15 replies to this topic

[Slotgeezer]

Well, after driving down to Santa Ana, and submitting yet another job application, I went home and sat at my workbench . . .

I'd rather build something and relax, rather than sit and think about unhappy subjects, or watch the one-eyed intelligence eliminator . . . :roll:

My buddy, Mr. Bell, called me again last night (Monday) , and explained that one of his buddies up in Nor-Cal needed an F1/Indy chassis to compete in the Nor-Cal open wheel series . . . so I put my thinking cap on (the one that actually works . . . I've got quite a few that only try to hide my bald head! :roll: ) and decided that the F1/Indy chassis I'd seen the Froggenheimer running were pretty sano, so why not "borrow" (read - steal! :mrgreen: ) a few design ideas, and whip-up something like . . . THIS! :shock:



Simple straightforward two-rail design, the inner rail of .063" brass rod attached to the motor bracket face, and the outer rail of .063" piano wire, wrapped around the motor bracket . . . U-shaped .063" piano wire for the rear strut brace . . . fairly long piece of 3/4" wide x .063" thick K&S brass plate for the nosepiece, and a piece of 3/8" wide x .063" thick, 1" long K&S brass shaped into a guide pivot plate . . . note the nose piece is soldered only about 5/8" back from the guide flag pivot plate . . . allows more "flex" in the rails . . . Standard 4" wheelbase, with ALMOST a 1" guide lead (closer to .950", I think! :think: ) . . . Yep, square 1/8" tubing up front, for the front axle . . . allows a little "wiggle" in the axle as the car sweeps through the corners under throttle! . . . Custom axle spacers, front and rear, cut from 1/8" round aluminum tubing (less weight than brass, eh? :mrgreen: ) . . .



The side "pans" for the "shaker" body mounts are two .063" brass rods, soldered together on the ends only . . . .055" U-braces are held captive in 3/32" square K&S tubing and soldered to the main chassis rails . . . speading everything apart a little withan old rusty X-Acto knife, I "adjusted" the amount of side play and "rattle" for the "shaker" body mounts . . . pin tubes soldered on top of the U-braces, up above the body trim line . . . I adjusted the front clearence for .030", and the rear for .063" . . . I think it'll do him a good job, but not be "too heavy" to use the speed of the Slick 7 motors they run in the series . . .

Now, I have a Can-Am chassis to build for yet ANOTHER Nor-Cal guy! . . . :roll: . . . Man, I'm sure busy, huh? . . . I enjoy this kinda stuff.... it's fun building and listening to spring training baseball . . . Take care, everyone! . . . and good racing! :wall: :doh:

[Slotgeezer]

Sure will, Bill! . . . Here's the last photo . . .



I had purchased the Mantra body, to replace the one I have on my King track F1 car . . . my friend Ralph Ketchie painted it for me, back in 1994, and it's got too many cracks on it to treat it as a race body, now! . . . I'll buy another REH "pull" when I get to BP with Mr. Bell on Sunday! . . . I've re-sized the photo three times, but it won't up-load the reduced image, so I'm not wasting any more time trying to edit it . . . sorry! :roll:

I figure he'll enjoy driving this, and even with a "stout" Slick 7 motor, I figure it'll handle good . . . everyone take care, and good racing!

[Slotgeezer]

Oh, the many twists and turns that Life provides . . .

"Here's that F1 car you wanted for that fella up north, Mr. Bell."

"WOW! :shock: . . . Man, that's a real nice car, Jeff! . . . But, that fella hasn't made good on anything he's said he was gonna do . . . I'm not goin' to give him this car, if'n he ain't gonna keep his word, and not do the things he's promised to do!". . .

"Well, I'd hate to think that I built this car, and now it's not going to get raced . . . " :think:

"Oh, no! :naughty: THAT ain't gonna happen, buddy! . . . .I'll take the car up to my body paintin' buddy up in Nor-Cal, and he'll do it up right . . . you build him a RetroCan-Am chassis for this body I brought down, and next trip south, I'll bring this car down and YOU'LL race it, in Division III!" :mrgreen:

"Well, I got a lot of open wheel stuff already . . . but, I'd gladly race that car, with a good motor in it . . . I think it'll run good enough in F1/Indy class, I might finally make an "A" race!"

"Okay, then! :snooty: That settles it . . . I'll get Earl to do 'er up, and you'll run it down here in Los Angeles". . .

