Jump to content

Pocher F40 with Autograph transkit upgrade challenge build


Recommended Posts

Wayne, I've not spent much time on the forum. Caught up today with your built.

looking real good. I like the idea of building an extra engine to display along the car. 

I have an extra engine in the stack that I will use for exactly that purpose. 

Congrats on the meticulous work you are showing us. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Poul, long time no hear; I hope that the Alfa is going well. I know a lot of us take advantage of the summer months to do other things outside and it doesn't seem to allow as much time on the workbench as usual and, I'm no exception. I've been juggling work on the house and cars with the F-40 so, there's days on end that all I do is look at the workbench. I'm getting closer to finishing the big house repair project but, it's been raining on and off all week so, the completion date has been pushed back another week.

 I should have the parts for the plastic engine in a day or so and the metal engine will be here on Friday so, I will be working on it again soon. As soon as I get it I will post some pictures and hopefully have some actual progress to show. Thanks for your support!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Today I received the Scale Details metal engine and I began working on it. I'm not very impressed with the casting quality so far. The engine block has a lot of issues and I'm not so sure that, this won't be more work than the plastic engine. Here's a few pictures of the engine as received and opening it up.

 

IMG_6638.jpg

IMG_6646.jpg

 

Parts comparison between metal and plastic

 

IMG_6642.jpg

IMG_6643.jpg

IMG_6644.jpg

IMG_6645.jpg

 

Here's where we run into the problems. The whole top of the engine cylinder head area is bent.

 

IMG_6647.jpg

IMG_6648.jpg

 

The left side of the engine locating pins are bent and one is broken off completely.

 

IMG_6649.jpg

 

The right side where the pins go into are completely bent over and there's lots of flash on every edge but, I suppose this is sort of normal on white metal.

 

IMG_6650.jpg

 

The other kind of oddball thing is that where the pins are supposed to go into holes, there's some king of hard or glass balls plugging all the holes and they won't come out! 

 

IMG_6651.jpg

 

This was a bit of a problem until I just cut the ends of the studs off and drilled them out again. I have a bit of filing to do in order to get the two parts of the engine block to actually fit together. I can see that, I'm going to have to file down all the excess flash and dry fit everything on the top and bottom of the engine before I glue anything. I'm also going to have to drill out all the holes for the bolts and assemble each section with the bolts prior to doing the assembly of the engine block, cylinder head, front cover and oil pan. More pictures later when I get things cleaned up and some of the brass bolts installed.

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A quick add on to today's earlier post. I spent about two-three hours filing and sanding all the engine block parts and surprisingly the fit isn't too bad. There's still some casting issues here and there but, nothing that can't be fixed or worked around. These pictures are the engine in the dry fit stage. The fit between the upper section and the front cover is really much tighter than the picture shows.

 

IMG_6652.jpg 

 

IMG_6653.jpg

 

IMG_6654.jpg

 

When this is actually super glued down it should close up considerably 

 

IMG_6655.jpg

 

Here's where I can see  potential problem developing. Notice the size difference between the kit plastic engine and the Scale Details metal engine. The width of the front cover and engine block is noticeably different. The metal engine is quite a bit narrower and I'm going to have to measure the motor mounts and other things on how the engine sits in the rear frame and engine cradle. Never a dull moment!!

 

IMG_6656.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I have to say I am not impressed with that pile of WM....from your pics I would say that the amount of work needed to get it into shape....and remove all those mould lines...plus getting it 'air tight'...then to  correct what will be some serious fit issues with the chassis etc. ....IMHO...you are making a rod for your own back!

If indeed you are looking to have a 'stand alone' engine...then I would use the WM engine for that.

A major concern to me is the lack of crispness and detail on the WM bits....a hell of a lot of work to get it into decent shape.

May I ask how much it was?

 

Regards

 

Ron

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to post this later with pictures but, I didn't want it to continue to be an erroneous statement. As I was filing and cleaning up the flash and making the joining edges of the metal flat yesterday I put the two engines together, bottom to bottom and they are exactly the same size. I too, was having a hard time believing that they were somehow different sizes so, that was one of the first things that I did. It appears that the size difference is a photo optical illusion! And, a pretty good good one at that. It's kinda like what it says on the right side mirror on your car "caution objects may appear closer than they are"! 

