117 replies to this topic

[Pablo]

I know it may seem annoying to post pics of every little thing I do, but I still get PM's saying "Hey, thanks for explaining the details, I learned something". So I continue. Time for drop arm to be connected with .055 wires wiggling around in 3/32 tube pieces.

 

Hakko 455 manly iron is heating up. Plan is to tack the wires on, remove from surgery jig, check alignment, then (assuming it doesn't require any correction) alligator clip them and go hog wild with the 455 and silver solder on a wood block

 

 

Quality check on my flattest block. These are all critical checkpoints to a car that handles well lap after lap without bad habits or surprises:

 

-totally flat?

-drop arm free to drop, droop, wiggle, aligned correctly?

-entire chassis lifts at same time as tongue?

-etc. 

 

Yup 

 

[SpeedyNH]

i like how you bent those smaller wires up to lift the inside of the tubes. 

post on! 

[Pablo]

Thanks Speedy. Just copying the masters. Thanks to Bill, I did the right thing 

 

[Pablo]

I'm thinking about the plumber-on-droparm architecture. Inner plumber rail will be .055 wire and outer will be .063 rod.

Needs are:

-droparm downstop

-plumber rails cross-connectors (anti-spreaders)

-plumber rails upstop and downstop

-pin tubes

 

Goal is to combine as many "needs" as possible into double-duty. I've been staring at this front area and can't find any reason why the forward anti-spreader can't also serve as the droparm downstop, with one straight wire soldered across the plumber rails. I'll just have to tack it in and try it.

 

But once I do, the plumbers are locked in 

 

[Pablo]

Looks ugly right now and took lots of fiddlin' to accomplish, but I succeeded in making one wire piece serve as both (forward) anti-spreader for the twin plumber rails, as well as a drop stop for the drop arm. My first attempt was positioned as shown in my previous post (aft of the main rail connection wire), and it failed. The ability of the plumbers to lift with drop arm down was hindered.

 

By placing it forward of that wire, the fulcrum changed and now it works nicely. Drop arm only goes down about 10 thou and that's all I want. If this was 1971 I'd give it more drop. Outer brass rod plumber wires are only soldered in 3 small spots each to avoid warping the .055 wires

 

 

Next up is governing the plumber wires, and I hope to "triple duty" them if possible - pin tubes, rearward anti-spreaders, and upstop/downstops. No promises - we shall see  

[Larry Horner]

There is a lot going on for such a small amount of real estate but it looks great Pablo! 

[Pablo]

Thanks Larry     That's why they call them a "Plumber's Nightmare"    Every single piece on this type chassis has a purpose.

 

For those who still find building slot cars that are fast and handle a mystery, I highly recommend building a Lee Gilbert full plumber replica. Once you complete it, most, if not all, of your mystery will be solved.

[Bill from NH]

Finding a Parma or Camen drop arm for the Gilbert build may present problems. A Canadian friend sent me three, about 12 yrs. ago. I gave away two to friends. The Gilbert build articles are good ones.

[Pablo]

I agree Bill, the "korrect" drop arms are hard to find. But you are missing my point, which is, if a guy builds a Lee Gilbert replica (or any other of the masters magazine build articles for that matter), in the end he is going to pretty much understand slot car techniques from start to finish. The Lee Gilbert article includes some timeless motor blueprinting skills. Whether he uses absolute period korrect parts or not, doesn't matter. Anyway, back to my GP A/W ......

 

Pin tube body mounts, one fore, one aft, do double duty as plumber rail anti-spreaders. The fact that one plumber rail is .055 and the other .063 lets a little more solder pool under the .055 wire. Also, this "mismatch" allows 8 thou plumber rail droop. Which is a good thing on a car that clears 1/16 level front to rear   

 

[Bill from NH]

When you tell somebody to build something with parts they can't even find, you lost the war before the battle even begins. They'll give up & go on to something else.!  A better solution would have been to indicate how to make an alternative part to use for unattainable items. Experienced builders should know mult9ple ways to make pans & drop arms. How many people out there do you think has all the Car Model Gilbert articles? Is it available from a single source? Dozens, or less than 20 people?  I expect this post will be deleted. I'm okay with that, but it was something that had to be said.

[team burrito]

i did a quicky build with a mini-motor & a oleg lotus 63 body. handle fairly well & it's only 95 grams.

[Pablo]

OK Bill, I hear you, don't get upset. All I'm saying is, if a guy wants to learn scratchbuilding, the Lee Gilbert magazine article would be my recommendation. If a guy can build one of those, he can build anything. Doesn't have to be perfect or pretty, doesn't have to use all the korrect parts. The goal would be learning the principles of pro-era race cars.

 

A guy could use a rectangular piece of brass with a Cobra tongue and nobody would laugh at it. We use what we have. Jairus makes his own custom drop arms, and I know another guy that can make them as well. 

 

I included photos of most of the Lee Gilbert magazine article pages (you gave me hard copies, remember?) in my build and all a guy would have to do is ask and I'd copy and send them. Or a guy could get a DVD from Okeefe with all those magazine scans.

