70 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

I've started building a racer "inspired" not only by Mike Steube's race winner but also by a chassis by Tony P and a motor advertisement by Certus.

 

Here's the link to the race report:

 

1st 1969 MCS/USRA Road Race - Sports Car

 

 

This car will be very different from my 5^th race McLaren. I really like this race series. The different types of cars raced as the Pro slot car evolved during the 6 month series offers many building possibilities.

 

Here’s Mikes winning car:

 

 

It’s a motor box car with all brass rails, a 1” wide drop arm and the plumber mounted not on the drop arm but on the main rails:

 

 

I also like this Tony P chassis from his construction article in the January 1969 Car Model Magazine. Sooooo…….not being shackled by building a “clone” I’m going to have some fun picking and choosing the features I like best from the period publications and build a car:

 

 

I need to start with the motor box but………I HATE MOTOR BOXES!!!!!!!!

I use yards of wire before I get one bent “korrectly”. Tony P’s article uses a simple and effective 2-piece motor box design that I really like and it’s easy to make.

 

Even easier for me is to use the one piece motor box made for me by my good friend Steve Okeefe who took pity on my plight:

 

 

Here’s everything needed set up in my Rick’s jig ready to solder:

 

 

The finished motor box rear end:

 

 

 

Time for the main rails next……….

[Pablo]

Looks like Mike's was a left side can drive and Tony's is obviously right side EB drive, so if you hate to do motor boxes, why go with the EB drive ?  (not a critique, just a question....)

 

Will you use .063 pan hinge tubes, or .094 ?

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

I wanted to show the evolution of chassis design in this short 6 month series so a motor box was a must. If I hadn't had Steve O's pre-bent motor box I'd have used Tony P's 2-piece design.

 

A motor box works for both endbell or can drive and this car will be endbell drive. The motor can I'll be using isn't even drilled for mounting screws.

 

Since I'm not "cloning" I can pick and choose design elements used in the series.      I'm going to use Mike's .062" hinge tubes.

[dc-65x]

Here are some more pictures of cars in the first race. I thought I'd get them in one place for my build:

 

 

 

 

 

[endbelldrive]

These cars were/are so beautiful!  Lots of brass with .032 pan hinges...Ferrari 612 and Lola T-160 bodies with crisply detailed interiors...monster horsepower with solid endbells...the list goes on!

[dc-65x]

I couldn't agree more Bob!

[Pablo]

Thanks for the answers, Rick, it all makes sense.

[dc-65x]

In the past when making a chassis, I've cut and bent the pieces one at a time and soldered them in place. This is a fun way for me to build but it's slow and I'm bathed in acid flux for hours.

 

I've decided to cut and fit all the center section parts first. Then solder up all the chassis rails and other pieces for the entire center section in one shot.

 

Here, all the rails are jigged up and ready:

 

 

Next all the "cross pieces" were cut and jigged up:

 

 

I started at the rear clamping things in place:

 

 

All soldered up and ready for cleanup:

 

 

I love my Rick's Jig!

[SlotStox#53]

Another 1969 car Rick....    Excellent choice & progress so far  

 

The change in routine certainly seems to of made the speed of the build a lot quicker...

[dc-65x]

Hi Paul,

 

I think this is working out better. I can work on making all the rails and things without worrying about all the acid flux. Then when everything is made......let her rip.

 

I posted the previous post of the soldered up center section 3 hours ago. I've spent that time trimming, deburring and putting the buff to it. I think it was 3 hours well spent.

 

I'm pooped and it's time for dinner......pics tomorrow.........

[dc-65x]

Here's the center section "buffed up" and with the extra crap-O-la cut off:

 

 

 

 

I really lucked out with the joint of the 4 inner rails at the center of the cross piece. Almost can't see it:

 

 

One thing I forgot to solder on in the first go round were the plumber rail "up-stops". I do them and the drop arm pivot tubes in one piece and then cut the center out. Less fiddling around with little separate pieces:

 

 

The center cut out:

 

 

The drop arm is relieved at each end to stop the solder from flowing and locking the whole thing up (I hope!):

 

 

Time to solder up the drop arm and see if my little "reliefs" worked. 

[Jairus]

Hope you are keeping good high resolution pictures for a later article Rick. Because this is pretty, very pretty!

[Bill from NH]

Rick, your "reliefs" ought to work fine. How deep are they, about .015-.020?  Another means they use to prevent droparm hinge 'lock-up' was to cut off the back corners of the droparm at 45 degrees.

