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'Huerfano' - an old Retro chassis gets rebuilt


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#1 Pablo

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Posted 16 March 2023 - 10:58 PM

Like an abandoned baby dropped off on my doorstep, this chassis was in rough condition. But I liked the torsion plate so I took a better look.

 

IMG_2184.JPG

 

The soft brass plate was worth salvaging and I think it's got potential. After solder removal and rough sanding, it's close to flat. I'll build it up just for fun.

 

IMG_2187.JPG


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#2 Alchemist

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Posted 16 March 2023 - 11:04 PM

Hi Pablo!

 

Hope all is well.

 

I'm looking forward to this buildup.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Ernie


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#3 Bill from NH

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 07:35 AM

I'm guessing this chassis was built using R-Geo brass pieces.


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#4 Pablo

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 10:26 AM

Thanks, Bill. If I had to guess, I'd say it's maybe from the beginnings of IRRA® ?


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#5 Bill from NH

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 10:40 AM

I have a R-Geo retro piece that might be older. It has no coined tongue but came with a separate tongue to be soldered on. It was Joe Poulin's when he was alive.


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#6 Don Weaver

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 02:46 PM

WELCOME BACK, PABLO !! :clapping:


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#7 dc-65x

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 05:14 PM

:wave:  Hi Pablo.   :wave:

 

Looking forward to your project.


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#8 Pablo

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 09:13 PM

Thanks guys. Don, I never left, just "changed gears" a little  :)

 

I realized the GL is a whopping .975" !! IRRA® Can Am and GTC cars are usually about 4" WB and .9" GL. 

So I hit the pause button and will be looking at that before proceeding .....


Paul Wolcott


#9 slotcarone

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 09:29 PM

That GL is fine. Many IRRA cars use 1 inch GL. That pan is similar to the JK kit that came out real early. I built a few dozen of them for customers with solid pans like that. They worked great at the time. :)


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#10 Pablo

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Posted 17 March 2023 - 10:34 PM

Thanks for coming to my "emotional rescue", Mike K.   :)  I put a flag on it and it looks like a good enough fit for a GTC body  :good: 

 

Found a new FSF 1.4" wide motor bracket with inner brace here from Tom Thumb Raceway, looks like it will work. 


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#11 Pablo

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Posted 18 March 2023 - 12:56 PM

The plate is only .032 thick so I doubled the tongue with a brass .063 Chicagoland gizmo. A hard wallshot will probably just bend it somewhere else, but at least I'm trying  :pardon:

Mini-torched on with 60/40, properly aligned and tilted

 

IMG_2193.JPG

 

IMG_2196.JPG


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#12 old & gray

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Posted 18 March 2023 - 01:24 PM

Curse you Paul, just when I was starting to look away you bring back a worthwhile interesting thread.  :)


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#13 Pablo

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Posted 19 March 2023 - 08:42 PM

:crazy:  

Huerfano is coming back to life slowly but surely. The FSF super wide bracket isn't a good choice for this plate - a JK 1" wide hypoid is perfect. The rail slots on the front end are set up for a .078 and a .063 rail each side, so that "drives the show"

 

IMG_2208.JPG

 

Bracket braced with .039 wires, top end notched for motor shaft entry (the newer motors swing huge pinions), axle tubes trimmed inside with reverse counterbore gizmo. Doesn't add any speed, just looks more sano  :)  


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Paul Wolcott


#14 Pablo

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Posted 20 March 2023 - 11:28 PM

Split .055 bite bar: to compensate for the .078/.063 rail disparity I sliced pieces of 3/32 tube in half and soldered them to the .063 rails

 

IMG_2211.JPG

 

I'm guessing this is what the plate was designed for

 

IMG_2212.JPG  


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Paul Wolcott


#15 NSwanberg

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Posted 21 March 2023 - 12:48 AM

Splitting the tubing! I like that.


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#16 Pablo

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Posted 22 March 2023 - 09:56 AM

Overnight tumble got it down to fresh brass almost 100% - good enough for me.

Tops of front axle supports were sliced off a la Tony P. and pre-tinned with acid so a BB wheel/axle assembly will drop in and be soldered with paste

 

IMG_2220.JPG

 

IMG_2223.JPG

 

IMG_2229.JPG

 

 


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#17 dc-65x

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Posted 23 March 2023 - 11:35 AM

Nice work Pablo. It sure looks shiny to me. Did you bring a supply of that Mississippi water

that's worked so well for tumbling with you on your move?    :D


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#18 Pablo

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Posted 23 March 2023 - 04:44 PM

Thanks Rick. Tennessee tap water is very similar to MS water - pure, clean, tastes great. The catfish up here grow big as a man so I guess it's good.

 

Front wheels will be ARP BB's, motor CR 102, and body will be a Bill Pinch lacquer painted IRRA® legal Kelly Lola T163 Can Am with a Boogie interior  :dance3:

Like the world's luckiest orphan after a shopping trip to La Jolla   :sun_bespectacled:


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#19 Pablo

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Posted 27 March 2023 - 10:09 PM

Once you've been to a major IRRA retro race tech inspected by Joe Neumeister, it gets in your blood.

When you pass, you feel like you accomplished something good   :D

 

ARP fronts on tinned wire axle, 3.125" wide, washed dried and ready to drop in 

 

IMG_2253.JPG


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#20 Pablo

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Posted 29 March 2023 - 12:32 PM

Huerfano is ready for body mounting. CR102 motor ready but not installed until pinion size is chosen. Front end clears about .025 (fudge factor) with legal rear height. Nothing fancy here, just the basics.

 

Lately I've been liking the James Cleave wire management style and that's how they are set up, tinned, trimmed, and ready to curl using the existing hole gizmos on the plate

 

IMG_2265.JPG

 

 


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#21 Pablo

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Posted 01 April 2023 - 12:08 AM

Huerfano is done, ready to test and race. Total weight as shown 107g. A pair of .032 thickness lead circles will fit nicely in the rear holes at ground zero, but we will test it first

 

IMG_2266.JPG

 

Bill Pinch lacquered Kelly Lola T163 with Boogie interior

 

IMG_2275.JPG


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#22 Pablo

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Posted 02 April 2023 - 11:01 PM

The relic is ready for a test this Tuesday. 11T pinion is probably too big for the flat track, but let's wring it out anyway. Some lead added

 

IMG_2280.JPG

 

IMG_2282.JPG


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#23 SpeedyNH

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Posted 03 April 2023 - 08:27 AM

an angled pinion?


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#24 Pablo

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Posted 03 April 2023 - 09:21 AM

Of course. The bracket is hypoid


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#25 slotcarone

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Posted 03 April 2023 - 09:52 AM

Looks great Pablo! I have never found any difference using a straight or angled pinion with a hypoid bracket. 

Either way after a race the teeth on the crown gear are now angled too. :)


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Mike Katz

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