8 replies to this topic

[Shooter7mustang]

For those of us here in OKC, racing picks back up this Friday night. Due to the restrictions caused by the "pandemic" there has been no where to go and nothing to do but work on race cars. Consequently I have used some of this time to work on my painting "skills."

 

As a result I have umpteen bodies to trim and mount. I would like to pick every ones brain about the best way to trim and mount a body to the right height. I cut on the trim lines but my bodies always seem to sit to high and tilt one way or the other.

 

We race strictly "Flexi NASCAR" here so I would like to focus on mounting bodies to stamped steel chassis, JK, Mossetti, etc., particularly JKs. Most of the bodies I have are the new RTR Titans, however I do have some older Outisites and a few JKs. Any and all comments tips and tricks are welcome.

 

Thanks in advance.

[glueside]

Measure from the back wing downwards, in the rear quarters, mark the desired body height minus tech measurement. Then mark the front bumper all the way around. Then match them together and use a straight edge on a piece of glass, or a JK body cutting tool to cut your sides. It is real easy.

[Matt Sheldon]

What Jeff said and buy Marks body jig.

[Shruska55]

I bought Mark's jig early on and it's a brilliant tool for mounting bodies, IMHO. I too have multiple bodies to mount on my Flexi Indicar and NASCAR chassis. The best feature isn't just the ease of use, it's that once the chassis is aligned and the puncture pins set to go, I can trim and mount as many bodies I need per chassis type. e.g. If you are mounting on a JK, that chassis becomes part of the jig because the pin tubes are the same for all JKs. Trim and punch as many bodies as you want for that chassis type. Them switch to Mossetti, align and go.

 

One thing I did find is that it's best to flare the pin tube slightly if you don't now. The angle of the factory alignment/puncture probes will seat better and push through the body easier. Since body armor or reinforcement tape is going on anyway, I use a manual reamer to open the hole again once that's done.

 

The only issue I'm finding is how accurate my Old Man Eyes are when making the trim cuts!

 

Best $$$ I spent on a tool getting back into slot racing...

ScottH

[Fast Freddie]

You might want to check out Ron Hershman's how to in Between the Lanes #138 on Youtube.  It's very informative on cutting and mounting NASCAR bodies.

[Shooter7mustang]

What Jeff said and buy Marks body jig.

Buy Marks "Body Jig" done !

[Ramcatlarry]

Front to back?  Many mount a body with a lot of front or back overhang in order to optimize the downforce.   Does it really make a difference or are there reasons like 'best for ovals', or banked or flat tracks....?

[Fast Freddie]

Over the years I've mounted my test body in 3 different ways.  Forward bias, rear bias, and neutral using only one set of pin holes.  More recently I have started using the RTR "The Body Master" body cutting and mounting tool.  It allows for 5 different pin locations on at least 2 different chassis.  I'm into using the JK43 and Mossetti chassis but it works on the older open motor box JK chassis also.  You can easily and quickly pin 5 different pin locations for a test body. You can also increase the number of pin locations by using the holes in the tool to the left or right as the neutral hole position, thereby moving the body even further forward or back.  I usually use the neutral pin hole as my guide hole for the rest. One more thing, since I usually pin my bodies for two different brand of chassis I stabilize the pinning of any additional holes by using both pin holes in the neutral position.  It prevents the tool and the body from moving too much and use the tool on the outside of the body when doing this it works better.  Be careful and don't stick yourself with the pins.

[Dave Buchholz]

Is there a logic as to mounting farther forward or rearward? How does shifting a body forward or backward affect the handling?

I have no idea on this particular concept of "tuning" with body position and would like to learn.

Dave