Honda

9102 Views 68 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Ecurie Martini, Jun 19, 2004

JohnP

Discussion Starter · May 19, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

A few months back I picked up a rather sorry looking Airfix-MRRC Honda F1 with a view to renovating it - never thought I'd actually get around to doing it of course. Well, that's forums for you I suppose!

I began by stripping it down to it's component parts and giving it a general clean up:

Quite a few parts were missing: one mirror, suspension detail, drivers head and the underside of the nose. The nose was a bit of a curiosity in itself as it appeared to have a slight "V" indent and was a little short compared to my Model Cars plans. Maybe it ran like this somewhere or maybe I just had more missing from the car than I first thought?

Anyway, I set about correcting it as follows:

Armed with a tube of Chip & Dent filler and aluminium car repair mesh I made a small bridge to the underside of the nose:

This was held in place using Araldite Rapid.

After a quick fill (not one of howmet's snack breaks I might add), I lengthened the nose by gluing on a small piece of plasticard,

sanded it to shape and then hollowed it out by drilling a few small holes, finishing off the inside with a small Minicraft grinder.

Next I added more mesh and filler to cover the steering mechanism and rear motor mount cut-outs and ground out the inside of the shell to give as much room for the motor as possible:

Still more work to do but now on with the chassis...

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #2 · May 19, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

...which will be a flexi made from piano wire and brass:

I've cut the parts to fit the original Johnson 111 motor although I might yet use a standard Scaley. As the Scaley is a little taller, that would require some of the plastic cutting away from under the engine/exhaust moulding but it is do-able.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 20, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Thanks for the comments all.

No nails Alan, I use 16swg wire squeezed in a bench vice and mercilessly thrash it into shape with a big fat hammer... great for working out the tensions of the day (although there are better ways I hear). However, where I need to get bends close together (like with the rear end brace) I use a smallish set of mole grips to support the work and bend and hammer it in a slightly more delicate and circumspect manner!

Guys, I think a proxy race would be great at some point - if only to see all these great old cars lined up together. What a sight for sore eyes that would be

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 20, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Hi Alan - knew it could only be a matter of time

These cars are from the 3 litre formula dating from 1966 - David's Lotus 49 is from 1968 for example.

As you probably know (but that won't stop me

), it was a great period because there was so much variety in the appearance of the cars. At the start of the formula, cars ran with no wings at all but by around '68 various nose fins were appearing along with high suspension mounted wings to the rear, then to the front too.

The trouble was they were flimsy and dangerous and were soon banned. This ban came during practice for the '69 Monaco GP and the cars ran the race without wings - ironically they were mostly faster!

Soon wings were back though - body rather than suspension mounted this time. All this happened around '68/'69 and I was lucky enough to see some of it first hand at the '68 British GP and '69 Race of Champions. Thanks for taking me Mum and Dad!

The best source for bodies is probably the Classic fibreglass range - check out Chas Keeling's SCD site for a list for example:

BETTA and CLASSIC LIST

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 20, 2004

P.S.
QUOTE Any Suggestions for one thats not already been done on here and is readily available.?
The Brabham BT26 is one of my personal favourites. It appeared in lots of different guises - one time with a curious "V"-shaped wing at the back. There is a Classic shell for this although I've not seen it myself.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 20, 2004

Well, I'll need to finish building the darn thing first ...and what's all this about a '70s F1 proxy race now too !!?

But, oh my, that's a mighty impressive line up of statics you have there David! They'd make an awesome centrepiece in a paddock diorama for your new track. Just wonderful

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 20, 2004

QUOTE I must confess that when I ordered the replacement shell for my Eagle, I added a Lotus 49, a Cooper Maserati (so ungainly that it is appealing) and a March 701 to the order
...and why not indeed

Sorry to hear about your Photobucket Blues EM - there's some lovely engineering in howmet's M7A thread and David's 49B all-in-one chassis concept is quite stunning. Hope you get to see it all very soon.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #23 · May 21, 2004

No lesson EM, just coincidence - it's all black magic

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #25 · May 21, 2004

Well, while you guys were busy organising the racing side of things (keep it up chaps!), I was preparing the guide plate and soldering up the main chassis pieces:

As you can see, I've used a standard "bash on" Scalextric contrate for now although I sort of regret it as I've just made life harder for myself should I want to change gear ratio after the motor is soldered in. Ahh well.

The front axle is next up. Not sure what I'll do yet - I may make some sort of cranked axle arrangement form brass tube and piano wire or, I could just have a "U" shaped axle carrier sandwiched between the guide and chassis plate. Hmmm... come to think of it I am hungry now - think I'll make a sandwich.

But I digress, I've also decided to run with the standard Scaley motor: good for my small home track and if David is using these too I suppose it's helps establish a sort of "Gentleman's formula". You cads running Scaleauto's know who you are - just kidding chaps!

Using this taller can meant cutting away the rear end of the shell for clearance although I should be able to get some of it back in before the car is finished.

Here it is all posed up with some "temporary" wheels (and a lump of cork!):

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #28 · May 22, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Sorry about the cad thing Alan - I feel a bit of a bounder now! Too many Terry-Thomas references on the forum lately!

QUOTE The Scaley lumps a bit big isn't it?
Well, I think the photo puts the problem into perspective - there's not much room in these sixties cars!