So, I guess that is why I didn't see a difference until I looked at the picture; just goes to show that you can't believe everything you see. Anyway, sorry for the confusion, my mistake. I'm trying to figure out the best way to glue or solder the engine together today. I used super glue gel yesterday and it was a fail so, I need something else that will hold and stand up to the handling it's going to going through while assembling it and adding the detail. I can't have it coming apart half way through the detailing. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. I'd like to solder it but I'm worried about too much heat melting or deforming the metal. So, maybe a two part epoxy, I don't know, I'm on the fence about this and I really don't have anything to use to test the different options so, any help would be appreciated.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 minutes ago, larchiefeng said:

I was going to post this later with pictures but, I didn't want it to continue to be an erroneous statement. As I was filing and cleaning up the flash and making the joining edges of the metal flat yesterday I put the two engines together, bottom to bottom and they are exactly the same size. I too, was having a hard time believing that they were somehow different sizes so, that was one of the first things that I did. It appears that the size difference is a photo optical illusion! And, a pretty good good one at that. It's kinda like what it says on the right side mirror on your car "caution objects may appear closer than they are"! 

So, I guess that is why I didn't see a difference until I looked at the picture; just goes to show that you can't believe everything you see. Anyway, sorry for the confusion, my mistake. I'm trying to figure out the best way to glue or solder the engine together today. I used super glue gel yesterday and it was a fail so, I need something else that will hold and stand up to the handling it's going to going through while assembling it and adding the detail. I can't have it coming apart half way through the detailing. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears. I'd like to solder it but I'm worried about too much heat melting or deforming the metal. So, maybe a two part epoxy, I don't know, I'm on the fence about this and I really don't have anything to use to test the different options so, any help would be appreciated.

 

Did you not get my e-mail?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to shabby about the quality of sd products.

 

Wayne, I can highly recommend JB-weld 2 part cold steel epoxy. It works great on metal, plactic and resin. It can also be used as a putty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks guys, the majority response seems to be the JB Weld. I did clean up the epoxy residue from my failed attempt at using the two part epoxy. After I cleaned it off, I just used plain old super glue to hold things together and it seems to hold pretty well. I do plan on using the JB on the inside of the block along the corners to reinforce from the inside without showing. There's still the same lousy fit along cylinder head area and I think that the JB will fill the gap nicely. Since there's really nothing new to show that hasn't already been seen, I will not have any pictures to post now.

 I spent the most of the day painting decking for the house and color sanding the underside of the body to get rid of any stuff that stuck to the paint that will show up underneath the carbon fiber decals. Tomorrow, I'll shoot another coat of paint on the inside of the body. Even though I will take pictures of everything I don't know how interesting they are going to be other than just documenting for my own personal record of what I've done. Maybe, the before and after gap repair on engine will get done tomorrow after the paint work.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here' the picture of the two engine blocks side by side showing that hey are the same.

 

IMG_6657.jpg

 

Parts cleaned up and ready for glue

 

IMG_6658+%25281%2529.jpg

 

Glue and adhesive choices that I had on hand

 

IMG_6659.jpg

 

Glued up with plain old super glue after the failed Loctite epoxy attempt

 

IMG_6662.jpg

IMG_6663.jpg

IMG_6664.jpg

IMG_6665.jpg

IMG_6666.jpg

 

I'll be using the JB Weld to fill any gaps and add strength from the inside of the block.

While I let the engine set up a while, I decided to color sand the inside of the body. I know, it's not very sexy and is a PIA to get into all the nooks and crannies with the sandpaper but, necessary. Since, I'm doing a complete color change on the F-40 from red to black, I had to completely strip the entire body and repaint it all in the body color. You just don't know what will show on the completed model. Additionally, there are a lot of pieces that get covered in in decals and need a smooth surface that only a gloss finish gives. The color sanding is necessary to get that smooth surface for the decals to lay down as well as I can get them. I'm sure that after the decals go down and some clear coats have been sprayed over the decals to seal them, I'll have to go back and use some matte black over the gloss in places. Right now, it's not very satisfying to be painting and color sanding the underside of a body! Hopefully, soon I will be able to start painting the exterior and color sanding the finish coats. 

