CLASSIC F1 CHASSIS 

A constuction article on 60s F1s using easy build methods.

The car above is an airfix Lotus F1 running on my scratch built chassis ,the motor is a standard scalex the whole thing was built from"left overs" from other projects the chassis is very simple to build and can be easily adapted for other bodies.

                     

The chassis is of simple design ,and can built by any one even with a limited knowledge of scratch building tequnique.

Parts required for this project:-

                                           1/16" brass rod

                                            1/2"x 18 swg brass plate

                                            3/32" brass tube

                                            scalex motor

                                            scalex axles

                                            guide your choice (depends on track)I used a jet flag

                                            wheels and tyres (to suit your model)

                                            body shell of your choice (I chose an Airfix Cooper to go with the Lotus)

The problem with building 60s style F1’s in the past has always been getting the current" favorite" motor to fit in the body, how ever with the current crop of hi performance motors it is now feasible to build a slim 60s f1 car and have good performance

Building the chassis

 

To ensure alignment I used an SCD jig.

First take 4 pieces of 1/16" brass rod approximatly 4" long these will form the side members. Cut 2 pieces of 3/32" tube for the axles 1 ½" long and place them in the jig as shown in the picture to give a 3" wheelbase. Using dummy wheels to set the centerline of the axles to the center of the motor shaft. This is very important when setting the gear mesh bend the ends of each piece of brass rod to fit in side and out side of the axle tubes as illustrated. Offer these up to he axle tubes and once satisfied you have a good fit, using an old motor can as a spacer solder the rods to the tubes as in picture. You should now have a frame with 2 axle tubes. A piece of 18 swg brass plate can now be soldered to the front to make a guide holder this can be cranked to allow the guide to sit at the right height, this dimension will vary depending on the guide used. Bend a bracing hoop for the rear end and solder in place, a straight piece of rod should also be soldered to act as a motor mount, see picture The rear axle tube can now be cut out to allow the gear to be fitted .If desired suspension detail from fine piano wire can be added but that’s up to you.

Motor.

 

The motor I chose was an SCW 1 as it is both cheap and gives good performance.

I chose a gear ratio of 9- 27 and used scalex gears again for cost .If they are well set up they will last a long time the motor is soldered in at the can end and at this point a brace from the top to the rear axle can be added, see picture.

Wheels

 

Narrow period wheels can be added MRRC have a good choice or you can source others. For performance sponge or silicon tyres are the way to go but for looks firms like Reprotec offer scale rubber one that will enhance the appearance of your model. Axles should be drill blank as they run true

Body

 

I used an Airfix Cooper body but you can use MRRC, Classic, Betta or what ever takes your fancy and is attached by one screw through the guide plate and required some trimming round the back end to fit.

Guide

 

The TSRF guide is a good choice as it has quick-change braids and can be made to self-centre

How does it run?

 

Compared to a more modern design it is a bit slidey as there is not much flex in the chassis to generate grip but it is a lot of fun and very competitive when raced against similar cars, MRRC classic f1s are good to compare

ILLUSTRATIONS TO FOLLOW..................................

 

          

 

 

Simple Anglewinder

 

 

By G Windle

 

 

This is a short article showing a simple way to scratch build an anglewinder chassis. It is intended for a 1/32-scale car but the basic design can be used for 1/24^th as well .All you need is a basic knowledge of metal work and some soldering skills.

 

Tools required.

 

75-watt soldering iron minimum

Hacksaw

Scriber

Steel ruler

Selection of drill bits

Engineers square

A small vice

SCD jig or similar or squared paper for alignment

 

Parts

                                                                     

1”wide x 18 swg brass plate

¼”x 18swg brass plate

3/32 brass tube

Pin tube

I scalex type motor

2, 3/32 drill blank axles

PSE gears I used 9 –24

Jet flag or guide of your choice

Wheels and tyres your choice

Body shell your choice

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                             My recent entrant in the 2002 ALMS proxy race

 

 

Step 1

 

Determine the distance from the inside front end of your body shell to the center of the rear wheel arch then add ½” then subtract the distance from the front of your guide to the center of its pivot. The final figure will give you the length of brass plate you need to construct a centre section from.

Cut a piece of brass to this size, then scribe a line across ½” from one end.

Turn the plate around and scribe 2 more lines 1” and 1 ½” from the other end, this will be the front of the chassis, mark the pivot point for the guide and drill a hole of the right size .The front is then cranked into an s shape to let the chassis sit level to the track the amount will depend on the thickness of your guide and the size of your tyres and the amount of clearance you wish to run mine is set for about 1/16” the other end is bent at right angles and is used to attach the rear axle tube.

Cut a piece of tube for the back axle 1” long and solder in place, the centre of the axle should be on line with the center of the motor shaft to ensure a smooth gear mesh. 

Cut a longer piece of tube to fit between the front wheels  .If the bend on the front of your chassis is sufficient you can solder this direct to the centre section if not then make a small L bracket and solder it to this  .I always set my front wheels about 10 thou clear of the track as I feel that it give a straight line speed advantage and also better pick up but you can if you wish have all 4 wheels touching this is personal preference, this tripod arrangement also gives more grip, the front wheels being there to add stability in the corners .

Cut 2 lengths of pin tube the width of the inside edges of your body and solder1 of them across the chassis, 2 pieces of ¼” brass strip can then be added as out riggers. And the second tube only soldered to the outside edges not to the centre so it can flex upward

You should now have a complete rolling chassis

 

Step 2

 

 Motor set up

 

The motor is soldered directly to the chassis some of you will be horrified by this, don’t worry it wont do any harm as long as you do it quickly with a hot iron.

 I have used an scw 1, as they are cheap and cheerful and quite quick. Tin the edge of the motor and the chassis where it is going to sit and quickly solder in place don’t linger with the iron as the motor can be damaged, solder the side of the motor as well, don’t use to much solder as you may need to remove the motor at some time .The fitting may take a little time as it is important to obtain a smooth mesh. If you do not feel confident soldering and positioning the motor at the same time you can stick the motor to the center section with a little touch of super glue just to hold it in place while you solder.

  Connect the wires and you should be able to test the chassis. Wheels and tyres are                       down to what surface you run on   I have used this type of chassis on sandtex, plastic and polyurethane with good results. The design shown here is very basic but will perform well, of course it can be improved on but that detracts from the simplicity of the design.

 

Body mounting

 

If you are using a vac form the body can be simply mounted using 4 pins through the sides into the tubing. But for an injection mould or resin shell I would suggest epoxying 2 hard wood blocks into the sides of the shell and drilling 2x1/8” holes in the side pans and screwing the shell on with 2 small counter sunk screws, these screws must be left slightly loose in order to dampen any vibration.

 

 

Painting and decorating the body I will leave up to the builder as a lot comes down to personal choice

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

                           A few  brass chassis  I have built over the years  some a little race weary  

                         

                        Front motored flexy board  chassis

 

                         

 

                         Lister  Jag   centre  torsion bar chassis    built  for  this  yrs   Wolves  Lemans

                          

                         Porsche 917   built  for  Wolves   Le mans   event Plafit  cheetah  motor   with  neo  mags 

                         

                                  This is a late 60s iso fulcrum powered by a mabuchi 26d

                            

                                      Mirage as built and raced by me at Accrington club "circa 68 "

                        

                                                    Birkins  Bently

                          

                              Chassis from 1/16" brass rod ,wheels ninco spoke,motor nc1

                  

                                                                       60s Galaxy

               

                        Brass plate chassis ,rewound 16d ,body by classic ,cox tyres ,taylor gears

                         this car despite its battered apearance is an absolute joy to drive the motor

                        is silk smooth and can produce masive powerslides at will.

Easy build bulletproof proxy car

Want to build something suitable for that proxy race but don’t want to spend a fortune here’s something that might fit the bill

Parts required                                                      

Parma womp chassis

Parma pse sidewinder gear

Fox motor scale auto 35000 or v12

Sponge tyres

Jet guide

Scalex front wheels

Body as required I used my own vac form

Take the womp chassis and cut the motor bracket off with a dremmel tool or similar. Trim the sides to the width of the body and drill and countersink 4 mounting holes in the underside

Assemble the rear axle as shown in the picture and solder the motor to the pan keeping as low an angle as possible, you may have to trim the axle mount back abit to clear the motor, if you are not sure you will obtain a good mesh then glue the motor to the pan with super glue first. You can then add some extra bracing between the motor and the chassis to make sure it stays in mesh in the event of a collision.

If the wheelbase is correct for your body then the front axle tube can be soldered in to the original axle holes. If not the front axle mounts can be cut off and moved or new ones fabricated, make sure the car runs with the front wheels just clear of the track by about 5 thou to ensure good pick up I would also advise modifying the front wheels to be independently rotating to cut down friction loss when cornering

The body is fastened on with 2 blocks of wood glued into the shell, the movement of which is governed by the tightness of the screws, which should be left slightly slack. Once you have fitted your wheels and guide the car is now ready to test .It will probably need a bit of weight to find the best balance. Whilst it may not ultimately be the best handling car in the field it will be no slouch either it is a simple and strong option and will still be running when the others are in need of repair