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MASERATI 250F Scratch Build


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Now that the Lancia D50 is put to bed and I've done a few maintenance jobs on some old models I find myself with a clear bench and a hankering to do a 250F ... the Fangio car from the '57 German Grand Prix.    To that end I've collected many pictures from Google showing the car at the event and as it stands today.    Wasn't able to find any proper drawings that looked correct enough but I did find a couple of drawings ... a plan and a profile view which unfortunately don't agree in all details!!    

 

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Overall length and wheelbases do agree so that's something!    I learned that the wheelbase is identical at 89.6" to the Lancia D50 I built so I've scaled these drawings to that size.   

I was surprised to see how short the D50 is compared to the Maser!

 

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I'll be shaping this one from my preferred material ... Renshape.    I've sawn my block into 4 segments lengthwise and blackened one surface on each before glueing all 4 together again.   This gives an always-visible centre line and mid-ships horizontal reference lines.    Next I glued paper drawings to the block and band-sawed the outer dimensions right to the lines.   Now that the profile and plan views are cut  to size it's a fairly easy job to round the body to these lines.    Here's where the pictures resume!

 

You can see the reference lines I'm talking about here.

 

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Openings roughed out for the suspensions.

 

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Soldered up some brass sheet to create the windshield support.

 

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Started on the exhaust pipes.   Making these from steel rod that's bent, filed to tapers and silver-soldered.   Quite a complex pair of manifolds and they overlap each other in an odd way.

 

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Fabricated the next "collector" pipe from tubing I salvaged from some telescoping device ... forget what it did.

 

All joined up.

 

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I didn't have any tubing of the right size for the main pipe but I had a remnant of solid brass rod that was perfect ... just needed drilling out at the tail end.

 

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Fits like a glove.

 

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Moving on to the front wheels next.    Turned a "tire" from Renshape and the outer part of the wheel rim from aluminium rod.   I won't cover the fabrication of my spoke wheels here as I did cover it extensively in the Lancia D50 build.

 

What is quite different for the 250F is the finning on the front brake drums ... not a collection of concentric fins as on the D50 but sets of 3 "fins" ... like this.

 

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Had to think hard on how to fabricate these and decided to machine a drum with the shape of the fins on the perimeter then I cut them by hand using a Dremel with a cutting disk.   The "blank" areas between the fins I just filed out.   I'm happy enough with this but it still needs some polishing up.

 

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Next is a backing plate for the brake drum onto which the suspension will attach.    This plate has a series of horizontal cooling fins that I haven't yet decided how to make.    I did get the disk prepared though.   I went through my parts bin and selected a "chassis" from a salvaged computer hard drive.   I've mentioned this source before and I like them because it's cast aluminium and a reasonably soft alloy.   Found a section that had enough thickness and hacksawed it out ...

 

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Got it into my chuck and turned it down leaving a small projection in the middle for the suspension king-pin to attach to.

 

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I've cut a perfect recess into some scrap Renshape and glued it in.   I'm about to try a variety of bits in my Dremel to cut the fins out ... stay tuned.

 

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Hope you find this somewhat interesting!

 

Frank

 

 

 

 

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Nice work. Will be following this, the 250F is my favourite Formula 1 car.

 

Might be teaching granny to suck eggs here but the Lancia is shorter because it was built to have a low polar moment, that is all the mass was within the wheelbase, whereas the 250F is

of the more 'traditional' high polar moment with the mass distributed along the entire length of the car and overhanging the axles.

 

The D50 proved very tricky for the drivers of the time to cope with as the low polar moment made the handling very twitchy. When Ferrari took over the Lancia race team he 'evolved' the

D50 by moving the fuel load to aft of the axle, making it the same as its contemporaries, and easier to drive.

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9 hours ago, Dr. Fiat said:

Fantastic!  I love your builds! :)

 

Darin

Thanks Darin.   I've seen your work and you are too kind by far!

 

9 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Great stuff - always get good ideas from your posts. I think cars are very challenging subjects.

Steve/Reconcilor (you've sorted out your personality disorder then? :P   Stay on the meds now.)   Glad to have you along.

 

8 hours ago, Kiwidave4 said:

Nice work. Will be following this, the 250F is my favourite Formula 1 car.

 

Might be teaching granny to suck eggs here but the Lancia is shorter because it was built to have a low polar moment, that is all the mass was within the wheelbase, whereas the 250F is

of the more 'traditional' high polar moment with the mass distributed along the entire length of the car and overhanging the axles.

 

The D50 proved very tricky for the drivers of the time to cope with as the low polar moment made the handling very twitchy. When Ferrari took over the Lancia race team he 'evolved' the

D50 by moving the fuel load to aft of the axle, making it the same as its contemporaries, and easier to drive.