One other thing that, I'm sure some of you Ferrari purists are going to take me to task for is the choice of color being black. However, there are a few known black ones to have come from the factory that way and at least 8 yellow ones. The prime black F-40 was ordered in black for Diego Maradona. So, granted it's an unusual color for the F-40 it's not a non factory color.

Here's a few shots of the underside after the first color sand and second coat of black. Hey, I told you that it was kind of boring!

 

IMG_6672.jpg

IMG_6671.jpg

IMG_6670.jpg

IMG_6669.jpg

IMG_6668.jpg

IMG_6673.jpg

IMG_6674.jpg

IMG_6675.jpg

 

The body will sit for a few days and then I'll see if it needs more work. In the meantime, it's time to go back to the engine and see what needs filling with JB Weld.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

No pictures tonight but, I have done a few things on the engines and some work on the body. I do have pictures but, they're not available to post at the moment. I finally finished the construction on the house and deck so, I will have a lot more time to work on this going forward. 

Rich threw a small monkey wrench in the build by turning me onto a supplier for some LM parts and I have some ordered and more to come hopefully. So, some of the body work is on temporary hold until I get the parts. There's also some bigger turbos coming along with some other stuff. So, for now I will just be working on the basic stuff getting things ready for some future additions.

This thing just keeps evolving; much like the Mercedes did. I'll post a few pictures tomorrow but, they're not going to be to special; I just wanted to check in and let you guys know that there is progress and change in the offing.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like I have a lot more pictures than I thought so, I will post the engine pictures in the first part and the updated body pictures in the second part.

 

Here you can see just how bad the casting is on the SD metal engine. There is quite a warp on the heads.

 

IMG_6676.jpg

 

IMG_6677.jpg

 

Not so bad now with the cam covers on and a lot of filing

 

IMG_6679.jpg

IMG_6680.jpg

 

Looks even better with the timing covers on

 

IMG_6681.jpg

IMG_6682.jpg

IMG_6684.jpg

 

Here we run into more bad casting on the transaxle

 

IMG_6685.jpg

 

The top of the housing after a lot of filing and cleaning up

 

IMG_6687.jpg

 

The bottom, not so much

 

IMG_6688.jpg

 

Back to the plastic kit engine repaint

 

IMG_6696.jpg

IMG_6697.jpg

 

The little bit of work and paint on the body

Here's the rear lower panel with the PE being added

 

IMG_6692.jpg

IMG_6693.jpg

IMG_6694.jpg

 

The rear bonnet before removal of the three vertical pieces in the grille area

 

IMG_6699.jpg

 

After

 

IMG_6701.jpg

 

Withe the main PE grille mocked in place

 

IMG_6702.jpg

 

With more PE added

 

IMG_6707.jpg

 

PE painted matte black

 

IMG_6710.jpg

 

Back mocked up in place

 

IMG_6711.jpg

 

Main body and doors prepped for paint

 

IMG_6735.jpg

 

First of many color coats

 

IMG_6736.jpg

IMG_6737.jpg

 

Like I said yesterday, I'm waiting on some more LM transkit parts and word on availability of more so, I'm going to have to work around anything to do with those parts until I get some answers. In the meantime, I will be working on adding the transkit bolts to the kit engine. At this point, I have four different transkits or various parts from other vendors to convert this car into the car I really want. It's now getting a bit complicated to keep track of what goes next and in what order especially, when I have to take a break from working on it for a few days. Sometimes it takes me an hour or so just to figure out where I left off. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Hi! I am glad that I find your post, I finally starting my Pocher F40 with the transkit which I bought 15 years ago. I am so confused at the start, the manual is so simple, you need to figure it out by yourself, luckily I have your detail posts on your WIP. Thanks and your work is awesome! 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Kerry, it's good to see that, there's another F-40 with the transkit being built. 

I agree and, I think that you will find that the instructions are the most difficult part of the transkit. The pictures are too small and don't really explain the sequence of operation very well. I've had to go through them multiple times just to try and understand what goes where and next. The body parts have been a bit of a challenge because they are spread out all over the instructions. You have to find everything that pertains to the body and make sure that you have accounted for all the assemblies at the same time otherwise you will probably run into problems down the road. The doors and rocker panels come to mind as being around step 50 something and should be much earlier. My build is even more complicated because of the color change and the additional transkits and other LM parts that, I'm waiting on. I figured that if I'm going to all this trouble, I might as well build the car I want. 

