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I keep buying/building new stuff, both for myself and friends, and every once in a while I go through the stuff I have on shelves and boxes, and realize that I will never have the time to build what I already have, .........so......my early New Years resolution is to build up some of the kits on the shelf.
In no particular order, I have decided to start with a 1/24 K&B Lola T70, that I bought on epay likely more than 10 years ago................the body is unbuilt, with all the bits, and, in mint shape. The chassis however, is a different story......built (not well) and with a few missing bits. Luckily I have all the bits I need.
Here is what was in the box........
I will take it all apart,....clean everything, and make some modifications along the way............
It will take awhile, as I am soon heading to the warmer weather for a couple of months, so updates will not be happening until then.
I have started with the motor which is a K&B "Super Challenger", which was an upgrade from the "Challenger" ...........while they are reliable and run just great on most home tracks, they never scared the Mabuchi 16D motors that were entering the market at the time.
The one I received needed some help, so,......it was taken apart, the comm cleaned, armature statically balanced, magnets zapped, new brushes/springs, and most importantly the molded in plastic axle bushings were ground away, reamed, and single flanged 3/16 x 1/8 oilites installed. The oilites make a dramatic difference as the molded in plastic bushings were hideously sloppy even when new.
Below is the rusty old motor with the stock molded in plastic bushings........
All cleaned up ,....with the oilites installed, new drill blank 1/8 axle, and "neo" magnet wafers installed on both magnets top and bottom !! The old Vintage magnets were generally anemic at best, and "beefing" them up does wonders................this is a good motor mod for all vintage motors,....just make sure you get the polarity correct
New motor leads are still to do.
And the pinion/spur cleaned,..and de burred.................on the test bench, a night and day difference
It is always a joy building the vintage stuff as I am constantly reminded of the engineering and parts quality of the old kits..........miles ahead of the molded plastic products of today.........while I took it for granted back then, I appreciate it all the more now !!
One example on this kit was the tapered brass inserts and locknuts that secured the wheels (with turned bead detail)...........the tapered collar (with compression slot) was inserted into the wheel, the nut was placed inboard of the wheel, and when tightened, the collar was pulled into the face of the wheel, resulting in a very secure/concentric unit.
While set screw wheels are much easier, and, if made well are just as concentric, I am again, always amazed at the engineering put into many of the Vintage cars.........this stuff would cost a fortune today
The tapered collar and tensioning nut.....
On the wheel.............
And from behind................
I will be making some modifications to the chassis,.........freezing the drop arm with a nut/bolt that will also allow guide height adjustments , adding some brass side pans, and trimming the whole top of the chassis to allow the body to sit a touch lower.
These mods will not be done until until I return from being warm
Talk to you then
Cheers
Chris Walker
In no particular order, I have decided to start with a 1/24 K&B Lola T70, that I bought on epay likely more than 10 years ago................the body is unbuilt, with all the bits, and, in mint shape. The chassis however, is a different story......built (not well) and with a few missing bits. Luckily I have all the bits I need.
Here is what was in the box........
I will take it all apart,....clean everything, and make some modifications along the way............
It will take awhile, as I am soon heading to the warmer weather for a couple of months, so updates will not be happening until then.
I have started with the motor which is a K&B "Super Challenger", which was an upgrade from the "Challenger" ...........while they are reliable and run just great on most home tracks, they never scared the Mabuchi 16D motors that were entering the market at the time.
The one I received needed some help, so,......it was taken apart, the comm cleaned, armature statically balanced, magnets zapped, new brushes/springs, and most importantly the molded in plastic axle bushings were ground away, reamed, and single flanged 3/16 x 1/8 oilites installed. The oilites make a dramatic difference as the molded in plastic bushings were hideously sloppy even when new.
Below is the rusty old motor with the stock molded in plastic bushings........
All cleaned up ,....with the oilites installed, new drill blank 1/8 axle, and "neo" magnet wafers installed on both magnets top and bottom !! The old Vintage magnets were generally anemic at best, and "beefing" them up does wonders................this is a good motor mod for all vintage motors,....just make sure you get the polarity correct
New motor leads are still to do.
And the pinion/spur cleaned,..and de burred.................on the test bench, a night and day difference
It is always a joy building the vintage stuff as I am constantly reminded of the engineering and parts quality of the old kits..........miles ahead of the molded plastic products of today.........while I took it for granted back then, I appreciate it all the more now !!
One example on this kit was the tapered brass inserts and locknuts that secured the wheels (with turned bead detail)...........the tapered collar (with compression slot) was inserted into the wheel, the nut was placed inboard of the wheel, and when tightened, the collar was pulled into the face of the wheel, resulting in a very secure/concentric unit.
While set screw wheels are much easier, and, if made well are just as concentric, I am again, always amazed at the engineering put into many of the Vintage cars.........this stuff would cost a fortune today
The tapered collar and tensioning nut.....
On the wheel.............
And from behind................
I will be making some modifications to the chassis,.........freezing the drop arm with a nut/bolt that will also allow guide height adjustments , adding some brass side pans, and trimming the whole top of the chassis to allow the body to sit a touch lower.
These mods will not be done until until I return from being warm
Talk to you then
Cheers
Chris Walker
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