[dc-65x]

Thanks Jairus.  Yes, my photos are 300 dpi, about 2600 X 2000 pixles and about 800 KB.

 

You got it Bill, .015"+ deep.

 

Cutting the corners at 45 degrees seems to possibly be a little less common in the cars of this race but would have been not only appropriate but easier to do. 

 

This drop arm was rescued from a junk chassis and refurbished as best as I could. Here's the finished drop arm waiting for a big hunk of lead like the cars in the race........

 

 

 

Plumber and pans are next.........

 

[dc-65x]

For the pans I was going to use these Team Nutley stocker pans and shorten them up:

 

 

Problem is they are really thick material and these early chassis designs seem to NOT notch out the pans for the hinge tubes. Instead they merely mount them on TOP of the pans.

 

I decided to make my own copies of the Nutley pans out of .030” K&S brass using Mr. Band Saw and Mr. Milling Machine:

 

 

The plumber rails seem to be 2-piece in this time period. An L-shaped piece soldered on top of the plumber rail itself:

 

 

Rather than just lop the corner of the pan off I tried to inlet it like Steube did:

 

 

Soldering the hinge tubes on top of the pans could be trouble…….solder flowing and fastening the tube to the pans as well as the plumber rail. I’ve had good luck using high temperature Kapton tape to keep solder flow off the pans:

 

 

It worked and the plumber rails are ready to install on the center section:

 

 

 

Getting close to a finished chassis and motor building time……….

[SlotStox#53]

Beautiful! Love the look of these earlier cars/technology with the position of the plumber & multiple rails , real contrast to your 5th race stunner !

[dc-65x]

Thanks Paul. As you point out, there is a real evolution going on in this series short time frame  between the first race and the last:

 

Motor box chassis VS. "half rail" chassis.

 

4+ rails per side of mostly if not all brass VS. 2 piano wire rails.

 

1" wide solid drop arms with Cox or Dynamic Lo Pro guides VS. 1 1/4" wide cut out drop arms with JET flags.

 

Solid pans with the hinge tube soldered on top VS. cut out pans with the hinge area notched out.

 

Plumber pivot on the main rails VS. on the drop arm.

 

16D motors both endbell and can drive VS. can drive Lo-Profile motors such as the Mura B and what would become the Green Can, a cut down Mura 16D can to fit Champion magnets. The endbell drive Champion 16D was still hanging on but its days were numbered.

 

Many different body styles within 4 different classes of cars (Sports, GT, Stocker and GP) VS. a field full of McLaren M8's that followed.

 

For a builder, this is heaven! 

[dc-65x]

The center section set up and clamped down in my Rick's Jig. A combination square makes sure my extra long pan hinges are straight:

 

 

Once the hinge wire is soldered to the pan, the long pin tube is soldered to it out on the end. Then touch the iron tip to the wire and pin tube, not the pan. Drag the iron and any excess solder off to the end of the pin tube:

 

 

Here it is finished up:

 

 

These "fancy lad" pliers help to bend up the pan down stops:

 

 

The stop soldered in place toward the outside of the pans:

 

 

I ended up using ideas from several of the cars in the race:

 

 

I used Steube's style of pan in-letting around the angled plumber and outside main rail. John Anderson's use of a 1" Cobra drop arm and Phil Rubin's main rail layout and front axle mount style:

 

 

Well, the chassis is almost finished. I just need to add the wing mount........

 

 

"Wing mount"!?!?    

[Jairus]

Yup, it's a McLaren afterall!

[dc-65x]

Hi Jairus.......my last build was a McLaren. I need to mix it up a bit with this one so it's not going to be an M8 

WEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Pablo]

"Once the hinge wire is soldered to the pan, the long pin tube is soldered to it out on the end"

 

Aha ! Neat trick,   Thanks Capt. Rick

[Jairus]

Not a Chaparral because there are no good bodies. So that only leaves a Lola T-160?

[dc-65x]

Glad you think it might help Pablo.

 

Jairus, I really wanted to do a Lancer low and wide Chaparral 2H but it came along a bit later that this particular race.     

 

I had decided on the Swede Savage Lola T160 but then something else caught my eye in my "pile-O-vintage" bodies......

[Jairus]

Well, the Ferrari 512 prototype had a mid mounted wing, but Ferrari rarely used it.  Other than that.... I am baffled. 
Watching with interest. 

[endbelldrive]

I like surprises!