How far along are you on your build? Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I will answer them if I can.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, larchiefeng said:

Thanks Kerry, it's good to see that, there's another F-40 with the transkit being built. 

I agree and, I think that you will find that the instructions are the most difficult part of the transkit. The pictures are too small and don't really explain the sequence of operation very well. I've had to go through them multiple times just to try and understand what goes where and next.

To both of you; I have had success using a copier to enlarge text and diagrams that are too small. Pocher is guilty of this too...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Codger said:

To both of you; I have had success using a copier to enlarge text and diagrams that are too small. Pocher is guilty of this too...

 

Even better is a scanner on your home printer....much higher resolution....allowing greater magnification before it 'bitmaps' out ;)

 

 

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have tried to manipulate the images on the instructions in order to enlarge them but, I haven't had much success. You can't pull an individual image out of the instructions and enlarge it. Each page has three pictures and if I try and enlarge or print it I still get three pictures. I can enlarge a section of an individual picture on the computer monitor and try and see a little better but, the picture quality starts to get fuzzy if I blow it up too much. 

 

I probably need to try and import the instructions into another program to change it from a pdf. to something else. But, I don't think that I can.

 

The one thing that, I have done is rewrite all the instructions step by step for myself so, that it makes more sense. Even with them rewritten I still only have the small pictures in my hand.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just a thought: If you try to reduce the resolution of pixels on your monitor you will get larger picture. It might be some fussy on LCD/LED monitors but on old large CRT monitors it would be fine. I guess it will become better than you have it now!

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice but, I think that the main problem with the resolution is the way that the pictures were taken in the first place. You can only do so much with a low resolution picture. Most of the pictures are at least 10-12 years old if not more. They are the same ones from when the transkit first came out and that, was before the high resolution digital cameras.

I'll be okay and I'll figure out an easier way to view the pictures along with my own rewritten directions. 

On the upside, I have been painting and working on the various body panels. Each piece is in one stage or another of paint and moving along. Also, I received the first of the resin LM parts today and I will post some pictures of them right after I do some clean up and Bondo the air holes in the splitter and wing. I also received another metal engine that appears to be a much better casting than the SD engine and it has more components but, no bolts. Between the two I should have a pretty decent engine. 

Well, time to go sand and do some more paint now; pictures later tonight or tomorrow.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a number of different areas that, I'm working on so, I'll post by specific things here. The first is continuation of the body and paint. I have a number parts that are close to the final phase of paint and others that are getting started and of course the in between due to color sanding. 

The first pictures are the rear bonnet getting it's first color coat

 

IMG_6788.jpg

IMG_6789.jpg

IMG_6790.jpg

IMG_6791.jpg

 

Next I had a bit of modification to the rear lower panel and it has it's first coat of paint with the PE on it.

 

IMG_6792.jpg

IMG_6793.jpg

 

Since there was really nothing to add or modify on the main body it is the farthest along in paint at the moment.

 

IMG_6795.jpg

IMG_6798.jpg

IMG_6799.jpg

IMG_6800.jpg

 

I decided to put the two sections together even though both are a ways from being finished they don't look too bad here.

 

IMG_6802.jpg

IMG_6803.jpg

 

Now the doors and rocker panels are going through the initial color sanding here.

 

IMG_6805.jpg

IMG_6806.jpg

IMG_6810.jpg

 

Ready for paint

 

IMG_6813.jpg

 

Second color coats

 

IMG_6814.jpg

IMG_6815.jpg

IMG_6816.jpg

IMG_6817.jpg

 

Mostly pretty smooth but, there's a few small specs of dust. I expect this and with each color sand everything will get smoother and eventually I will get enough paint built up that any sanding will be with higher grit sandpaper or a polish. Next up will be some LM parts mocked up. I am filling the air holes in the resin tonight with Bondo and I will sand them down tomorrow and probably do another pass with more filler. Some of the holes are fairly large so, they'll take more than one pass with the putty to fill the holes. Also, all three of the engines side by side for comparison in a separate post.  

 

 

Edited by larchiefeng
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...