351 TV

23/07/2023

Busy with the MIG welder today

09/07/2023

Been busy fabricating a fabrication table, all ready for fabricating some fabrications.



351 TV

17/06/2023

Hi everyone.
We have developed our own instant center calculator for 4 link set ups. See the pic below.

We can produce one of these charts for your set up for $25AUD (about $15USD depending on exchange rate). You provide the axle centerline heights, wheelbase measurements, and position of 4 link bar mounting holes. COG position would be beneficial for this also. PayPal accepted.

At this stage we can't provide guidance as to where your IC should be due to lack of experience, but can talk it through based on what we do know.
Contact us if you are interested.

(NOTE - pls ignore the green box in the screenshot. This is an estimate for our current build only).

Thanks
351 Engineering

24/05/2023

351 Engineering have begun selling fabrication tools. Check out the link below.

01/05/2023

Not car related but showing the 3D printing capabilities of 351 Engineering. 15 minutes CAD work, plus around 10 hours of printing, and now the shop vac has a nozzle attachment. Much cheaper than buying one, perfect fit.

04/04/2022

Back for another edition of our "No talk, just speed" series. Back in the Tru Blu XD Falcon for a ride around Calder Park.

The laptime I achieved for the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" video was 1:06.2 so the goal for this video was 1:05.6 - doing my commentary and driving around Bathurst costs me about 2 seconds per lap, so to scale it down to the 2.4km circuit I figure there was about 0.6-0.7s to be gained.

This track needed me to give it a bit of work. An interesting circuit from a set up perspective - if you set the gearing to suit the long straight you end up around the back in between gears; too high RPM to stay in 2nd, but if you shift into 3rd the RPM is too low. So had to compromise on straight line speed. Based on that, stiffened up springs and shocks all round but slightly higher in the rears for more turn in.

It worked, and it worked very well. Came home for 1:05.2, a full second quicker than previous. Still time to be gained as she wasn't happy in the slowest right/left at the back end of the circuit. Still good fun.

Thanks for watching.

RMi, Shi and Racelot on racedepartment.com re-created this track for Assetto Corsa and did a cracking job of it too. Credits to those at www.assettomods.com who developed the car.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrY27dmOHYM

Back for another edition of our "No talk, just speed" series. Back in the Tru Blu XD Falcon for a ride around Calder Park. The laptime I achieved for the "Ma...

12/03/2022

1981 Tru-Blu Ford XD Falcon - Calder Park

Welcome to episode 11 in the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. Calder Park, just north of Melbourne, the scene of Round 2 in the 1981 ATCC. A two race event that saw Johnson take pole and win the first race from Brock, before ending up 10th and a lap down in the second race.

DJ's pole time was 46.1s, but this was done on the much shorter version of the track, 1.6km length, before the addition of the drag strip. The current length is 2.4km, and has an additional 4 corners. Scaling up the time, target for this lap was 1:07s, and we managed 1:06.2, average speed of 130.5km/h. This is good enough for 8th place on the leaderboard, but I do think there is more time to be gained.....

It's starting to look like Bathurst av lap speed won't be beaten on Australian soil. Still top of the list with 150.2 km/h.

RMi, Shi and Racelot on racedepartment.com re-created this track for Assetto Corsa and did a cracking job of it too. Credits to those at www.assettomods.com who developed the car.

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come. Where do you want me to go next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/kVbjHA5y8A0

Welcome to episode 11 in the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. Calder Park, just north of Melbourne, the scene of Round 2 in the 1981 ATCC. A two...

09/03/2022

Back for another edition of our "No talk, just speed" series. This episode is for the BMW M4 GT3 car at Bathurst, a follow up to a recent upload.

Initially I thought, with talking, this car had 2:10 lap in it so the target here was 2:08.0. In the other video I managed a 2:08.8s so it wasn't a terribly lofty goal.

I gave it everything I had, and pulled out 2:08.1s, 0.7s quicker than previous, but 0.1s shy of the goal. This was in race setup so there still might be some more speed in it.

Thanks for watching.

Track and car are part of the Assetto Corsa Competitzione game.

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https://youtu.be/DQ3xPIWeZsk

Back for another edition of our "No talk, just speed" series. This episode is for the BMW M4 GT3 car at Bathurst, a follow up to a recent upload.Initially I ...

06/03/2022

Motorbikes at the
Speed and power.
Anyone else here???

