106 replies to this topic

[Mike Patterson]

Well, I didn't finish the car in time for the last race of the season, so I've kinda slacked off on it. I have got the body painted, though. Here's a shot of my slammed, Psychedelic British Racing Green Outisight Cooper:


The scissors wandered while I was trimming it, and by the time I got everything evened up, I was left with a low-rider Cooper. Or is this how they're supposed to be mounted?


And here's a pic of the car and driver in progress:


You will note that I haven't done any detailing on the body yet, and very little on the driver. I'm waiting for my new detailing pens to arrive.

I'll post a couple more photos when the car is finished, hopefully within the next couple of weeks.

[gascarnut]

Very nice!

The body looks good mounted like that, as long as there's the requisite 1/8" vertical on the nose to keep "Noose the Tech Nazi" happy... (it's called the TonyP rule )

I will be real interested in your impresssions of how the car works once you get it on the track.

[Noose]

Looks like Mike just made it with the front end. Nice build Mike and I'm sure it is going to work great.

[Mike Patterson]

Noose, I don't think it will pass tech. I'm pretty sure I'll have to trim a little more off the front when I run it. Right now it's barely 1/8", and that's being generous. I cut at least 1/16" off the bottom of the body, so like I said, it's slammed. I'm just hoping the driver will fit!

If nothing else, it will be a good "learners" car.

[Richie]

Looks great Mike!!! I've got to get some more brass rod to redo the main rails, after we talked about the front end setup, I dismantled what I had built... and realized no more brass rod so... we're on hold LOL

[Steve Deiters]

What color and brand of paint did you use to paint the body?

[Mike Patterson]

What color and brand of paint did you use to paint the body?

Steve, I used Createx Pearl Lime available at Hobby Lobby. I believe Parma's Faspearl Key Lime is the same stuff. The CanAm car I raced last Saturday was painted this color.

[Mike Patterson]

My new pens arrived last Friday, but I haven't got around to detailing stuff yet. Because i was waiting for them, and the weather has been sooooo wet and crummy, I decided to build this:





Pretty much the same as my first, except this time the mainrails are PARALLEL ! I hope Dennis doesn't start charging a licensing fee !!!

[gascarnut]

I hope Dennis doesn't start charging a licensing fee !!!

Now there's a thought.......

Perhaps I need to wait until youi have run them, then base the fee on performance?



BTW, what is the function of the extra little piece of wire in the center of the nose section going back over the front pin tube? Just to stop the front end lift? Nice idea!

[Mike Patterson]

BTW, what is the function of the extra little piece of wire in the center of the nose section going back over the front pin tube? Just to stop the front end lift? Nice idea!

Dennis,

I was just kidding about the licensing fee. Really. Although, theoretically, I could be in violation of copyright law. But if you don't tell, I won't either !

That little piece of wire you refer to is just to support the earring back. It's bent just enough to clear the "inertial dampener", and keeps the lead wires from interfering with chassis movement. I've found that locating the earring back 1" behind the front axle gives me enough room to loop the lead wires and not bind them on the body.

The car is almost finished. I think I spent 2 hours today just detailing the engine. There has to be an easier way. Hopefully pix this weekend.

[Lucky Me]

Mike,

Hope to see you at TT Friday night racing that bad boy. Can't wait to see how it works.

[Mike Patterson]

Rick, as you probably noticed, I didn't make the race. Friday nights are not good for me.

BUT, I did manage to get a couple pix of the finished vehicle. Feast your eyes:





Detailing the engine on this thing reminded me of another reason why I never raced F1 cars: Too damned labor intensive !

[Jairus]

Labor intensive?

The price of my F1 bodies just went up!
Keep talking, buddy...

[Lucky Me]

Nice job, Mike! Now all it needs is some laps. Racing tonight was a blast. To bad you weren't there.

[Mike Patterson]

I FINALLY got to track test the car today. I went to FasTrak in Newark, Ohio, to check it out on Mike Leach's swoopy little 77' punchbowl:



I swagged the gearing, and ran an 8/28 with the TSR. Must have been pretty close, because this little puppy is SCHWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!! I added no weight, and with minimal practice on the track, I was running consistent 2.63 second laps. Mike said contender powered LMP cars ran 2.4s, so I'm happy . I think with a little more practice it would run in the 2.5s.

