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Pocher Rolls Royce Phantom Torpedo


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More so far.....

Building the front axle assembly was next and posed few problems other than fitting the brake actuator rods to the axle beam.

These rods had to be inserted into holes running the length of the axle, with access holes on the axle face. Once the threaded rods were in place, nuts and brackets had to be bolted to the inner ends, through the little access holes. Effectively, this meant fitting and doing up the nuts inside small cavities, around 5mm square. Getting the nuts, brackets and secondary retaining nuts in place and tightened took over an hour of cursing and Chardonnay!

The brake plates and uprights were fitted and then the leaf springs were assembled in the same way as the rear springs.

I found there was one leaf missing from the kit, but fortunately, there was a duplicate of a long rear spring leaf left over, that I cut down to the correct size.

The springs were fitted and the shackles all assembled as per the instructions. None of this presented any problems.

Next was to assemble the steering box and internals which were made of brass gears and worm on a brass steering shaft. This was then inserted into a chromed steering column. All of the parts had to be smoothed and ‘tweaked’ so that the steering will actually work properly when finished.

The biggest problem I encountered was the fact that much of the linkages etc are connected from under the car, meaning the now substantial chassis needed constant inverting to fit various nuts and bolts. I’m doing my utmost to leave the chassis alone as I don’t want to disturb the umpteen parts in the brakes that won’t be held captive until the drums and wheels go on, much later.

The next step was to install the engine, transmission and drive shaft – a task I was somewhat apprehensive about, but in actual fact went together without a hitch. The engine mounts are made of steel and brass and actually fitted together perfectly and in alignment.

The engine was bolted in place in about ten minutes.

The next job entails turning the entire thing upside down to connect up the brake rods so I’ll need to make up some kind of cradle to hold the chassis up so that the engine is clear of the bench….

Roy.

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Possibly the last update for a while as I intend starting a different kit for a while.

2 reasons......

1st, I don't want to get 'Pocheritis' - an ailment caused by working on a mega-fiddly and big project for too long, so that it becomes a chore.

2nd, I'm enjoying the build immensely, and don't want to build what is effectively almost a grands worth of kit too quickly!

I know I've been working on the model for about a month, but I really don't want to see it finished and consigned to a display cupboard this side of Xmas......

So far......

My superb custom ‘Pocher-chassis-inverter’ cradle was made from two piles of DVD boxes……

It worked perfectly, supporting the hefty chassis upside down and keeping the engine and steering column clear of the table.

Connecting the various linkages and rods under the car was straightforward although once again, matchstick fingers would be better for fitting some of the miniscule nuts and bolts in out-of-the-way places.

The next job was to assemble the exhaust and silencer box, and throttle heater parts which was pretty simple although I did break two tiny but long fixing bolts which had to be removed with needle nose pliers before fresh bolts could be fixed in place. After that, the car was then back up on its hubs to have the firewall attended to.

The firewall itself is a fairly large moulding that only needed minimal cleaning up before getting a coat of primer and then aluminium on both sides. When it was dry, it was all masked up so that the outer shroud could be painted saffron yellow.

The fuel pump, oil pump relay and fuse box parts were all cleaned up and painted before assembling them to the firewall. Extra fuel lines were added from the pump as the kit doesn’t include these parts. The fuel filter was also scratch made from sprue and ally tubing, and plumbed in according to the DVD reference as this is also a missing but noticeable component from the kit. Without it, there is no connection from the fuel pump to the carburettors. I've made the filter and fittings, but it isn't fitted to the firewall yet.

The firewall fabric bonnet padding strips were added using short pieces of black trimline, fixed in place with several coats of matt varnish. The bulkhead labels and plates were added lastly and the firewall was then loosely fixed in place to the chassis. It can’t be tightened in place yet as movement is needed to adjust the scuttle to radiator gap for the bonnet later on.

There are still also a few engine/firewall linkages and pipes/cables to add.

Next job – assembling the radiator and radiator shell.

I may do this as the last bit for a while.

I'll post an update if so.

If not, as Arnie would say.... 'I'll be back!'.......

