Sorry, Joe,
I done no introduction, also I didn't know how interest starts this kind of
communication, I think I really miss a lot of fun, due to this that I was not
involved before.
At first I have to apologize about my bad English, I'm a German I and will try
so good as possible, to find the right words (and sometimes - the right
grammar).
Joe, you request the "rod".
If I understood you correct, than you mean the rod from Jim & Mary True, which
Mary blew so wonderful (sorry, Mary - this was your first blown engine - but
you done it the RIGHT way, wow).
Both ends of the piece, which was broken out of the rod, shows special marks
which tells what's happened.
One side shows the beginning of the trouble. Along the outside contour of the
rod "profile" there was possible to see a dark (black) thin line, much darker
than the gray of the material. In this area was the molekular structure changed.
What's happened. it's start with a very hair thin crack on the outside which
can
end, so as on this rod, that the crack is complete around the shaft of the rod.
In this crack (may be you call it also a flaw), the carbo sinters out of the
material, means split out of the normal molekular structure. More and more
carbo
moves to this crack and makes this area brittle.
At last the cross section of the rod is not anymore strong enough to work the
power from the piston movement out.
A normal rod will need a long time, to come to this point.
The cross section of a "hot" rod is very close to the critical cross section -
as lighter as better.
In the moment, when the pressure force from the engine is higher than the
strength of the cross section, the shaft collapse in a fraction of a second.
This collapse is shown as a sharp, not symmetrical, flash. This flash shows,
different to the other material surface, a nearly polished (glossy) surface.
This comes from the stretching of the material in the moment of the collapse,
when the rod brokes and was bend (turned) sideways, from the still moving
rod/piston.
Normally, so as here, the other end of the rod shows a little bit rough
surface,
but without special marks, so as a simple broken piece of iron.
But what you can see, is, that the shaft of the rod is not anymore in the
straight contour as it was original. On one side is the rod bend (twist),
depense how the rod turns sideways, after he brokes. There where the rod is
bend, is the inside of the turning (rotation) point.
Short form:
A outside damage creates a crack (can be a material failure or a handling
damage), the crack grows and in the crack produced the carbo a brittle
material.
Once, when the cross section is not anymore strong enough, it collapsed, turns
on the most weakest point, the shaft sideways. If there is enough power, this
part will be ripped off and will goes the easiest way - by Mary it was straight
out of the block. If it not happens during full throttle, the shaft will break
and one side of them will be bend.
If you have bad luck, so by Mary, the piston stucks in the highest position, so
that the valves crash into the piston, which blocks the other valves moving.
After some revolutions, the other pistons and valves will be also destroyed.
To prevent you from so damages, x-ray the rods for so cracks and hair thin cuts
on the outside. If there is one, and he is not to deep, you can polish them, so
that he is gone. It will not effect the strength of the rod. Otherwise you risk
once killed engine.
The rod which I saw by Mary & Jim, was a older damage. It needs a while to get
a
so deep carbo mark.
It's not so easy to explain something, without having the parts in the hand to
show it to someone - see here and see here and there, yeah, you can see it....
The other you ask, was a introduction - oh, man, I will try it in a short way.
I went into speed in 1970 - starting, when I read a nice article about Gary
Gabelich and the Blue Flame.
Due to this, that in Germany, speed racing is not anymore popular - it was
before and during the Third Reich, but this historie was destroyed with all the
bad stuff from this time. After the war the people was to blind to see the
different between the speed racing and a nazi, very sad.
For a short time there was some activities, pushed by Wilhelm Herz in 1956 and
1965. But since this there was only a small group of people (around 10) in
Germany who shows interest in this sport.
Two of them really serious - this was Ferdinand Kaesmann, he is now 73, and
myself. Ferdinand wrote some great books.
I start in the mid 70's, at first in Europe on a push bike, to travel around to
see all the racers and to meet the people, who drove or build this cars.
Later, beginning of the 80's I travelled around the world, to see this one,
which was outside of Europe.
>From the beginning, I start to collect any kind of information about speed, so
>I
got today one of the biggest collection in Germany. But this collection is
still
very small to this one from Ugo Fadini, the famous model maker from Italy, who
is a good friend of mine.
I was a little bit active in the Thrust II attempts (Richard Noble, later than
also in the Thrust SSC. In the moment I be active with my great friends Terry
Moreau and Don McBride, to be a tough competitor from Jim & Mary True (Jack
Costella's 988). The True's done very well this year.
If I have some time left over, I give Craig Breedlove a support to bring the
record back to the states.
I got the luck to meet all the big Speed Kings, not only the still active,
also Art Arfons, Tom Green (Wingfoot Express - yeap, he is still alive), the
late Gary Gabelich.
Some more to my person.
I'm a engineer in automotive design, specialiced in frame and body design, with
some experience in aerodynamic (trained). Also I'm trained in graphic arts and
done a apprenticeship in coachbuilding.
For a while I worked as a photographer in Australia and done pictures of the
American Football (NFL) in the states for a European magazine.
In the 80's a raced for five years in a series which used cars, similar to
NASCAR - with 120 and 180 ci. I done it the olympic way, what means that I
never
won a race. But it was a great time. I had to quite when my sponsors was
running
out of money.
During all this years I was also sometimes on the salt (most for a day) so as
my
bank account and my short vacation time allowed.
Since 1996 I'm in the position to stay for the whole time there. It was also
1996 when I joined Terry's and Don's team. Today I'm doing this, what you folks
will understood and knows as the need for speed.
If I talk about this in Germany, the call the asylum....
with fastest wishes
Thomas "Pork Pie" Graf
Ps. Pork Pie is my artist name
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