100 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

I won this monster at auction on Slotblog, from the Tom Scott collection.

Received it today and was pretty happy. No doubt I can make this into a nice car

 

 

 

Here was the writeup:

"I can't remember where I got this Iso-fulcrum chassis which was planned for a hardbody Dodge Ramcharger body but never did end up getting it finished. The chassis is almost a drop-in for just about any static model 1/24 model car... sedan type.
The motor is by John Havlicek, a built-to-the-hilt Champion 36D.
Beautiful front American mags. Nice rear stocker tires that are still real soft and give great traction."

 

Let's see what we have here:

American Line 1927 Model T Chassis center section with custom ISO outer section
WB 4 5/8" (!!)
GL negative 3/16"
Widths < 2 3/4" front and rear
Wheel OD's front 1", rear 1 1/8"
Clearance, approximately, rear 1/8", front 3/32"
Weight: 213 grams (sans body) (!!)

Motor: H Power 36D 65T of 29
Gears: 10/36, brass pinion/Wilson's crown

 

Chassis workmanship is expert quality. I'm guessing maybe Jack Beers was the builder, but who knows?

 

The ISO section is a nice work of art and quality engineering:

-Twin .063 plates connected via 3/32" square brass tubing

-Countersunk body mount holes

-Double ISO Fulcrum hinges at the rear

-Adjustable wheelbase up front

-Custom front axle assembly strengthened with wire wraps

 

 

 

Motor: you can't go wrong with a Havlicek powerplant - it won't need anything

 

That's the good. Here is the bad:

-Clearance - mile high in the rear, half a mile in front. Both ends need to go down, and be level.

Currently the flag is plowing, giving a nice car the kiss of death for handling.

-All four tires are badly out of round due to age.

-As much as I like the ISO outer section, it's way too heavy and only serves to make the front wheels dig in to the track.

Maybe I can just lighten it.

-Gearing is way wrong; 10/36 with 1 1/8" OD rears with a custom 65T/29 motor isn't even close.

Also, this powerful of a motor needs a steel pinion and a better crown. Wilson's crowns and brass pinions worked OK with stock 1966 motors but won't cut the mustard here.

 

All of this is correctable, and I look forward to finding a good body for it

[Pablo]

How about this body? 4 3/8" WB, width about 3"

 

 

What is it, anybody know for sure?

Billy Watson pulled it, so I'm sure he knows

 

If I did go with this, I'd remove the outer ISO section and save it for a hardbody in the future.

Then copy the engineering features of it to make a shorter, lighter version to fit this body.

 

Just thinking out loud......at this point......

[Tim Wilkins]

I bought one off Billy a few years back painted all black.  Billy called it a 1934 Ford.  Just a suggestion:  what about a silver-grey body with black fenders?  Or possible cranberry-grey combo

[Tom Katsanis]

Body looks like a 34 ford 3 window looks similar to the dubro one but has a chop top think zz top eliminator coupe it looks like it will be a cool build.
Tom

[Pablo]

Thank you, gentlemen, it must be a '34 Ford then.

 

Tim, thanks for the color recommendations

Tom, ZZTop chopped roof? That would be cool......

[havlicek]

Neat to see one of my early rewinds again, and even neater to see it nestling in such a cool car.  Good score Pablo...fire up the iron and have at it!

[Don Weaver]

You haven't done a HARDBODY before.

[Pablo]

I know. Hardbodies scare me and I wouldn't even know how to begin. This car already weighs 213 grams........

I'll think about it. Thanks Don

[Samiam]

Pablo,

Do you have any Michael's(craft) stores by you? Good place to snag a model with a 40% off coupon.

[Don Weaver]

JK has some "discountinued" hardbodies that are single piece and made of from material similiar to "La Cucarachas", i.e. tupperware.  And they are cheap!

[SlotStox#53]

JK has some "discountinued" hardbodies that are single piece and made of from material similiar to "La Cucarachas", i.e. tupperware.  And they are cheap!

Didn't know JK did hardbodies, will have to investigate. Plus I like cheap !

Great score on the car Pablo, looks cool already. Gonna be fun watching your modifications come to life

[Don Weaver]

Paul,

 

They don't "do" them - just have some Revell Snap-Tite kits for sale.

[Pablo]

Thanks guys

 

Yes, I have a Michaels and I have coupons, thanks, Sam.

The length of the center section is a hair under 4 1/2" axle to flag shaft.

So it was probably designed for a 4" WB.

If I buy a 1/24 hard body at Michales, can I assume the WB will be 4" and support a GL of about 1/2" ?

