3139 replies to this topic

[tonyp]

Nice!

[Rick Crutchfield]

Great chassis build, Bobby. Can't wait til I see it on "The Black Snake"!

[Craig]

Hello all,

I haven't posted any new builds in quite some time. Some of you know of the health issues I've experienced from the chemicals used in soldering these chassis together so I've cut back a little.

However, with the proper ventilation I believe all will be well. For starters, this new lighter version of my regular RetroPro chassis with some subtle differences. The nose piece has a little different look and I have eliminated the 1/8x1/16 pans all together. I hope the complete car will weigh in at about 85 grams.

[Tex]

Nice build, Craig!

[Tom Eatherly]

Very nice build Craig. Very nice. See ya at the Zimm-Blast.

[MantaRay]

Here are a few pics of the chassis that is going to the Festival of Speed. Same basic Z-Rail Design. John Miller suggested the use of 3/32 tubes over the up/down stops to restrict the movement and tighten it up a bit. Good Luck to everyone.

[Steve Deiters]

Great looking chassis. What is the rod dia? Did you send it out for engraving?

[MantaRay]

Hi Steve, 3 rails of .062 on each side. I have an old Hermes pantograph engraver
It was great visiting with you at the R4.....Always a treat to see what you bring to the "Bench Race"

[The Bugman]

ray,is that going to "someone in particular" to race, or a race donated prize,
either or ,,nice lookin build

[MantaRay]

Donated Race Prize

[The Bugman]

very nice ray,,,,u b da man',,,
and many thx to ALL the Sponsors of the upcoming race,,

ol' Cukras is gonna be really busy "rolling his dice* " that Sat.
giving away race prizes,,,,,lol

*= the system Cukras uses to give away race prizes,,,,,

[MantaRay]

The chassis is on it's way to Mr. Cukras........I had a good time building/engraving it. I will let him decide how to best donate it as a race prize or award.
Good Luck to ALL....at the Festival.
Most of ALL......Have Fun

[DannyHotShot1]

Thats a very beautiful chassis I'm sure whoever gets it will love it.

[Pablo]

Ray Ray you have gone beyond SANO, you are in your own area code now

[Ron Hershman]

Here are a few pics of the chassis that is going to the Festival of Speed. Same basic Z-Rail Design.

Donated Race Prize

[TSR]

Ray,
You can be sure that it won't be raffled this time...

[MantaRay]

I know it will go to a deserving racer...........

[JohnnySlotcar]

Anyone but the scudmaster!!! LOL

[macman]

New Oval chassis in the works... Based on pre-Samuri R-Geo kit,,, thin, .032? left pan that came with kit, 1/4 x .062 right pan; .062 main rails. nose piece is probably .0

[Tex]

Cool! Which direction does the oval run... left turns or right turns?

[macman]

Left

[Tex]

Thanks! Just getting the relationship straight in my head, between the turns and the pan configurations.

[Bill from NH]

Tex, on an oval, heavy pans on the inside of turns.

[Jim Webb]

For the moment, I am content to pay close attention to the master builders here (Manta Ray, Mike Swiss, Dennis Samson, Rob Hanson, and Mike Steube (via DVD) are a few of the fine teachers who come to mind) and try to reproduce their beautiful work. Recently, I wondered what might happen if several designs were combined into one chassis. The result, while not original, is a small step beyond pure copying. I still have to install the Oilites and then cut the axle tube (that order of operations learned the hard way). The pictures probably are clearer since the car is not yet set up and grungy from running. It will be interesting to see how well it handles on the various tracks around here. So, here we go!


You can see a lot of Steube in this photo. That's his design for the guide bracket and tongue, with the tongue at a slight upward angle. I also got the front axle supports from his DVD. Also note the several directions of movement/flexibility in the chassis; Z-Rail, hinged pans, and measured fore and aft movement of the pans via the "pan tube". The very small gauge wires connecting the fronts of the pans to the fronts of the rails provide a spring effect that provides some firmness to the overall pan movement. It's probably all too delicate and will meet an early grave, but it was fun to build and think about the effect each addition might have.


Here's the bottom view. FWIW, shininess courtesy of a 2-hour ride in the tumbler with ceramic media and HE Tide Liquid. The couple of little smears are from oiling the pan hinges to prevent rust when they came out of the tumbler.


Backagra! (No prescription needed - just dial 1-800-12S-WISS!)


Bottom view of front Z-Rail travel limiter. This and the front wires ("springs") should keep the chassis from dragging through a bank (I hope).


Here you can see the two methods of limiting movement at the rear of the chassis - one for the pans and one for the Z-Rails. You can also see that one of the Z-Rail travel limiters is crooked. Oops!. Also, note that the Z-Rail travel limiters are bent out from the motor brace. It seemed to me that were there to be a harder than usual crash, those limiters could wind up out of line and scraping against the motor bracket, inhibiting free movement. Probably the least of my worries, but hey! You can also see a top view of the front Z-Rail travel limiters and the "springs" at the front of the pans.


Another bottom view.


Here's a shot from the front, providing a clear view of the "springs". You can also see another mistake - I neglected to trim one of the front axle support uprights. (Dang it!)


Here is a very clear shot of the front Z-Rail travel limiters, with the untrimmed axle support mocking me from the background. It doesn't know it, but it has an appointment with the rotary tool!


Here's a shot from the rear showing sloppy soldering on the Backagra, and (to make up for it) pretty evenly height-adjusted rear Z-Rail travel limiters. Two guide washers between the chassis and the limiter provided the spacing while the limiters were soldered into place.


Last one - here you can see a rear Z-Rail travel limiter, the pan hinge, and a rear pan travel limiter.

This is my third not-built-from-a-kit scratch build. The first was a Chicagoland Hot Rod, the second was a direct copy of the Steube DVD Can-Am, and now this hybrid. There has been some small improvement from one to the next and I've figured out that one end of the soldering iron is not as hot as the other. An F-1, which I figure will be harder to build, is next. I mentioned this earlier in this post, and it bears repeating: We are so lucky to have at our fingertips the guidance of so many master builders. I surely would have given up during the first try without the help.

OK! How about some criticism? Conjecture on what will and what won't contribute to the performance of this hybrid? Glaring problems that need to be addressed before the chassis is put on the track?

Thanks for looking and for your thoughts!

Jim

[Tim Neja]

Nice work!!! Put it together---give us some handling feedback!! Looks like you've learned a lot of great lessons! Love to hear how it works. Keep up the good work!!
T