Not-a-number

Runner system printed. Crazy how fast this printer goes. Only took 7hrs

The King Leopold Type59 is up for auction. Estimated £10 million https://www.goodingco.com/vehicle/1934-bugatti-type-59-sports/ Ill start a crowed funding page for everyone to donate. Ill let you have a turn!

Did the first mould. Patterns worked well but the sand started going of way quicker than I hoped. Less than 10mins. So theres some voidy areas inside that would be no good for casting. Can still use it for the first mould assembly though. Did a runner system. On the printer now.

For aligning the two halves I have one pattern with holes going right through, other half only about 15mm deep. Clamp the two parts together, align, and run a reamer through into the 2nd part. Then install dowels on the lower half.

So I said I wasnt going to cast things in the US but ive changed my mind Got access to a lot more resource here, more sand options, binders, filters, foundries etc. The sand binder ive got has a lot longer working time and a much longer shelf life. So I should be able to do bigger moulds at home. Out door spray booth. Acetone vape on the patterns. Doesnt work the best on PLA but still blends it together a bit to make it stronger. In theory. First casting will be the cam tree. Using Duratec primer which is super high build and like chalk so easy to sand.

More the vanity than the cost (but the cost in NZ makes me judge a lot more!)

Got a plate to remind me of what I should really be focusing on every day! Disclaimer: I wouldnt normally buy a personalised plate. But in CA they are only $50 so why not.

Cheers for the invite. I would but it would be a long commute from LA

Bit of a mockup

Since a majority of the engine is modeled and most patterns have been printed I am going to move on to the car (since I dont have a workshop at the moment to do casting). The Ol' man has offered to have a go at making a chassis. I just need to provide him with tooling. The first approach is to try and make it using the original method. Which was to form sheetmetal over a mandrel to produce a C channel type chassis rail. The mandrel is out being manufactured now.

Yeah its quite far off the original. Everyone has different standards though I guess. Still probably fun to drive.

Pretty well detailed now. Bearings, seals, cam timing, compression ratio all realistic. Now need to do waterpump, oil pump and drive to supercharger. Dont have drawings for any of that though so need to wait until the Bugatti Trust is open again.

Do the catalogs have bearing sizes by chance? I need 45x48x31. I havnt found any bearings yet but obviously some sort of engine must have them. These ones dont have any numbers on them.

What machines do you build? Refering to truck/car diesel engines or something else? Ive found that tractors have a really good selection and are wide. Just havnt found 45mm yet.

Managed to buy an original set of pistons and rods on ebay. Look in perfectly good condition to me! Good enough to use to get things going. Theyve been machined out for shell bearings already.

A bit over 700 cars. Dont know how many engines or spares but probably not many more than that. Probably not very many in America! Lucky because I dont religiously check ebay for Bugatti parts. Hopefully they turn up!

Ive just bought a full set of T57 rods, piston and rings! Ebay for super cheap so couldnt resist. Most likely not going to use them but will help with sizing. Also pretty cool to have an original set. My plan now is to keep the journal diameters the same but reduce the width of the bigend to something standard. There are all sorts of options for both Main and Bigend if I do that. Ill change the crankshaft to suit bearings and lip seals and for a more modern machining process. I will do custom rods to suit the original pistons (worst come to worse there is a supplier for new pistons at $500ea.). Custom rods a more feasible if I have a standard width.

Definitely an option. Could bore the bigend and skim the width. If the bigend is smaller than 49mm without the babbitt and the width is bigger than 35mm. Thanks for the offer. What are the measurements on them?

Close. But the bigend journal size is too small. Also are they bearing type not split? The problem im finding is that generally the longer the rod is the bigger the journal size. So 7in rods have about 2in journal Theres a lot of American stuff thats close but would like to find something metric.

I have a challenge for you guys. Im look for OEM parts to design around. Starting with Shell bearings and Con Rods. Bearings: Big End. 45mm Diameter. 35mm wide Mains. 60mm diameter 28mm wide Con Rod: 180mm long 45mm bearing (49mm? bearing dependent) 35mm wide Ive found Subi main bearings in the EG33 are 60mm diameter but they dont look wide enough. Old 911 looks close too. Same problem with the big end. Lots of 45mm diameter but not wide enough. The conrod length is super long. Ford Model T or Flathead are 7in which would be fine. But journal diameter is too big. Hoping you guys can help figure out a combo.

Supercharger done

Supercharger

Outer camtree patterns 2 of 2