[JohnP]

Well howmet, you did say chassis in all their wonderful variety!

This first one was made from Airfix bits, a ginger beer can and a couple of lumps of brass for the bearings. I'm sorry Russell but this would show a clean pair of heels to that Cukras any day - to start with it's got three more wheels

My second humble offering is a "SIMPLE HOME-MADE F1 CHASSIS":

As is evident from the blobs of solder all over it, this has been rebuilt several times for different wheelbase and motors. I never kept old chassis (and you can see why

) but just took them apart and re-used the bits!

In original configuration this ran with sponges, a 26D set flush to the bottom of the chassis and a Betta Renault RS01 shell (Jabouille). A simple, solid handler that easily bent back into shape when pranged!

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE rikochet mk 1 ,they had good mags
The Rikochet mk 1 was a great motor - good value too!

Thinking of Riko, I'm not sure if this commercial chassis is strictly eligible here but just for old times sake:

The motor here is a 26D sized Riko - a Rikoflash I think

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE (David Lawson @ 29 Jan 2004, 03:03 PM)These are some of my chassis from the early seventies and they lean more towards JohnP's philosophy on chassis building rather than the perfection of Howmet's.
Thanks for the compliment David - a little harsh on howmet I thought tho'

Seriously, this is a great thread guys. I wonder how many of us have been out checking through our stocks of piano wire, brass tube, etc today?

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE I'm still trying to find all my all old chassis
Hey Fergy, when you do, get 'em straight onto the scanner - that anglewinder looks beautiful

 

[JohnP]

Does anyone remember the magazine Auto Modeller back in the late '70s early '80s? Ian Jenson was a sometime contributor and on one occasion presented a "how to" for an inexpensive club formula 1 chassis. I'm not too sure how to best describe it but it was a sort of flexi-board with rattley side rails arrangement and it used a basic economy Mabuchi 13UO motor for power.

Well, this chassis has been on my "to do" list since 1979 and I appreciate I'm a bit late handing in my homework Mr howmet, Sir but whatever. Here is progress report no.1:

To the garage...

Now I didn't use any particularly special tools for this project, just this SIMPLE CNC LASER CUTTER pictured here:

(btw, if anyone has a CNC LASER that I could try cutting with it please don't hesitate to drop me a line), a hammer, mole grips(*see below), a vice, various files and things, a junior hacksaw and a butane soldering iron. Probably forgotten something but that's more or less it.

Anyway on with the construction:

Step 1. The main parts were cut from brass and piano wire:

Step 2. The main frame is soldered together - I used the graph paper to ensure everything was lined up properly:

Step 3: The side rails are added. In fact I changed the design a little here, On the original, the front stay was 18swg piano wire soldered across the chassis front and feeding into short tubes soldered to the side rails. These were capped with even smaller bits of brass tube - almost too small for me to see let alone cut and hold! So, I simplified the arrangement by duplicating the rear stay but across the front of the chassis. Much easier to build, although I will need to modify the original guide arrangement too so it can pass over the new higher added tube.

Still to do, front axle/wheels, guide, body mounts and motor - I've a spare Fox lying about so I might try that rather than the 13UO. I'll probably get a new Betta shell for it but in the meantime I might press this Wolf shell into service. As with David's cars above this shell dates from the '70s and was painted freehand.

More when I get the rest of the bits!

* Incidentally, despite the grips, no moles were harmed in the making of this chassis.

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE One question.... why on earth did those guys go to all that trouble for a gutless 13UO back then??? Now a Fox makes much better sense.

As there was an apparent sensitivity to the high cost of top level slot cars this racing class was devised as an inexpensive option for club nights. Apparently the 13UO was available from Supershells for a mere £1 at the time. I have to agree though, the chassis is begging for something a little more tasty!

BTW, thanks for all the excuses Fergy - all noted for future reference - especially for projects relating to decorating and general household maintenance

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE You say tomato and I say tomato

(doesnt work when written?)

...but that makes it even funnier

 

[JohnP]

QUOTE Glad you didn't pick "potato", we don't want Dan Quayle to get in on this... (Probably only my US friends will get that...)

No, we got it - he gained international notoriety with that one

 

[JohnP]

Thanks for the motor tips guys - I just got through upgrading the 13UO as suggested and thought you might like to see the re-build. Fox mags, Fox arm, Fox can and Fox brushgear.

Howmet, potato is spelt potatoe' not potato'

 

[JohnP]

 

[JohnP]

 

[JohnP]

...speaking of

tomato tomato
potatoe' potatoe'

check this out on Scratch-built.com: You say chassis and I say chassis!

 

[JohnP]

You know, a week or two back, there was I with the old micrometer screw gauge and vernier calipers, cussing that my collector's Anni-Mini Maser was over-scale, tut-tutting at the over wide track on my SCX F1's, enjoying all the snidey remarks about the Fly Daytona on SlotForum... you get the picture. BUT, today I'm down with it (as they say, I think) - I have a new inner calm...

Now I'm sure I'll be back to normal soon but meanwhile, here I am after all these years having an absolute whale of a time building sha-seez (as I now know the correct British spelling to be) and checking out my fabby old caricatured Betta shells in readiness for new projects.

Who knows, I might even enjoy a jacket potatoe' for lunch

But as if that wasn't enough, now motors too!

It must be about (where'd the time all go) years since I re-wound and balanced a 16D armature. So long in fact that even the razor scars have begun to heal. But now I'm wondering: what were the heady heights of re-winds after the 60's? Does anyone do parallel winds on slot motors for example? Common with R/C motors but I'm really off the scent when it comes to modern "pro" slot car motors. Is there still room to do something innovative in this department? Care to share?

P.S. Nice work on the chassis there Phil

 

[JohnP]

Thank you for that post Russell. I have little knowledge of slot racing trends in the 80s and found that a particularly interesting read.

Phil, the Lotus is looking very nice indeed

I'm not too sure about the use of MMK headlamp glass though

 

[JohnP]

...or the windscreen from the old Hawk Lotus kit

What were they thinking when they sold those kits without glass?

 

[JohnP]

By way of an update on my vintage F1 chassis project, here it is now with front wheels and guide fitted.

Although it rolls nicely on the set-up block(!) that beautiful Cahoza guide doesn't like my Scalextric Sport track at all. Rather than cut it down though I think I may make a new guide mount and use an MRRC flag instead.

The body shell in progress is a Betta 312T4.

 

[JohnP]

...number 12's to the ready Fergy

 

[JohnP]

Well, the chassis is up and running now.

I decided to try a Falcon although those 30 year old sponge boots struggle to get the power down

For my Sport track, I also replaced the Cahoza with a MRRC guide.

The Body is coming along too - number 12's and red paint to follow...

 

[JohnP]

Wha? indeed! Those Betta fronts are little beauties aren't they!

Well, prepare yourselves. This is something that you don't see very often - a FINISHED JohnP project!

To complete the chassis I just had to solder some 18swg piano wire to the rattler strips for body mounting and finally fit the motor brace (see inset). Here it is next to it's Betta Ferrari 312T4 body shell:

...and the underside with the body taped in position:

...and finally:

So that's it, my 1979 repro club F1 chassis - only 25 years late!

Runs great now I've cleaned up the tyres. And the controlled power slides? Love 'em!

Phew!

 

[JohnP]

Thanks for the comments guys

QUOTE (howmet tx @ 24 Feb 2004, 07:31 PM)Have you tried running it on three wheels as well?

Fantastic, JP. That's very sexy- you could take it home in a taxi.
...actually contemplating twice that many wheels for the next project

Hmmm... what should I call it? I know Project 34! Now that would be sexy. Or is it sixy?