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I built this for someone whose club has fairly loose rules,..so,....they may or not be usable in your particular club, but, if you can use them, they do help the car considerably
Cheers
Chris Walker
The chassis was straightened, edges sanded for body clearance, silicone washers used between the pod mount/front chassis plate, weight added, rear wheels replaced with the Policar aluminum ones, new trued tyres, the transmission bushings aligned, with "thrust washers" installed, lead wires re routed, and front axle bushings installed to minimize fore aft movement of the axle etc. etc.
The completed chassis......................
The lead wires fouled on the front axle, causing excess front axle friction, and they affected the front axle vertical height..............so,.....a couple of small dia. pieces of styrene tubing were glued to the chassis plate just under the front axle, with the leads routed through.....both problems solved !!
I initially used a reduced dia. axle, and while this helped, it did not fully resolve the issue.......the styrene tubes eliminated the need for this axle,..but, I left in in.
You can see the styrene bits of tubing (white), under the front axle. I did use some lead wire with a thinner coating, as they are more flexible , but, the stock ones work just fine.
You can also see the silicone washers between the pod lug and the front chassis plate....these quiet things down , but, offer a more controlled and progressive torsional flex.
While vertical travel of the front axle is easily and effectively controlled via the top/bottom grub screws......on mine, there was a fair amount of for/aft movement of the axle which create a bit of "steering" at the front end. This oscillation or "steering" of the front axle is not great on the straights....as it cause some wandering which results in excess friction on the sides of the slot, and in corners, it leads to erratic handling.
A few of the commercial track car manufacturers produce some very thin wall axle bushings (3/32 id.) and when I tried them they fit the openings of the front axle uprights on the Ferrari.
The particular bushings I used are from MRSlotcar, but, a few different manufacturers produce them.
A couple of quick strokes with a round file, and the bushing slipped right in......just loose enough to move vertically, to allow for front end axle vertical adjustments for different track, but snug enough to mostly eliminate for /aft axle movement.
Here is the stock front upright...lots of room for axle movement.
The reduced diameter axle bushings on the left.......typical 3/16 x 3/32 oilites on the right.
And popped into the front uprights.....not glued !!
While the gearbox/transmission is a delight, it can be improved, particularly with some thin (.005 thou) washers between any fixed and rotating surface...if two washers are used they will slip against each other instead of the rotating surface grinding against the fixed (stationary one),.....this reduces friction, improves precision, and greatly reduces wear.
Not the easiest to see, but, I have used 2 thin washers between all fixed/rotating surfaces.....you can just make the out between the"stopper" and the axle bushing, and between the final drive spur and the bushing.
While not performance related , I did do some cosmetic stuff........I could not stand looking at Jacky's eyeballs, so I put some clear smoke paint on his visor, took apart the exhausts, and re glued/painted them, a bit of flat/matt varnish on Jacky's suit, a bit of molotow chrome on the susp. bits, and as there were some little holes already in the valve covers, spark plug leads were added.
The wheels were fully painted gold...(they did not have chrome edges) , and front tyres from the Slot-it Alfa T33 were glued/trued/profiled.....these just look a tad more realistic to me.
Plug leads........and a bit semi gloss on the valve covers
I am a bit annoyed at the factory bleed through the roundels, but it is a minor complaint........and really a bonus not to see Jacky's goofy eyeballs anymore.
And a bit of paint on the engine..........
Cheers
Chris Walker
The chassis was straightened, edges sanded for body clearance, silicone washers used between the pod mount/front chassis plate, weight added, rear wheels replaced with the Policar aluminum ones, new trued tyres, the transmission bushings aligned, with "thrust washers" installed, lead wires re routed, and front axle bushings installed to minimize fore aft movement of the axle etc. etc.
The completed chassis......................
The lead wires fouled on the front axle, causing excess front axle friction, and they affected the front axle vertical height..............so,.....a couple of small dia. pieces of styrene tubing were glued to the chassis plate just under the front axle, with the leads routed through.....both problems solved !!
I initially used a reduced dia. axle, and while this helped, it did not fully resolve the issue.......the styrene tubes eliminated the need for this axle,..but, I left in in.
You can see the styrene bits of tubing (white), under the front axle. I did use some lead wire with a thinner coating, as they are more flexible , but, the stock ones work just fine.
You can also see the silicone washers between the pod lug and the front chassis plate....these quiet things down , but, offer a more controlled and progressive torsional flex.
While vertical travel of the front axle is easily and effectively controlled via the top/bottom grub screws......on mine, there was a fair amount of for/aft movement of the axle which create a bit of "steering" at the front end. This oscillation or "steering" of the front axle is not great on the straights....as it cause some wandering which results in excess friction on the sides of the slot, and in corners, it leads to erratic handling.
A few of the commercial track car manufacturers produce some very thin wall axle bushings (3/32 id.) and when I tried them they fit the openings of the front axle uprights on the Ferrari.
The particular bushings I used are from MRSlotcar, but, a few different manufacturers produce them.
A couple of quick strokes with a round file, and the bushing slipped right in......just loose enough to move vertically, to allow for front end axle vertical adjustments for different track, but snug enough to mostly eliminate for /aft axle movement.
Here is the stock front upright...lots of room for axle movement.
The reduced diameter axle bushings on the left.......typical 3/16 x 3/32 oilites on the right.
And popped into the front uprights.....not glued !!
While the gearbox/transmission is a delight, it can be improved, particularly with some thin (.005 thou) washers between any fixed and rotating surface...if two washers are used they will slip against each other instead of the rotating surface grinding against the fixed (stationary one),.....this reduces friction, improves precision, and greatly reduces wear.
Not the easiest to see, but, I have used 2 thin washers between all fixed/rotating surfaces.....you can just make the out between the"stopper" and the axle bushing, and between the final drive spur and the bushing.
While not performance related , I did do some cosmetic stuff........I could not stand looking at Jacky's eyeballs, so I put some clear smoke paint on his visor, took apart the exhausts, and re glued/painted them, a bit of flat/matt varnish on Jacky's suit, a bit of molotow chrome on the susp. bits, and as there were some little holes already in the valve covers, spark plug leads were added.
The wheels were fully painted gold...(they did not have chrome edges) , and front tyres from the Slot-it Alfa T33 were glued/trued/profiled.....these just look a tad more realistic to me.
Plug leads........and a bit semi gloss on the valve covers
I am a bit annoyed at the factory bleed through the roundels, but it is a minor complaint........and really a bonus not to see Jacky's goofy eyeballs anymore.
And a bit of paint on the engine..........
, and, a Happy New Year
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