 

Don, a search on JK website gives no results, and I don't see hardbodies on PCH website, either.

 

Wouldn't buying a kit at Michaels be kind of like Pelosi saying "you have to buy it and open it to find out what's in it" ??

[Don Weaver]

Pablo-

 

Look under "Closeouts".  They make great hardbodies because they a one piece and unbreakable.....

[Pablo]

I see a Revell kit, but no photo, and zero details.

A Google search for "CL85-1316 Revell Hard Body Kit Cheerios #26" reveals nothing for me.

So I'm right back where I started - gotta buy something and open it to find out if it's gonna work

 

The clear Ford body option is looking better.....

[Jaeger Team]

interesting JK closeout

Attached Images

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[Don Weaver]

Have some good looking NASCAR's too.  Yours for a cool ten dollar bill!

[Pablo]

That's weird, the closeout JK page wasn't showing any of that for me this morning.

Now all of a sudden when I go there, it's in Spanish, and all sorts of hardbody Revell kits appear

I guess I have entered the Twilight Zone

 

Anyway, I like those Revell bodies and I'd love to put one on this car, BUT, again, how do I know the dimensions?

If this was a custom chassis build, it wouldn't be a problem. But it HAS to fit this chassis.

[Pablo]

These wheels are sweet, but fronts and rears don't match.

Anybody know what brand they are, and where I can buy another pair of the American Mag type?

 

 

I diasassembled the motor for a cleaning and a checkup.

All it needed was a little TLC with a new can/EB attachment screw up top

 

[olescratch]

interesting JK closeout

Is there any scale identification listed for these?  I don't see anything on the box!

[Pablo]

Thanks to Don for showing me a photo of his JK Revell bodied anglewinder scratchbuilt car.

It's a 4.5" WB with "some" normal ("positive") GL, looks like at least 1/2".

So this chassis will not work with those hardbodies.

 

Glad I got that out of my system

I'll do one some day, but not this time.

[Pablo]

Found some matching front wheels - Cox American Mags shod with EJ's #15 front tires

 

 

Rear wheels will have Parma Tuna donuts mounted.

Parts gathering is done.

 

Planning phase:

 

The Tom Scott chassis will be set aside for a future project. It needs a body with a long WB requiring negative GL.

For now, I'll use it as inspiration and guidance for my own ISO outer section.

I happen to have another center section, and I'll custom build it for the body

 

[Pablo]

Center section sanded flat. Tongue Tweeker used to give the tongue a very slight up tilt.

Rotating flag surfaces faced with Magnehone

 

 

Slick 7 racing bushings precisely aligned and soldered in

 

[Pablo]

I realize now the American Mags were just inserts.

When I lacquer thinnered them to slide the donuts on, the paint melted

Doesn't change the fact they are perfect rear wheels - I can find inserts for them later.

 

I dug out the truest Cox 39T I had and mated it with a 9T brass pinion.

Shortened, bored, polished, and soldered on.

I'd have preferred steel, but couldn't find any in 3/32 bore.

 

The rears will end up about 1.015" OD after a final trim, giving a 4.27 Final Drive Ratio.

Much better than the original 3.20

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Hi Pablo,

First off, congrats on winning the Monster! I think the builder's ISO design is an outstanding example of what one can do to repurpose the classic American line chassis.
Mounting the front axle to clear the guide and any sort of body other than an old Ford has always been a challenge.
Public info now, I'm stealing some of those ideas! 😉

I also like that the wheelbase is adjustable. In answer to one of your initial questions regarding any standards of wheelbase, model kits are scaled from the real thing with some license so there are many variations from kit to kit, mfr to mfr, not to mention 1/25 vs 1/24 Scales!

Same can be said for rocker to rocker width of hard plastic bodys, which can vary from 2.25" for smaller sports cars up to 3.25" for larger GTP's. Each and every one is generally different by a few fractions of an inch unless you stick within a mfr's series, say like the older AMT NASCAR kits where their chassis' are all the same with only a different body.

As is, and as the portfolio eludes to, I'd say any Full size or muscle car 1/25 Lindberg, Revell or AMT kit of your choice would fit with little mods. Be mindful that type of body mount does require you glue some wood or plastic blocks inside the body in order to have a place to install machine screw thread inserts, and you want to install said inserts blind so the screws bottom out allowing the body to wiggle a little.

Weight down low on a Hardbody is desirable. One of the quickest GTP's on BPR's flat track is over 200 grams.

Keith Tanaka has built cars with negative guide lead and believes it is not as bad as most would traditionally think.

Best of fun either way you choose☺