(BTW..... The lovely lady in the xmas bauble is my amazing Sam...... she encourages me all the way. I think I'm pretty lucky, at 59!!!!)

Roy.

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Edited by roymattblack
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I take your point, but in this particular case, I doubt if the Maharaja's car has ever been anything less than concourse....

Many thanks for the kind comments everyone though.

Roy.

Hello Roy, after suffering heavy damage after an engine fire, the Star of India was far off concourse...img02pop.jpg?itok=nI9REeM_

Cheers

Michael

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As I mentioned, I might build the radiator etc before leaving the Rolls for a while......

The radiator and outer shell went together very easily and was a particularly enjoyable part of the build, as the completed result is such an iconic part of the car. With this part in place, the model really does now look like a Rolls Royce.

The inner radiator parts were cleaned up, painted satin black and screwed together with the mascot locator trapped between. There was a bit of filing and cutting to do to make for better clearance but nothing major.

The vertical grille slats have to be sorted into left and right hand sets, as the famous grille is built to always have one half of the vertical slats in shade, whichever way you look at the car.

The slats fit very well into pre-cut grooves on the inner radiator and then the outer shell is fitted, holding the slats in place. I added a good bead of cyano adhesive around the outer shell/inner radiator meeting points for good measure.

The little etched Rolls Royce badge was painted black all over, and then polished back to leave the black paint in the etch. The badge was then fixed to the shell using double sided tape. I didn’t want any glue oozing out and spoiling the grille.

The kit rubber hoses are very rigid and don’t really look quite the part, so I made my own using the outer shroud of an old ‘dead’ guitar lead. It was just the right size and looks good, actually being made of soft rubber. The hose clips are made from thin strips of aluminium tape.

Once again, the chassis had to be inverted to fix the radiator in place with two long bolts from beneath. The scuttle brace was fixed in loosely for final adjustment when the bodywork is fitted later.

The whole thing is beginning to look much more like a car now.

OK.... A break from the Rolls now for a little while.

Roy.

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You can't stop now!!! I've been watching this come together and the work is first class Roy, but it's the short time that this has come together to how it looks now that has amazed me! I am tempted to search for something in the Pocher range that is more in my field of interest, but those Alfas go for a lot of money as well!

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Thanks for those kind words.

I'm not stopping by any means, but as you said yourself, it's how quickly I've gotten so far - a DISadvantage of being retired, having anywhere from 6-7 hours and upwards per day to spend on modelling.

I don't want to build the model TOO quickly.

I'll be starting on the wire wheels shortly though.

Roy.

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Pleeeeeaaase! Don't keep us waiting. :popcorn:

We are dying out here, out of pure excitement.

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Righty-ho.....

Back onto the Rolls Royce now that the little Mustang is nearly done.

It was good to take a break from the Pocher, as now I'm looking forward to doing some more.

Wire Wheels time.......

I haven't assembled one yet, but I thought you might like to see the bits involved in just one rim - No spokes or spoke nipples.

All the small parts assemble into the hub.

The three chrome rings make up the 'visible' outer rim, the three plastic rings make up the 'not-visible' outer rim, and the plastic ring that looks like a steering wheel is the assembly jig.

There are SIX of the wheels to assemble, each one having way over 175 parts, so I'll post a further update when there's something interesting to show you.

BTW.... I have to mention Peter at Pocherparts.com.

Amazing source of help, info, spare parts and many complete kits for sale.

Give him a peep if you're a Pocher fan, or maybe looking for a kit to buy:

http://pocherparts.com/

Roy.

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Edited by roymattblack
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A bit done...

There are six wheels in the kit and each wheel is assembled from around 175 parts.

There are chromed metal ‘visible outer rims, plastic ‘not-visible’ (when completed) outer rims and a central hub, made up of another 7 metal and plastic parts.

Each wheel comes with a plastic jig for assembly purposes but the jigs are invariably crooked, meaning the assembled wheel would also be crooked and not run ‘true’.

Each jig was put into a drill chuck and rotated at slow speed. The jig with the least, or ideally, no ‘wobble’ is the best to use for all of the wheels.

