Last year the polycarbonate clear wind screen was not the best, it had minor distortion, but was tolerable to both Don and Hartmut. A fellow who was on the salt and lived in Salt Lake, was somehow found by one of the pit crew members. He was aware of a shop in Salt Lake City that dealt in polycarbonate materials. Tom Murray volunteered to make the 110 mile trip the morning of the fifth to procure a new wind screen. He returned about noon that day with the new wind screen cut to size but not drilled.

My visual inspection of the liner after the last run revealed all four exhaust pipe wraps were discolored a great deal, which showed extreme heat in the exhaust pipes themselves. From past experience I knew that the engines were retarded. Much of the fuel was being burnt in the exhaust pipes. I pointed out to Hartmut where the timing mark would probably wind up on the degree wheel pointer in the fixed mark on the primary cover. The procedure to reset the timing, was as follows: Don would keep an eye on the tach; Hartmut would advance the timing at the distributor, and lock it in when best running was achieved. I was at the throttle and would bring it up to 5000 rpm for the setting.

There was a misunderstanding between Hartmut and myself at this time, as I had pointed to the probable position of the timing, and he took it as where I exactly wanted it timed. This was about a 10 degree advance over the 35 degrees of timing I was running. With the two plug ignition system per cylinder, this gave me a theoretical advance of 40 degrees + the 10 degrees, which should have been plenty. After this was done it did run better, and the plugs showed signs of lean. The high speed fuel pressure regulator was turned down one full turn, increasing the fuel pressure from 55 pounds to 80 pounds. This would certainly take care of any lean mixture, I thought, that may occur at higher engine rpm.

The next couple of days are a bit of a blur. I wasn't feeling up to par physically. The building, the loading, and the long cross country drive had taken it's toll, and I was finding the constant barrage of magazine and television interviews, along with the continuous interruption of my concentration by well wishers, inquisitive spectators, those wishing autographs of T-shirts, posters, etc., distracting from the task at hand. Problems were multiplying that had to be solved--rich or lean, advance or retard, shifting problems, visual problems, and the problem of trying to keep the gear train between the motors together, vibration, and there were probably many others, minor in nature.

While all of this was going on inside my head--inevitably, at a seemingly constant rhythm, someone would come over to me and ask, "When will you be making your next run, and how fast do you think it's going to go?" or, "Would you squat down beside the liner so I can get a picture of you and the engines?" or, "Have you thought that you might be running too rich or too lean?", or "Did you know that NASA has developed a material for it's windows in the space shuttle that are scratch-proof and distortion free?". :o)

But my favorite, and the most frequently asked question is, "Have you ever thought about testing the liner before you bring it to the meet?"

This one always brings a smile to my face, knowing that I had just received an overdraft notice from Intrust Bank of Wichita, Kansas, informing me that there were insufficient funds to cover a $225.00 check that I had just written on Black Lightning's account. With private time on the Bonneville Salt Flats costing in the neighborhood of $3,000.00 to $5,000.00 a day, could this be the reason for my smile?

There were four runs made, as I said before, during my blurred recollection. I can't remember the exact sequence, but I do remember the primary actions I took to remedy the problems. So the only way to relay what took place is by giving an account to each issue.

What about this visibility and wind screen problem? A run was made with Hartmut on board, with the entire windscreen removed. Visibility was obviously not a problem with the windscreen removed. It was noted during the run by Hartmut, that there was no wind whatsoever entering the cockpit. He also said that it was very quiet. I don't understand the physics involved; I can only assume that the cockpit becomes pressurized, creating a pressure in which the ambient airflow skates over the liner configuration with ease. This is a bit baffling. Could it be that a windscreen isn't necessary at all?

Don made a run with the new windscreen in place, and reported very little difference in the distortion. Next, a hole approximately 8" wide and 13" long was cut in the forward section of the canopy. All the rest of the runs for the meet were made with this fix as to visibility.

Now as to rich or lean, advance or retard: After returning to my digs at the Nugget, on I think the third day, and assessing in solitude what was going on, I came to the conclusion that the engines were retarded, and that they were running too lean. The next day, (which day it was is a question mark) I took the high speed regulating valve, turned it around and installed a blank pill. This took the high speed completely out of the circuit of the fuel curve. All fuel from the pump would now go through the barrel valve, then to the four nozzles at the intake ports, and the four nozzles below the injector hat; the metering of the pressure of fuel at these nozzles was now being regulated only by the ramp on the barrel valve (idle to mid-range) and the main can return pill to the fuel tank. Nozzle sizes I selected for even fuel distribution to the four cylinders were as follows: Number 1 cylinder: .042. Number 2 cylinder: .038. Number 3 cylinder: .040. Number 4 cylinder: .035.

There are two physical properties that must be considered for even fuel distribution.

Over the years I've found that the duct work length from the blower plenum to the intake valve is an important determining factor. The longer the duct work the more fuel it takes. The other characteristic of a V-twin motor, which is a variable, is the fact that the blower has a fixed volumetric efficiency per revolution, and turns 50 degrees more in it's rotation cycle from one cylinder to the next.

I selected four .022 nozzles and placed them below the hat to cool the blower. These come into play when the fuel pressure exceeds 10 pounds.

The main pill that I selected was a .110.