:roll:

Life never seems to sit still for long, does it? . . . I'll be sure to report on the Nor-Cal F1 chassis, when I finally race it in Retro F1/Indy class, down here in Los Angeles, later this year . . . it'll be fun, evaluating the design, and whether I'm still able to drive any more!

Take care, everyone . . . and many thanks go to my buddy, Mr. Jeff Bell . . . His friendship, along with countless other slot racers both here in Los Angeles and around the country via the blog, have kept me focused on building my cars, and out of trouble, while I've been looking for employment . . . Work seems just over the horizon . . . but my love of this hobby can't ever diminish, given the great friends, both old and new, I count as my greatest asset . . .

Thank you . . . all . . .

[Slotgeezer]

Well, it's time for an update . . .



Even though I am back working at night again in a screw machine production shop, I found time to build these three F1-Indy "roller" chassis for Mr. Bell to haul up to Nor-Cal, for a planned enduro race that has been under consideration . . . same design as before, nothing fancy, but should run well . . .



The side "pans" are held captive by the 3/32" square tubing, soldered to the main rails . . . the .055" piano wire allows a bit of movement, and I stole ( er . . . borrowed? ) a tip from Tony P, and used a piece of .032" wire as an assembly spacer! . . .

I had this Ferrari body that Earl had painted for me, so I put it on one of the "rollers", to give everyone up north an idea as to how I mount the painted bodies on . . .



All in all, they all came out fairly sano . . . :roll: . . . for a fat, old, ugly bald-headed white guy! . . . Now, on to the NEXT request! . . . Take care, everyone! . . . :dance: . . . and good racing!!!! :mrgreen:

[tonyp]

They look great Jeff . . . What's mine is yours. LOL . . .

[Foamy]

I hate to poop on you, but I seem to recall that those Nor-Cal geeks run 1/8" axles.
At least those VMRA chowderheads do . . .

[jrrc]

Did you build one for me or must I build my own? Tested on the King today for next week's race.

[Slotgeezer]

Thanks, Tony! :up:

Yeah, Dennis, I asked Mr. Bell about that, too . . . :roll: . . . seems the Nor-Cal guys asked him to build 'em like we run 'em here in So-Cal in Division III . . . :think: . . . I have one of Russ Toy's excellent F-1 open wheel chassis, that uses 1/8" axles, with a Womp motor in it . . . handles great, too . . . :mrgreen:

But recently they've been requesting chassis built like we're running 'em here in Division III, with 3/32" axles . . . so, give 'em what they want, eh?

Thanks for the kind words, fellas . . . everyone take care, and good racing!!!

[Slotgeezer]

Well, this body arrived via FedEx today, so I hustled around & got it detailed & mounted on my latest F1-Indy chassis design...



Once again, that master craftsman up in NorCal, Mr. Jeff Bigelow, has given me a paint job more worthy than my building ability! ... All I had to do was reinforce the body mounting holes w/ body armor, & strapping tape, & do the finish detailing w/ my trusty Sharpie! ...

So, I'll be racing this dude on Saturday, on the Gearding KIng, & give it a real track-test, under actual racing conditions! ... Thanks, everyone! .... Take care, & good racing!

[Paul Jurczyszyn]

Jeff,
You never said how this car handled on the track?
Also I would like to see some close shots of the front sq wheel mount. Is it flat or razed with L bent wire?
Paul

[Bill from NH]

Paul, I took the chassis photo shown in post #3, copied it to Windows, then enlarged it for a better view. That photo clearly showed the square front axle tube raised up & soldered to piano wire "L's". If you need further chassis details from Jeff, you could send him a PM. This might be an older chassis design of his, but I know he'll probably reply. He might even have a newer design that works better.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Jeff! NorCal uses 3/32 axles. Also the cars are usually much heavier because the F1 races are run on flat tracks. The weight is a good effect and doesn't seem to slow them down, even with the over powered motors that are spec up here. Gus in Sacto PS as usual, nice build and I'm glad to hear of your employment.

[Bill from NH]

Gus, this was a 2007 build! A lot of changes can happen in five years.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Bill! I don't believe the rules changed much though the axle size may have. I didn't realize the age of the post as you stated. One thing hasn't changed though and that is Jeff's unemployment situation. He is like myself and has severe heart problems though I don't believe they approach the severity of my own. I just spent 50days in the hospital over the last 90days. Regardless, if you have never met Jeff; he is one of the nicest guys around. Gus in Sacto

[Bill from NH]

Hi Gus, I've never met Jeff in person. From following his builds & posts on here for a few years, it's easy to tell he's nice guy.