286 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

Track test # 2, a little better, but still poor.  Thanks for the tire suggestions, but that isn't the problem.

Spooky, wobbly, jumpy down the straights, and a tilting pile in the corners.

I'll never build another round tube chassis again.  Even with 032 wires inside the tubes.  It just doesn't handle. She launched halfway down the straightaway and hit the wall.  It's bent like a taco  

Don't bother trying to change my mind, please, this chassis really is a piece of junk.

The car is soon to be dismantled.

 

My Chappy car, however, is ready for the proxy event   

[SlotStox#53]

That sucks! At least you got a decent motor to salvage from it Never good when a car Tacos itself!  That Chappy of yours sure sounds an awesome performer......

[Bill from NH]

Maybe the driver thought he was Juan Pablo Montoya. Did it drive like the drop arm was flexing as you drove it? I'd want the drop arm to be as stiff as possible. You made it just like you didthe main rails, didn't you? .032 piano wire inside 1/16" brass tubing? I'd duplicate this chassis but use 1/16" brass rod for all the pieces, just to see how well it would work. You already got all the expensive parts you can reuse from this one.<G>

[Pablo]

_{Hi Bill}  

 

_{"Did it drive like the drop arm was flexing as you drove it?"  Probably.} 

_{"I'd want the drop arm to be as stiff as possible.You made it just like you did the main rails, didn't you?  .032 piano wire inside 1/16" brass tubing?"  Correcto.} 

 

_{"I'd duplicate this chassis but use 1/16" brass rod for all the pieces, just to see how well it would work."}   

_{I'd throw it against the wall and walk away}    

 

_{"You already got all the expensive parts you can reuse from this one"  Of course.}  

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

What we have here is one very unhappy slot car! We can rule out the obvious, bent wheels, axles, out of round tires, twisted frame and improper guide alignment. Tilting is one thing, hopping and jumping down a straightaway when everything is rolling round and true is something else..............

 

 

NO JOKE! 

 

It could be that the whole car is just plain "unhappy" or the car could be "unhappy" with one or more of its parts.

 

I had this happen with a car that was really pissed off at the Gold Cup guide flag. We tried everything to try and stop the car from just jumping out of the slot for no reason. There is nothing wrong with a Gold Cup guide but this car must have felt it deserved a real Cox guide. When I put a Cox on the car it was fine.

 

I know you've trimmed the "pontoon" off that guide but............

 

In the 60's my raceway owner-boss-mentor Leon Pardee would have thrown the car at extreme velocity into the nearby Coke machine destroying absolutely every component. Sounds like you've resisted that temptation!

 

I think your chassis design is just fine. If it was made from good old brass rod I can't imagine why it would not run just fine. Tilt in the corners with too much tire, yes, but hopping and jumping down the straights, no.

 

I hope you won't give up on an R&C GP car as the skinny little cars are so unique looking on the track. They can be a real hoot!

 

Hopefully you will build another GP car but..........call me superstitious........I'd loose that guide  

 

Onward Pablo!

[Pablo]

Thanks Rick   You know I won't give up, ever ! Just ditch the chassis and start over.  I need to build a rod car that I KNOW will handle then see if one of the parts like the flag are bad.

Back in my day we threw them against the brick wall out back

[Bill from NH]

Doesn't the Dungeon have cement block walls in the track room? Did you miss your chance? <G>

[Pablo]

Billy and Minnie have so much nostalgia stuff in The Dungeon that it would have been a hazard 

[Hworth08]

Welcome to the golden era of slot racing! Check the qualifying times of the R&C cars. And those 12 cars were some of the best in the country.

 

If piano wire is stuffed in tubing design the frame so the stuffed tube is open on one end and the piano wire can be removed. No one welds the springs in a 1:1 car.

 

Every now and then a person wound up with a "possessed" car. For whatever reason it just doesn't respond. Good thing brass rod is cheap.