I'll try it out at Tom Thumb next Saturday. I'll let you all know how that goes.

And once again, thank YOU Dennis .

[gascarnut]

And once again, thank YOU, Dennis .

For what?

You did all the work, I just sat and watched

You're welcome, Mike, and I'm flattered by your results.

Enjoy the ride at Tom Thumb, it will work real well there, too.

[Darkron9]

I FINALLY got to track test the car today. I went to FasTrak in Newark, Ohio, to check it out on Mike Leach's swoopy little 77' punchbowl:

What a neat-looking track. It looks like an American Orange track reconfigured for super speed. It looks "full punched". Do you have to let off much anywhere?

[Mike Patterson]

Ron,

I only ran blue. The track was dusty, so Mike cleaned the blue lane, and gave it a spritz of spray glue in the brake zones. I had to blip the turn before you go under the bridge, and I had to drive the lead-on. Black is the fastest lane. BTW, ALL the turns on this track are tight!

And you're pretty much right on the design inspiration.

[Mike Patterson]

I finally got to drive this beast at Tom Thumb Saturday, and I must say, it was just the opposite of what it was in Newark. The car was very squirrelly, especially on corner exit, with a propensity for fishtailing until I reduced the power. The car was in no way hooked up. However, since I wasn't racing it that day, I put it aside, and concentrated on the race cars.

I am assuming the car needs weight, but where? Rear of the pans? The inertial dampener? Front of the pans? All of the above!?!?!?!? Or are these cars supposed to be squirrelly, with the driver making more of the difference (If that's true, I'll just quit right now)?

[Dominator]

What kind of tires are you using? Treated, untreated, small hub, big hub, brand? JK's almost always work. Myself personally I use either the big hub non treated or small hub treated for when the track get's hooked up.

[Lucky Me]

Mike,
Use whatever tire that you feel is best, I dont think it is a tire issue though. I had the same issues and I started adding weight in the center on each outer pan and worked my way back to the rear untill the car came around, What a difference the weight made, The car started out @ 100.1 and would occasionally dip into the 5.20's (Me driving of course)
Final weight arrived @ was 109.2 and now it runs consistant 5.0's and a best of 4.99 (so far) car feels really good now. Hope this advice helps.

FWIW I run either Alpha big hub or my favorite is Jk 8763 untreated., If the bite is too hard, try trimming the width of the rear tires untill you get the desired result.

[Rick]

At MACS the secret is the donut. That's is where you get it done or not and a little top turn speed. I have had cars that were good but just as you hit the short chute onto the lead-on they want to wash out. I know you can make any car change with weght, but I think it is chassis loading and unloading that is the real trick! Torsion cars do not like the donut there as well as floppys. I am anxious to test the new F1-050 chassis there. AFter all, it is the biggest show in the country come spring.

I know what you mean about the differences. At Keystone the torsion F1 was so good and on a less-banked track, not so good. The torsion F1 worked well until it was wall-shot at full tilt boogie into the 90, LMAO. It never came back after that. Also that surface is the most unpredictable I have ever encountered. Not bad, just different.

You will need a day to tune the car in... Don't expect anything you tune in at Fastrax to work at Macs.

[Mike Patterson]

Guys,

I was running my 'standard' tires, Alpha Big Hub (not Full Big Hub) Piranhas. I have always had good luck with them. I had them on my Can-Am car, and they worked OK. I have also been known to run good ol' Parma Tunas.

I guess I'll just have to schedule a day of testing at Tom Thumb.

[macman]

WOW What an interesting thread!!!

[Pappy]

Hi Dennis,

I built my version of your chassis. I had trouble getting the width under 1-5/8" using a 1/4" wide pan, so I made my pans using two 1/16" brass rods and one 1/16" piano wire. It looks a lot like a Jail Door chassis and really brings back memories of the '60s. I lengthened the wheelbase to 4-1/4" and cut the guide lead down to 7/8". That makes it 5-1/8" from the rear axle to the center of the guide. I made the wheelbase 4-1/4" because I'm using a Lancer Ferrari body on it and you need the extra 1/4" to make it fit right.

I'll take a few pictures of it and send them to Cheater and ask him to post them for me. I'm going to give it a try Friday night at T/R's. I'll let know how she handles.