Hey Don Amber

Post by **dator** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 10:38 pm

Hey Don Amber, thanks alot for leting me warm up in your van at the start of the 75
I-500,man it was cold that morning.
As for carrying extra parts, if the alingment on the 340s wasnt right on,we could go though 5 or 6 belts in one day. I would olso carry a chain,gears,oil,along with the regular tools & stuff.
In 76 the dator didnt seem to use as many belts,i think the belts were beter quality.
I olso used the helmut radios, i used it the first day like Brian,I didnt like all the chatter from the race officials,it was distracting,so i didnt use it the rest of the race.
Don i might be going to hay days in mpls. If your going let me know,and maybe we can get together.My email is benns@ennsbros.com
Talk to you soon. Bob.

HoosierDeereMan · Post by **HoosierDeereMan** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:14 pm

Bob,
you mentioned carrying a spare chain and gear set. Did you have a lot of failures or just trying to plan ahead?

Anybody else have any photos or stories they would like to add? I've felt like a kid in a candy store with this thread.

Post by **WinnipegStPaul9** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:34 pm

Bob's right, we did carry a spare set of gears and chain. Wasn't the chaincase cover held in place with thumbscrews??? I'm sure I'm right because I carried a 3/8" drive speeddriver on which we mounted a socket that we had sawed a notch into so that it fit the thumbscrews. Then we drilled holes in the belly pan that the speeddriver went threw to reach the screws. Wow, still dredging up memories! Oh, the big deal was to put the sled on it's side so you didn't lose any gear lube. I'm going to look in my old tool box to see if I still have the socket, if so I'll take a picture. Don

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 2:53 pm

Well, the parts book shows the cover being held on with regular capscrews.

Sure this wasn't a racer trick? For those that might not know, the 340S drive chain was not the double 35 roller like on the 00 series. It was a silent type chain, similar to what you had on a small block Chevy camshaft.

Did you have problems with these Don? Remember changing one during a race?

Post by **WinnipegStPaul9** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 3:23 pm

Brian, you're correct in that my mechanic came up with the thumbscrew idea. I remembered that after I finished my post. I ran out to my son's house as he has all of my old tools (told the wife I needed new ones for the Cyclone project, he he) I found the speeddriver but not the socket. He's working today so I'll ask him tomorrow. We both work 24 hour shifts and normally not the same shift. As to your question about the chain failing, I don't ever remember it happening but when you're planning you try to cover all of your bases. What I do remember was the "spare" set was a different ratio that would double as a change if needed. You gearheads probably have the ratios memorized but all I can remember is that there were a couple different ones. We were extremely lucky ( remember, I was an indepenent) because we could have all of spare parts we wanted and could return all unused, unopened parts. While not factory sleds, we had a great dealer network to help us. I do remember that we had to keep the chain and gears because we obviously took them from the packages. I'm positive they went with my sled when I sold it. Brian's also right about the chain resembling a small block chain. It definately was not a roller chain. Hope I covered all questions so far, keep asking as it's helping my memory. Also, I'll keep looking for the socket. Don

Post by **dator** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:04 pm

The reason i carried gears& chain on my sleds,in 74 at the south dakota cup race,i hit a rock and put a hole in the bottom of the chaincase,all the oil leeked out and put an end to my race.Only on two or more day races would i carry the extra parts,as you could still finnish the first day,and fix the sled,and have a good finish.
I never used the thumb screws on my chian cover,i should have,sounds like it was a good idea.I olso carried some allumium putty that can be used under water on boats,it worked great to fix small holes or cracks in the case.
more later. Bob

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:23 am

Thanks for the info guys.

I would think the 340S chain and gears would be good for a long time, even racing

Now, as for hitting rocks!

:o Yeah, there isn't much of anything between the aluminum chaincase and the hard object. A sheet steel case will bend, but that aluminum one will break, or crack. either way, there goes the lube.

Did you guys run the standard gear ratio CC racing?
BTW, the parts book shows 5 different gear setups.

Post by **WinnipegStPaul9** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 8:24 am

Brian, I'm going to guess that we ran the factory setup for the I-500. The ETD guys would probably tell you that the ratio depended on the race (terrain). Don

HoosierDeereMan · Post by **HoosierDeereMan** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:08 pm

The standard ratio gear and chain set up was 17:39.

Optional sets were:

17:35
16:42
16:39
16:35

Post by **JRC ETD** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:14 pm

BS on 6 belts, Brian also could hear detonation and would open the slides and cool the engine down by gassing the throttle avoiding engine failure!!!! 1978 race...one belt, 2 plugs, 1 candy bar, and 2 c notes on board, anything else and I was out of contention and off of time to win. Never blew a belt in 6 I-500 races, 3 that were finishes.....Remember Dale Earnhardt could see air in the draft also!!!

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 2:41 pm

Jon, no argument about the belts, but Paul heard it too.

Simple solution: invite Brian to a JDSleds get-together, and have Jon twist his arm to make sure he attends. Then, we can interrogate him at length on this matter.
I'm sure he has some other stories to tell as well.