9 replies to this topic

[Cheater]

One of the brightest shooting stars in the racing universe was Frank Lockhart, who in 1926 at 23 years old became just the fourth rookie to win the 500. He'd journeyed to Indy without a ride and went on to win the race subsituting for another driver who became ill.

 

Lockhart was a self-taught engineer and with the help of the the brilliant brothers Zenas and John Weisel, developed the first intercooler to fit to his supercharged Perfect Circle Miller 91 cubic inch race car for Indy in 1927. After claiming the pole with a new track record of 120.1 MPH, Lockhart led the race for 81 laps before breaking a connecting rod, but his intercooler design (for which he was awarded a patent in 1931) made his Miller one of the fastest of its kind. He later recorded a speed of 164 MPH with the car on the Muroc Dry Lake... in 1927, mind you! Some suggest the intercooler allowed his 91 cubic inch Miller engine to develop 285 HP.

 

 

One of the most interesting projects to surface in recent years is the recreation of the seminal Lockhart intercooler by Lee Stohr of Stohr Design.

 

 

The process is being covered thoroughly by The Old Motor and I wanted to post a couple of pics and links to the reportage published so far (there's more to come). I find this endeavor completely fascinating and bet there's more than a few Slotblog members who will feel the same way. The project is a blend of historical research and modern technology, as 3D printing is being used to create the casting cores.

 

 

Recreating the 1927 Frank Lockhart Intercooler - Part 1

 

Recreating the 1927 Frank Lockhart Intercooler - Part 2

[Cheater]

Here's the final installment...

Recreating the 1927 Frank Lockhart Intercooler – Part III

[TSR]

That Miller was a fabulous car, built by people who were so much above average in their thinking, in their craftsmanship, and overall mechanical knowledge.

[Cheater]

One wonders just how much more Frank Lockhart could have accomplished had he lived longer.

[Half Fast]

Question:

 

I know why an intercooler would help an exhaust driven turbocharger. But how would it help a mechanically driven supercharger since the exhaust has nothing to do with the incoming air.

 

Puzzled Bill

[Jairus]

Air compressed produces heat, Bill. Matters not how it is compressed.

[Cheater]

Bill,

 

Any time you compress a gas or gaseous mixture, its temperature rises.

 

I forget what law of physics references this (it's been a very long time since college for me...), but that's why the temp of the incoming air exiting a turbocharger rises. Yes, there may be some heat bleed over from the exhaust side of a turbo, depending on the unit's design, but it is the pressure increase that accounts for the majority of the incoming air's increased temperature.

 

And that temperature increase occurs regardless of the type of compressor, mechanically-driven supercharger or exhaust-drivern turbocharger.

 

Thus an intercooler is useful to lower charge air temp in both cases.

[Half Fast]

Thanks.

 

 OK, I think I got it.

 

The intercooler here is cooling the air exiting from the supercharger. I thought this intercooler was cooling the exhaust.

 

Cheers,

[Phil Hackett]

That Miller was a fabulous car, built by people who were so much above average in their thinking, in their craftsmanship, and overall mechanical knowledge.

 

Seeing the product that Miller made with the "primitive" shop he had only adds to the above statement. Truly talented craftsmen at every level, along with Leo Goosen's genius….

[Phil Hackett]

Air compressed produces heat, Bill. Matters not how it is compressed.

 

True. Many industrial air compressors are sold with a "refrigerated air dryer". Its purpose isn't to cool the air for use but to remove water from the compressed air by reducing the air temp to the dew point.

 

Oh, and multi-stage air compressors always have some kind of "intercooler" between the compressor stages.