Cars from Conduit
The cars on this page are built using electrical conduit as a main chassis member it is a quick and easy way of building a car and also a very cheap method
The car I am describing on this page is a Pegaso built from an a2m body kit.
The parts you will require are:-
- a2m body kit
- motor of your choice (I used an scw1 from slotcarworld)
- wheels and tyres to suit( I used Ninco CLK)
- jet flag
- a length of 1" plastic trunking
.
Constuction is quite simple start by cutting a length of trunking to fit inside your body,allowing enough room for the guide to fit in the front of the car.
Place the trunking on a flat surface and using the motor scribe a line down each side to give you the centre line for your axles and motor shaft.
Mark the wheel base on each side making sure it is square and equal then drill holes for your axles ,no other form of bush is required as long as you get a good fit at this stage.
Cut a hole to clear the gear and fit the rear axle in place ,you will have to pull the gear off to do this as the plastic will not flex enough to do it any other way.
Clip the motor in place and mark round it ,remove and cut a hole to allow it to sit into the chassis .Refit the motor and it should be starting to look like a chassis.
Drill a 3/16" hole to take the guide and trim the chassis to shape wth a saw and a sharp knife.Fit the guide and the front wheels and you have a rolling chassis.
The body is fixed on to wooden blocks epoxyied inside and then screwed through the chassis .Dont screw it up tight as the car will run better left slightly loose
.
If you race on a routed track add a bit of lead to the front and rear for scalex you can add a magnet if you want.
This type of chassis once set up properly is very strong and quite easy for a youngster to use with out fear of too much damage if it hits the floor hard ,The trunking can be used in many ways to produce a working slot car pieces of the capping can be glued into your body to make a quick clip fit type of mount.Much of the building of a scratch built car is down to the builder basicaly if you have an idea try it if it doesnt work try some thing else its all good fun .All the projects on this site are tried and tested methods I have used over the years,but just remember the finished car can only be as good as the way you build it .thats what scratch building is all about.
The lotus 11 above is one of my vac forms and the running gear came from an airfix mrrc f1 car