114 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

Some think the Associated telescope style wheel was sold in 1968. All I can say is here is an associated ad from Jan. 1969:

 

 

SteveO's MRJ and MCJ DVD's would be really helpful to quickly check out ads, pictures, race reports and tech sheets. I know handling the 50 year old crumbling newsletters is a terrifying experience!

[Martin]

I think the width disqualifies them. The CM rules say tire width 5/8" max, so I will stick to Russkit wheels.

[dc-65x]

Here's "the look" that's pretty cool. A Steube early '68 inline:

 

 

Something like these 5/8" wide "mystery wheels" I stumbled upon would be great but I don't have extras:

 

 

The Russkit rears are narrow and pretty much obsolete by '68. By 1967 a wider used like the Weldun replaced the Russkit. SteveO and I had some made and I have lots if you need any. They are similar in width to the Cox I'll be using. They have a 1/2" wide rim with 1/8" of tire extending over the set screw hub.....similar to what's done today.

 

 

For fronts I've used Russkit's with a tire like the K&B vinyl or Revell 1/32 front ground way down:

 

 

Maybe you can find a wheel similar to the simple "mystery wheel" in one of your many boxes-O-stuff? 

 

 

 

[Martin]

Look what I found, I will dig deeper and find the matching rears, maybe?

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[dc-65x]

Dig Martin, dig!

[Steve Okeefe]

Martin,

 

Those Mini-Wheels fronts you show in post #29 may or may not be an example of the wheels in the ad Rick shows in post #24.

 

There is precious little documentation to help pin it down, so unless someone comes up with an ad or a catalog entry with a date and a part number, it may not be possible to know for sure.

 

However, the Mini-wheels fronts you have are certainly from 1968, although may not be from as early as March.  So, you can say you replaced the wheels later in 1968, and call it even.

 

You have a PM.

[Martin]

I would like to think that the pro drivers got parts well before they became available to the public.

So close enough for my build. Later in 68 this Rubin car would become obsolete. 

Now my next question is did Russkit make a Lola T70 coupe GT in time for this CM race of March 68?

Rick supplied info to support a Lola T70 GT available from Russkit later that year. So now I am on the hunt for that rare beauty. Any one have one of these up for trade or sale, in any condition?

Has anyone ever seen one?

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[tonyp]

Don’t be fooled by the tech sheets for the big races. The longer pro racing went on the less accurate the sheets. For example Jerry Brady never raced Dyna Rewind motors. They were either Keans or Big Jim Greenaway. Pretty much tires were listed as the manufacturer footing the bill for the parts but in many cases rarely.were.

[Martin]

Tony, I did consider that, that happens in all forms of racing. Do you have knowledge or an opinion on what Lola GT body Rubin would have available at that time.

[tonyp]

I’m not sure who made the body. I would assume it is the same one Steube etc used at the first anglewinder race due to closeness of the 2 events.

Dynamic maybe?


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[Steve Okeefe]

Rick,

 

What is your approach to chassis width when building an "inspired by" version of a pro race car?

 

Three inches over the outside edges of the tires is the standard for all classes, but 1968 Car Model National Championship rules allow up to 3-1/4" body width in sports cars, coupes and stock cars, while not directly restricting the width of the chassis.  No doubt, pro chassis builders took full advantage of this.

 

If the body you have selected for a project like this is three inches wide (which means it would be slightly less than that on the inside), would you build the chassis to 3-1/8" anyway, and then make the body fit?

 

I understand it generally amounts to stretching the body width no more than 3/16", but sometimes the distortion that causes can be pretty obvious, and at the same time it seems like chassis measurably wider than three inches was standard practice among pro builders.

[dc-65x]

Hi Steve,

 

Lots of the 1968 "handling bodies" are 3" wide and have flat vertical sides. In my personal reality I don't like to splay out the vertical sides like a pyramid on a  chassis that is much wider than the body.

[tonyp]

The Waters bodies were the first to exploit the wider measurement.


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[dc-65x]

Hi Tony,

 

There are lots of Waters McLarens in the race results for sure. I remember a starting line photo of a main event with virtually all Waters McLarens!

[tonyp]

They were the hot body until the lancer Porsche came out.


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[dc-65x]

I was finally able to get back to my workbench and I made up a pair of ginormous 1" wide bat pans:

 

 

I used to build a chassis piece by piece.....cut.......bend........solder.......repeat. I lived in a puddle of acid flux. Lately I've been trying to make up as many parts as I can before I even plug in the iron.

 

Here's where I'm at with just a couple more parts to go before soldering:

 

 

Now if my vision would clear up from having my eyes dilated at the Optometrist I could get back to the bench........

[Bill from NH]

Iit might take overnight forr your eyes to get back to normal. It usually does me.

[dc-65x]

You were right about it taking overnight before my vision would clear up Bill. 

 

The motor is all covered with tape to protect it. The motor bracket has a U-brace installed. The outer brass rails are held in the jig with 3 pairs of pins for alignment and ready to solder:

 

 

Next the inner rails go in the jig:

 

 

The inner rails are just lightly tacked in place on the motor bracket so I don't melt the endbell:

 

 

Out comes the motor and all the soldering is completed including the drop arm up-stop and another rear bracket brace:

 

 

The pan hinge tube are next. They get tacked in place:

 

 

The hinge tubes and the full length of the rails are soldered. They warped like crazy into an hour glass shape.
Quite a project to straighten things out.

A notch needed to be filed into the pan hinge tubes for the drop arm pivot tube.......

 

 

........and it is soldered in place:

 

 

Here's the center section:

 

 

 

The drop arm is next.........

[Bill from NH]

You're making nice progress Rick.

[tonyp]

You need to build a second one and cut it in half to make an anglewinder which a lot of people did. Lol. This was the state of the art inline, much better then what we were using, unfortunately it was state of the art for one race. It’s what Jerry Brady took to the west coast to beat the pros, unfortunately while he was 8 Miles High traveling to LA, the fast guys were beating out anglewinders.

[tonyp]

Beautiful work, Phil would be proud!

[dc-65x]

Thanks Tony. 

 

I was about to make a drop arm like Phil did but then I noticed in the picture below that Jerry Brady made a one piece plate drop arm:

 

 

A one piece arm would be cool but I don't bend sheet metal worth a darn............    My eye caught that Cobra ad on the bottom of the page. Check out the red circled item   a Cobra plate drop arm for a Cobra bodied car:  

 

 

The guide tongue was kind of a mess so I machined its surfaces flat and parallel:

 

 

I also machined little reliefs at each end of the pivot tube to keep solder from flowing where it didn't belong:

 

 

The finished pivot tube installation:

 

 

The finished arm:

 

 

A Cobra for a Cobra 

 

 

 

 

 

[Steve Okeefe]

Rick,

 

A Cobra for a Cobra... Very cool and very appropriate! 

 

There's something else about that Brady chassis that I noticed.  No, it's not the high level of craftsmanship. 

 

Aside from being one of the best drivers there ever was, Jerry Brady came up with some clever chassis design ideas.   I'm intrigued...

[dc-65x]

Perhaps A Brady inspired build in the works Steve?     

[Bill from NH]

I find it odd that nobody seems to know where Jerry Brady is today, or if he's still around. A few years back there was a rumor he was a fireman in the NYC area.