KDave ... hope I can do justice to your favourite F1!!

 

And thanks for the explanation ... it actually makes sense to me.   I guess it was one of those "Seemed like a good idea at the time" ideas?

 

Ferrari was always very "traditional" when it came to advanced design and maybe the D50 tank locations were just a tad too "new-fangled" for his liking.   Hard to imagine a car would feel better with that 4/500 pound pendulum of fuel hanging out the back.   

 

Frank

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Time for a bit of an update.   

 

I know my way of building a model might seem a bit bizarre and doesn't have the precision/accuracy many of you seek but, as I've said in previous posts, my models are just for myself and the process is the fun part for me ... how am I going to make this?   I have nothing more than a couple of drawings to go by so precision goes out the window!

 

Have been spending a lot of time figuring out how to make all the front suspension components but I think I'm there now.

 

The body is locked at the right height by being screwed to a work board and supported by large diameter brass tube.   This lets me develop  and fit parts independently of the body.    The openings for the suspension are enlarged at this time but are easily shaped to fit later.

 

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To do the front suspension I've decided, as with the Lancia D50, to do the upper and lower A-arms as continuous pieces which can be fixed to the board at the right heights and is very handy while fabricating parts which attach to them.

 

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Now I can fasten the model down over the parts.   

 

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This brake drum is a new version with more "fins" than my first attempt and still doesn't have as many as it should so I might do another as I have a new idea on how to do it.

 

Basically, I machined the brake drum to a shape which "includes" the fins ...

 

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I don't have a milling machine so I have to do this by hand.   I use a Dremel (on a flex shaft always) with their stone cutting disks and cut the slots to replicate the fins.

 

37659910772_ca5e9b197d_z.jpg

 

Cheers

 

Frank

 

 

Edited by albergman
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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Haven't progressed much since last post but the intense pressure from my screaming fans (all 3 of them LOL) compels me to contribute something.   This time of year here in Canada is pretty much taken up with the conversion of the home and surroundings from summer living to winter and that's my excuse.

 

Still only made one complete front wheel assembly and have moved my attention to the rear suspension.   I recently purchased the Haynes "Owner's Workshop Manual" for the 250F and it's a fine read with great pictures ... a must for anyone with a 250F in the basement.   Assisted by their pictures I drew up (to my scale) a rear suspension including all the bits I thought I'd be able to fabricate and off I went.

 

Started with a "mule" tire turned from Renshape and a machined front part of the wheel rim and a blank "wiring loom" at the back (more on this later).   

 

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Nothing special here but I affix it precisely where I want it on my backing board and I'll now proceed to work inwards from that.

 

Next up was the DeDion tube to which all rear suspension is attached and, as I learned with the Lancia D50, it's helpful to get it shaped and mounted rigidly in place early on so ...

 

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Bolts threaded into the board, holes drilled so the tube can slide over the bolts and the nuts below can be turned to adjust its attitude ... same thing happens to me at my home!

 

Next I machined a rear brake drum which has a totally different, simpler pattern to the fins than the front.   I figured I could simplify the process by bolting 4 Dremel cutting disks together to give me the exact gap and proceded to "mill" out the shape ... same as I did for the front drums.   On this drum I decided to integrate the backing plate as part of the drum ... one less part to attach later.

 

26290247989_b029c32ac9.jpg

 

Here's the rough cut piece after that.

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Using small, fine files I smoothed out the gaps between the fins the polished it with a 3/4" diam. wire brush on the Dremel.

 

This then gets CA'd temporarily onto the back of the wiring loom.

 

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There's a thick, chunky hub inserted into the brake drum/backing plate and then the final adjustments can be made to get the DeDion tube to meet it.

 

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So, that's where I'm at and now that the process has been worked out to my satisfaction I can start the second set of front/rear suspension and may even remake some of the parts already done.

 

Cheers

 

Frank

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A bit more progress today although, for all the time it took, it doesn't look like much.   Maybe you know that feeling.

 

Anyway, the next requirement is to make a pair of thin brackets that circle the wheel hub and to which the upper and lower radius rods and a spring hanger bracket are attached.

 

I made them first out of thin aluminium but found they just weren't strong enough so I delve into some of my trash bins and find a thin steel cover from, I think, an old computer floppy drive.   

 

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Some work with metal shears and I get a rough "circle" into which I drill and file a suitable hole to fit over the hub.

 

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Lots of work with fine files and I get the shape needed ... then  I have to make another!    But that's the fun part right ... right?

Slide them onto the hub and affix with drops of CA.