28/02/2022

Signed up to iRacing about a week ago, and just had my first dirt oval race.
I have never been a fan of dirt oval racing, not even the sprint cars, and not even much of a rallying/rallycross fan either.

BUT I liked this. A lot.

Started 8th, dropped down as far as 9th, raced back to 5th spot. Some good luck, some bad driving on my part, and a bit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. We're all rookies in this event so kind of expected. Was good fun.

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https://youtu.be/1J-woCGf6Hk

Signed up to iRacing about a week ago, and just had my first dirt oval race.I have never been a fan of dirt oval racing, not even the sprint cars, and not ev...

24/02/2022

Comparative Speed Testing - Bathurst, Episode 9

BMW M3 GT3

So this one wasn't on my plans....!

All my other video content has so far been made using Assetto Corsa; this one is Assetto Corsa Competitzione, which is devoted wholly and solely to GT3/GT4 endurance style racing. I haven't played this game very much, but the other night I ventured into a random night race at Bathurst. This is something I felt HAD to be shared. I've also done something a bit unique with this one and recorded this as part of a race, rather than a standalone hot lap.

The car is the 2022-spec BMW M3 GT3. More details are provided in the vid. This car has yet to race at Bathurst, and not yet confirmed for 2022. Target was set at 2:10s for this video, and managed to beat it with 2:08.8s @ 173.7km/h making it the fastest lap of the track that I have ever done.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama. Which car would you want to see do a lap of Bathurst next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/9hvaalrHVis

So this one wasn't on my plans....!All my other video content has so far been made using Assetto Corsa; this one is Assetto Corsa Competitzione, which is dev...

20/02/2022

Ok so premiere of "No Talk, Just Speed" was a bit of a flop.....nobody logged in for the showing on Youtube!!!! Oh well, won't try that again.

Never mind, here is the video for you all now.

As I wrote before, I was challenged about my comments when I would say that "talking takes about 2 seconds off my lap times", so these videos will just show the car in its natural habitat. First one is back to Oran Park - DJ set the fastest lap of 1:17.4 in 1981. In the other vid I managed 1:18.9.

Out of the box on this track, the car had a bit of turn in understeer. Raised the rear ride height and stiffened up the anti roll bars a bit and that fixed it. Initially set with the tallest diff ratio available - we didn't hit top speed on the main straight, and it was a bit "in between" 2nd and 3rd out the back. Changed that too. Then it came alive.

1:16.6. 2.3s better than my previous attempt, and 0.6s better than my target time. Full throttle over the dog leg in 3rd gear. Job done.

Have a listen to 400 rampant Cleveland horsepowers without my drivel for once!!

In the upcoming weeks as well as my usual content I'll sort through my old stuff for similar footage.

Thanks for watching.

Mike Cantwell on racedepartment.com re-created this track for Assetto Corsa and did a cracking job of it too. Credits to Aussie Big Banger and ATCC 1960 To 1985 Assetto Corsa who developed the car.

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https://youtu.be/Acr0nvjGbXg

DICK JOHNSON 351 TV

So I did the recording for the Man in a Reasonably Old Touring car and made the statement that talking takes about 2s off my lap time. Someone questioned the...

17/02/2022

Anyone going to the Perth Westernationals in two weeks time??? We’ll be there. Not competing just spectators.

15/02/2022

Coming soon.....

https://youtu.be/AVl7dPgzycw

Man and machine, and nothing more. The laps you didn't get to see in the other vids - full concentration mode, fully tweaked setup, best of the best that I can do. Stay tuned.

Coming soon....Facebook Twitter .auLinkedin linkedin.com/company/351engineeringEmail au.351en...

15/02/2022

Episode 10, "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" - Oran Park.

This place actually featured twice in the 1981 year; a 31 lap (84km) race in the ATCC, and 250km race in the Australian Endurance Championship. Dick Johnson won them both.

In the sprint round, DJ qualified second to Brock, but got the jump off the start and lead every lap. He set a fastest time of 1:17.4 during the race, while I only managed 1:18.87, average lap speed of 119.5km/h. This places Oran Park 10th on our leaderboard, but watch this space for the time being....

Mike Cantwell on racedepartment.com re-created this track for Assetto Corsa and did a cracking job of it too. Great job by Aussie Big Banger and ATCC 1960 To 1985 Assetto Corsa who developed the car.

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come. Where do you want me to go next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/glxIWwgEpq0

DICK JOHNSON

Welcome to episode 10 in the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. Oran Park. This place actually featured twice in the 1981 year; a single 84km race...

