Announcing the new Nova F600 Blade

[Jnovak]

Getting real close

[Jnovak]

Another. This give you an idea of how Mike has put the project together. Simple and tidy.

[lancer360]

I'm drooling in anticipation! Can't wait until I picked mine up!

[Mike Devins]

I will post some pics on Monday of it in place on the chassis. A few things to work out as usual on first parts but it is looking good so far.

[Mike Devins]

Here is a picture with the parts trimmed and the nose in place. chassis in on plate and we are starting to trim to fit the parts to fit the roll hoop and floor.

[bimmer635csi]

You can paint mine to look something like a hybrid of these two...



And if you need a test fitter that is less than 6 foot tall and less than 190 pounds, let me know.


Seriously though, looks nice. Can't wait to see one up close.

[Jnovak]

You can paint mine to look something like a hybrid of these two...



And if you need a test fitter that is less than 6 foot tall and less than 190 pounds, let me know.


Seriously though, looks nice. Can't wait to see one up close.

We would be glad to paint one just like that for you. Just send a deposit on car #5.

[Jnovak]

Here is a picture with the parts trimmed and the nose in place. chassis in on plate and we are starting to trim to fit the parts to fit the roll hoop and floor.

Sweet Mike, a super nice job, but I never expected anything but the best from you.

Can't wait to get it back to the shop.

[Mike Devins]

Back to Jay next week - only part left to get out of the mold is the crush box which will also support the nose.

[Jnovak]

Very cool Mike. It is so great to see something that has been in your minds eye for over a year in reality. Thanks so much for your superb work.

[racerdad2]

That's one sweet looking ride ! So much for an early retirement. .. I gotta keep workin' to buy me one a these. This is like racer crack !

[dereklola]

Very cool Mike.

Speaking of cool - where are the cooling air intakes and exit?

[lancer360]

It is a secret. Jay isn't letting the cat out of the bag until the car makes a personal appearance at it's first event.

[Jnovak]

Take a look at the great chassis work by Dave Piontek of Piontek Engineering.

[Jnovak]

Here is another of Dave Piontek's work.

[Jnovak]

That's one sweet looking ride ! So much for an early retirement. .. I gotta keep workin' to buy me one a these. This is like racer crack !

We are ready for you Kirk. Send money we have 1 left in the first 5 car build.

[preform resources]

Jay you have truly outdone yourselves on this project, I know you and Dave Piontek have been coharts for many years and have done many projects together, some I even had a hand in, but you have put together a team for this one and Mike Devins'shop capabililties are the icing on the cake ! There are very few in the racing comunity that would really understand the work, time ,money, commitment combined with your engineering/design expertise to pull off this kind of project.
Dave

[Jnovak]

Thanks very much Dave. I really appreciate your comments, especially since they are coming from one of the most creative composite guys in the country.

We have done some great work together and had some really great times. I know you remember but others may not know that you modeled and built the mid-section and some other parts on our Runoffs winning Rakavon as well as most every project I have been involved in for close to 30 years. We have won lots of races with your stuff and there are plenty of other guys who have been winners because of your work. Thanks very much Dave.

[Jnovak]

A front view of the chassis.

[Jnovak]

Steering rack. We machine it to the proper dimension and install a new rack end for better toe adjustment.

[Jnovak]

Between here on ApexSpeed and the F500/600 website there have been over 20,000 hits since we announced the Blade 9 months ago.

Here is the link to the other site.
http://formula500.org/viewtopic.php?...er=asc&start=0

WOW. I hope that some of those who are interested will join the class, and it does not need to be in our car. Just come out and play, it will be the biggest bang for the buck in club racing.

[Jnovak]

We are assembling roller #3 right now. Should be picking up roller #1 from HRP on Monday.

Here is a pic of the paddle shifter.

[Jnovak]

Fuel cell. Cover made but not yet installed.

[Jnovak]

Pedals.

[Jnovak]

Master cyls.

[Messenger Racing]

Great pics - great progress. Keep posting Jay

[Tim Mourlam]

Great looking car! I have been following the progress these past few months and I have been impressed by the straight-forward and clean suspension layout on this car. I also like the unique approach to the air inlet location, similar to the Nova Piper FB. Keep up the good work!

