DawnTreader Performance
@dawntreadereng.bsky.social
Restoration of F1, Indy and LeMans cars. Also work on MotoGP and WSBK's. Based on Sywell Aerodrome, Northampton.
Pinned
Penske PC26 Indycar on board at Sywell Aerodrome.
YouTube video by DawnTreaderPerfom
youtu.be
Driving the last race winning Penske chassis at Sywell last year. A James Ward Film youtu.be/DInCeAF1Da0?...
Realise I have been a bit quiet of late - grappling with what should have been a straight forward job that I've made more difficult. Also doing a rewarding bike design job while listening to the excellent LYNCHIAN by @johnhiggs.bsky.social As one would expect, insightful, informative and brilliant.
November 13, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Realise I have been a bit quiet of late - grappling with what should have been a straight forward job that I've made more difficult. Also doing a rewarding bike design job while listening to the excellent LYNCHIAN by @johnhiggs.bsky.social As one would expect, insightful, informative and brilliant.
20 odd years after we worked on Kenny Roberts XM2, Harry and I still have matching team kit. For the record, I don't think I did a terribly good job team KR. The bike was exquisite, but there were things about the V5 that still haunt me.
October 28, 2025 at 5:38 PM
20 odd years after we worked on Kenny Roberts XM2, Harry and I still have matching team kit. For the record, I don't think I did a terribly good job team KR. The bike was exquisite, but there were things about the V5 that still haunt me.
Reposted by DawnTreader Performance
Been working hard on the new series of this and it’s looking extremely… strange already. All these insane connections. Faint paths. Had no idea it would start looking like this. If we had a cork board of old clippings, there’d be red string everywhere. Exciting…
October 28, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Been working hard on the new series of this and it’s looking extremely… strange already. All these insane connections. Faint paths. Had no idea it would start looking like this. If we had a cork board of old clippings, there’d be red string everywhere. Exciting…
Last of the PC19 fire up vid's. The 265A is such a crisp sounding motor, more so than it's later derivatives.
October 24, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Last of the PC19 fire up vid's. The 265A is such a crisp sounding motor, more so than it's later derivatives.
Fired up the PC19 on Saturday around 6pm GMT. If you know, you know. (But don't worry if you don't).
October 22, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Fired up the PC19 on Saturday around 6pm GMT. If you know, you know. (But don't worry if you don't).
This is utterly insane. Fine, let the AI industry in the UK die. That would be a positive. AI is an invention that is unlikely to end well.
www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
www.theverge.com
October 8, 2025 at 7:00 PM
This is utterly insane. Fine, let the AI industry in the UK die. That would be a positive. AI is an invention that is unlikely to end well.
www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
www.theverge.com/news/674366/...
Had a wonderful day filming for the upcoming REC 106B watch with Peter Stevens. Peter not only designed the iconic Canon livery for the Porsche but was instrumental in the aero program for Richard Lloyd Racing.
September 30, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Had a wonderful day filming for the upcoming REC 106B watch with Peter Stevens. Peter not only designed the iconic Canon livery for the Porsche but was instrumental in the aero program for Richard Lloyd Racing.
Had a happy week going through this superb ex-Toesland CBR600 FX WSS bike. Running it fir the customer at the Sywell Classic tomorrow.
September 19, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Had a happy week going through this superb ex-Toesland CBR600 FX WSS bike. Running it fir the customer at the Sywell Classic tomorrow.
I rebuilt a set of carbs today for the first time since (checks notes...) 2012.
September 15, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I rebuilt a set of carbs today for the first time since (checks notes...) 2012.
So... a degree of success after an awful lot of messing about. Crank trigger looks good on the scope, triggers spaced as expected but RPM in the HUD looked unstable then disappeared for no apparent reason towards the end of the day. I did manage to log some data. Some head scratching to do #PC27
September 2, 2025 at 4:08 PM
So... a degree of success after an awful lot of messing about. Crank trigger looks good on the scope, triggers spaced as expected but RPM in the HUD looked unstable then disappeared for no apparent reason towards the end of the day. I did manage to log some data. Some head scratching to do #PC27
Some time ago we noticed the front damper cover was no longer sitting flush with the chassis post paint. Darren at MCT produced a very neat internal rib that's pulled it back into shape.
September 1, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Some time ago we noticed the front damper cover was no longer sitting flush with the chassis post paint. Darren at MCT produced a very neat internal rib that's pulled it back into shape.
Step 1 of flywheel rig - cam trigger will be step 2. Used Lego as had some at home and 3D printed a mock flywheel with steel tooth inserts.
August 29, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Step 1 of flywheel rig - cam trigger will be step 2. Used Lego as had some at home and 3D printed a mock flywheel with steel tooth inserts.
