Vintage Coupe Redo

[strangebrew]

.................................Found another older slot languishing on the bottom shelf that needed upgraded...........................
Pulled this '40 Ford coupe off the "neglected" shelf & re-motored from an MT5 to a newer Jaws after removing & adding
some additional brass rod. Put some new Pro-Track wheels & Urethane tires on the rear also. Updated the engine compartment
with a new Ford resin engine & some headers made from aluminum craft wire.


Repainted with Ace Hardware white primer covered by Duplicolor school bus yellow & a coat of Ace Hardware clear.
Stickers printed on adhesive backed vinyl.





.................................................. ....................................THE END............................................... ................................

[HomeRacingWorld]

LOL hey....careful with that around Curly...you know how sensitive he is!

[Bill from NH]

That's a beautiful transformation. One would almost think it wasn't the came car. It's chassis interests me, do you still build your chassis basically the same style or have you moved on to using other designs?

[chrisguyw]

Far from my favourite type of car,....but, there is no debating, it is really well done

Cheers
Chris Walker

[strangebrew]

BillfromNH "It's chassis interests me, do you still build your chassis basically the same style or have you moved on to using other designs?"

I almost always build with 3/64" brass rod. It only takes 2 or 3 of 'em to do a whole chassis.....and it only takes an hour or so to
stick one together....If it's straight it'll be fast enough.
Lately I've gotten a bit lazy & simply solder the motors at a couple spots, since I haven't "blown up" a motor in years,
I don't plan on changing them out often. Besides, it's easy to undo if needed.
I seldom start with a design in mind. I just lay a couple of rods on the jig & see where they land.
It doesn't take much heat & anybody can stick 2 small brass rods together.
I like to mount the body fore & aft & try to use just 2 mount points....I can let it rock a little bit & don't worry about
chassis flex or hinged side plates............Did I mention I'm a bit lazy????
I tried to build several identical chassis once, but quit after ONE. (Always get another idea before the 1st one is done.)

[Bill from NH]

Thanks for somme insight into your work. Some of it shows a good amount of creativity. Thanks for showing the photos of your other work. Myself, I started slot racing 1/24 cars in 1963 with an AMT Turnpike, went commercial racing in '67, & built my first brass chassis in '68. I have sort of a chassis fetish & have been at it ever since (mostly 1/24, but a few 1/32 cars). Today, I'll sometimes run with a local 1/24 hard body club/home group. I still have my tools, irons, & chassis jigs, but at my age, I mostly look at photos for excitement.

[strangebrew]

Age is no excuse..I see 73 ahead. Just takes bright lights & magnifying peeps.

[slothead]

Strangebrew - since you don't use a motor mount with rear axle mounts, how do you get the motor shaft and rear axle properly aligned? I just sidelined a car I built because I could no longer put up with the grinding noise caused by the motor shaft being ever so slightly below the rear axle center. I aligned it by eye during the build but didn't get it dead on.

Also, I'm not in my 70's yet but hope to get there and to still be building and racing slot cars when I do. When I scratch build these days it's mostly with styrene, but it's still challenging, takes creativity and planning, and keeps my brain cells occupied.

[strangebrew]

slothe......"since you don't use a motor mount with rear axle mounts, how do you get the motor shaft and rear axle properly aligned?"

I use an aluminum tube as an axle & pin a couple of balsa strips down the side of the jig
aligning the axle dead center to the motor shaft as it sits on the jig.
Then I slide a couple of bearings or whatever over the axle & hold the axle, wheelbase & motor
in place on the jig with some more pins........
You can solder away all you want around the aluminum tube without fear
of sticking something together you don't want stuck together &
you also don't have a steel axle blank acting as a heat sink drawing heat away from your work.