'Cuda surgery

[Wobble]

My 'Cuda arrived today and I couldn't leave it be so onto the bench and out with the screw driver and into it. The front and rear of the chassis was in the wrong place so I had to move them; they belonged on the body. The diameter of the tyres was too much to my eye so NSR 5208 went on the rear and the front hubs centre ridge was turned down to 3mm wide and Scalex Mustang front tyres were stretched around them and trued down to 20mm.
before


and after




Also, the interior has about 1mm taken out of the depth of it so Dan Gurney sits a wee bit higher and to ensure the chassis and interior didn't foul each other when I shaved about 2mm off the front body posts and a smidgeon off the rear body post. The air dam/splitter has been glued directly to the body and the sides of the chassis and inside bottom edge of the body have been shaved to allow for body float and there is plenty of that now.



American muscle on Wednesday evening so I'm keen to find out how it goes. Here's hoping it's a couple of hours well spent.

[Brad_T]

That stance looks much better. Thanks for sharing you tuning tip Bram.

[Ragtopman]

Stance is much improved! I will have to get to work on mine as these Cudas’ need work…well done and thx for the tips👍🏻

[Dodgefarmer]

Looks much better. But the issue that really ruffles my feathers is that rear quarter window.

Randy

[Wobble]

I hadn't noticed that until you mentioned it. The car would have to have a funny shape wind up window to fill that gap.

[Dodgefarmer]

Probably wouldn't have been an issue on a tupperware pull toy.

[GT40 Racer (DM)]

This is the 3rd Trans Am car they have released where this had to be done to improve the appearance and the handling of the car. I know people shave body posts and chassis on the Mustang and Camaro but you don't have to do that to make the cars a) look right and b) run right..... you do with the Mercury Cougar, Javelin and now the Cuda....

Its like the Mustang and Camaro were made by a different company - seriously. You shouldn't have to do this

[Wobble]

Too true, but all the same I quite enjoyed doing it ..... and the upside is, the chaps I race with who've got one of these on the way mightn't go to the same trouble.

[one32]

Looks good Bram
I decided to take some of the 4x4 out of this car , and give it my personal touch. Thanks to Pioneer, I have a car that looks better to me. I have a few of these set back, so not too worried
about having fun with a guinea pig car.

[Jules]

Fully Approved.

[TuscoTodd]

That looks sooooo good!

[one32]

Thanks guys

[oldskool62]

Wobble Thanks for this. My car arrived yesterday so now I have something to go by.

[Wobble]

I was fluffing around at home looking for some slotty stuff and I came across a set of SRC Minilites and the visible part of the hubs are almost exactly the same size as Scalextric Camaros/Mustangs etc but have a 5mm centre ridge. It turns out the rear hubs are an ideal size for NSR 5241 for 917's although I've had to scrape out a little inside the wheel arches for clearance, and the front hubs with centre ridge turned down to 3mm an ideal size for Pioneer Mustang/Camaro fronts. Personally I think these look a whole lot better than the standard fare.

[GT40 Racer (DM)]

Standard wheels are a major disappointment. Those look good, Bram.

[4424ever]

Any word as to the performance of this car
Is it on par with the Camaro and Mustang

[Michael Squier]

Mine is still box stock, tires and all and on my short test track it’s faster than my old Camaro and Mustang which have both been mildly tuned and have PG tires. Not a lot faster but consistently quicker lap times.
PS, my experience is limited to running against the clock in my basement and tweaking till they run better. Also no magnets on plastic Scalextric sport track.

[Wobble]

On Saturday afternoon we had racing on a short track that I'd never driven on before and I had problems with it, but then I had problems with nearly every car I drove/raced on it. It certainly has straight line speed but I opted to race a Pioneer Mustang which was a lot easier to drive on this track.

[Aptosc6]

My Cuda continues to get better. We had a mock race today during an open track. My car was doing 5.2's on a 70+ foot routed wood track. It is almost as good as my James Hunt Camaro which is often the car to beat.
For the record: NSR rear tires, lowered front end, after market guide/braid. Chassis modified for shack and shimmy. Front/Rear bodywork sectioned and glued to body. All else pretty much stock.

[arroldn]

All cars completely stock. Loosened the body screws to get a little float. Cars flew off of the track with the bodies tight. 12 volts on Scalextric Sport short oval. Loosening the body screws does not do much to help the Scaley Challengers or the new Cuda. Doesn't help the SCX Cuda much either.

Results of a 20 lap run.

Scalextric Cars

#98 Cougar 58.76 FL 2.69 Secs. Body Screws -1, Magnet behind the motor
#76 Challenger 1.00.91 FL 2.76 Secs. Body Screws -1 no body float, Magnet behind the motor
Pink Challenger TA 59.79 FL 2.77
#33 Mustang 51.42 FL 2.42 Secs Body Screws -2 front, rear tight. Magnet in front of the motor. Full throttle all the way around. First run of the Mustang was 53.47 FL 2.46 Secs.
#48 Cuda 54.54 FL 2.54 Secs -1 all screws=minimal float

Thus the fastest Scaley car is the Mustang. I don't have any Cameros that still have magnets in them.

SCX

New Cuda 54.64 FL 2.64 with FC130 can. Full throttle all the way around. No body float
Old #48 Cuda 1.00.06 FL 2.82 RX-42B. Screw -1 minimal float.

Analysis:

The New Cuda from SCX and Scaley are just about equal with the Scaley having and advantage by a tenth of a second.

[mopargreg]

Hey Wobble, Your cuda looks great with the lowering & the new wheels. Those SRC Minilites looks great when on the car & painted. I have to say on there website unpainted I thought didn't look to good. The finished car almost looks as good as the SCX Cuda. Mine is still in the box & unsure which direction I'll go with it.

[Wobble]

Cheers guys, I'm thinking I might even take another mm or so off the front body posts 'cos I found this photo and half the thickness of the top of the front tire is hidden behind the wheel arch.