SCX "Cuda" - Tune up II

[HomeRacingWorld]

Wheels do look pretty good on that one, nice job.

[goosenapper]

That's an impressive overhaul. The wheels do look great, and the car sits a lot better now too.

All of that front-end work was eye-opening. The only SCX that I've ever cracked open was the MGA, and that has a solid front axle. Now I see that my Citroen DS21 also has that wierd digital stub axle thing going on too. I'm sure I'll be looking back at this once it's time to tackle that car. Thanks!

[dreinecke]

Nice job. Those wheels make that livery work!

[valie]

Nice job!! Sorry, can't chat now, got to run off to the hobby shop to pick up a Cuda and a set of wheels ...

[Fast Co.]

I'm not generally a fan of SCX but there most recent offerings have been good cars and this 'Cuda is one of the best if not the best. Smooth running and great handling. I like the mods you made and the car looks killer with those black wheels!

[TuscoTodd]

:text-goodpost:
RMinAustralia -
That is one great looking upgrade!
I liked the improvement so much, I had to try to do the same thing to mine! :)

The Nascar wheels pose some interesting challenges though - details to follow...

[TuscoTodd]

Since I couldn't find the black Cuda wheels, I gave the NASCAR wheels that RMinAustralia highlighted above. The NASCAR wheels aren't quite as easy of an upgrade as the black "Cuda" wheels are - but with a little work, they look much more at home than the white wheels that came off do. And the front end tracking with the full axle is a LOT better than the digital independent set was on my car as my wheels ran a bit "toed out" right out of the case, which didn't help handling/speed. :)

Here are a some things I noted in making the transition:
- The NASCAR rear axle assembly is narrower than the Cuda axle assembly. So instead of dropping it in direct, I pulled the wheels off and installed them on the factory rear axle with a touch of CA - easy swap!

- Like the rear axle, the front axle assembly is narrower than what will drop directly into the Cuda (once the digital fronts are removed) - requiring a bit of "modification". Another item that compounds things is the NASCAR wheels are notably wider (as shown below after removal from the axle):



I addressed this in two stages, first I cut the inner hub flush:



This cut got things closer - however, with the thickness of the bushings and width of the wheels, it still resulted in the tires being locked up by the body. At that point I looked at how far the inner sidewall of the tire was away from the chassis and then proceeded to back cut the hub down flush with the reinforcing ribs inside the wheel. This allowed the wheels to tuck in nice and tight to the chassis, leaving roughly .050" clearance between the chassis and the inside sidewall of the tire and created 90% of the clearance I needed. I did trim the axle length a bit as well, as I was bottoming out in the factory holes / but this could also be addressed by drilling the holes slightly deeper as well.
The rest of the "clearance" came from scraping the inside of the body with a hobby knife to shave off the paint and some of the plastic (particularly the inner lip of the wheel well arch) - this provided the additional needed clearance to eliminate any potential tire/body interference. With tucking the tires/wheels in tight to the chassis like this, I avoided having to raise the front end / run spacers on the posts and have the body set down solidly on the chassis.





I still have to glue/true the tires and run some test laps with it - but I am really happy with the look! I really appreciate RMinAustralia for posting the mod and link to the NASCAR wheels as I think, with the new wheels / tires, it makes for a very sharp looking upgrade!

And with it's new shoes, I foresee my Cuda spending a LOT more time turn laps at the track than sitting on the shelf! :D
:auto-layrubber: