at all. With everything I have done to the engine getting it back up to top notch condition, then going over the chassis, that hot rod carb will be like icing on the cake. You can leave it over here and I will get it bolted on my engine and be ready for the next trip out to the track.

Well Frank, I might let you get the chance to try it out. But not until I see how well your kart is running before making any changes. You know just to get a base line first. Too many changes at one time is not real smart the way I see things. Really a complete waste. You could go right past the perfect setup and find yourself peddling backwards.

Besides you still need to get used to how your new kart handles and driving a new track. Then figure out what gear is better. Maybe after all that, when your lap times are really consistently fast, then we can do a back to back swap. If there is any noticeable gains, then make some adjustments to find out how much faster it could be with some fine tuning.

OK kid, all that sounds like a whole lot of work the hard way. I can tell by the seat of my pants what is faster out there driving without relying on lap times. This just takes a lot of experience and mechanical expertise. I got all of that plenty covered.

Well Frank, maybe we can bolt it on there the next trip out to the track. Until then, I am going to try it out on my Clinton anyway. May turn out being a complete waste of time. But like you said, curiosity can get in the way of just good old common sense. Since I am not old enough to have a lot of good old common sense, then will just have to learn the hard way.

So what all did you find wrong with your kart? You say it is all ready to go now, what did you have to do to it?

Just all of the usual kid. Real poor fitting parts, bolts too loose or too tight. Drag on the steering, and toe was way off too.

How far was the toe off? Where did you end up setting it back at?

Well kid, I thought it over plenty. You can scrub off speed with either toed in or out. I know many manufacturers have their own recommendations. I decided to go with zero. Cant ever go wrong there. I think setting up anywhere else is just compensating for manufacturing defects. I checked this frame over thoroughly. It is spot on square. So I went with the least amount of drag. I will tell you this kart is set up right.

I walked over to Franks super fast prototype Dart kart and started looking it over really close. The steering seems a little tight Frank. Whats up with that?

Well kid, I adjusted all of the slack out of the spindles. Any looser and the front end geometry goes completely caddy wompass. I mean instant negative camber. You could see it real obvious when just sitting on the floor. Cant think of any reason for that kind of poor adjustment. Most everything was just like that all over the chassis too. Just not up to snuff. I took care of all those problems. Next time on the track, this kart will be nothing but a blur when I go buzzing by the pits.

I grabbed the rear tire and spun it over. I was surprised it didnt roll so smoothly, like dad had gone over with me on my kart. Isnt the rear axle a little bit tight Frank?

Nope, that axle is as loose as possible. I went over it especially close. Got those locking collars both located and indexed the same so the least amount of binding. No other way to do it and get any better. Sure dont want that axle to be getting worn out by spinning loosely in the bearings. I also tightened up the bearing flangettes, so they stay solid in place. You dont want the axle to be flexing any more than the frame is.

Something else, I also repacked the axle bearings with some really expensive aircraft grease. No chance of it thinning down and then just slings all out. Sure dont want to have them end up like the crank bearing on my Westbend. With the amount of grease I managed to fill in those bearings, they should last a life time. Probably out last the wheel bearings on my Volkswagen.

Wow it sure sounds like you got everything taken care of Frank. So when are you thinking about another day out to the track? I havent talked to Steve for a while, but I should be good any day. Do you want to try again another Friday?

That could work out for me kid. Do you want to meet out there like last time?

I need to check things over with my mom first. But if its a go, I will drop by and confirm it. Sound good?

Yea kid, just give me a heads up by the day before. Otherwise I will assume it is not going to work out.

I will let you know something. Well gotta jet out of here. Smell ya later Frank. I snagged my like new looking carburetor out of Franks hands, He seemed a little reluctant to let it go. We did a quick tug of war until he finally gave in. I carefully put it back in its own little box. Then got on my bike and headed back home.