Ongoing flywheel investigation. The engine calibration defines the angle between the first tooth and TDC Cyl 1 as 65deg. Current guess is the trigger sees the trailing edge of the tooth and acounts for a degree and a half of lag... have drawn a new flywheel but looking into mod options.
August 27, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Ongoing flywheel investigation. The engine calibration defines the angle between the first tooth and TDC Cyl 1 as 65deg. Current guess is the trigger sees the trailing edge of the tooth and acounts for a degree and a half of lag... have drawn a new flywheel but looking into mod options.
Mockup headrest for the #PC27 the actual item will be made in Kevlar. Fits will, some very minor adjustments on trim lines required but overall a very good start.
August 27, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Mockup headrest for the #PC27 the actual item will be made in Kevlar. Fits will, some very minor adjustments on trim lines required but overall a very good start.
Reposted by DawnTreader Performance
August 15, 1976 marks the last victory for an American constructor in #F1.
Driver John Watson won at the Austrian Grand Prix for Penske Racing, just one year after the team's star drive Mark Donohue was killed at the same race.
Driver John Watson won at the Austrian Grand Prix for Penske Racing, just one year after the team's star drive Mark Donohue was killed at the same race.
August 15, 2025 at 4:08 PM
August 15, 1976 marks the last victory for an American constructor in #F1.
Driver John Watson won at the Austrian Grand Prix for Penske Racing, just one year after the team's star drive Mark Donohue was killed at the same race.
Driver John Watson won at the Austrian Grand Prix for Penske Racing, just one year after the team's star drive Mark Donohue was killed at the same race.
Reposted by DawnTreader Performance
This very rare Nova, spotted & snapped in Earlsfield, London, last night, is a tiny kit car based on a VW Beetle chassis & mechanicals. Designed by Richard Oakes & Phil Sayers in ’71, it features a glassfibre body & a one-piece opening canopy that combines roof & doors.
August 13, 2025 at 7:23 AM
This very rare Nova, spotted & snapped in Earlsfield, London, last night, is a tiny kit car based on a VW Beetle chassis & mechanicals. Designed by Richard Oakes & Phil Sayers in ’71, it features a glassfibre body & a one-piece opening canopy that combines roof & doors.
The offending 10 tooth flywheel. Still formulating plan B but making progress. Note the curvic coupling that mates to the crank via an intermediate crank gear (i.e. crank / gear / flywheel all with curivc's). The expense of reproducing that detail is a bit scary... #PC27
August 13, 2025 at 4:07 PM
The offending 10 tooth flywheel. Still formulating plan B but making progress. Note the curvic coupling that mates to the crank via an intermediate crank gear (i.e. crank / gear / flywheel all with curivc's). The expense of reproducing that detail is a bit scary... #PC27
Good progress today but no fire up. The good - engine makes good oil pressure, water system ok, 9th butterfly works. Crank and cam triggers are ok. Work to be done - we have a flywheel with 10 crank trigger teeth and need one with 4. On ballance, learned a lot, reassuring but a way to go.
August 12, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Good progress today but no fire up. The good - engine makes good oil pressure, water system ok, 9th butterfly works. Crank and cam triggers are ok. Work to be done - we have a flywheel with 10 crank trigger teeth and need one with 4. On ballance, learned a lot, reassuring but a way to go.
Reposted by DawnTreader Performance
#OnThisDay in ’86 was run in Hungary the first #F1 GP behind the Iron Curtain. It staged an epic race between Ayrton Senna (Lotus) & Nelson Piquet (Williams), featuring the best overtake of the ’80s. Click to read a #MotorSport column I wrote about it.
www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sin...
www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sin...
Matt Bishop: Sparks fly when genius meets brilliance at the Hungarian GP
Hungary has hosted thrilling duels between Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer; between Ayrton Senna and Nelson Piquet. Will 2025 bring another battle between Formula 1's brightest talents? asks Matt B...
www.motorsportmagazine.com
August 10, 2025 at 7:38 AM
#OnThisDay in ’86 was run in Hungary the first #F1 GP behind the Iron Curtain. It staged an epic race between Ayrton Senna (Lotus) & Nelson Piquet (Williams), featuring the best overtake of the ’80s. Click to read a #MotorSport column I wrote about it.
www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sin...
www.motorsportmagazine.com/articles/sin...
I think we've realistically done everything we can prior to a #PC27 fire up attempt mid next week. Will wait until Monday to add methanol, then start cranking for triggers, fuel and oil pressure etc. Nice to see it on umbilicals ready to go... hopefully!
August 8, 2025 at 12:22 PM
I think we've realistically done everything we can prior to a #PC27 fire up attempt mid next week. Will wait until Monday to add methanol, then start cranking for triggers, fuel and oil pressure etc. Nice to see it on umbilicals ready to go... hopefully!