One of the standout F2 Midget racers has been Simon Longdill driving the Bill Buckley owned TCR Toyota cars no.28 and no.88 After two seasons in the F2 class and some good results including a 6th place in the 2005/6 New Zealand Midget Championships Longdill and his team sat down at the end of last season and made the decision to make the move into open class Midgets.

“The unanimous decision was that we had paid our dues and learnt a hell of a lot in the F2 class, and it was time to move up in engine power and race in the open grade, said the inventive Longdill. Obviously the costs and stakes go up with this move, so it was not a decision made lightly. But with anything, eventually you have to pull out the stops and see what you can make of things.”

So the team would have to find a suitable powerplant for the move into the ultra competitive New Zealand Midget class racing at Western Springs.

Longdill then had an idea that would really pull the stops out in more ways than one.

“We looked at all options, including suitable automotive based 144 cubic inch (2400cc) engines that could be modified for racing purposes, however the demands on the dirt oval are so different when compared to everyday automotive requirements. I knew the 4 cylinder 2400cc engines were not suitable, but what about the motorcycle based alternatives? Obviously there are no relevant 2400cc motorcycles, but if we were to combine the essential parts of two 1200cc engines in a vee layout, then we would be heading in the right direction. Besides which a 2400cc 32 valve V8 racing engine would sound pretty neat too.”

“The standout engine we picked was the Kawasaki ZX12R, the fastest, most powerful and fastest accelerating production motorcycle on the market. I had power and torque figures from a competitive 166 cubic inch (2.8L) engine as a benchmark, and was able to find tested figures for the ZX12R. After performing calculations to enable a proper comparison of the 2 x ZX12R engine and the 166ci benchmark, it showed our engine concept would have both a power and torque advantage over the current front runners.”

“I verified our engine layout with Speedway NZ to ensure it met the rules, and got the OK some time later.”

This idea is not a new one, Ron Hoettells of Sesco has built motorcycle based Kawasaki and Suzuki V8 speedway race engines out of Wisconsin in the 80’s and 90’s, as has Western Springs promoter Bill Buckley who raced a self-built wild and fearsome 1.5 litre V8 two stroke engine in the 80’s.

August was a busy month for the team. The solid modeling and design of the engine cases was completed, the manufacture of parts started in earnest. One of the key aspects was machining the upper and lower crankcases. These started as solid blocks of 6061-T6 aluminium. Everything is CNC machined on MAZAK machines, including the sump, engine plates and covers.

The wiring looms are underway and the team will be able to test run the ignition system on the bench, to verify its operation before even trying to start the engine.

The new dry sump oil pump arrived from Barnes in August, the design of the mounting bracket and its manufacture is finished.

The exhaust system was modelled in solid works too so that can be checked for fit in the chassis before fabrication starts.

The engine has been dummied up in the chassis, and all the bars required to mount the engine and give clearance have been modified. A few minor modifications and the chassis is complete, and the final assembly will begin.

The engine is undergoing its first dummy assembly during which all ancillary parts, ignition pickups, chain tensioners, pump drives etc will be finalised and fitted.

The Dirt will be following the progress of this promising and interesting project over the next few months and will bring you updates on the latest NZ Speedway V8 engine.

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