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Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Ian Slade
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by Ian Slade »

That's a pretty impressive power band 4-7K rpm, would be interested to know how Steve's set ups are compared Larry's
Owner since the 70's, Genghis is slightly to my left.

Dig-SP
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by Dig-SP »

Very Quick,
Thanks for the videos
Having raced my Dart in the very strick Australian historic regulations,
( as it was, so it shall remain )
can't help but think that there's not a lot of originality leftover !
But if you can, why not !
Cheers
Dig

Vortex O'Plinth
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by Vortex O'Plinth »

Dig-SP wrote: Wed Jun 13, 2018 11:23 am ...Having raced my Dart in the very strick Australian historic regulations,
( as it was, so it shall remain )
can't help but think that there's not a lot of originality leftover !...
His lower wishbone arms seem nearly original...... :D :D :)
Nick

"Don't bother with the Air & Space Museum - there's nothing to see.......".

Ian Slade
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by Ian Slade »

There's nothing wrong with the front suspension which can be tweaked without losing originality, the rear end is the problem as the chassis is under the axle and body roll lifts the rear inside wheel so you lose drive unless you have a LSD which is illegal under most historic rules.
The USA is different as the SP was raced frequently under various modifications when in production, therefore has a wider modification legality under their historic rules. The UK historic rules seem to based on the FIA homologation rules at the time of production and there weren't many SP's that raced with registered modifications, unfortunately the works Le Mans entry was still born and never homologated, had it been so the car would have a great club racing history, rumoured over 250bhp on 8 Amal block Triumph M/C carbs at 8500rpm.
Owner since the 70's, Genghis is slightly to my left.

daimlersteve
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by daimlersteve »

Theres a bit wrong with the org. design re camber gain . look at larrys positive camber on the offside front wheel in that turn. Best practice would be to have neg. camber gain there ,not pos. as is seen. Easily fixed .
Just finished the manifold for the 40mm DCOE s . So, Sonus , dont worry it all fits together neatly while keeping the org. dist. smaller alternator rqd. Will post pics when ive taken them later.
2.8 Ltr is finally getting assembled.
steve

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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by John-B »

I noticed that with the Jaguar and the Daimler he was slower out of the turns but overhauled other cars on the straight. I wonder if that was due to steering performance or his standard of driving?

tjt77
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by tjt77 »

It should be added that if one is prepared to spend upwards of $20k on 'improving' the small turner V8, you too can have 220 hp and sufficient lower end strength to run the engine to 7,000 rpm and beyond should you so desire.. for another $40k or so, you can also improve and eliminate most of the 'other' known weakness's in the car and build a 'winner' for the track..

tjt77
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart Discussion.

Post by tjt77 »

Ian, thanks for adding this info.. Larrys cars shows what can be done with the right resources and the will to succeed.. we should never forget that the SP250 was designed and built on a very tight budget, with much of the construction design 'borrowed' from existing contemporary designs.. mostly Triumph, with whom Edward Turner had been closely associated.. hence it was always a 'comprimised' car which was somewhat improved when Jaguar took over the Daimler company and put the SP 250 into production, exporting many to the biggest market for sports cars at the time :- USA..
Several tuners were getting 160-180 Hp out of normally aspirated versions of the small turner V8 when it was still in production.. todays engineering advances make it credible to get the sort of outputs that Larry Ligas's car is producing.. provided one has the funding, time and enthusiasm to do so.. as I understand it its not too difficult to stretch the displacement up to 3.5 litres with a new stroked crankshaft and con rods.. and other than supercharging or turbo charging..(effectively adding displacement via compressing more volume into the cylinders) adding displacement remains the most effective route to increasing HP and torque.. provided one can strengthen the lower end sufficiently to hold up.. valve train is yet another issue to address with these engines.. some people are also converting over to 'mushroom' style tappets in order to add reliability and longevity.. one thing that Turner did get right is that frictional loses are less in these engine than in many contemporaries of similar displacement ..the minimal crankshaft bearing area and limiting to just 3 rings per piston all help in that department..

fredeuce
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by fredeuce »

Great car this however in all of the discussion about it there is no mention of camshaft specification or any other modifications to the valve train.
Can anyone expand on this?

daimlersteve
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Re: Larry Ligas SP250 racing Dart

Post by daimlersteve »

It would be great to see the dyno run.... can anyone pull some strings in that regard ? And cam specs of course, head flows and velocities with cross sectional port areas would be great too.
steve

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