Canopies are Us at Plastec

First make a tool to form the part.

Next make a trial run.

Then check out the perfect POLY CARBONATE CANOPY. Jeff, Pat, Kevin B. (made the tool) and Kevin K. look pretty pleased with the outcome. They should be pleased the first attempt at something no one else would try and it is beautiful . GREAT WORK GUYS!

WWll Fighter Pilot

Barry Clarke, owner of Plastec takes a moment to consider how much this thing resembles a Spitfire or some old fighter plane. You can see his project high in the background. Maybe there is going to be a completion of that project soon?

High power plot uncovered

It is now official Piers Harry and Werner Sprenger are planning to make the Landspeed record in E/DS.
Piers will work his well known magic on this 3.9BT Cummins and turn it into a raging record setting power plant for the GOLDENHAWK (Pierce-Arrow) streamliner. Now maybe that should be PIERS-ARROW?

Secret cargo spotted today leaving Cummins

Today a certain blue Dodge pickup truck was spotted leaving Cummins Western Canada in Port Kells BC. The cargo was wrapped up so as to not be recognized but when we spoke to the driver, a Mr. Werner Sprenger he would say only that it was an industrial 4 litre diesel pump engine.

our intrepid reporter followed the pick up to a location in Langley B.C. MORE news to follow!!

WERNER IS CHASING PARTS & PIECES

We haven't seen Werner for a couple of days because he is busy locating and procuring all sorts of parts and safety equipment. A better crew chief there is not, he knows what needs to be done and with rule book in hand goes a hunting.

I am thankful for a great neighbour as well as a good guy.

Baby Cummins has arrived

Tomorrow morning Werner will pick up the engine from Cummins and deliver it to Piers Harry so he can work his trademark magic on it. See this issue of DIESEL POWER magazine to check out one of the wicked drag strip Cummins/Dodges he has powered up. I will be impersonating "Rosy the Riveter" at Plastec. Kevin Knox will be finnishing the body panels tomrrow and Kevin Burnett is planning to pull the canopy from his new mold.

CHECK BACK SOON TO SEE THE RESULTS.

Tomorrow tune in for tall tails by Kevin Knox

Once again Aggressive Tube Bending is there for the project. When Kevin Knox and Barry Clarke at Plastec designed the mounting plate for the tail, we went to see Peter Diesing and Bob Georgison at Aggressive. They immediately responded and in minutes Sean Scott was rounding up material and welding the anchor spar. Thanks to each of you to your 'get the job done attitude!

Just hang'n the body

Riveting work! But slow.

Diversions of Kevin Knox

Kevin Knox has been a great asset to the project, not only did he do the computer drawings in 3D and assist in the designs, attend at the building of the chassis but he also scanned parts to make prototype models. Here he is 3D scanning the transmission and then he can reproduce it in scale on his Rapid Prototyping equipment. Thanks Kevin for taking the weeks out of your company schedule to build the body of the car as well.

Federal Battery supplies the power.

Chris Scullion Owner of Federal Battery in Richmond and Werner discuss the best possible battery set up for the Goldenhawk stream liner. A visit to their shop is worth the trip. You might say that the diesel project is getting cranked.

This article appeared in Canadian Hot Rods & Classics. If you don't subscribe then contact Terry at www.hotrodsandclassics.org

New sponsors to be announced.

It will possible that the Goldenhawk will be fuelled with Bio diesel made right here in BC.

We have a new sponsor for the Batteries and electrical parts.

We have a very special hot rod and custom shop to sponsor the paint works.

Now all we need is the sponsors that have nothing but money!

Check out the revamped website and the sponsor links.

Good work Judy Vaughan

Pressure is on to get ready for the TV cameras

Today as Kevin Knox and Patrick Colgan worked out the ramifications of the rear sections of the body at PLASTEC today and Kevin Burnett was experimenting with the Lexan Polycarbonate sheets for the Canopy, we received a call from Global TV requesting to report on the project. I am ill with the spring cold, so I asked that they delay the shooting until next week when they will be able to show the body not just the frame.

Dzus fasteners have arrived,finally!

Theses are the little fasteners that will hold the body panels on the chassis as Pat demonstrates.

The bright white sports car emerges at PLASTEC

Larry and Pat look it over and Larry says "It looks like the Daryle Sorenson rendering in the Banner by Global Inkstorm". The crew is working on the canopy to finish the cockpit and tomorrow Kevin Knox and Pat will begin to form the top at the rear and the vertical stabilizer.

