[One_Track_Mind]

Circuit Board Chassis

Got some of this material a couple of years ago from Larry Shepard in a trade deal. Been kicking it around and finally decided to build one. Nothing fancy, just a plain jane sorta of build compared to some of the ones I have seen of Larry's.









I'm really excited to see how this stuff solders up, hopefully I can find some more free time here soon to complete the job at hand.

[havlicek]

Looks like you're off to a great start, Brian. When I messed around a little with the material, it became obvious that getting in and out quick with the iron was important, but it does solder-up fine.

[Bill from NH]

Brian,

Let us know how it runs once it's complete and track tested. There was a time that most everyone tried circuit board chassis in the Intl 15 class. I know a guy here in the northeast who built a series of 1/24 Eurosports using that material. The ones I've seen run have been fast and light. Chris Briggs in NY has a 1/32 circuit board chassis building article on his website.

Here's the link: Chris Briggs website

[Guy Spaulding]

I ran across some of these in '83-'84 when I was in the SoCal USRA circuit. They were built by the owner of Mini-Motorsports raceway in Escondido, CA. Being so light, they were difficult to drive. But if you were successful in driving one of them, you stood a good chance of winning the race. Mini-Motorsports' track had wide, flat, sweeping corners and short straights, and the PCB chassis did well there. But the chassis became banned at other tracks because they would disintegrate when T-boned, and track owners got tired of vacuuming the fragmented remains from the track.

 PCB_chassis.JPG (22.83K)
Number of downloads: 2

I hope your chassis works out better, Brian. Sure looks like fun!

[Bill from NH]

Gus,

That's a great old chassis! I notice it uses an inboard gear, which was also popular for a time.

Thanks for showing it.

[munter]

I have only used it once in chassis building, it worked.

The dust from this stuff when you cut or sand and grind it, is not good for your health. I wore a mask when doing the above.

From memory, you can get it with copper on one or both sides.

I agree with Mr H. about a quick application of heat to make a joint.

Your chassis is looking great though. Be nice to see the finished result.

Regards,

[MG Brown]

PC board chassis were also popular for a while among 1/32 scratchbuilders...

[tonyp]

Never built a whole PC chassis but did make a bunch of steel centers with PC bat pans right at the end of my building in 1983-4.

[Larry LS]

I built these type chassis back in the '80s for Group 20 motors and they worked well. Never had one come apart if it was soldered well.

I have done quite a few for 1/32 cars, replacing the plastic chassis they come with. They work well and you can add weight where you need it.

I was building some for D3 when it first started at BPR and then they said no to it, because it was not brass. They also worked well and you could add weight where needed for tuning.

I came into a lot of this PC board few years ago when a company near here was making it and then they moved and threw out a lot of seconds as they were not perfect to sell. A friend that worked for the garbage company found it. He brought a bunch to me. As he knew I had built a few chassis with it, using board bought from an electronics store nearby. But it was expensive that way.

I got some all double side plated in .032", .062", and .093" thicknesses.

Solders great if you clean them and use good flux, good solder, and not to much heat for too long.

[Alchemist]

Looking good, Brian!

I'm excited to see how it solders up. Looking forward to more pics!

Thank you.

[Jay Guard]

I don't know if I was the first ever to use PC board material for a scratchbuilt chassis but here's a shot of one of the two I made in the late 1968 time frame. The other one was identical except it had no drop arm and was even more "modern" looking than the one shown here.

As I recall the one without a drop arm really didn't work too well on the tracks back in the day due to the bumps on the straights, that's probably why I kept the drop arm one. I suspect I disassembled the non-drop arm chassis and used the parts for another build.

Sorry about the poor quality solder work but hey, I was only 14 when I made it!

 Jay1a.jpg (88.33K)
Number of downloads: 1

I'm planning to put this one together and take it to one of our SERRA races to see how it compares to the IRRA retro cars.

[tonyp]

That's pretty cool...

[TSR]

Indeed... the issue with circuit board is quite simple: all other components remaining constant, it shifts the weight and CG higher compared to a brass/steel chassis, meaning more mechanical grip but reduced cornering speed due to a higher risk of tilting or "under-steering" (nose of the car off the slot and in the wall first).

So on no-glue tracks, one COULD find some advantage, but with even moderate spray glue, that advantage is generally gone compared to an identical design made of brass.

Makes for interesting conversation...

[Guy Spaulding]

Right on, Philippe!

The only track where the '80s PCB grp 15 chassis worked well was the one where ONLY sprayglue was allowed for all classes

[tonyp]

I used them on this big weird track in Vineland NJ we used to race grp 27's on. It was punched 90% of the lap with 3 blips. No one was building purpose built light cars but me. I won a number of those races. My illegal Big Jim GP27 armature did not hurt either. LOL.

[One_Track_Mind]

WOW! those are some really nice chassis, Guy & Jay. Thanks for posting, it gives me ideas for the next one.
I never had any problems soldering these pieces onto the board, but you fella's got me scared about too much heat around the guide holder. I may go back and drill and tap or nut and bolt the guide holder, but it's really stuck on there I tried prying the piece off. I pre-tinned all the areas to be soldered, and everything went really smooth.


All lined up ready for some solder.



Afterwards..













What I'm wondering NOW is..Should I place some rear stops onto like the side pods or pans?

[havlicek]

Wow Brian...VERY nice job! I would add the stops to the rear of the pans for sure and right next to the pintube mounts seems like the logical place as it would also serve to reinforce the mounts (not that they look like they would even need any reinforcement).

Jay...thanks for showing that early AW, that's one heck of a cool chassis and I know I couldn't have done better (or even as well) when I was 14! Dang, there's no reason it shouldn't still run great.

-john

[Bob Ackershoek]

I am really enjoying the posts of 1/32 & 1/24 chassis builds with PCB.

Has anyone built an HO chassis from PCB? Are there any pictures?


Bob Ackershoek

[One_Track_Mind]

Been doing a little more progress here and there...



did I ever mention that I don't like to paint?...this is just a start of something different.

[munter]

Love it Brian.
When marking and drilling through the PCB, for say the front axle uprights/pins, do you work from the copper side or the resin side?or does it make no difference?
regards