[BEEJAY7]

Well I thought it was about time I started my own thread, my entry into this years "Race of Champions" event is going to be the '62 Ferrari 156 or "Sharknose" Ferrari as it is often called.

Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE Brass chassis, the stuff built by BWA, Howmet, Russell, JP, Graham, David, Alan (EM) and others are superb works of art , and quiet rightly have received warm appreciation from everyone on this Forum that has seen them. Unfortunatly I cannot hope to acheive this level of craftsmanship.

I struggled in the late sixties to produce my own brass chassis, and although they were no works of art they did perform pretty well. When I returned to slot racing, times (and materials), had moved on, and I too took to new chassis mediums such as PC Board, which I still prefer for Plexytracks.

However, entering into the spirit of this event my car does indead have a brass and piano wire chassis, it just doesn't look very pretty!, shall we say it's more functional.

Pictures will follow tomorrow, I hope!, but briefly this is the specification :-

20 Gauge piano wire flex frame with brass infill sections front and rear, TSRF Scalex/Fly replacement Guide with Scalextrix MOTOGP motor, (Is this the first one?), standard Scalex MGP pinion mated to Slot.it 27t Crown Wheel, Slot.it axles with Ninco Classic Wheels with Carrera Classic tyres. Body is Supershells, kindly donated by Graham and the car will be finished as the Chris Amon 62 Monaco car.

The pinion/crown wheel option is different, to say the least, and lots of testing will follow to ensure durability. Amazingly the mesh is very good, it really shouldn't work, but it seems to.

This will, of course, run in the "thinnies" class, of which my car seems to be the only entry at this time, so I am hoping for a class win....

Regards

Alan

PS Does anyone have the correct track width, Front & Rear, for the 156?

 

[Ecurie Martini]

This source :
Ferrari 156

has the wheelbase as 2.32 M and the front and rear tracks at 1.2 M

- small car!

EM

 

[JohnP]

Hmm... not wishing to be controversial so early in the thread

but according to my Model Cars Scrutineer's Dimensions (yes, I'll be checking that Imp of your's Graham as soon as the window winders are installed!) the 1961 Ferrari 156 has a wheelbase of 90.5" and front and rear track of 48.5". That gives you a slightly wider footprint than EM's source Alan but it is still TINY

Anyway, thanks for starting the thread - looking forward to seeing how you've put that new Scaley motor to use. Bring on the pics!

 

[Fergy]

Sounds cool, Beejay!

And yes, it looks like you have the class sewn up so far!

Hopefully the Sharknose will have teeth, the thing will get hungry, and it will nibble on 68 Hondas...

 

[JohnP]

...well the poor thing would soon starve if it had to feed on Matras eh Fergy!

The class win isn't quite a foregone conclusion just yet though - don't forget Grah's rather generously booted Lotus 24 which also dates from 1962.

 

[Fergy]

You're right, JP! I forgot about Grah's car! He's keeping such a low profile on this... hmmmm.....

QUOTE the poor thing would soon starve if it had to feed on Matras

....I prefer to think of it as a diet....

..... but.... finally got confirmation of my order for all the rest of the needed parts. The fabricators and mechanics are clearing the factory workspace as we speak.

 

[GRAH1]

Mines been finished for 2 yrs now originally a marconi car that I didnt send so I thought what the hell seems like a good idea to run it in this event .

 

[BEEJAY7]

Ummm yes I had forgotten about Graham's car......which will no doubt show my pathetic effort a very clean pair of heels!.

However, the chassis is now more or less complete and indeed runs!!!! . The workmanship (I almost dare not use that term), is more functional than asthetic, but the car preforms pretty well.

I dread showing this, but here goes.............

The chassis is twin 20 gauge wire with brass inserts front and rear, Scalextric MOTOGP motor which is glued in, standard MOTOGP pinion mated to Slot.it 27T Crown wheel, which is really smooth, long term testing will determine if this combination will stay or be replaced by a Sonic set up. Guide is TSRF as are braids. Wheels are Ninco Classics with Carrera rubber. In a vain attempt to counter the extreme lack of grip, I have added 7.5 grms of weight to the rear, it helps a little.

The Scaley motor is superb, providing more than enough power for this little car, in fact on my small test track, (Scaley Sport), it is still fighting for grip at the end of a six section straight. This lack of grip problem is the main thing to sort out with the car so if anybody has any suggestions for a suitable tyre it would be appreciated. As far as the Carrera one go I might as well be running on the wheelrims!.

Did I mention the car is small with a minute wheelbase?...........

Here it is with one of the superb, Revell/Monogram Greenwood 'Vettes., (Love these cars!), and you can see the minute track width, in fact I think it would be more at home on an HO track rather than "mixing it" with those Honda's and BRM's that it will be running against, (come to think of it I could fill it with lead and use it as a battering ram!!!).