My own motor preference is for the mild mannered Scaley but it might not fit your car and the Slot.it Universal (is that the one with the double end drive shaft?) Johnson 111, 13UO, K's and others all have their own merits for this application I'm sure.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #29 · May 23, 2004

Next up, the guide plate (shortened since the previous pictures) was soldered to the front rails of the chassis. A simple "U" shaped axle carrier runs across the top of the guide plate, front rails and centre plate adding strength to the whole caboodle and holding the 3/16" i.d. brass axle tube as shown:

Hmmm... must grind down some of that solder!

The Parma guide and MRRC Cobra wheels are test fitted:

and then the motor:

Finally, a test fit of the body. Note the new cutouts to accommodate the brush assembly and contrate gear:

The shell might need a little more trimming under the nose to clear the guide although fortunately it doesn't look too far off as it is.

Btw, David - thanks for the comment on the wheels. They're definitely growing on me, becoming less temporary as each day passes! Maybe they just need some six spoke inserts and they'd be fine.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #31 · May 23, 2004

Thanks Alan. There are two chromed moldings that will hide the motor and gear: one with the engine and exhaust detail that sits over the top of the cutouts and another with gearbox/battery detail that fits to the rear. Should be OK I think

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #33 · May 24, 2004

Thanks for the photo offer David.

As for decals, I have some clear decal paper from Crafty Computer Paper and intend to make my own. I've had some mixed results in the past but I'm hopeful that this clear paper will work quite well when set against the white bodywork of the Honda.

I'm still undecided as to which variant, although I'm tempted to go straight for the Ritchie Ginther Monza car as depicted in the Model Cars Plans.

Incidentally I don't know if you have seen this site:

Hobby Grandprix 1/12 Tamiya Kit Manuals

This has Tamiya instruction manuals for a number of the older models including the Honda RA273 and Lotus 49 and 49B (no M7 I'm afraid howmet

) which might be of interest. I think they are a great potential resource for detailing, liveries, race numbers, etc.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #36 · May 27, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Although the Parma guide had a certain rugged appeal, I felt it probably was a little too obtrusive sitting under the car. I therefore decided to make up a little adapter widget:

...and try the slightly smaller MRRC guide instead. Here is the chassis, also with a Slot.it gear in place of the Scaley press on:

I chose red because as we all know red is faster

The motor has been in and out so many times I was beginning to worry that I might overheat the can and damage the magnets but it still seems to work well enough.

The new problem is that I seem to have erm... miscalculated on the guide clearance. Now with the braids fitted, the wheels only skim rather that sit firmly on the track. Would that be within the proxy rules I wonder? Calling Professor Fate! Can anyone suggest an alternative guide perhaps?

The chassis handles well enough but as it's not what I had intended I think I might re-re-build the front end... this one could run and run!

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #40 · May 27, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Well Grah, by coincidence I am also called Grah on the last Thursday of each month so perhaps Tropi means me

The chassis is photographed in the Ladybrook Valley Raceway pit lane - painted with grey plasti-kote fleck stone spray paint. Otherwise, for general work I have a block of 18mm MDF with a straight-cut routed slot and use a (quite thick) aluminium sheet as a surface for soldering.

Also, thanks for the input there Prof - as I am within the rules (well that one anyway) I shall now ruminate before doing anything drastic to the front end!

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #42 · May 27, 2004

Thanks Tropi. Although the finish looks nice in the pit lane, my own feeling is that "from the can" the paint is too rough/abrasive for track use. Light sanding might sort this out - don't know. Like just about everything else it's on the to do list!

Regards
John (aka Grah on the last Thursday of the month

)

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #43 · Jun 8, 2004

With the chassis complete it was time to get back to the shell.

Having re-profiled the nose section, next on the agenda was to fabricate the wing mirrors, lower rear suspension detail and roll hoop.

Firstly, the mirrors were made by wrapping a length of copper wire (stripped bell wire) around a suitably sized flathead nail. This was soldered up and the nail end cut off. Some Green Stuff was then fashioned around the nail to form the shape of the mirror body. Once that had hardened the mirrors were superglued into the body like this:

Next, lower suspension arms were formed from piano wire and the roll hoop from plastic coated toy packaging wire.

The decals (intended to represent Richie Ginther's car as raced at Monza in '66) were designed using Paint Shop Pro and printed onto clear Crafty Computer decal paper. Once sealed they were cut and applied to the shell and the cockpit, driver, engine, exhaust and transmission parts painted up.

So, this is the car so far:

Still more work to do on the front and rear suspension and the body mount needs sorting. I tell you though, I'll be glad to see the back of this project.

Ah, there you go!

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #47 · Jun 8, 2004

It is hot here today Fergy. Luckily I have a wash bison in my loft to help cool off

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #51 · Jun 8, 2004

Yup, that's it in a nutshell! Also, because the bell wire is flexible you can still adjust the angle of the mirrors a little even after they have been fitted.

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JohnP

Discussion Starter · #54 · Jun 8, 2004 (Edited by Moderator)

Here's another pic for while you're all munching on your bison and moose burgers:

In fact I was just playing with the camera exposure - it seems quite difficult to photograph white cars on my digital without the detail "bleaching out". Any tips gratefully received. Otherwise I'll just settle for one of those burgers - medium to well done please!

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