Frederik_b

Hey there, I'm still alive lol, it's just that we have our little second boy who is now 4 months old, and did not have much hobby time lately hahaha

I'm on vacation now so maybe I'll have some time to fiddle a bit in the next few weeks! Last work was the floor I was buffing out to remove the galvanized coating.

I see my last posts were regarding retroracing not sending me my replacement back shell half, it has not showed up yet so I guess he just does not care... If one of you guys have some contact with him, if you have a chance to say a word about me it would be great. At this point I am wondering if he is just ignoring my messages or if he blocked me or something. It is wierd because the only few times he sent me messages he made it sound like it was a mistake and he would straighten it out, but it is now the second time he leaves me without response like that.

phmaximus

Congrats man, I'm a father of 5 so I know how hard it is finding time... Lol

couchflyer

My Feedback: (1)

Fred, great work, congratulations on the son.

Frederik_b

^^ Thanks guys!

Tiny wee update, I made the axle mounting shapes and drilled one hole (yes, only one lol). For reference purpose, the hole drilled in one of the pieces is smaller than an M2 bolt.


I also buffed the knuckle thingies on both ends, all SDI axles have them but I just trimmed them off on the bench grinder.

Lars from Norway

I like, i like! And congrats with your son! Nice to hear, may he get as creative as you are

Frederik_b

That's a nice comment, thanks Lars!

I made a little progress, I drilled the axle mounts and mounted them temporarily:














I also modded the jaws on my bench vise to extend them so I can fold the floor pan, please ignore the complete utter mess of my bench

















next I will be soldering the floor pan together so it is solid enough to then add the frame rails underneath, then mount front fenders and do the driveshaft tunnel.


Thanks for looking!!


Fred

Frederik_b

Here is the modification I made to the bench vise, makes it possible to fold long pieces :

Frederik_b

It may not look like all that much compared to the previous pics, but I soldered the chassis floor, and added a few reinforcements here and there, most importantly around the wheels arches to make it stronger given the many bends.


I decided I was probably not going to do the chassis rails with sheetmetal. It was already hard enough to solder simple shapes, I don't see myself soldering the origami thing I planned for


So I am using a steel piece instead, solid, about 1/8" thick, bent to shape to reinforce the thin floor. I only made one for now, and still need to make a front section, not sure how yet.I will bolt the two chassis pieces to the floor.




Ok enough talking and let's see some pics

















Thanks for looking folks!!


Fred

Lars from Norway

So exiting to see this! So many similar parts to the full scale car which i know very well from working on them

Frederik_b

Thanks Lars! I look at the first pages of this thread and I ended up changing my mind so many times on different components that almost everything changed I think it is for the better though, especially ine the "look more like full scale" department!

I am also thinking of a new front strut design, basically same as the first one but less bulky, and more thought out to include the disc brakes.

Lars from Norway

I am already looking forward to see more of your plans and thoughts brought to life here

Frederik_b

I am trying to do some work on this project every Thuesday evening so there should be some update late tomorrow

Lars from Norway

Is that when your better half is on babysinging or babyswimming or similar? Ok! I wait in exitement for updates!

Frederik_b

Update!


I made the second frame rail, and bolted them to the floor pan. I also made a hole for axle so it does not interfere when I do the suspension:















The space between the frame rails is exactly the space required between the two link boxes, I slit the floor where the boxes will be (dremel):












Then knocked out the pieces:









I cut the 4 link boxes and bent everything to shape:














And used the existing frame bolts to hold them, note there will be a reinforcement in front of the boxes:



















So that´s it for now! I did not have time to bend and mount the second box. Also I will have to fit a bracket for the lower hole of the box, the box really only holds one link per box (the upper one).


Thanks for looking!


Fred

Frederik_b

Hahaha well my better half also has some hobbies that she wants to put some time on, just like me with projects like this escort, so we take some hobby time in the evening here and there in the week, while the other is with our two boys.


I also started to machine the axles I bought to reduce them so the can fit in the sdi axle. It seems like a pretty hard material, the carbide bits struggle to chew in the material. It might be because the shaft is flexing slightly though..

Lars from Norway

Guess it is important to get some time for yourself in the man- or womancave to not go crazy

The frame rails are so thick that you could have treaded them instead of using nuts on the other side, that is just something i see now and thinking a bit loud as i see it.

Frederik_b

Thats a great idea, I might do that with most of the holes, the ones that are not dual purpose and do not need to poke through. I have m3 with round heads, not sure which lenghts though. Maybe it's time for another boltbase order or I just buff the excess lenght. I have to admit I did not like the fact the inside is full of bolts and nuts poking, so I really appreciate you mention that idea!

Lars from Norway

Thing is that you need to go one dimention up on the bolts as the thread requires it. But i think it will look neat inside the interior. Or you can use bolt with countersunk heads to make them flush with the surface.

Frederik_b

The current bolts are m2 so if I do that I will step up to m3. But the head has to be inside of the car (thin side) sonI cannot really use countersunk. At least going with threads there will be no bolts under the car (I was thinking the screw heads would smash on rocks etc and be impossible to unscrew, and also I can use button head screws, they will be less visible inside the car.

Lars from Norway

So the sheet is too thin to have enough material to sink the head into then? M3 buttonheads was in fact what i thought of before the countersunk heads came to mind It will anyway look neat!

Frederik_b

Yes the sheet is very thin, much thinner than the other pieces I used for structure such as the shapes that forms the engine bay sides and what the struts will attatch to. I think button head will be best in that scenario. Can't wait to put some time on it again!

Fred

Frederik_b

Small update, I could not put all that much time into it today, but here it is. I made the second links box and made one of the lower links attachments to the frame.


That allowed me to actually mount the axle and I did some more mock ups and test the four links with the new chassis.


Did I say I was glad I re-did the chassis that way? I am starting to like how it looks!


















Thanks for looking!


Fred

Norman2

Hi, The work you have done on this model is simply amazing! I wish God would have given me your talent. Enjoy it, Regards
Norman2

Lars from Norway

Lovely! Are you going to use a watt-link to tame the side forces?

Frederik_b

Thank you my friend!

Of course ! the Sdi axle is made to allow multi axle setups (trucks), normally when you do not want a multi axle you cut the rear pinion thingy and plug the hole with a cap. Instead I am going to put bearings in it but with a bolt instead of the pinion, that will make for a solid centered and smooth watts linkage pivot!