 

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Next is a tiny bracket that runs from one of the lugs  upwards to connect to the transverse leaf spring ... 9 mm end to end and it needs a certain thickness.   Decide to make it from aluminium and locate the necessary "meat" in an old hard drive chassis ... my favourite parts source.

 

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A LOT of time with files, drills and sandpaper finally yields a suitable bracket

 

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Mounted ...

 

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... now on to the leaf spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by albergman
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3 minutes ago, longshanks said:

Great work ......

Always learning from your builds

 

Kev

Really?   Well, thanks for that!

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Looking good. Like your supply of raw materials., - I am not the only one with a pile of old bits of metal and electronic components that might come in handy one day!

 

Admire your patience. That spring shackle would have kept you quiet for a bit.....and you have to do it all over.

 

Keep the updates coming.

 

Regards Dave 

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4 hours ago, Kiwidave4 said:

Looking good. Like your supply of raw materials., - I am not the only one with a pile of old bits of metal and electronic components that might come in handy one day!

 

Admire your patience. That spring shackle would have kept you quiet for a bit.....and you have to do it all over.

 

Keep the updates coming.

 

Regards Dave 

Thanks Dave.   Good to hear someone appreciates the value of trash!   

 

Re: the spring shackle ... I got to looking at it today and decided it's still too bulky but I daren't reduce it much more so ..... I decided to remake it in steel!   First I made a test join using my silver bearing solder (5%) and was amazed to find how strong it was.    This bodes well for future parts being made of steel.

Next I dug out the previously used floppy disk cover and snipped off a strip.   Bent one end into a squarish "cup" shape then soldered another strip at 90 degrees.    I shaped the whole thing with files and Dremel/cutting disks.    I leave the part attached to its donor strip to give me something to hang onto and snip it off when I'm done polishing.

 

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Here's the new boy beside the aluminium original.

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I like it better now it's attached to the suspension.

 

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That left me ready to attack the leaf spring.    I cut 6 strips of aluminium, rolled one end with needle nose pliers, filed to shape, stacked them and drilled a hole where the retaining bracket will go.    Next I cut another strip of steel, drilled a hole through it then bolted it to the spring.   Folded it as tightly as possible around the spring.

 

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Plan to file the head into a hex-bolt shape and snip off some of the excess.

 

Cheers

 

Edited by albergman
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OK, another day and a few more parts and lots of dirty-fingered pictures.

 

Decided I'd like to try and finish my rear brake drum to include the perimeter ring that runs along under the fins.

 

The real thing ...

 

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So I fabricated a tiny cutting tool that could create the gap I needed and carefully machined it out ... hoping I wouldn't snap off any fins.   Didn't!

 

Came out like this.

 

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Hope you can see what I did here.

 

Then machined a fine tube that fit into this gap, glued with CA then machined it down to ring-size.

 

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Was a very fine ring!!

 

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Next I made a hub for my rear wheel, CA'd into the wiring loom, cut all the wiring slots cut into it  then wired the wheel.

 

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Now on to the Houdaille shock absorber and its bracket.

 

Sourced scrap steel and drew the bracket ...

 

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Hacksawed and filed to shape.

 

Turned a shock absorber on the lathe, drilled  a hole through and threaded a bolt into it to hold my bracket.

 

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One more tiny bracket to make and that finished the rear suspension .... side 1!!    

 

Back soon.

 

Frank

Edited by albergman
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Frank, your wheels always look superb.  And that spring would make Bazz smile. You know he made a new one for Fangio's car at Steve Hart's just before he left.  He was something of "the spring King" while he was there. Mr. De Dion!

I seem to be back on here. Not sure what I did.  But I can't put much Vincent stuff on as Photobucket is just too slow for a man with no patience!

 

Cheers,

Martin

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Thanks everyone for the encouragement.

 

A bit more progress this week.   I figured I should make a partial chassis which would reach between the rear suspension and front of the cockpit so I dug out some salvaged steel rods and polished them up.

 

I took the time to draw up a framework that would actually fir inside the body cavity and took all my measurements from that.

 

Couple hours work and I had a suitable structure ...

 

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and, after hogging out the cavity needed (used a coarse sanding drum on a Dremel) finally got it inside.

 

38290323446_ffbb4dd285.jpg

 

Here's the chassis mounted on the work-board and held rigidly at the correct location by little blocks of Renshape.

 

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Next I soldered on a little, flat panel to attach the shock absorber to, drilled a hole for the through-bolt and soldered the shock in place.

 

37631412074_8b43c23ec6.jpg

 

Going to be fun trying to get a bolt in there to fasten the Houdaille to that vertical strap!

 

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That wraps up all the pieces for that side of the rear suspension and I've now started on the other side.

 

Back soon.

 

Frank

Edited by albergman
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