61 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

That's nice!
Very nice...  

[SlotStox#53]

Very perfect ...always dangerous when you say something different in the motor department Rick

[Pablo]

Thanks for the hinge closeups, I was wanting to see that

[dc-65x]

...always dangerous when you say something different in the motor department Rick

 

Just a little bit different Paul.

 

I won this armature on eBay a while back:

 

 

It was claimed to be a sample sent to a Model Car Science Magazine staffer in the 60's. The shaft is pretty straight. They obviously tried to keep the comm from blowing and it was lathe turned almost true. It has mild timing advance and measures .4 ohms.

 

I'm stuffing it in an endbell drive Mabuchi can fitted with a new bearing to allow for can drive. I drilled the can and soldered in some small brass 2-56 brass nuts I got from McMaster Carr:

 

 

The Mabuchi endbell got its brush holders soldered to the brush hoods and the inside opened up for comm clearance:

 

 

The can and endbell were drilled for 0-80 machine screws:

 

 

Early ARCO magnets:

 

 

Here she is:

 

 

 

 

 

Final assembly time

[SlotStox#53]

Oh that's just a beautiful thing Who's bearing is that in the can RIck?

[Bill from NH]

Paul, the can bushing looks like a Slick 7 5mm. bronze unit.

[dc-65x]

Hi Guys,

 

The bushing is a vintage bronze Tradeship piece.It looks like a modern bearing because I machined it down to fit my application. It matters little now as I managed to get some Loctite in it attaching the pinion gear. A vintage ball bearing has been epoxied in to replace it.

[Champion 507]

I'm waiting for Don Siegel to chime in that a yellow Mabuchi can just isn't the same without a K&B sticker on it

 

Awesome "mill", Rick. Hey, it's 1966 all over again. They called 'em mills back then.

[don.siegel]

Great motor Rick, and the MCS sticker is just as good as a K&B - well, almost!

 

It would be nice to know how many of the stories that ebay sellers tell are really true; what I love is when the guy says "this car won all the races when I was a kid", and then you get the car and it looks a lot like a pile of junk...

 

But it's true that writers did get a lot of merchandise; even in 1974 when I had a column in Car Model (shortly before it disappeared), I get a few packages of items from manufacturers (including some silicones on brass hubs from AJs - hmm, think maybe they were getting rid of old inventory?).

 

Somehow, it's reassuring to know that even a  master like Rick can get loctite in a bearing.... makes us mortels feel better!

 

Don

[dc-65x]

Hey Don, if I'm a "master" at anything it's got to be perseverance. I seem to build my slot cars just like I used to machine parts for a living. Move alone from one disastrous operation to the next and try my best to save it from the scrap pile! I remember thinking how surprisingly smooth this build was going right before I slopped Loctite into the motor bearing......

 

Anyhow, it's all together and it even runs

 

 

 

I used Riggen rear wheels and tires. Grinding them down from 1" to 15/16" exposed fresh rubber and they even have some bite:

 

 

The front wheels are also Riggen with K&B hard vinyl tires:

 

 

For the front wheels I modified the Riggen knock offs to reduce how far they stick out. The cut down knock off is on the left:

 

 

The cut down knock off on the left almost fits within the wheel while the unmodified knock off on the right really sticks out:

 

 

The crown gear is a Weldun aluminum 31T and the pinion is a Tradeship 7T and the gear mesh is absolutely fabulous!

 

 

Guide is a Cox quick change and the lead wires are Cox controller fuse wires:

 

 

The first track test was very promising. The motor runs strong and doesn't get hot. It needs more bite than the old tires have so I've glued up some Alpha black donuts on Riggen wheels.

 

To be continued........

[SlotStox#53]

Looks and sounds like it's come out great despite the loctite incident

Like the test block Rick with the braid & surface paint of the track , very neat !

Another fabulous *what if* car fits in great with all your other creations

In case I missed it what body are you putting over this Rick ?

[Pablo]

That's a test block ?  Holy Cow, I thought it was a real track!  That is sweet, Rick, did you have that made when the track was constructed ?

I don't understand why the loctite couldn't be cleaned out of the bushing, like with a piece of 2000 grit wrapped around a piece of rod or wire ??

[Champion 507]

That's his track, not a block.

[dc-65x]

Hi Guys,
 
 

That's a test block ?  Holy Cow, I thought it was a real track!  That is sweet, Rick, did you have that made when the track was constructed ?

 
That's a piece of track that Gary Gerding turned into a test block for me. Pretty cool eh?
 
 

......I don't understand why the loctite couldn't be cleaned out of the bushing, like with a piece of 2000 grit wrapped around a piece of rod or wire ??