The Fasteners arrived from Florida today so I will drag my spring cold to Plastec and begin to rivet the springs on to the frame. Then the final trimming and filling can begin. I think by the end of the week we will be looking for a company to spray it gold.

The great white (sports car) whale is born?

The body is on the bottom and the nose is trial fitted. The intrepid group of (l-r) Pat, Kevin K., Kevin B, and Jeff are smiling and cracking jokes as the talk is of giving birth to a great white 30 foot whale. It is very impressive in size and unusual in shape because most streamliners are pointed on the front and wide on the stern. If you think about it the smaller the stern the less drag. We shall see what happens on the Salt Flats at speed.

Downed chopper kills Cdn. & Brit Military photographers

Military Photographers worldwide mourn loss of one of their own!

Fri Jun 1, 4:32 PM
The body of slain Canadian Master Cpl. Darrell Priede is escorted onto a Hercules aircraft in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Friday, June 1, 2007 (CP PHOTO/Stephanie Levitz)

postscript . I was never in war, but the toughest assignments were always coverage of the funeral of a serviceman as his family lay him to rest. The flag ceremony (presenting the draped ensign ) to wife or mother used to tear me up such that camera operations were accomplished by habit and speaking was out of the question.

Delays are normal but Deadlines loom.

Yesterday we had meetings and conferences on the engine preparation and specific parts with Cummins and the "Master of Engines" are newest sponsor powertrain crew leader. It will be a tight build schedule due to workload changes in the Industrial engine business. With some stress,sweat and pressure we will pull it off. I am hope full we will get the completed front drive back Saturday and the custom overdrive assembly next week. Steve Troyan will whip up in transmission in a few days and then we will have to set the steering box and build and install the steering wheel in the cockpit. There is a lot to do and only our friends at OTT INDUSTRIES, LONESTAR, PLASTEC, COLT CAMS, CUMMINS, AGGRESSIVE TUBE BENDING, KOOL COAT, NITROLUBE, APEX FINNISHING, ACME FIRE, Troyan Performance Specialties. can make it happen! I am holding my breath until we load up to head for the salt.

'Huston We Have (nose cone) Lift Off"

Here is how to make very large pieces in the vacuum former. First you build an outrageous tool, then you build a vacuum chamber for the top of it , then you turn it upside down and lower it in the machine with the fork lift because it is too large and heavy to form it the normal way. Heat up the "binford 9000" (watch Tool Time for Tim & Al's version) with the ABS sheet and presto, one half the nose for a LAND SPEED RACER.

It was not easy and took great imagination on the whole team at PLASTEC. Everyone was involved including Margaret who videoed the first ones and cheered the crew on to success.

Jeff, Pat, Kevin and Barry pulled it off . Barry is seen inspecting the finished pieces. Now they will be trimmed and joined together to make the nose cone. Kevin is now moving on to the canopy and Pat will continue with the upper tail section and the fin before it is all reassembled to sand and prep for paint. There is nothing like a looming deadline to get things accomplished. THANKS to everyone at PLASTEC for the team on the car and the others who are keeping the customers orders flowing out. I am proud to recommend you to anyone who is seeking normal plastic products or fabrication. Don't forget top quality costs less in Canada!

New Sponsor announcement coming Wed.

Geoff Bardal of Colt Cams has tested the products and recommended our newest sponsor. We have reached a conclusion that NITRO LUBE will be our exclusive lubricant supplier for the project. see www.nitrolube.com We will meet with the owner Jason Rite to work out the details and share them with you soon.

News Flash Read All About it

Monday the Surrey NOW NEWSPAPER visited us at PLASTEC, and is printing an article about the project. Here it is!
If you click on the image it should be large enough to read ( with your glasses on! )

Jimmy Durante' would be proud of this snozola!

Kevin Burnett is being assisted by Jeff to build the custom vacuum box that is held on to the nose tool by threaded rods. Werner is checking out the progress and Ken Rouble is showing off his Goldenhawk shirt. What a team of hard working guys, your efforts are evident and greatly appreciated. like the Beatles sang, "Money can't buy me love" and this team is doing it for love. THANKS TO ALL of you!

(Are you are too young to know about Mr.Durante? Ask your grandparents.)

Plan ahead for the tail?

Werner is listening into the planning session between Kevin Knox and Patrick as they work out the procedures of building the tail section and rear panels in about two large sections. This will be interesting to witness.