08/02/2022

Easily one of the most memorable of Bathurst finishes, the 1977 formation finish for the Ford Dealer Team. The race was won by Allan Moffat for a record-equalling fourth time, driving with Jacky Ickx. They finished in side-by-side formation with the Colin Bond and Alan Hamilton in the most dominant team performance seen at the race. Third place over a lap behind, and was the new A9X Hatchback Holden Torana driven by Peter Janson and Larry Perkins.

This race was also the last time #17 would be seen not associated with Dick Johnson. He drove #13 with Vern Schuppan and DNF'ed after 124 laps. 1978 onwards, #17 was his.

During the race, Moffat set a fastest lap (and new lap record) of 2:26.4. For this video I set myself a target of 2:33, and missed it by 1.9s. Average laptime still a respectable 144.4 km/h but it was a handful across the top of the mountain. Talking usually costs me around 2s per lap but it's more entertaining this way!!

Thanks to our mates at Aussie Big Banger and ATCC 1960 To 1985 Assetto Corsa who developed the car for Assetto Corsa. Top notch work. Credits to Terra21 on racedepartment.com for the track mod.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama. Which car would you want to see do a lap of Bathurst next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/TN2VS-RBs74

Easily one of the most memorable of Bathurst finishes, the 1977 formation finish for the Ford Dealer Team. The race was won by Allan Moffat for a record-equa...

19/01/2022

Project Tamsyn - Road to 250mph

Ok, so first facebook post regarding the project car at 351 Engineering - Tamsyn is an EL Falcon purchased from online auction for $100. The intent was to make a genuine road registered vehicle that can achieve 250mph trap speed on the quarter mile.

Enter the WA government....

Nowhere in the legislation does it state the above would be considered illegal. This would be considered an "individually constructed vehicle (ICV)" and basically it is so heavily modified it is no longer considered a Ford Falcon.

However the powers that be implemented a national minimum standard and left it up to the individual states to enforce. WA implement a max power-to-weight ratio and insist it must still meet emission standards (proof of testing needing); a difficult challenge but I had some ideas. What I hadn't counted on was they've also snuck in this requirement now that any ICV cannot have any resemblance to a production vehicle unless it comes from a recognised and approved kit.

So that game is over. Credits to Jack Packard Automotive Pty Ltd for trying to talk them through but no such luck.

Question now is - what to do instead? What can I and my 2 little mechanics do now?

Well we're going to go ahead with the drag car. No more trying to keep it street legal. Top Sportsman category car, and still hoping to hit 250mph and I'd be happy with anything under 6s ET. It might be a set back from the original goal but it will mean less restrictions/compromises and hopefully finish sooner. Just need some money now.

Why? 'Cos race car.

More to come, slowly slowly.

351 TV

14/01/2022

I woke up face down in a park the other morning after a big night out, and happened upon this mystical grassy knoll. This plinth seemed to have knowledge of the average lap speeds achieved in the Tru Blu XD Falcon at the various tracks we've visited so far.

I think I may come and visit this place again....

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come. Where do you want me to go next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/wk9KzMaDHHE

I woke up face down in a park the other morning after a big night out, and happened upon this mystical grassy knoll. This plinth seemed to have knowledge of ...

07/01/2022

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. Symmons Plains, Tasmania. Many a year they have raced at this venue, including 1981 so we can see a direct comparison for a change.

Starting the season in 1981, DJ set a quali time of 60.6s before winning the race. Today's effort managed to get 62.2s, 1.6s slower. For a small track, I was surprised to see average lap speed of 139.5km/h. That's good enough for 5th on our leaderboard but is faster than Sandown and Eastern Creek.

Not sure who created the track mod for Assetto Corsa - please contact me for crediting. Credits to those at www.assettomods.com who developed the car for Assetto Corsa.

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come. Where do you want me to go next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

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https://youtu.be/qU3VHk-jLlM

DICK JOHNSON

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. Symmons Plains, Tasmania. Many a year they have raced at this venue, incl...

05/01/2022

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351 TV

23/12/2021

This week at 351 Engineering, the beginning of a welding machine trolley. Wanted a custom one to hold both MIG and TIG machines in one.

Tried using FCAW for the first time - not a fan. I think I got there in the end but a lot of fiddling with setting and technique.

Next stop is some primer for this part and start planning for the rest of the trolley. Has to hold 2x gas bottles plus I think some shelves would be ideal. More to come.

