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Builder
Posted 12 May 2021 - 12:10 PM
Brass pin tubes soldered across main rails land (bird cage lol) atop triple .063 brass rod sets on each side, outrigger "Kon-Tiki" style, to stabilize the "cage" and add a little weight 
The body is actually 2 7/8 width at the pin tubes, so it shall be. More reinforcements and trimming to come
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 12 May 2021 - 10:27 PM
Outriggers/pin tubes done. No hinges, just flex Dummy 2mm axle sliced and removed
This chassis moves every time I solder a new joint. I can't blame it on dissimilar metals, because it started long before the brass outriggers were attached. I don't consider it a problem on this particular chassis - it's just something I'm not used to. Track test will be the judge 
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 13 May 2021 - 01:01 PM
Chunk of lead soldered into drop arm void. "Pablo" emblem JB Welded onto starboard outrigger LOL
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 13 May 2021 - 08:42 PM
Time for Tamiya wheels. Axle is a tinned piece of .078 piano wire. Keepers are 2mm armature shaft spacers. Every time I use these wheels I thank Maximo. They really are sweet Chassis is jigged and taped up for surgery; front elevated .032, rear .047"
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 13 May 2021 - 10:29 PM
I set the width at 2 3/4", which will set them inside the wheel wells and the front can sit low as possible
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 14 May 2021 - 07:03 PM
Front wheel assembly all wired up
Chassis is complete and ready to assemble. I chose to clean and shine the birdcage with Dial liquid soap, SOS, and baking soda - no tumble. The media would get stuck in a lot of places, and who knows what a chunk of lead would do rolling around in my tumbler? So I played it safe. I'll polish the lead weight later on with Mother's Metal Polish 
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 15 May 2021 - 11:43 AM
29T Parma crown with Koford short hollow grub screw, sleeved and dyed Royal Blue. Motor trussed up for surgery with a big phenolic washer against the gimbal bushing, and lots of Scotch Blue tape to prevent acid splatter. Sonic 48P straight steel pinion soldered on with acid and Kester 60/40
Vintage drill blank axle, checked for straight on a dial indicator, cut to perfect size, and polished down to 2,000 grit
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 16 May 2021 - 12:16 AM
Motor secured in 3 places and lead chunk polished
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 16 May 2021 - 08:37 PM
Assembly complete with the exception of:
-rear axle will get an additional pair of .100" alum spacers after the body is mounted
-flag weight may be too tall to fit under the hood. We shall see
Wheels on - clearances and chassis slope worked out fine. Final weight approx. 85 grams. Fore/aft balance point is about halfway between the axles 
Paul Wolcott
Posting Leader
Posted 17 May 2021 - 12:23 AM
Thanks for the journey
Old Engineer
Posted 17 May 2021 - 11:32 AM
nice.
i used to make mine with the balance point midway between the rear axle and the flag pivot, but that was for mostly tight, twisty tracks.
not to distract the thread, but it did work, though- i was fourth twice in the short-lived central Jersey championships with an even mix of two wins and two dnfs and a few podiums in '67 and '68. i still have the about two-foot-tall trophies on my shelves.
and when the Russkit guys visited once (with their new trigger controllers and fancy motors and chassis and jackets and ties, no less), we did make them work for it. we thought that balance was one of the keys.
Steve Lang
Grand Champion Poster
Posted 17 May 2021 - 11:48 AM
Nice build Pablo. It's neat to see different designs. I bet you had fun planning it out and then making it all come together. 
Rick Thigpen
Check out Steve Okeefe's great web site at its new home here at Slotblog:
The Independent Scratchbuilder
There's much more to come...
olescratch
Posted 17 May 2021 - 03:20 PM
Planning? I read somewhere in this article that Pablo was winging it with this build, but the results turned out as if it was planned.
Grand Champion Poster
Posted 17 May 2021 - 03:42 PM
I mean "planning" as in from one operation to the next. Letting things kind of evolve, "I've got that part on and it looks good........now how should I do the next part?" That's what I'm doing on my current chassis build and it's been different and fun.
Rick Thigpen
Check out Steve Okeefe's great web site at its new home here at Slotblog:
The Independent Scratchbuilder
There's much more to come...
Posting Leader
Posted 17 May 2021 - 03:57 PM
Very nice build. I have a soft spot for 13D motors.
Builder
Posted 17 May 2021 - 05:14 PM
Thank you gentlemen. Body is pinned, stance is perfect and I nailed all four pin holes first try 
I'm correcting small "situations" as I go - flag weight is (just barely) touching the hood and front O-rings are (barely) contacting the body up top. Still trimming the wheel wells. Easy fixes.
In the end, I think the stars of the show will be the powerplant, the vintage wheels and special parts, and the JK pre-painted body which blows my mind 
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 17 May 2021 - 07:15 PM
Jacky Ickx video:
Paul Wolcott
On The Lead Lap
Posted 17 May 2021 - 07:42 PM
Pablo, I just bought one of JK's pre-painted Porsche 906 bodies and it's pretty sweet too. I know Jairus or Noose (or several others) could do a better job but for a mass produced product, I'd have to give JK high marks.
Builder
Posted 18 May 2021 - 12:57 PM
Drivetrain extended to a full 3" and tested. Parma pinks and Sonic pinions are always perfect - hope we never run out of them. Birdcage motor box is finalized, set at 7/29 with 13/16" OD Alpha Wonder Rubber. She passes my drivetrain test "A+". Plenty of beans and perfectly smooth. H Power arms have always been great for me
Front edge of the Classic flag weight was trimmed to clear the body (convoluted trim job LOL). 3/16 tube attached to weight, spun in poor man's lathe and polished with 2,000 grit
Slightly smaller O-rings to let them clear the body. Hopefully it will work without having to bend the front axle ends down
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 19 May 2021 - 12:37 AM
Interior in, pin holes filament taped and harpooned, flag weight and front wheel O-rings now clear the body, etc. I won't say it's "done" because it needs a track test and possibly some fine tuning. But here she is
Paul Wolcott
On The Lead Lap
Posted 19 May 2021 - 10:59 AM
Beautiful work Pablo! And I love your final front end shot ... clearly the low mean machine GT40s were back in the day. What was the total weight once all the dust settled?
Builder
Posted 19 May 2021 - 12:13 PM
Thanks Larry Weight is about 86 grams, so it can be considered a "lightweight". The performance of the Dallas Jackson birdcage car really surprised and impressed me. That is my goal here. But I need to test it and tune it if needed. It's a "strange bird" and it needs an owner that understands that.
My ability to test on a real full-sized wooden track was stolen from me by the pandemic. I used to wake up at 3 am first Saturday of the month to go race at The Dungeon. That was my test site for custom builds, but sadly I've lost that ability.
I'm a builder, not a collector. If somebody wants to own this car, I'll sell it for "a song". It will have to be someone with the ability to test and tune it. Send me a PM if interested
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 20 May 2021 - 11:50 PM
SOLD and Slotblog gets it's cut (of course)
Paul Wolcott
Builder
Posted 21 June 2021 - 12:58 PM
Owner tested the car, here is what he wrote me:
"Birdcage Ford GT40 - I'd have to say you nailed it on this one and it doesn't require any changes at all as it's very planted and predictable in the turns. And to help with that, John's motor comes on with a very gentle power delivery. That's not to say the motor doesn't have poke but rather that the poke come on very smoothly. That combined with the cars neutral handling make it a very easy car to drive and one that is deceptively fast! I was able to lap with it almost as my Jim Fowler Can Am chassis ... no small feat!"
Paul Wolcott
