99 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

Bill, I have no idea what arm this is. Can end, purple color on one pole, white color on another. 

Fine lams. The big balance holes were there when I found it. The 2 little tiny holes were drilled by Hershman.

 

I know one thing, Hershman checks your stuff to make sure it's worth working on, and billing you for, before he spends time on it

So I knew it had potential before I started.

 

One thing about Cucarachas, if the motor isn't right, or blows up , it takes less than a minute to replace it

[Pablo]

Sonic 7T 48P steel pinion. No room for error here, Bunky

The goal is .155" from can bushing to gear.

 

Sacrificial phenolic washer prevents acid from entering the bearing:

 

 

Mini-alligator clip, bathed in ATF, sets the distance the pinion can go in:

 

 

Bam !  Pinion is home, cleaned up, and checked. It passes the test - only 2 thou off:

 

 

Like I said, it's close, but it will work:

 

[Eddie Fleming]

That is close. no angled pinion for this setup.

[Pablo]

Actually, Eddie, I looked at an angled ARP to see if the extra little "tang" gives me any more length - it doesn't.

But the angled would reach just as far as the straight.

It's not a hypoid situation anyway so there is no need for an angled.

 

I do need to make that purple crown turn to black, though

[Gator Bob]

 Champion can

 

Mabuchi FT16BB can.

The Champion/Mabuchi cans had one vent hole.

[Pablo]

Thank You, Sir, correction made.

[Bill from NH]

 Looks like that arm was in an anglewinder in another life.

[Pablo]

Chassis exam:

At first I thought the center section wasn't flat, because the front sits on deck but the rear is raised up a little.

 

 

 

BUT, it's not bent. The ISO pivot pin holes are drilled in such a manner to give some pan droop, sweeeet

 

 

I put a piece of 15 thou under both front and rear; now the pan still sits flat on deck and the center is level front to rear.

This will be the stance of the chassis.

 

 

 

I taped it all up and took a measurement for the foam piece that loads the tongue.

Looks like a hair under 12/64", so that will be the thickness of my donut holes.

 

 

 

 

[Gator Bob]

For a 'race version' maybe a solid screw adjust up-stop would be better than the foam.

More predictable ... the foam was good on bumpy tracks of the past.

[Pablo]

Thanks Bob, I hear ya, and don't disagree. But I do like the idea of a "soft" load for the tongue.

The original designers of this chassis sure had some good theories, and I can always do a screw type adjuster later. 

 

For now, I'll go old school.

No better time for a test fit than the present, while she's being held down

 

[Pablo]

Rear axle and ISO pin polished, needle bearings soaked/cleaned/lubed:

 

 

All edges smoothed, flag surfaces faced.

The center section bottom had a slight bulge, so it was lapped with 400 wet/dry:

 

 

Tongue tilt checked.  Perfectly vertical left/right, with a very slight up tilt:

 

 

 

Now she goes into the tumbler for a bath.........

[Pablo]

She shined up pretty well:

 

 

Now, where did I put those doggone wing body attachments ?

[Pablo]

Here's something you don't see very often, a Cuc on a Rick's Jig

 

 

I decided to simply JB Weld the needle bearings in place.

Did a  Google search on "does jb weld adhere to aluminum", some say "yes", some say "no".

Dennis Samson says it will work, so I roughed up the holes a little and glued 'em home.

 

 

3/16 tall donut hole pieces secured with 3M #80 adhesive:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pablo]

JK Donut Wizard makes mounting rubber easy:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CoastalAngler1]

Doesn't Mila Miglia make a vintage tire mounting tool?  That JK tire donut wizard looks better than the miglia...

[Pablo]

Yeah, they're available at the same place that sells rare, vintage parts for all types of custom builds

[Hworth08]

Insides of a doughnut is a good idea on the tongue!

 

Someone at our track came up a slick solution for the original foam. I just can't remember how it was!  It worked like the spring buckets on a stock car but I can't remember the exact design. Having weight on the tongue entering a turn is extremely important for a Cuk.

[Pablo]

Hi Don, you got that right about the weight loading the tongue.

I'm no Cuc veteran expert, but I've built my share of ISO chassis.

My thinking is, the tongue's purpose is to keep the flag planted and the front wheels' purpose is to

"stay the heck out of the way until I need you"

 

Weights on the center and the pan are at ground zero:

 

 

 

The TrueScale La Cucaracha body is 1/8" wider than the stock body. I had to find a way to occupy that space.  Here is what I did - .050 steel pin tubing with .047 retainers.  Set up loose for some shakey - shakey body wiggle:

 

 

 

[Pablo]

18 balls in the front wheels !!

 

 

[Pablo]

1969 Cox car with Sonic, Koford, Parma, DRS, Slick 7, Mabuchi, Tradeship, Champion, TrueScale, and Model Master parts installed. 

A 46 year old car with a lot of nice modern parts on it.

 

[Pablo]

Rear wheels: SBR donuts on original tapered Cuc wheels. Stock OD is .9375", mine are .885"

 

Front wheels: softer rubber than originals on Cuc BB front wheels.  Stock OD is .875", mine are .737"

 

 

Front wheel footprints are wider than the stock "knife edges", but mine are softer and won't be touching the track as much.

[Pablo]

Marklin train wires and California Loops:

 

 

managed by a piece of shrink tubing Super Glued to the pan crossmember:

 

[Pablo]

Done.  She passes the drivetrain test with flying colors. Track test 1 August at The Dungeon. Hide the women and children. Should be interesting......

 

 

 

 

 

Specs:
-Total weight 104 grams
-Front and rear wheel widths 2 3/4"
-Front and rear wheel OD's .885 (1/2" wide rims) and .737, respectively.
-Gearing 7/29

Parts:
-TrueScale body
-Koford spacers, crown gear setscrew, body pins
-Champion springs

-Mabuchi can
-Tradeship endbell
-JK SBR donuts
-Slick 7 lead weight, spacers, bulletproofing
-Sonic pinion gear
-Parma crown gear, white paint
-Testors Model Master blue paint
-Patto's decal
-DRS pin tubing, retainers
-Marklin train wires
-last but not least, Cox, RIP

[Asp]

Dear Paul,

As usual, a thing of beauty.. My nick may be Asp, but my first love is for the Cucaracha, my first real slot car in 1967. It cost then in Italy a staggering 14400 Lire, equivalent to over 23.00 $.

Just as  a coincidence I'm building something similar..If I am not too ashamed, I may show my effort when finished.

By the way what's happening to Truescale? It seems all bodies are presently unavailable.

 

Luciano

[Pablo]

Thanks, Luciano.   Don't ever feel ashamed to show your builds on Slotblog. Think of it as fun, and an opportunity to improve.

 

TrueScale: visit the website and you'll know as much as I do. Vic's bodies take some time to get, but they are worth the wait.