SCCA Proxy Round 9 - Pebblestone Model Car Circuit

[gascarnut]

A large box arrived during the week, with the SCCA Proxy cars all wrapped in bubble wrap and packaged as only Allan can, so my initial inspection showed little to no damage.

On closer inspection, I found a small baggie of parts and decided to see if I could reunite them with their owner cars. In the process I discovered more damage so I have made some repairs as follows:

Alexis - your Ferrari SWB had two body posts that had come loose, so I have re-glued them and remounted the chassis.

Bob Chapman - your little pink Healey Sprite had a completely chewed crown gear, such that I doubt it would drive a yard let alone a lap. I replaced the gear with a JK gear that I had, cleaned most of the solder out of the teeth of the pinion (which was the likely cause of the original crown gear damage), and re-set the gear mesh and the axle spacing. It should work fine now.

Then there were a few cars with missing bumpers, wheel inserts, headlight covers, etc., all of which I have reattached.

Before I run qualifying, I will go through the cars again , clean braids and tires and apply some oil where needed.

I cannot confirm the date for this round yet, as I am dealing with a possible surgery and do not yet know when it will happen. I'm hoping to get the race done on May 4, but failing that, it will be May 18. More later when I have the details.

[alexis in greece]

Thanks Dennis

[chappy]

Cheers Dennis.
If you could have a look at my pink Healey and see what you think can be done to make it run, i would be very appreciative.
I realize it wont be eligible for points , but would like to see it cross a finish line before coming home
All the best
Bob

[charlesx@xtra.co.nz]

Hi Gascarnut.

Great to see this round on the way. Look forward to results, report and photos when you can manage. Regards Chas Le Breton (charlesx)

[Audi1]

Thanks for putting up the Round #9 post, Dennis. We look forward to the qualy and race from PMCC!

Allan

[gascarnut]

I have a surgery scheduled for Tuesday, so unfortunately we will not be able to run this round of the series until June 1. I will qualify the cars ahead of that time, as soon as I am up and about again, and publish those results to keep you all interested.

The repairs I mentioned for Bob's pink Sprite have already been done, but I have not run the car yet. However I'm pretty sure it will be fine.

Dennis

[glasshorsevh]

Dennis,

I’m kind of a frequent flyer.. whatever you’ve got going on, I wish you well and a speedy recovery.

Val

[chappy]

Thanks Dennis, i appreciate your care of this little lady. If I owe you anything let me know .
I do hope your surgery has been successful and the healing is beginning.
It seems to be an age thing as I have had 4 minor procedures on my back, 2 more to go, and then 2 a bit more entailed. But I must say I already feel improvements.
Take care of yourself first and foremost.
Bob

[gascarnut]

Update:

Due to an administrative SNAFU by my insurance, my surgery has been delayed. Fortunately it's not something life-threatening! As soon as I have a new date, I will re-schedule the racing as well.

I am going to qualify the cars this weekend, so look out for more information later today or tomorrow.

Dennis

[Audi1]

We're ready - bring it on, Dennis!

Allan

[gascarnut]

I spent some time yesterday running the cars to ensure they were good for qualifying. What I found very quickly was that at some previous race, many cars had picked up a great deal of crud on their tires, to the point that some would not even run on my track. So I spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning all the rear tires and braids, and giving cars oil where I could reach the bushings without removing bodies. So, the cars all run better now.

Unfortunately, we woke up to rain this morning, and since my track is on a covered patio, until it stops, I can't run the cars. The roof coverage isn't good enough to keep the whole track dry.

Hopefully I will get to qualify the cars later today

In the meantime, some comments on the field. There are a lot of nice looking cars, but I'm afraid that some do not work too well on my track. Mostly it's a case of the guides not being deep enough into the slot, and the mounting of the guide being very sloppy. Neither of these are conducive to good handling. While most cars have reasonably true rear tires, some have untrue front tires that cause hopping.

There are some very good cars though, and I'm sure the qualifying will be close.

Stay tuned!

[ALS]

Thankyou Very Much for your time Q the cars and cleaning the tires. Thanks Adrian ALS

[DRW21]

Can I suggest to clean the fronts tires as well, I find if the rear tires get dirty from normal track running the fronts usually pick up some junk too.
If they remain dirty the rear tires will then have more dirt to contend with and the track will become loose again.
Thank You in advance Dennis.
All the best guys - Dave.

[gascarnut]

[charlesx@xtra.co.nz]

Hi Gascarnut.

Note Dave West's comments about cleaning front tyres. My only concern is that you take car cleaning the tyres as I have had proxy cars back before where front tyres have been cleaned with something that eventually caused to go soft and deform. I am surprised however that tyres would get so dirty. In NZ we tend to run tracks very clean - often being wiped down with Fuelite or similar. Others may be rubbered up but any loose material would be removed. I would imagine an outside track would provide extra hurdles that need to be overcome. Regards Chas Le Breton (charlesx)