|
Post by Mark Huber on Aug 20, 2013 13:14:42 GMT -5
How about using one of Al's BWA brackets? Tailor made for FF050 and FF030 motors.
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Aug 21, 2013 11:00:47 GMT -5
Yes Mark, using BWA parts would be the prudent thing to do. So of course, that's not gonna happen. At least not for this car. The Moskvich is a modern marvel of Soviet engineering, and it deserves the best proletariat fabrication techniques a hammer and sickle can provide. Of course, I am using the required BWA 050 motor. This is the rear bracket attached to the motor. The front bracket has been bent and the guide hole drilled, but it still requires a lot more work. It will be cut and filed to a much smaller final form. Although I may not be using the superb BWA components, as you can see, I am using a state of the art chassis jig.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Aug 22, 2013 11:48:43 GMT -5
Going for the Stalingrad look, eh? отлично !
|
|
|
Post by Alexis Gaitanis on Aug 23, 2013 4:35:01 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Aug 23, 2013 13:19:58 GMT -5
Thanks Alexis, that is a great reference. Wish I had seen that before I started.
I blinked a few times when I saw the "Red" theme of his article. Weird coincidence. Maybe brass bending is fundamentally Marxist.
Getting back to the decision to buy brackets, or make your own-when is the last time that BWA motor brackets were available for purchase? I've wanted to buy some for several years, but they seem to be perpetually out of stock. Are people hoarding these things? If they ever do become available again, I better buy a whole bunch. Until then, I gotta make my own.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Aug 24, 2013 7:07:14 GMT -5
[quote author=aurora board=latestbuilds thread=341 post=2456 I've wanted to buy some for several years, but they seem to be perpetually out of stock. Are people hoarding these things? [/quote] Personal Message sent.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Aug 28, 2013 9:36:28 GMT -5
BWA brackets on their way to Thailand.
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Aug 29, 2013 3:44:34 GMT -5
What a guy...Mark has taken pity on me and has dispatched some BWA brackets . Maybe now I can construct a chassis that is square! Here is a rear end that incorporates a home made bracket. It ain't purty, but it works...kinda. The interior span of the gearbox was too wide, so brass shims were added to reduce the width. It is still too darn wide, so several axle shims are required. Some fiddly suspension A-arms. Not sure if they will withstand big crashes. This car is going to a proxy race, so I'm hoping that the drivers are a sympathetic bunch. Hi-tech chassis jig and wheel jigs...the finest that $0.02 can buy.
|
|
|
Post by David Lawson on Aug 30, 2013 15:04:56 GMT -5
Excellent. Scratchbuilding in the truest sense of the word.
David
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Sept 1, 2013 13:37:41 GMT -5
Front bracket after cutting and drilling. The axle holes are fairly round this time. I had to drill all the holes by hand, as my drill press isn't precise enough. Tonight was a critical step - attaching the chassis rails to the rear bracket. Talk about nerve wracking! I've never built a chassis with this design, so I was taking a big chance. If I couldn't solder the steel rails to the brass bracket, the project would fail. My first attempt was a disaster. So many things wrong here. For one, I shouldn't be trying to solder with the motor in place. I shouldn't be using tape to hold the components in place. And soldering on a wood jig - that's as ridiculous as it sounds. Second attempt - I think part of the problem with my first attempt was the lack of a tight mechanical fit between the steel rails and brass arms. This jig, the result of milliseconds of research and development, allowed me to screw down the rails tightly onto the top of the brass arms, eliminating gaps in the joints. This seems to have worked... ,,,because the solder flowed and the rails are attached, woo hoo! ;D Whether they stay attached, I'll know in a few days when I conduct crash testing.
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Sept 22, 2013 9:09:43 GMT -5
3rd attempt to solder the front bracket to the chassis rails. Note to self: Purchase a chassis jig The front bracket is attached, and the rear bracket did not fall off! Hmmm, how will the body attach to the chassis at the rear? Didn't think that through very well during the planning stage, did ya? This shelf was a real ad hoc solution and I didn't know if it would work. But it actually works quite well. It also stiffens the gearbox. I think it helps keep everything aligned. While you're fooling around down there, tack on a chassis pan, that while ugly, adds some extra strength, and keeps the cockpit from falling onto the tarmac. Now, what to do with the rear assembly? I dunno, just make something up, maybe patterned after a Soviet tractor... So far, so good...nothing has de-soldered. Will the body fit on? Sorta, but some trimming is required.
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Sept 22, 2013 10:00:09 GMT -5
Matt, Excellent. If you can solder on suspension detailing like that without the car falling apart, you shouldn't have too much trouble with the big stuff. I am wondering how you are going to get that car to the VRAA in time though... FedEx might be expensive from Thailand to Indiana. I'd let that car in the event just because it's so darn unique! Put a BWA motor in and Ken will be happy. Cheers,
|
|
|
Post by Mark Huber on Sept 22, 2013 10:02:57 GMT -5
I started with a Scalextric Porsche F1 body shell. All components and details (cowls, engine, gearbox, exhaust, driver, etc.) were cut off. The plastic hull that remains is being built up with styrene and various other plastics. I've used this body shell construction method a few times now, and I've been pleased with the results. However, it is labor intensive and time consuming. I rebuild entire sections - over and over and over - until it looks somewhat representative of the actual car. Matt, you have perfected the art of Manual 3D printing!
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Sept 22, 2013 12:00:06 GMT -5
Manual 3D printing - ha, that's about right. This method takes forever, it must be the most miserable way to make a body imaginable.
Courier delivery to Indiana IS expensive, but I have to take my medicine. Once again, I was late in finishing the car, but this year, I simply MUST get it to the race on time, especially after the ignominy of my late entrance in 2012.
I've been counting on this car being my entrant for the race. A BWA 050 is installed. As far as I am aware, it is eligible:
"If it looks like a car that would have competed in the time frame required in the VRAA rules then go for it. It may be a fantasy car under the provision of the rules. You do not have time to dink back and forth determining if it was a Ford powered car or not and get it done in time for the race series. All be forewarned that this series will wait for no man. The scheduling for the races is very tight in October and it will get run on time and on schedule."
When Fearless Leader speaks, I listen. And to heck with fantasy cars - this car exists, a real life fire breathing monster, 76 hp and all! ;D The G4 was initially developed with the goal of competing in the Formula 1 World Championship during the 1.5L era. It obviously never made it, but it did race in the Soviet Formula 1 championship.
It will ship out tomorrow.
|
|
|
Post by Aurora on Sept 23, 2013 4:18:16 GMT -5
Some more incriminating evidence... First sketch of the car. No blueprints found so the shape must be formed by eye. Which shell to use as a foundation - Porsche or B.R.M.? It doesn't really matter, as most of the shell will be cut or ground off. Ok, let's go with the Porsche Hack away! Mock up of the engine cowl More cutting Adding material for a change... Cutting away again... Oops...cut too much...time to add again This is not a good looking car... ;D
|
|