Not-a-number

Got 2 great sump castings and a 3rd with a small defect that would be fine once welded.

Looks like its come out great! They will do another one and Ill pick them up next week. Next up I think Im going to machine the blocks. Need to make a big trunnion for the 4th axis!

All boxed up at the foundry and moulds filled. They added their expertise with risers and runner system. See how it goes in the next couple of days.

Added the base/surround plates to them. Doesnt look like much but they need to be very flat as they are the datum face for the core. So if either side is bowed itll lift the core up higher than it should. Bonded a couple together on a surfaced table but even then it bowed afterwards. So they are now mounted to some box section. Now they are completed! Happy with how they turned out. Ill be taking them up to the foundry next week to try them out!

Sump inner and outer patterns basically finished. The interlocking/keyway loose pieces seem to fit quite well. We'll see if they come out of the sand ok! If they do then the entire sump mould assembly will only be 2 pieces of sand (though about 80kg a piece!) Outer Mould Pattern Inner Mould Pattern

Inner core patterns designed and all printed. Now to bog and paint them! It takes a lot of finishing!

Printed the runner system. The foundry is suggesting trying some insulated internal feeders/risers. I struggled to feed the 57 Sump and ended up with a big runner system so I like the idea of feeders that stay liquid for longer. The gates are always the smallest area/mass so they shut off quickly, then the casting starts to shrink and needs to pull metal from somewhere. If it cant itll tear or the top of the casting acts as the feeder and pulls down messing up your dimensions.

38hrs later the second half is done. The new extruder is way more reliable, since its extruding at 0.8mm nozzle and 0.5mm layer heights. But the trade off is its quite a bit rougher. Ill take that over failing prints any day though! Fill it with bog!

Starting on the sump patterns. Using the big printer for the basic parts and the small more accurate printer for the loose sections. The small printer is good enough for keyways so Im gluing in keyway sections to the rougher/bigger print. It should save me a lot of work because the big printer is really quite rough and takes a lot of finishing. So this finer print will be bonded into the big print. Onto the second half now. Its a 35hr print.

Cleaned them up today. Did a bunch of inspection and measuring and I havnt found any issues. Really happy with the results. Not going to jump straight into machining them. Going to go hardout on all the castings. Will do the T59 sump next.

Its been a busy couple of weeks getting the whole sand making process up and going again. Got 2 cylinder block mould assemblies off to the foundry and poured yesterday. Now that I no longer live in Auckland I have to head up to Hamilton to make sand, take it home to assemble, then go across to Palmy to pour. Massive gamble driving sand moulds for hours on NZ roads but they survived and I have 2 great castings! Pretty stoked

Have a couple of full sets of valve gear now. Valves, springs, retainers, guides. Dad machined up 2 sets of guides. Just need to ream them to suit inlet/exhaust clearance etc Fitted out the small shed as the 'foundry/pattern making' shed. Getting back into sand making with a new foundry which is exciting. We just made 4 cylinder block halves and starting on the water jacket and cylinder cores at home now. Im hoping to have them all assembled next week and head up to Auckland to cast them. The plan is to machine inhouse so I might need a couple to get it right!

Those look really great. Nice work! Id be really keen to talk about the process if youre open to it. Ill send you an email.

What type of investment casting have you done? Do you do it at home or work at a foundry? Im considering doing it for parts like the water pump, oil pump and maybe even supercharger.

Thanks! Encouragement, discussion, questions, ideas from you guys is motivating. I’ve made the call to find more time to do this so I hope to have updates more often.

Had Ivan Dutton and Suzie come over to have a look at the project. Hes a bit of a 'legend' in the Bugatti world and Im sure many of you know him from his ShedRacing Youtube. They did a bit of a walk around from ~29.00 timestamp.

Bit of an update. Moved back from the US at the end of 2024. Been settling in to the new place with a big shed! My 20ft container of workshop turned up a month or so ago so Ive been setting things up. Its Art Deco this week and I had the opportunity to drive a T43 down from up north. Unfortunately we had some diff issues on the Napier Taupo road, but we wont talk about that! Having a few of the Bugatti guys over to look at the workshop over the week. The highlight of the weekend was the unveiling of Tom Andrews T57 Atlantic. The guys working on that have done and amazing job! Fun fact the very first cylinder block I cast/machined is running in the this car. So that’s an honour!

Dad finished up radiator shell number 2. Looking great.

Dads finished up a radiator shell. Looking great. The original cores are made from hex flared tube to make a honey comb bundle which is all soldered together. There are about 5000 tubes! The plan is to make a false tube core /front but use a custom aluminium multi pass radiator to work as the real radiator. It will be nickel plated once the core brackets are figured out and any other tweaks.

Type59 Engine. Its a little different to the T57. Not as tall. The crankcase and sump seem a bit easier to make.

Thanks. Doing a proper 'functional' detailed CAD takes a lot of time. I think what I have now will keep me going for a while once I can start making things again!

Its looking more like a car now!

The body work was difficult. Far from complete but the overall dimensions are now 'close to' correct.

Got a lot of CAD done this winter. Radiator: Diff/Axle Rear end assembly. Just external. Fuel Tank: Bulkhead/Steering: Gearbox: External

Yeah it’s probably not plane sailing. But I know of at least 2 Bugatti replicas and 1 Alfa replica in NZ that have been through LVV cert. Things like wheels have to be approved by VAC, drive shaft hoops, seat belts, mud guards, no welded steering components.