[jim murphy]

Great looking car! I have been following the progress these past few months and I have been impressed by the straight-forward and clean suspension layout on this car. I also like the unique approach to the air inlet location, similar to the Nova Piper FB. Keep up the good work!

What air inlet location?

Jim

[Brian.Novak]

It's passively cooled, duh.

[jim murphy]

It's passively cooled, duh.

ROFLMAO!!

[preform resources]

Pretty cool,,, it's a clean slate,,, it's going to be interesting !!
Dave

[Mark Filip]

Jay I have a few questions. What happens to the chain when the one side of the axle goes up or down? Does it just get twisted because I don't see anything to keep the rear sprocket vertical matching the engine sprocket. If it gets twisted how long to the chains last? How much can the chain take? I can't imagine the chain can take the twisting.

Also what size driver would fit. Sorry if I missed the answer to this question. I only saw a picture of purple frog sitting in the car but I'm not sure of his size.

Thanks

[lancer360]

Chain drive has been used for many years in F500 to drive the rear axle. What Jay is doing from that standpoint is nothing different. I have done the calcs for a few cars and we generally have three different rear drive ratios so that means three different chains (low speed, medium speed, and high speed track). I would change the chain every 6 weekends which is a full season of the F600 Challenge. The medium and low speed chains don't get used nearly as much so 6 weekends could get you several years. The only tracks I have found need the low speed is Barber and Heartland so far. Jay built a Novakar first with the direct drive and I believe that car has a couple of seasons on it now without any rear chain failures. We use 520 chain which is also used on 1000cc engine engines at almost 50% more power so there is quite a bit of strength reserve.

[Mark Filip]

What happens to the chain when the one side of the axle goes up or down? Does it just get twisted because I don't see anything to keep the rear sprocket vertical matching the engine sprocket.

I'm more concerned about this.

[lancer360]

Yes, the chain does have to take the twist. The twist isn't an issue though. Like I said, F500's have been using chain to the rear axle with the same twist without any issues. I have 4 full seasons on my F600 and I have never had an issue with the rear axle chain failing and I have only changed it at best once a season.

[Daryl DeArman]

Doesn't the rear sprocket just wear faster than the chain anyway?

The degree of twist can't be too much at all, otherwise you'd get a bunch of drag in on the rear rotor/pads. You can only pull those pads away from the rotor so far before you run into other issues, right?

[Mark Filip]

Doesn't the rear sprocket just wear faster than the chain anyway?

The degree of twist can't be too much at all, otherwise you'd get a bunch of drag in on the rear rotor/pads. You can only pull those pads away from the rotor so far before you run into other issues, right?

The rotor and pads move with the axle

The chains are not designed to twist I'm surprised none have broken yet. I know there is not much suspension travel in that set up but I know when the chain snaps on a F1000 it makes a big mess.

[racerdad2]

I'm thinking a proper chain guard is part of the design ? Does this car handle-corner somewhat like a kart chassis ? Jacking the inside tire in a corner ? Or, does the solid rear axle just make the inside-outside tire scrub thru the twisties ? Or, is the typical turn radius such that tire scrubbing-drag is not an issue ? Two more. How much does the rear suspension move ? How much twist is imparted to the chain ? Thx for a very intriguing car !

[Earley Motorsports]

It seems like a valid point (the chain twist) but looking at it, the chain isn't far from center. With the limited amount of axle travel at the wheel end (maybe 2") the center wouldn't be moving much at all. I know from when I was racing bikes, if the chain sagged more than an inch from end to end when held sideways, then it was time to replace it.
Cheers, Graham.

[Mark Filip]

It seems like a valid point (the chain twist) but looking at it, the chain isn't far from center. With the limited amount of axle travel at the wheel end (maybe 2") the center wouldn't be moving much at all. I know from when I was racing bikes, if the chain sagged more than an inch from end to end when held sideways, then it was time to replace it.
Cheers, Graham.

Exactly this is how we would check the chains on shifter karts. I know if the sprockets were not perfectly aligned and the chain was not straight the chain was junk very quickly.