105 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

There you go!  Innovation is the mother of invention.

[munter]

Was thinking before the thread got frozen is that there were exhaust pipes along the sides, no?

 

These could disguise some of the chassis pan that was hanging low.

[Pablo]

Was thinking before the thread got frozen is that there were exhaust pipes along the sides, no?

 

These could disguise some of the chassis pan that was hanging low.

No. My car never had exhaust pipes. Maybe you are thinking of Jairus' car.

I applaud him for doing it the way he did, and obviously it worked well.

 

Those of you who have suggestions, I wish you would just build your own cars and become participants.

This is going to be a really fun proxy and the small issue I had is just a minor bump in the road

[Pablo]

Thanks to all who gave possible solutions to a strange body mounting challenge.

I completely disassembled the chassis in preparation for major surgery.

Pans were sliced completely off and the rear .047 brass rod upstops were simply bent up out of the way

 

[munter]

No. My car never had exhaust pipes

 

I was aware of that but thought all the 1/1 cars did have side pipes.

 

Those of you who have suggestions, I wish you would just build your own cars and become participants.

 

Sounds like my input irritated you.

 

 

[Pablo]

I'm sorry if you read it that way and I apologize.

 

The 1/1 cars did have exhausts but the body skirts still extended at least to the bottoms of them.

No sense comparing these to 1/1 cars in that respect because the 1/1 cars didn't use wheels that were too big.

If you could hold the car in your hands, you'd understand a lot better than I can explain it.

 

I'll be working on my new pan assemblies later today.......

[Ecurie Martini]

No sense comparing these to 1/1 cars in that respect because the 1/1 cars didn't use wheels that were too big.

 

The 450s mounted 6:00 X 16 tires at the front, 7:00 X 16 at the rear.  At that time, the section ratio (height to width) was typically 100 and, depending on the manufacturer, the overall diameter would have been ~ 26" F and 30" R.  In 1/24 scale 1.08 " and 1.25

 

EM

[dc-65x]

Hi Pablo,

 

I don't mean to butt in as I'm not planning on building a car to meet these particular rules.

 

I just wanted to point out the problem is simply that the early real cars with their larger tires (1/24 scale 1"+) did not have their bodies an 1 1/2" (1/24 scale 1/16") off the ground in real life.

 

As you found out, when a modern slot car chassis is built to the maximum allowable width, lowest possible track clearance and a semi scale1" tire diameter............the body often won't sit low enough and likely won't be wide enough to cover the chassis with out some sort of extension on the body sides.

 

This is the nature of the beast even with the smaller tires on this little Lotus 11:

 

 

When I use these bodies in a more traditional vintage style chassis I simply raise the body mounts up. I'm not dealing with a modern "low slung" jail door chassis or with floating pans hanging below and possibly out the sides of the body.

[Pablo]

Understood. The scale math makes sense. But I didn't mean "too big" with reference to scale.

I meant "too big" as in, the body skirts aren't long enough to reach the bottom of the chassis.

No matter how high the mounts are.

 

The basis of my problem is, I'm not a "scale guy", I'm a mechanic and a racer.

So I don't look at things in regards to it. That's my problem and I admit it

[munter]

Scratchbuilding is, for me, solving a series of problems one after the other with hopefully a happy outcome.

 

I reckon you will solve the problem just fine.

[dc-65x]

Here's one way to skin this cat..........oooops! Sorry guys, It's just a figure of speech.

 

 

I've added 1/4" brass strips to support the sides of the body and attach elevated pin tube to:

 

 

I think it looks kind of mechanical and cool exposed a bit below the body sides....but that's just me. 

[Pablo]

Cats n dogs, proxy racing against each other

 

Rules are no brass sheet. C'mon Capt. Rick, build a car and enter, you have lots of time.

[dc-65x]

 

Rules say no brass sheet.

 

You've got to be kidding.................no, I'm sure you're not.  OK, I give up. Sorry I didn't mean to interfere and good luck with your project.

[Jairus]

Yeah, that's a rule.  Else I would have done that exact thing.
Only brass sheet is the motor bracket and one for the guide plate.
All else has to be brass rod or tube with no more than two soldered together full length.
Which is why Paul only soldered the ends of his pans.

[Pablo]

Thanks Jairus.

I removed the inner and outer rods from both pans, then repositioned them.

New hinge rods, new down stops, and new little platforms to raise the pin tubes

 

 

 

There are a million ways to do it and this is just my way.

[Pablo]

Wheels have plenty of room to spin now. Ready for track test #2 this Saturday

 

 

[Pablo]

Track test tomorrow has been cancelled due to track issues.

I broke in a backup/spare motor, tinned the terminals, and installed a spec 8T pinion.

She's a real trench digger, just like the other one - pulls .2 amps at 3 volts

 

[Jairus]

Waiting for someone to drive the front wheels with that long shaft.... 

[Pablo]

Track test #2 today was on a full sized commercial track. I didn't expect any problems -

I've found any car that handles well and negotiates the tight corners of The Nightmare will work fine on a bigger track.

Sure enough, she handled fine. Drifts real sweet, runs smooth, no bad habits.

 

I'm calling it done and will be mailing it off to the UK soon.

If they award points for early arrivals, maybe I'll win a cookie

[Pablo]

Steve-a Roonie says somebody already sent a car in, so no cookie for me

I boxed up my Maserati with a spare body, wheels n spacers, pins, braid, and a backup motor with pinion installed.

En-route to United Kingdom tomorrow

 

 

[Pablo]

Post-race series cleanup, teardown, inspection and storage.

Steve-a-Roonie says he may do another similar proxy some day.

 

Since the car consistently podiumed and got 3rd overall, I don't anticipate it will need much work.

It appears they didn't even use any of my major spare parts.

It's barely even dirty. Those Brits must be some careful drivers

 

[Pablo]

Close inspection of parts:

-H25 motor brush wear is negligible - amazing

-zero damage on flag, axle, gears - nothing is bent or worn

-chassis has a couple broken joints and some crash tweaking, but I have to brag - it had enough redundancy built in to make it last - bushing alignment and tongue tilt are still perfect

 

[Pablo]

Re-building has begun - all parts and bodies cleaned and inspected, ProTrac wheels ready for new donuts

 

 

2 broken solder joints fixed and chassis given a simple SOS scrub

 

[Pablo]

Other than new braid, lead wires, and donuts, all parts on the re-build are originals.

Considering the amount of racing the car endured in the UK, the lack of damage and wear is amazing. I'll take my share of the credit for building a podium car, but the British drivers deserve a lot of credit also 

 

[Pablo]

Had my doubts if the Mid-America drag donuts with miniature holes would stretch over the huge Pro-Trac hubs. So I tested one pair first, using a fireworks cone, and it worked. The remaining 3 will follow.......