15/12/2021

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. This one comes to you from Phillip Island. This is another track I used to frequent as a kid, but strangely enough the XD never raced here. There were no ATCC races from 1979 to 1990, so not sure what laptime DJ would have achieved.

Target time for this lap is a 1:51.0. Managed to get 0.44s under this time, with average lap speed for this place of 144.7km/h, putting it behind Bathurst and Spa only. It's understatedly quick.

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come. Where do you want me to go next? Please leave comment with your suggestion.

Not sure who created the track mod for Assetto Corsa - please contact me for crediting. Credits to those at AssettoMods who developed the car for Assetto Corsa.

Send me your comments or feedback.

https://youtu.be/Hkvk77tt2oE

Dick Johnson

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. This one comes to you from Phillip Island. This is another track I used t...

06/12/2021

We’ve got Sonia (our turbo FG) in at Monsta Torque today. Couldn’t be in better hands.

30/11/2021

Bathurst week is upon us!!!!! Hope you're prepared for the big 5 days of coverage this year. I've taken the week off work for the occasion.

For this episode of Comparative Speed Testing I was going to sit down and do something Supercars related - was thinking of FGX "lap of the gods" tribute (no chance of matching it anyway) but I got majorly sidetracked. I downloaded the Le Man spec 2016 Ford GT, and it's good. Really good. To try and quantify its goodness would be doing it a great disservice. The detail in the model is unbelievable, it's fast, it's stable. But it is insanely difficult even attempt driving and commentary at the same time.

So here it is. A silent lap, just listen to the gorgeous turbocharged V6 cranking away. Churned out a 2:13.67 and I know there is a lot more speed in it - screwed up Murray's, Hell and Griffin's and plonked the RHS wheels onto the grass more often than necessary. Average lap speed though was a very respectable 167.3 km/h despite my rubbish input.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama.

Not sure who developed the car mod for Assetto Corsa so please msg me for credit. Credits to Terra21 on racedepartment.com for the track mod.

Send me your comments or feedback.



Ford Ford Performance

https://youtu.be/ILEKFZrKyng

Bathurst week is upon us!!!!! Hope you're prepared for the big 5 days of coverage this year. I've taken the week off work for the occasion. For this episode ...

27/11/2021

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. This one comes to you from Eastern Creek - I'll be deep in the cold ground before I recognise it at "Sydney Motorsport Park"; it'll always be the Creek to me. We've just had 4 weekends in a row of racing at this place so got me wondering how the XD would go, having never raced there.More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come.

Credits to those at assettomods who developed the car for Assetto Corsa. Eastern Creek mod produced by R1CHO and Rainmaker, and is available on Race Department.

Send me your comments or feedback.

https://youtu.be/ldZ2OsD5PNY

Welcome to the latest addition to the "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" series. This one comes to you from Eastern Creek - I'll be deep in the cold groun...

11/11/2021

Since I had a pretty good response with my last Sierra vid I thought I'd record part 2 - Silverstone. This is where DJR proved the had the world's fastest Sierras.

This is my attempt to match this effort. I have also finally managed to get VR and mike working so you can finally hear me doing some commentary as I go. Hope you all enjoy.

Credits to those at assettomods who developed the car for Assetto Corsa. Credits to Kunos for the track mod.

Send me your comments or feedback.

https://youtu.be/ZYZJzNQs26M

Dick Johnson

The Sierra strikes back.Dick knew that he built the world's fastest Sierras, but he hadn't had the chance to prove it. Having been embarrassed at Bathurst in...

29/10/2021

News in the past few weeks of the Adelaide street circuit facilities being torn down was not the most pleasant for me. I have a fondness for the Clipsal 500 with the Ford teams having some decent runs since 2003, so this video is a tribute to that.

I finally managed to get VR capture working, but this idiot forgot to turn on the microphone so still no on-board commentary. Yes the hands don't line up with the steering wheel or the shifter, and the mirror is the wrong shape but I love it all the same. Check out how close we get to some of the corners, and hang on for the sweeper.

Target time for this lap was a scaled down version of McLaughlin's times compared to what times I've achieved at other tracks. Target was 1:36.4, and I beat it by 0.4s. Average speed 120.7km/h, making it the slowest track so far - I guess the old XD doesn't like corners very much......no surprises!!!!!!!!!!!

More "Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car" to come.

Credits to those at assettomods who developed the car for Assetto Corsa. Adelaide mod produced by tewie and Rainmaker, and is available on Race Department.

