48 replies to this topic

[Mike Patterson]

I've been in a building mood lately, which is a good thing. Since I finished my Dennis Samson F1 copies, I decided I need a new Can-Am chassis. This time I'm looking at the East Coast, because I've decided to build a Tony P "Aero" chassis. After driving Josh Crutchfield's version, and reading Rick Maynard's thread on how well his works, I decided, what the heck, I should build one, too.



Pretty straightforward center section, 4" wheelbase, 5" guide lead, 1/16" x 3/4" x 7/8" long nosepiece, 0.078" main rails, and two 1/16" x 1/4" x 15/16" long pieces on each sice of the motor bracket. You'll also notice two pieces of 3/32" square tubing, sandwiched between the main rails and the front axle uprights. That's the front hinge for the outer pans.



Here's the motor bracket. It's an R-Geo that I hogged out for an axle tube. I've had good luck with the 1/16" brass rod reinforcement. This also shows the rear bracing.



And this is what I have so far. The front wings are 0.032" brass. The outer pans are 1/16" x 1/4" x 2-15/16" long, hinged at the front with 0.062" wire. The bite bar is also 0.062", and is controlled by two pieces of 1/8" square tubing, along with two brass eyelets to limit side-to-side movement. The little triangles on each end are 0.032" brass. You'll also notice I'm using a front axle tube. Josh C swears this is the secret to getting around the donut at Tom Thumb. The independent front wheels will be held on by retainers on both ends of the axle.

More to come...

[Jairus]

Wow... Torsion flex pans. Fascinating, I like it!

[Richie]

Very nice work!!! Keep it coming!!!

[Josh Crutchfield]

Looks good, Mike. Are you going to have it done for Saturday?

Josh

[MantaRay]

Mike,

Nice build... let us know how she runs.

[Mike Patterson]

Wow... Torsion flex pans. Fascinating, I like it!

Jairus,

I don't understand "torsion flex pans" as applied to this chassis. The outer pans are hinged, and free to move, just not independently, kind of like the pan on a Turbo Flex chassis. Plus, there is approximately 1/32" fore and aft movement as well.

Josh,

I doubt that it will be finished for Saturday. Don't hold your breath !

[911GT3]

Mike,

Lookin' good.

[SlowBeas]

Very thoughtful design. And while I'm not sure I understand the concept of "torsion flex pans," I like the way you hinged them to the front assembly using tubing.

You know, it just goes to show that there's always a different way to do things. It's just that my "different" never seems to work!

Great build, Mike!

[Mike Patterson]

I've been in touch with Mr. Tony P, and I have had to make a revision to the chassis. I originally built it with a 1/16" bite bar through 1/8" square tubing. Tony informed me that the original uses a 0.055" bar through 3/32" square tubing. I made the change this evening, as well as fixed another mistake, and will try to post some updated photos tomorrow.

[Mike Patterson]

I finally got the inner pans installed. Here's what it looks like at 95%:



You'll notice the right front wing is mostly silver. I re-soldered that L shaped piece of wire, rather messily, too. If you'll look at the first pictures I posted, that wire is kinda crooked. It braces the axle uprights, as well as beefing up the front of the wings. I'm using the pin tubes as down stops. you can also see the small pieces of brass used for the down stops, as well as the pieces soldered to the inner pans and used for upstops.





This shows my crude attempt at curving brass. By leaving the kick-up so late, it made hingeing the pans a lot easier. I'm not very good at bending wire (the U-brace in the motor bracket was my eighth attempt). That's the main reason I didn't curve the pans more. Maybe next time.

I still have to install the pan springs and the front bumpers. The fun never stops !

[Tex]

Great chassis, Mike! Very cool, having a static perimeter and the pans fluttering inside.

[Mike Patterson]

Tex,

The perimeter is not static, it moves in all three axes, just not very much. The yet-to-be-installed springs will keep the inner pans pressed down against the outer pans, so they shouldn't flutter too much. I'll post some pics when I get that done.

[Pappy]

Tex,

Mike McMasters brought one of these chassis to Malcolm's track and it left everyone behind in the turns. Unbelievable.

[Mike Patterson]

Butch,

That was one of Josh's chassis. He'll gladly build one for you (shameless plug )!

[Mike Patterson]

Here's a photo of the finished chassis:



It weighs in at 67.8 grams. I used 0.020" wire for the springs. I'm very happy with how it turned out. All I have to do now is paint a body for it, and find it a motor and some tires, and lead wires, etc., etc.

I just hope it works, 'cause I need all the help I can get !

[Richie]

Very nice work, Mike! I just about finished my "rebuild" of the Samson style F1 I showed you pics of. I took some time off but redid the whole thing! Keep inspiring us all!!!

[Kevin Juliot]

Very nice job on the chassis, Mike, and the building information posts.

After looking at this I think I'm going to try and build one too. Thank you.

[Noose]

Nice to see guys still copying Tony's work as many did years ago. He'll be happy to see this and it's a great job.

[tonyp]

Mike,

Like I said before, very nice.

[Tex]

Hey, Tony! It's good to hear from you again!

[tonyp]

I was staying away to concentrate on work. It was tough to not be able to race anymore especially with all the East Coast guys, we are just like a family.

[Mike Patterson]

I FINALLY got in the mood to work on this thing again, and pretty much have a functional race car. Here's the set-up chassis:





The sharp-eyed among you will notice that I've added some 1/16" square tubing on the outer pans between the front pin tube and the bite bar. These act as anti-body suck devices, ensuring that when the car is marshalled, the body doesn't get squeezed onto the outer pan, screwing up the movement. Unlike a more conventional chassis, when you pick an aero car up, the body raises more than the outer pans, and it feels like something is broken, but it's not.

Here's the painted body, nothing fancy, just a real BRIGHT yellow. it wasn't until I finished painting it that I realized I had a U of M paint scheme. I hope my fellow Ohio racers will forgive me this little faux pas. I've also included a pic of my fearless driver, Chuck Farley.





I hope to get in some track time soon. I will keep you posted.

[Noose]

Nice work, Mike! You get the award for Sharpie Man of the Year! The chassis looks great.

[tonyp]

Sweet!

[Dan Myers]

Actually. I love the paint scheme and applaud you for it. And yes I was born and raised in this state.

GO BLUE!!!!!