1969 Winkleman WDF1

[esidebotham]

Hi all, I am the proud new owner of a 1969 Winklemann WDF1. I love the car, but have a million questions. Anyone out there help me out?

Here is a sample:

* Where do I get replacement rear rotors

* How much engine oil is required

* How much gear oil is required

* How do I shift into reverse

Thanks,
Eric

[esidebotham]

One more:

* Why is there an air inlet (shraeder) valve on the oil sump?

[Purple Frog]

My guess is the shrader valve was used to slightly pressurize the tank to force oil past the pump and into the bearings before a cold startup.

Just a guess.

[Jerry B.]

Eric:
U've got mail.

JB

Edit......
Frog....I also gave him a WAG re the valve. Maybe you hit it BUT any venting must be plugged and any substantial air pressure might not make the rear main and timing cover seals happy ?

[Rick Kirchner]

You should try to get in touch with Roy Jones thru the VARA office or the VARA forums. He owns perhaps the best example of a WDF1 ion the entire country.

[HayesCages]

I think reverse is to the left and back on Hewland boxes, if it works at all...

[esidebotham]

You should try to get in touch with Roy Jones thru the VARA office or the VARA forums. He owns perhaps the best example of a WDF1 ion the entire country.

Thanks, I will.

[Albatross]

" left and back" Lawrence, are you sure? Not mine, firm left and forward.

[John Barthelmass]

I owned a WDF2 back in 1972, which was my first FF. The Winkelmanns were solid cars, with the potential to be very quick in the right hands.

I had the opportunity to visit Roy Winkelmann Racing in Sausalito, CA during the summer of '72. Their shop was tucked away near the waterfront in typical 1960's fashion.

As I recall, Bruce MacInnes campaigned a WDF1 back in '71, and was blindingly fast in the car - particularly considering it was several years old by then and FF was very serious business even here in the US.

Congratulations on your WDF1...I'm sure you're going to have a wonderful time with it and generate some fantastic adventures of your own.

Oh and, by the way, reverse gear on a Hewland Mk 8 or Mk 9 is hard over to the left (there's a spring-loaded pin inside the case that keeps the selector lever from inadvertently going into reverse) and then forward.

[HayesCages]

" left and back" Lawrence, are you sure? Not mine, firm left and forward.

Hence the "I think". Been almost a year since I used R.

[wink31]

Love the WDF1 and have been campaigning one for 13 years. I met Bruce M. At Lime Rock last year and had a nice chat about his success in that model.

Long live the wink!

[provamo]

Joe Stimola had a big hand in Bruce's success, as did a rubber chicken

[esidebotham]

Eric:
U've got mail.

JB

Edit......
Frog....I also gave him a WAG re the valve. Maybe you hit it BUT any venting must be plugged and any substantial air pressure might not make the rear main and timing cover seals happy ?

The car is nearly refurbished, and will soon be ready for its first run in about 20 years. I am looking at the CSRG event on April 5 & 6 at Sonoma. It'll primarily be a shakedown run, just to see how the car holds up. So far, everything looks good--with one, slightly annoying problem that may be related to the air valve on the oil sump tank.

With the 20 year old oil in, I fired the engine to check basic systems. The original oil pressure gauge read properly, with about 30 psi at idle, up to about 60 psi when revving the engine. I added flush to the system, ran it a bit, and changed the oil. The only oil I could get was Valvoline racing at a straight 50 wt.

Since changing the oil, the system behaves weird. The oil pressure at idle is very high, around 80 psi. But when I rev the engine, it drops to 40 psi.

I did let the engine get up to temp, and tested it again, and it seemed to be its normal self again. For that reason, I have concluded that the issue relates to viscosity of the oil. However, I do recognize that there may be other issues.

So I have two questions. Is it possible that the air inlet valve on the oil sump tank is to prime the system. The oil sump tank is at the front on my car. Additionally/alternatively, is there some other issue that others have experienced that produces a similar result, such as viscosity? I am not experienced with the Titan external oil pump, and do not understand its symptoms when there are issues.

The two other candidates are as follows. The builder of the engine of the car used lots of orange/red silicone instead of gaskets. When I pulled of the inspection cover on the trans to drain fluid, a lot of orange/red silicone pieces came out. Is there a pickup screen somewhere in the engine that may be blocked with more orange/red silicone gasket material? Second, when replacing the oil filter (can with element), I could not find an exact replacement. I was able to find one that was close, but not exact. I did purchase a new oil filter mount and filter, but haven't installed it yet.

Thanks in advance.
-Eric

[Jerry Kehoe]

A few years ago I had a situation somewhat similar and found it was the oil filter. In my case the oil pressure was fine starting up and when warmed a bit it started going down. Replacing the Fram filter with a Wix solved the problem. You could have had a air lock and 50 wt oil being pretty viscous and an oil tank far away might explain the issue. The Red Line 50 wt is really 15-50 which might help or use anyone else's multi weight oil.

[Rick Kirchner]

Who built the engine? (what color is the block?)

You can ditch the 50wt for Mobil 1 bike oil, 10W40. Has the appropriate ZDDP and viscosity.

[EffOne]

If you want some professional help that's is not too far away (assuming you're in Nor Cal) is D'Motorsports, Frank d'Aquino(Salinas, I believe). His number is 831-394-5440. He built the Cortina motor in my previously owned Elden for the previous owner and that engine ran like a clock for six seasons (we'll have to call Melbourne to see how it's still running). He's also a Lotus/Cosworth BDA Twin Cam specialist and an all-around nice guy. (He synced the carbs on my old twin cam powered car in the hot pit lane in about 2 minutes prior to a race because he noticed that the engine sounded wrong - at that time all he knew about me is that I had bought the Elden he once took care of a couple years prior. I have more stories about both his professionalism and his generosity but I get a little long-winded as you can see (and for the record, he's not a pal or my 2nd cousin…).

Just sounds like you're putting a lot of weight on yourself for something new. Some pro help could help answer some questions and give you a lot of piece of mind.

And Jerry – why do you always send people PM's?! We ALL want to hear the wisdom of your advice! (In fact, it was you who gave both the Elden and the Lotus their first log books – and told me I couldn't race the Lotus anymore until I chopped off 4" from my legs!)