I did this, found one pretty good jig, and binned the rest.

The first outer metal ring is glued/screwed to the first plastic ring.

The central hub was assembled and placed on the central jig spindle.

The outer ring was put on the jig and the first layer of spokes fitted.

A HUGE amount of concentration is needed here as the spokes are tiny and the spoke nipples are miniscule! Both ends of each spoke have to go into precisely the correct location holes or the spokes won’t line up equally. The nipples are a very firm press-fit into the outer plastic rim and I found that the blade of a small screwdriver was the only thing that would do it.

After an hour of spoke fitting, I now have a lovely large blister in the palm of my screwdriver hand!

Next, is to fit an inner chrome ring which is a tight press-fit.

After that goes the inner plastic ring which is supposed to screw in place.

Yeah – right!

I needed a bench vice to hold the parts together while a bead of Araldite was drying!

These parts DO NOT fit together well. The supplied screws just tear out of the plastic – hence the Araldite.

Once dry, the middle layer of spokes is added in the same way as the first. All of the wheel spokes have a correct ‘criss-cross’ pattern which has to be followed carefully so on the second layer, not only do you have to watch the pattern, you also have to keep an eye on the first layer of spokes beneath.

For the third and last layer, the same problem except you now have to watch TWO layers of spokes beneath the one you are building.

Building each wheel isn’t so much difficult, as slow and mentally draining. I was trying to listen to an Audiobook whilst working but had to turn it off as I kept losing track of what I was doing.

I would estimate around 4-5 hours to assemble each wheel, once you get into the swing of it.

No doubt each wheel will be a bit quicker than the last.

The first wheel has taken about 2-1/2 hours so far and I’ve only assembled the first layer of spokes and the next layer of rims.

Roy.

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Edited by roymattblack
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The first wheel was finally completed after a further hour and a half’s work, making a total of about 5-1/2 hours. Fitting the tyres to the wheels is a serious mission, as there is a considerable amount of ‘outer’ wheel rim that is hidden inside the tyre when finished. This sound ok, but the problem is getting the large wheel inside the very hard, stiff tyres.

The Pocher tyres are made of a very tough vinyl that is extremely inflexible.

Model motor cars make a lovely replacement set in genuine flexible rubber, but at £23 PER TYRE I’ll stick with the Pocher ones.

Fitting the tyres is made easier by soaking them in very hot water for a few minutes, drying them quickly – VERY important as the metal wheel parts are steel, and prone to rapid rusting – and then getting the tyre on the rim with a mixture of patience, brute force and care not to use the hub in any way for leverage purposes unless you want over 120 spokes and nipples to go into orbit.

Getting tyre fitted proved difficult – I have the slipped-with-a-screwdriver cut to prove it…

I couldn't resist putting the wheel on the car just to see how it looks.

One wheel done - 5 more to go.

Roy.

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Edited by roymattblack
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Oh! Isn't that a sight worthy of gods.

I just love the look of spoke wheels (not building them though) they really give a car that elegant final touch.

Please! Keep up the good work, I'll be following the progress with great joy. :-)

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Very nice Roy, the six, that look like counter sunk holes in the wheel, do they fit into the wheel jig or are they for screws

Colin

Yes, they are for the final screws that hold the outer chrome ring in place.

However.......

The amazing DVD I have explains that the screws stick out, causing 'humps' in the tyre sidewall, so the outer rim (not fitted yet in that picture) is glued in place, minus the screws.

Roy.

Edited by roymattblack
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Hi Roy,

Wow. This is one serious kit and it looks fantastic. Thanks for the link to the website, I now want an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300, but may suffer physical harm if I show the other half the price! Better do some overtime!

Looking forward to seeing more developments!

Rob.

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For those who may be interested, the following is one highly impressive Pocher website:

http://www.modelmotorcars.com/

They sell all kinds of amazing upgrade parts, you can download all the instruction manuals for free, and take a look in the 'Museum Galleries' to see some genuinely stunning work.

BE WARNED THOUGH...... You will want a Pocher kit after your visit!

Roy.

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