 

Nobody here is going to delete your post. It's relevant. You inspired me to build a Lee Gilbert car by gifting me the complete set of magazine articles, and I still have them if anybody wants copies of them.

 

Back to The Wolcott Ranch and Petting Zoo. Here is JoJo Wolcott the rat terrier. God made some parts of his body rigid and other parts flexible for good reasons, just like a plumber's nightmare slot car chassis

 

 

Architecture on this chassis is complete. This photo shows when the drop arm falls due to track dips or whatever, the plumber rails actually lift, tilting the body down in front and up to the rear. I didn't plan this, it's just a result of how it ended up. Lessening the amount of air entering up front when the car gets upset, can't be bad 

 

 

Upstops for the rear of the plumber rail sets are a pair of .032 wire pieces

 

 

Everything else is standard procedure for a "plumber rails on a droparm" design:

-drop arm drops a hair and droops a hair

-plumber rails wiggle, shift left/right, droop, lift, flex, etc.

-front wheels can lift or droop without upsetting the car

-Flag wants to stay planted

 

Crash management is a big part of this - energy by a crash isn't transferred - it's absorbed by the decoupling of parts. That's my theory, anyway. Into the tumbler she goes 

 

Russ, I always enjoy seeing your builds. Square tubes rule!

[SpeedyNH]

cool Plumber style dog! 

[Bill Breck]

How many people out there do you think has all the Car Model Gilbert articles? Is it available from a single source? Dozens, or less than 20 people?  I expect this post will be deleted. I'm okay with that, but it was something that had to be said.

 

I was able to get all of the Lee Gilbert issues AND several Parma,Team Nutley & Cobra drop arms on eBay. If you're patient you can find them.    

[Isaac S.]

The Gilbert articles are very good. One of the many joys I have found from the magazines I bought.

 

Car looks great so far Pablo! 

[Pablo]

Thanks everybody    Here of some pics of my favorite part of a build - out of zee tumbler:

 

 

 

 

[Pablo]

 

 

 

[Pablo]

WD-40 soak bath. I purified a spot with lighter fluid for a JB Welded signature plaque  

 

[Martin]

Very nice build congrats Pablo.

Did I mention I love open wheel angle winders.

[Pablo]

  The best is yet to come. The shorty Pablo/Havlicek motor and the Noose paint job are going to blow your mind.

[Pablo]

Jet Flag snugged in place with a temp alum collar. Once I firm up the ride height details I'm trim it and screw it low profile. I checked the tongue tilt by pressing down on the front of the flag and the rear of the chassis lifts a little. That is what I planned for 

 

 

Use of a comm cooler would require rotating mass extending outside the body. I'm choosing not to do that because this motor won't run hot enough to really need it anyway. 

 

Lower can solder attachment point is ready, bare of paint and pre-acid tinned. Upper brace on opposite side needs paint removed and tinning. I didn't do it before because I really didn't know exactly where I was going to put the brace

 

 

 

[Pablo]

Motor soldered in with Aeroflow paste flux. It bites well and won't cause corrosion

 

 

,047 "Z" brace up top opposite the gears. This is where legendary "chattering" in these type cars gets fixed. If this car "chatters" or "bunny hops" on it's track test, I shall return to Denmark and take up knitting sweaters. Or maybe curling. EB side shaft trimmed short to avoid contacting the body. If it's necessary I'll use a hole punch on the body 

 

 

As a test to ensure nothing bad happened in the motor installation, I fed the beast some mild volts installed in the chassis. She is very happy. Just a Q/A check 

[Pablo]

Standard procedure, no excess meat on the axles and ends polished 

 

 

Looks like I need to get those tire cooties cleaned up on the rears a little 

[Pablo]

Drivetrain is done, piece of cake. Wheels centered, gear mesh perfect, a few spacers allow a needle oiler to fit

 

 

Flag is set with one 10 thou and one 5 thou under, and a 10 thou spare up top for trackside fine tuning. As it sits, on a non-recessed block, front wheels are about 10 thou above ground zero and clearance is a perfect .063 level. With some insurance in the rear to allow some tire wear.

 

The alum collar fit so sweet, I left it there instead of fiddling with the 70's screw/washer gizmos. I never did like them. It takes forever to make them work right. Every turn of the screw bulges the post and binds it against the tongue hole. The GP body allows the extra height, so I went with it. Dubro alum collars date way back, so the vintage police cannot knock on my door. If this was a Sports Car body, I would have chosen the screw to avoid conflict with the body 

 

[Pablo]

Tire cooties cleaned up with a lacquer thinner soaked Q-tip. If it was any cleaner I'd be dc-65x. And I found a MURA sticker 

 

 

Lead wires are done, and you can see my trim job on the EB side of the Havlicek arm shaft. I don't know where John sources his shafts, but I guarantee you this one was so hard it took several passes with a new 409 disk to cut and bevel the end    Probably the hardest shaft I've ever seen

 

 

Chris Barnes open wheel front axle trick - use a hole punch on the body, and a scissor slice to slip the axle up. The savvy retro guys do it, and it works here