RE: Red Victor 3: Here Comes 2013!

RE: Red Victor 3: Here Comes 2013!

Wednesday 6th February 2013

Red Victor 3: Here Comes 2013!

RV3 shrugs off another engine issue and looks forward to the year ahead



2012 has been a great year for the PH-sponsored Red Victor 3. Andy and his team wanted to put the disappointment of 2011 behind them, and did so with style. Not only did they finally manage to break the street-legal world record they’d been aiming at for the previous three years, but they also met with some solid success in the MSA Pro-Modified class of the British Drag Racing Championship.

That's not gone well...
That's not gone well...
After four rounds, Andy found himself in third position in the standings, and with it all to play for, he and the RV3 team headed to the European Finals. But disaster struck when, during qualifying, the clutch slipped in third gear, causing an over-rev. RV3’s engine houses exhaust valves twice as heavy as the intake items, meaning valve float occurs much lower down the rev range. As a result, their rev limit is set to 8,600rpm – but on this occasion, the limiter didn’t call a halt to proceedings until 9,200rpm. The result? Valves contacted pistons, and in Andy’s words, ‘bad things happened’.

With only two weeks until the final MSA Pro-Mod round, fixing the damage proved impossible, so Andy wasn’t able to take part. That dropped him to 8th in the final standings – undoubtedly a disappointment, but better than the last year.

Oh yes. This will do nicely.
Oh yes. This will do nicely.
So, where does that leave Red Victor now? Well, as Andy explains, things are all starting to get a bit untested at this level. “Remember, we’re stillin the R&D stage,” he says, “so all we can do is keep checking parts until we’re happy they are just what we need. We’ve been running stock-size Chevy parts until now; at the 3,000+hp level, things start to bend!”

What’s more, Andy and his team decided that the next time the six-year-old iron block was damagd, they’d upgrade to a New Century aluminium item. So that’s on order from the USA as we speak, and once it arrives, work on the engine can truly begin in earnest. Andy says he hopes for the car to be ready and out representing PH by Easter, though with the amount of work in hand, it could be closer to May before RV3 sees the light of day again. But Andy’s more determined than ever to keep lowering the record, and he’s confident they can. “And lastly,” he adds, “a really big thank you to all the people at and on PH, who continually support our team. We look forward to that support in 2013!”

Author
Discussion

theJT

Original Poster:

313 posts

184 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Every time I see this thing I think how gorgeous a victor coupe could have been if they'd made one from the factory, and what a shame it was that they never did frown

Here's to a great 2013 for this magnificent machine tho smile

M400 NBL

3,529 posts

211 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Good luck Andy and team.

dc2rr07

1,238 posts

230 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Not much of an over rev (600rpm), anyway the old block could be made into a table like the one on Top Gear with a Plaque on it about the world record. Selling that would probably ease the cost of the new block a bit.

Krikkit

26,500 posts

180 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
dc2rr07 said:
Not much of an over rev (600rpm), anyway the old block could be made into a table like the one on Top Gear with a Plaque on it about the world record. Selling that would probably ease the cost of the new block a bit.
600 RPM on a race engine that, chances are, was already pushed very close to the limit is quite a bit.

V8 FOU

2,970 posts

146 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Hmm. Not a case of you bend it you mend it then?

Anyway, good luck everyone!

PascalBuyens

2,868 posts

281 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Good luck to the whole team smile

renorti

727 posts

195 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
3000bhp things start to bend! best quote of the week.

Rum Runner

2,338 posts

216 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Love it ...

crikey

1,700 posts

210 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Slinky, the way you're holding your camera gadget make you look like this Tommy Two Thumbs.


anything fast

983 posts

163 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
what would this thing be like on street tyres???

Rat_Fink_67

2,309 posts

205 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
anything fast said:
what would this thing be like on street tyres???
Like THIS of course.

munk

258 posts

198 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Andy & the team- very best of luck guys! I have one of your bent valves taking pride of place on my bookcase at the moment- so I feel i have some level of personal investment in this car (albeit £20), so I shall be waiting with baited breath for the news of how you turned my (frankly piddling) investment into success! wink

Hopefully I'll get a chance to see the car in person & shake you all by the hand one day!

dc2rr07

1,238 posts

230 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
Wonder if any of the engine builders have tried the Ducati route with there Desmodromic valve system, no dropping valves there or is there just too much power. (cannot believe I just said too much power on PistonHeads)



soad

32,829 posts

175 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
dc2rr07 said:
Wonder if any of the engine builders have tried the Ducati route with there Desmodromic valve system, no dropping valves there or is there just too much power. (cannot believe I just said too much power on PistonHeads)
There is no such thing as too much power! nono


V8RX7

26,763 posts

262 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
3000bhp on standard components - is that right ?

That's one hell of a lot of over engineering by Chevy

redvictor

3,152 posts

236 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
V8RX7 said:
3000bhp on standard components - is that right ?

That's one hell of a lot of over engineering by Chevy
std size. All aftermarket parts.
Thanks everyone..

Figgle

86 posts

134 months

Wednesday 6th February 2013
quotequote all
I love this car and the history behind it. I hope 2013 brings many gold trophies for Andy and the Team.

chuntington101

5,733 posts

235 months

Thursday 7th February 2013
quotequote all
renorti said:
3000bhp things start to bend! best quote of the week.
haha i was thinking the same thing! smile

Cant wait to see the new engine together. Are the turbos being upgraded also? maybe time for some 101-104mm items! smile

slinky

15,704 posts

248 months

Thursday 7th February 2013
quotequote all
chuntington101 said:
haha i was thinking the same thing! smile

Cant wait to see the new engine together. Are the turbos being upgraded also? maybe time for some 101-104mm items! smile
Turbos are being upgraded to Gen 2 Precision Turbo units. Staying the same size due to class rules. Maximum of 91mm for twins, 120 for singles...

FIA Regs said:
Single 120 mm (4.72”) or twin 91 mm (2.57”) turbochargers
maximum. Air-to-air or water-to-air intercoolers permitted.
Turbocharger size will be verified by measuring the housing bore
at the leading edge of the impeller wheel. The maximum diameter
of the housing bore at the leading edge of the wheel may not
exceed 2 mm more than the maximum allowable turbocharger
size permitted. Nitrous oxide injection with turbocharged engines
prohibited.

callyman

3,151 posts

211 months

Thursday 7th February 2013
quotequote all
slinky said:
Detailed clever stuff
thumbup