 
Well Pablo, ordinarily that would be true. However, welcome to my personal moronisphere.   I got Loctite in the bearing. I quickly broke the armature free (I thought) and oiled it up. It spun freely so I put it on the power supply. It ran but ran roughly, buzzing, not smooth. It wouldn't smooth out so I shut it off and looked closer.........which I should have done in the first place.
 

I seem to build my slot cars just like I used to machine parts for a living. Move alone from one disastrous operation to the next and try my best to save it from the scrap pile!

 

So, what was going on? Well, the armature shaft was still Loctite'd solid to the bearing. However the bearing had broken free from the can. Running the motor on the power supply simply spun the bearing in the can and cut a groove in the OD of it.

 

Persistence =

 

Old, grooved bearing goes in the trash.

Armature shaft gets polished up.

Can got a new ball bearing JB Welded into it.

 

I've "saved" the motor from a stupidious disaster and runs great..............FINALLY!

[Pablo]

I'm sure you've read my recent IRRA stock car chassis screw ups :

1.  Using retro jig wheels labeled "F" to set front axle height 

2.  Neglecting to compensate for stocker widths of 3.00 vice 3.125 and not trimming the backagra bracket brace to clear the rear wheels until after the chassis was built, tumbled, and ball bearings installed    Band saw blade cutting freehand within a millimeter of BB's  It's a miracle to have survived 

Rick, if that bushing had been grooved here at The Wolcott Ranch, I would have just soldered it to the outside of the can and hidden it with a healthy bead of 60/40   and called it a solder pool ring 

[Bill from NH]

Hindsight is great they say. I would have expected a phenolic spacer placed on the arm shaft, before the pinion, would have kept the Loctite out of the bushing.

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

Thanks for cheering me up with your adventures. You get the "Perseverance Award" too!

 

 

.......a phenolic spacer placed on the arm shaft, before the pinion, would have kept the Loctite out of the bushing.

 

Yes, hindsight is 20/20. After the "incident" I remembered a vintage magazine article where the author (maybe Lee Gilbert) made a cut through half of a phenolic spacer and used it to keep acid flux out of the bearing. That cut allowed him to remove the spacer.

 

I played it really safe. I found a press on pinion As an unexpected bonus, the gear mesh is fantastic.

[miko]

Very nice build Rick!

[dc-65x]

Thanks Marinko.

 

I just drove my ISO "What if" car with fresh Alpha Humungous Supernatural donuts and I have to ask..........

 

 

.......didn't the Pro racers during the inline period ever drive a Cox Cucaracha?

 

This thing flat hooks up! I can't wait to run all the R&C cars on the same track, on the same lane, on the same day and driven by the same driver.

 

Disclaimer: This is a "What if" car for my own personal amusement, not a real tribute build to the R&C cars as they actually raced. It will NOT be ranked with the REAL R&C Tribute Cars.

[Jairus]

 

This thing flat hooks up!

 

 

Disclaimer: This is a "What if" car for my own personal amusement, not a real tribute build to the R&C cars as they actually raced. It will NOT be ranked with the REAL R&C Tribute Cars.

 

Well, that sounded just a bit ominous...

[Pablo]

If you ask Hworth, he'll tell you the Cucs didn't handle well enough to race.

Me, I always thought they handled nice.  Sure wish I still had my purple 1/32

and my lime green 1/24   Like I have been saying, any design that removes the front wheels from the equation seems to work great.

[dc-65x]

Well, that sounded just a bit ominous...

 
Hi Jairus. I think the thing is quick.    Well see for sure when the body is mounted and it's tried out at Eddie's. BUT, it's not an "official" R&C Tribute car. It's a "for fun" build and I want to make sure everyone knows that.
 
 

Like I have been saying, any design that removes the front wheels from the equation seems to work great.

 

Yes, it's interesting that the ISO didn't catch on with the Pros for their inlines. The ISO anglewinder and then PdL's Diamond pretty much rewrote the book for slotcars.

[Champion 507]

Speaking of PdL's book for slot cars...............................

[dc-65x]

TIME IS RUNNING OUT FOR THE R&C PROXY!

 

And I have 2 cars to paint ...........well, 1 car to paint and 1 car is painted and needs detailing:

 

 

It's a Truescale/Russkit Lotus 40 painted with Testors Graphite Grey Metallic and backed up with Metallic Silver:

 

 

The color looks better in person....lots of silver metallic effect you can almost see here:

 

 

 

 

Here are the detailing bits, mostly Russkit. I love the combination of vac body and injection molded and chromed details:

 

 

Time to paint the other car while this slow drying enamel does its thing.........

[SlotStox#53]

Oh I really like that color Rick
That is gonna look great with the Russkit original finishing touches

Managed to sacrifice 2 paintbrushes in the name of exhaust tips for my G.P car