Body has not yet been touched since Graham kindly sent it to me, apart from removing the old driver figure and windshield. I've got to find a replacement to model Chris Amon, but I think the poor guy will need significant surgery to fit.

Regards

Alan

 

[elicend]

LOL

is it a scalex body?

i'l looking for one broken to modify! i'thinking to a cheetah to motorise it!

elicend

 

[JohnP]

Nothing much wrong with that chassis Alan - I see you even found a use for that old PCB too! Why not give the brasswork a bit of a rub over with some emery paper or something - just to get rid of any surplus solder and bring up the shine. Yummy!

It looks like you'll have your work cut out with that old shell though!

And, THAT motor! It looks just the job. What is the shaft size - does it take a regular Scaley pinion?

Incidentally, I don't think Chris Amon drove that car (?). If not, how about doing Phil Hill's 1961 World Championshiup winner?

 

[BEEJAY7]

Oops!....You are dead right John......Chris Amon will be driving my 67 Ferrari F1, (if I ever manage to get round to it!). Phil will of course be driving this one....

No PCB in there John, the Guide tongue is goold old brass, which took me about an hour to shape!.....If I had done it in PCB it would have taken 5 minutes............

I'll try to clean it up a bit when I've finished tuning it to try and gain a little more traction.

Shaft size on the motor is 1.5mm (I think) so it won't take a slot.it pinion , (without sleeving) so it might be better to look at the Sonic stuff that Andy at ABSlotsport stocks.
The motor is really good and comes with a handy little bracket that could be used in future projects. The mesh between the Scaley pinion and the Slot.it crown is really good and the little beast swishes around the track, just as good as a full slot.it setup.

Elicend the body is a Supershells one made in the 60's and 70's, and is pretty much dead on 1/32nd scale not a Scalextrix one.
The Scalextric car, although very good is , I belive, a little larger and works out to about 1/30th scale.

Regards

Alan

 

[a Bill]

Thank you for showing the car, I like it.

 

[ProfFate]

Hi

I recommend Silicone tires. Both Indy Grips and Puma paws make tires for that rim. Either works a lot better than the stock ninco rubber on our tracks.

On one of our local tracks(revell) with a pair of 2 m straights, the 60s lap record holder is a MRRC/Airfix sharknose with a MRRC chassis and an NC1 geared at 7/27 with Puma Paws tires.

A tick behind is a car with an RX 41 geared 9/27 and vintage silicones.

Now, the caveat..the track owner has dialed in HIS sharknose for his track and it gets stomped everywhere else. AND all the other tracks are longer and faster.

Later 60s cars with wider tires are also faster, I was talking about SKINNY tires.

Now, this guy's car has no details and isn't really scale, just something he threw together for fun. And no one has actually TRIED chasing it down(they dont allow scratchbuilding in his club). I was just using it as an illustration on power and traction.

Fate

 

[Russell Sheldon]

The chassis looks great, Beejay! Can't wait to see the finished car.

Prof., do you recomend silicone tyres over Ortmann's?

Kind regards

Russell

 

[PastimeRaceway]

You're being too modest Alan -- the chassis looks great to me. So, is the pinion on the MotoGP motor 64 pitch, or is it the more standard pitch? If it's 64 pitch, I thought those weren't supposed to mate up well with the Slot-it gears or any crown gears of a different pitch?

Thanks,
Steve

 

[BEEJAY7]

Interesting question Steve, and the simple answer is....I don't know. I've looked at Scalextric's site, including the MOTOGP service sheets, and I can't find that information anywhere.

You are right that 64 pitch gears should not mate with Slot.it crowns so as this meshes so well I must assume that it is standard 32 pitch. The shaft is very long on this motor so you do need to cut it to the correct length.

Fergy was pretty much into all things HO, (real ones not virtual ones), so perhaps he may have some insight into this question.

Prof......I guess Indy Grips are the tyres, (sorry tires) of choice then, all I need do now is find a UK supplier.

Regards

Alan

 

[David Lawson]

The Ferrari chassis is great, very good work Alan and you're a brave man to drive something as skinny as that! That motor looks ideal for these cars are they readily available as spares yet?

David

 

[BEEJAY7]

Thanks for your comments David, the motors are now available and they retail for around £4.75 and come complete with a dandy little mounting bracket, (which I didn't use), and spare pinion.
I got mine from Get Slotted but I'm sure Pendle and others will have them as well.

Regards

Alan

 

[Fergy]

Beejay, that motor is a mystery to me. I don't know what gear that is, but it can't be standard HO stuff! The Slot.it gear is 32-pitch, so that pinion must be too, or you would definitely know it from the nasty grinding sounds.

 

[elicend]

thanks allan for your precision

i'll do mine in a scalex when i'll find one, and we will be able to copare our pictures

elicend