 

One great advantage the 1966 cars had was magnets. Mabuchi, French, or Hemi mags were driver friendly! Not much torque made an easy driving motor that could be finessed in and out of a corner. The milder the wind the easier to drive too. With less RPM the gearing had to be higher that made the car less jumpy.

 

 

 

De-slotting on a straight happened. The best piece of equipment ever is the Huddy tire truer. If the axles were straight and the tires true the guide would usually be the problem. Till the quick change Cox guide was released most everyone used a Russkit or Dynamic, with the screws, guide but never a Cox with the screw braid holders.

 

The brass frames and especially the drop arms got bent. The thick bodies with the undercuts protected the sports car frames. The Gran Prix were at great risk but faster. Not many 1:1 F-1 cars hit a wall today with out damage. Building a frame that could straightned quickly by hand was part of the design.

 

Yea, the golden era was different. Those in the middle of it often think it was a lot better. Not sterile as today's racing is. Today's cars reflect the knowledge gained by building those worthless piles!  Plus the good cars.

[Pablo]

"Every now and then a person wound up with a "possessed" car.  For whatever reason it just doesn't respond."

Great post, Don. That sentence applies to this car perfectly.  Time to work on this M2B again......this time I'll get it right.   

 

The big proxy event at Eddie's is coming soon.  I'm ready to send this %&)#  chassis to the evil junkyard it was born in, and start over.  It's not a tire or motor issue, it's a failed chassis experiment.  No more tubing chassis for me, ever.  Watch this, I'll make a new normal rod chassis and it will handle great.  I'm not saying tubing chassis are bad, just sayin' this one didn't work out for me.

 

One of the major parts I swapped in the troubleshooting process was the original motor with the Okeefe arm, thinking it was too powerful for the chassis.  That thinking was 100% wrong; the car was still evil with a tamer motor - so now is my opportunity to go back to Okeefe power.  It's a much prettier motor anyway Here we go...first step, disassembly and destruction of evil chassis....

Now, where did I put that doggone blue motor ? 

[SlotStox#53]

we'd all better run & hide with that Okeefe motor in the rebuilt Pablo GP car !!

[Pablo]

I need to find it first, Paul E  Just kidding, it's in the vintage drawer (I hope)

Goodbye tubing car, you will be with Jimi Hendrix tonight.

The Noose driver, the Warmack mirrors, the M2B body, ED wheels, and all the cool parts will be saved, of course.

[mdiv]

Paul,

Sorry to hear about the poor performance  I will say, though, that I bet she runs better than anything I could cobble together! LOL!

Mikey

[Bill from NH]

Goodbye tubing car, you will be with Jimi Hendrix tonight.

 

 

 

 

Don't forget to save the Russkit bracket. Those things cost like 24 carat gold.

[Pablo]

Hi Mikey.   Stand by, I'm going to teach you how to use a 409 Dremel cut off wheel

Bill, no worries, I would never hurt a Russkit motor bracket.

[SlotStox#53]

*DIsclaimer* No Russkit motor brackets will be harmed during the stripping down of this under performing GP car* !!!

[Pablo]

Nice motor; I'll use it later.

[Pablo]

Good night, tubing chassis.

[Jocke P]

Sad to see it go, but already eager to spy in on the sequel.

[Pablo]

Practice makes perfect

The JK donut tool is designed for 3/32 wheels.

Brass tube spacers can make it work with 1/8 wheels.

Wheelbase 4"  Guide lead 13/16"

.

 

[Bill from NH]

You could have polished that chassis & worn it as the only R&C necklace in existance.

[Gator Bob]

Bill ... I like you ... you're like the 'Shell answer man' and give great tips and links... but I don't ever get to see anything you've built.

 

With all your knowledge and experience I bet it's nice stuff but I've only seen your avatar chassis. Why don't you join this R&C event?

[DOCinCanton]

Orange tires; a blast from the past!

[Hworth08]

Bill is one of my favorite members. I always read his post and usually learn a bit.

[Pablo]

Russkit bracket fans, the small pins on the Rick's Jig match the .907 width perfectly when shimmed out with a pair of 3/32 tubes.