Pat is making good progress.

Monday at Plastec, Patrick is either back or he is still here and you can see he has the bottom panels fitted to the chassis. In the first photo you can see the interior of the panels with the black stiffeners. Also in the foreground you can see the first of the plastic models that Diversions (Kevin Knox) is prototyping for the Die casting of the scale models which will be made in limited numbers for collectors.

Just being nosy

This is show the intake can be extended to beyond the nose of the car to experiment with the results. It is not known what will be the effect on either the intake volume/pressure at speed, but I suspect that we may actually see and aero improvement from the disturbance in front of the nose, that may allow the nose to enter the air easier. Your comments are appreciated, so please contribute them now. It may be that the result will increase drag and stall the intake air! Who knows until we try it.

Combustion air intake (aka nose airs)

Here is the nose of the car before the ABS cone is installed and then filled with urethane foam for support. You will notice that the velocity stack for the intake air fits right in the centre high pressure point.

Patient Patrick Plastec Panel Producer (say that 3X!)

Here it is Saturday afternoon, the crew at Plastec is putting in overtime to meet the schedule. Patrick says the panels go faster after the first one. (Kind of like tequila shooters ) Patrick has put himself through college and is a tool and die technician. After working in polluted environments he has chosen to fabricate plastics. He is very careful as he makes these panels and yet seemed surprised that they turned out perfect. The former Burlington Ontario resident commutes from Vancouver to Port Kells (1 hour each way), but says he likes the busy social life the city has to offer. He is also quite glad to be involved in the build of something different and exciting. Thanks for your time Patrick.

Murphy Aircraft 2200+ home built kits flying

Today, we visited Daryl Murphy, owner of Murphy Aircraft Manufacturing in Chilliwack, BC. My long time friend and business associate. He gave us a tour of his refurbished plant and a look at the new YUKON aircraft. This is a fuel efficient tricycle plane that is aimed at the world market. Sorry Classified no pictures but you can check their website, it is linked to www.goldenhawk.ca
Daryl is very interesting to visit because not only does he have brilliant engineering mind and a let's do it attitude but he is always into something new and interesting. Thanks for your support Mr. Murphy.

COLT CAMS TEAM

Meet the Colt team, Geoff, Ilona his wife and shop assistant and of course, the real boss the German Shepherd, they make for a happy work together family. We are so glad to have you on the team. They have a machine dedicated to just grinding cams for CUMMINS diesels.

www.coltcams.com - Choice of champions

New sponsor COLT CAM INC. Geoff Bardal is the kind of guy you want on your side when you need help. He is the kind of guy that does everything rather meticulously and keeps records of the results. Today, Werner and I visited his Aldergrove BC. shop and he showed us his methods of evaluating products and his perfect shop.

If you are thinking of a build project for industrial or heavy equipment (not just hot rods) then a visit to http://www.coltcams.com/ is the first thing to do. We are very impressed by his grasp of basic and new technology. We are thrilled to welcome him to the Powertrain team of the Goldenhawk project.

The future of Troyan is sharp.

Here is Steve and his 7 year old son, who wants to know if we will drive this car out to see him?

The young man is very quick witted so be careful what you ask him! People who have good family relationships give children the best start in life.

Watch for this young guy in races in the future.

Cummins in a ford, built TPS INC.tough?

Here is our newest sponsor, Steve Troyan of TROYAN PERFORMANCE SPECIALTIES INC. stuffing a 5.9 Cummins in a ford pick up. Steve and his company will be building the transmissions for the GOLDENHAWK streamliner. Steve has many years experience and is very talented in the high performance transmission field. With Steve on the team I feel secure that we have the very best.

How to find the pros!

Here is a tip on how to find the real professionals when it is your need for (diesel) speed. First check out the trade magazines and then when you find the big power guys featured all you have to do is locate where they get the work done.

We found this one in Chilliwack,BC. at TPS INC. on Aitkin Road, and like all the best specialist they are very hard to find so call 877-702-1050.

This puppy has over 700hp and sounds awesome!!!

Wheels & rear Hubs ready

Here you can see for the first time the special narrowed high speed steel wheel that Green's Automotive re manufactured for us, with the rear hub mounts by OTT Industries fitted together. Everything is exactly the way we planned and the brakes just fit in the rim. Now, as you can tell there will be some last minute calculations to decide the exact mounting measurements.