Building a Hybrid - Slot.It Motor Pod in Wire & Brass

[Florida_Slotter]

[JBriggsK9]

Marty

Very nice work and a very clean design... Like you I have found that a brass or wire and brass slot-it pod chassis is a GREAT running chassis and take a lot less time an effort than a normal scratch build chassis and run just as well..

You get all the benefits of a slot-it chassis with all the weight down low to aid in the handling of the cars..

This is how I do mine http://jbriggsk9.tripod.com/id52.html

Chris

[HomeRacingWorld]

Now this is interesting. Just a kind of crazy thing I know a couple guys around here would try.

Chris, I'll get a link to your site up...making a new section.

[Florida_Slotter]

Chris,

Thanks for the input.

Hey, in my opinion there are about 1,000,000 ways to build a chassis and all of them are right. I like seeing the work of others as it is a learning experience for me.

BTW - what size screws did you use? I'm liking the '[nut and bold' approach rather then the alternative. Very nice.

Did you use a piece of .064 brass for that plate?

I like using wire for the center section, then hanging stuff of of it.

But that's what makes 'building it your way' so much fun!

[JBriggsK9]

Marty

You are right there are any number of ways to build a chassis.. And I am going to try them all :D

The pod screws I am using are 1/72 flat head screws. I found them on Amazon.com

Yes for the cars I use my sponge tires on I like to us the .064 brass sheet. I used tire glue on my cars with the sponge tires, they give so much grip I have to have some weight on the bottom to make them work for me..

I use .032 brass for the cars I use super tires on. with the .032 chassis I have to double up on the thickness of the brass where the screws go in to have enough brass to do the counter sinks to keep the screw heads from sticking out the bottom of the chassis.. And I use 2/56 flat heads for my body mounting system..

I have also gone your route too with the wire and hanging the rest off of that... That works just as well..

Like you I love to see what others are building and how they do it... You can pick up all kinds of great ideas this way..

Chris

[Florida_Slotter]

Chris,

To me, one of the biggest feelings of satisfaction I get from this hobby is to build a chassis, then put it on the track. When it goes around the track, whatever happens after that doesn't count for a thing. Just watching something you have created, then implemented provides such a sense of pride that the rest doe not matter. It only gets better when you try something and it works the way you expected to.

I have tried all sorts of wire sizes, multiple runs of smaller wires, combinations of wire and brass rod and just about anything else you can come up with. All have certain benefits and also characteristics. You can sometimes come up with a design that allows the driver to match his car with the current track conditions and run well for those conditions.

"Building your own" just opens up another facet of this hobby to those that are adventurous and like spending some time tinkering and learning. I have been building chassis for many years. First of all, back in the 60's you had to build your own as nothing else was available. I remember seeing chassis when I came back to the commerical world of slot car racing that worked exaclty like chassis I had built back then. I knew exactly what to do to tune them and soon had my chassis runnign with folks that were in the upper echelon of the hobby in our area.

I'd like to work with you and bring more 'tutorials' to Home Racing World and perhaps we can find some 'converts' to this part of the hobby we both enjoy.

[JBriggsK9]

I feel the same.. Nothing like building your own car and racing it.... even better if it runs with the big boys :dance:

I would love to work with you on some articles.. I agree that we need to keep the scratch building part of this hobby alive and well... And we need all the other builders out there to show everyone what they are doing too..

Scratch building is not brain surgery.. It just needs a few basic skills like soldering and using a dremel tool.. And the will to just give it a try.. It doesn't have to look pretty ( most of mine don'e) it just needs to work.. Some of the simplest chassis designs can work and run just as good if not better than most of the RTR chassis out there..

With a little practice and a few baisic tools anyone can do it..

I have a good article on building for the beginners on my site called Building 101 http://jbriggsk9.tripod.com/id35.html The chassis I was working on at the time is a more advanced chassis but the ideas can be used for any chassis.. I would start with the kiss design ( Keep it simple stupid ) A nice simple pan chassis is a good starting point to practice you skills on.. And you will be surprised on how well they will run.

That gives me a idea.. Why don't we start there? Would you like to do something up on a inline pan chassis and I will do one on a anglewinder pan chassis? That would be a great starting point for new builders.. A nice detailed article on how we go about building each type of chassis..

Chris

[Florida_Slotter]

Chris,

Sorry about the delay in responding, but I got pretty busy.

Thinking about your suggestion . . . . . .

I think that's an AWESOME idea. As a matter of fact, I am just going to start this thred over again, do it in step x step style of use this as the basis of building a wire & brass chassis using a Slot.It motor pod.

Perhaps I'll even show some reasons why it is better to 'build your own' rather then use one already made. But we'll just have to wait to see.

Thanks for the inspiration.

[FootScoot]

I must be slipping. I completely missed this thread. Still haven't tried it yet, but I did do something similar either early this year, or late last year. I built a sidewinder under a Carrera Scirocco using brass plate and 1/16" piano wire. ;)