Dan, Mayf, list , Just a thought here ........ At every
engine displacement
check ( usually as the result of a protest ) I have been present at ,
both at
the drag strip and the stock car ovals here in the Northeast , where the
method
is the " pumping " one , often referred to as " P and G - ing " the
motor ,
the cylinder TEMPERATURE was measured immediately prior to the attachment
of the air pump , and the resultant temperature reading was factored in ,
with a
correction chart , to give a reading with a higher degree of accuracy .
Some of these motors were crackling hot , after a 100 lap feature race ,
plus some
yellow flag laps in between , on a hot summer afternoon or evening .
While
it is more accurate to use the mikes right in the engine , " where the
ACTION is ",
most competitors don' t wish to pull a head off , especially at midnight or
later
at some dusty outside pit area location , and will generally agree to the
pump
method as the final say on the engine' s legality . IF the
displacement can
be checked with a high degree of accuracy , UTILIZING the temp correction
factor , then it seems this would preclude such somewhat extreme measures
as cooling down the motor with DRY ICE . We used to cool engines
between rounds with ice from our coolers , and I have never seen one iced
down for measurement purposes , but this just proves my observation that no
matter what our racing experience , or how lengthy , we can ALL learn
MANY
things here on this list ! I can see where the dry ice would sure
hasten up the
normalization of the engine' s specs . Many years ago , the boys and I
put
an axle bearing on the axle , when no press was available , by sticking
the axle
in a snowbank ( really ) and the bearing in the kitchen oven ( BRIEFLY
), and
it did the job . Backyard engineering saved the day , or as my Dad
always
told me ----- Necessity is the Mother of Invention .
Bruce on sunny warmer Connecticut shoreline -----
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