Send me your comments or feedback.



https://youtu.be/EeFEZlHbflk

The news in the past few weeks of the Adelaide street circuit facilities being torn down was not the most pleasant for me. I have a fondness for the Clipsal ...

14/10/2021

Hey everyone.
Firstly I am sorry this took me so long to produce. I paid and downloaded this about 8 weeks ago. Life got in the way a bit.

I also took delivery of a new simulator cockpit and VR headset. I was wanting to show you the "driver view" and try and do a bit of commentary as well but general incompetence got the better of me!!!!! All you can see is the interior roof and upper portion of the windscreen so I have a setting wrong somewhere.

I bit the bullet and did my usual "TV camera" style instead.

God knows how but I beat DJ's quali time from 1989. I even beat Brockie who was pumping his fire extinguisher gas over the intercooler for more boost. Who knows - this this thing is damn fast. Spin the tyres at 8000rpm in a straight line kind of speed. BUT.....it was planted, a lot better roll control. Very quick across the mountain in 4th gear up to Skyline. A nice drive to say the least.

To give the appropriate credit, this car is a paid mod on Patreon - www.assettomods.com is where you can get it. Some good free and paid content.

Hope you enjoy.

351 TV Dick Johnson

https://youtu.be/NmxYTx64-2o

1989 Bathurst. Johnson's second win and JB's first. In 1989, Johnson and Bowe won everything except Winton and Oran Park. Between them, they had an 81% podiu...

05/10/2021

!!!

Thanks to you all. I might apologise for the lack of posts for the last 4 weeks. I work roster and when I’ve been home other stuff has had to take priority. Will try to punch out some content next week. Cheers all

14/09/2021

Thanks ladies and gents.

Only 301 to go…..!!!!!!! Cheers all

Back home now and should be recording and posting new content soon. I have some new stuff to show off….

06/09/2021

Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car Ep. 5 - Sandown

Requests have been coming in for Australian tracks and here is the first - Sandown. This one is special to me, as I have attended every Sandown 500 since birth up to 2012. I was there for Johnson's wins in 94 and 95, and the mighty Ford smash-fest in 2004 with Ambrose taking the win from Ingall and Steve Johnson in 3rd. Great day that one.

Send me your comments or feedback. Please subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Dick Johnson

https://youtu.be/1UbGxqvGQlI

Requests have been coming in for Australian tracks and here is the first - Sandown. This one is special to me, as I have attended every Sandown 500 since bir...

02/09/2021

Comparative Speed Testing - Greenstuf XE Falcon

We all know the story. 1983 Bathurst, Hardies Heroes was run on Saturday morning and ended up featuring one of the biggest crashes in Bathurst history. The accident set off an amazing chain of events that led to Johnson and co-driver Kevin Bartlett lining up on the grid the next day in a replacement car.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama. Please subscribe and like the vid. Provide any comments or feedback you may have.

Cheers!

Dick Johnson

https://youtu.be/vobP5oGEWzY

We all know the story. 1983 Bathurst, Hardies Heroes was run on Saturday morning and ended up featuring one of the biggest crashes in Bathurst history. Dick ...

23/08/2021

Comparative Speed Testing - 1976 Tyrrell P34 F1 Car

Certainly a very different design of car, but felt surprisingly familiar. Steering felt as though it was power-assisted plus the wings added grip to those already massive rear tyres. Being an F1 car, easily the fastest vehicle so far.

Stay tuned for more Comparative Speed Testing around Mt Panorama. Please subscribe and like the vid. Provide any comments or feedback you may have. Thanks.

#1976

https://youtu.be/b3I9rDQXj0I

Now for something completely different. The Tyrrell P34 F1 car. Commonly known as the "six-wheeler", the car used four specially manufactured 10-inch diamete...

23/08/2021

Man in a Reasonably Old Touring Car - Lakeside, QLD

It took me far too long to do this one: Lakeside International Raceway. The 1981 decider was notable for a famous race-long duel between local driver Dick Johnson's ailing Ford XD Falcon and Peter Brock's Holden VC Commodore. Johnson prevailed and won the first of his five championships in what is considered one of the greatest races in championship history.

This is also our first video with some animation and editing so hope you all like it.

Please subscribe and like the vid. Provide any comments or feedback you may have. Thanks.

Dick Johnson

https://youtu.be/yWgE9w3B9G4

The end of the beginning: Lakeside International Raceway. The 1981 decider was notable for a famous race-long duel between local driver Dick Johnson's ailing...