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1/12 BT44B 1975


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11 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

My word, the gear lever and linkage is a work of art.  Glad you were able to solve the suspension mount issues too with the great info from Malc , utterly amazing work Ron

Chris

 

Pleased you like the gear linkage Chris :)

 

Front suspension mounts are a lot clearer in my mind thanks to Malc...just waiting on some hardware so I can continue with the modifications.

 

Cheers

 

Ron

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1 hour ago, rjfk2002 said:

Staggering work Ron! How do you shape the aluminum strip for the mounting plate? 

 

Thanks Rich :)

 

The ali plate is 'litho' printing plate (a selection of which I sent to yourself...Wayne and good old Mr C some years back) and very easy to cut and bend/form.

For the linkage...I simply bent it around the kit part with my fingers...and used a small pair of jewellers pliers for the 90 degree bends...cutting the excess away with scissors...and a quick sand of the edges to remove any burrs.

 

Ron

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I think that the ali used for coke or beer cans would be of good use too, if you don’t have this litho printing plate available.

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8 minutes ago, Pouln said:

I think that the ali used for coke or beer cans would be of good use too, if you don’t have this litho printing plate available.

 

In my experience I have found such ali from tins is too thin...with the disadvantage that it 'creases' all too easily.

I have seen it used by many to good advantage for their needs...but for me...it suffers from a lack of strength/rigidity that I need in my work.

 

Just my personal viewpoint.

 

R

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Having received the correct size eye bolts...time to start on the front suspension components...these are the basic parts to build and modify the front shocks.....

 

1zz.jpg

 

First the bottom halves...a case of removing the kit 'clip-on' section...and replacing it with a metal eye bolt cut to the needed length and fixed with CA.....

 

2zz.jpg

 

Then repeat for the top half.....

 

3zz.jpg

 

The kit assembled shock comes out at 27mm in length...with the modified shock length coming in at a shade over 28mm...so I may need to cut the springs down by one coil for final assembly.

 

Next up are the lower attachment frames.....

 

4zz.jpg

 

The shock connects to the middle bar...so needs modifying to be able to use the eye bolt on the bottom of the altered shock.

Using a new scalpel blade the bar was removed for replacing with some ali tube.....

 

5zz.jpg

 

A bit of careful drilling for the ali tube (0.8mm)...and a sleeve for the eyebolt from 1mm ali tube.....

 

6zz.jpg

 

Then a case of a trial fit of all the components.....

 

7zz.jpg

 

For the final assembly I will insert a bolt at each end of the 0.8mm ali tube to completely secure it all.....

 

8zz.jpg

 

This means it will have 3 layers of metal to hold the shock.

 

The other two bars also need replacing with ali tube...to allow for metal connections at a later stage.

 

Next up will be sorting the top mounts as discussed earlier in the build.

 

to be continued............

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The facia detailed with the correct layout and missing switches and labels.....

 

IMG-7485.jpg

 

time to turn to the back.

The connectors Tamiya supply for the main instruments are somewhat over size...and nothing like the reality of the 1:1.

I used 0.6mm Nickel rod and 1mm fittings to produce something closer to the real ones.....

 

IMG-7481.jpg

 

once they were made and fitted...I sleeved the cable connecting pins with a 0.8mm brass collar.....

 

IMG-7486.jpg

 

Next will be to cable up all the switches 😱

 

to be continued............

Edited by silver911
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9 hours ago, silver911 said:

 

Thanks mate...glad your enjoying progress :)

 

Ron

 

Always enjoying mate

It's nice to see progress in something as my bench time seems to have dried up lately with various reasons

Keeps me motivated

 

Ian :) 

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13 hours ago, Redstaff said:

Always enjoying mate

It's nice to see progress in something as my bench time seems to have dried up lately with various reasons

Keeps me motivated

 

Ian :) 

 

A shame that life is getting in the way of your bench time mate 🤬

 

Hope matters resolve themselves soon :)

 

Ron

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Whilst adding some colour to the rear of the dash...and contemplating where I would route all the cables and wires once done...I came across a detail in a ref pic I had missed before!...that might just solve the problem.....

 

IMG-7492.jpg

 

This appears to be some kind of 'junction/switch box'...which will provide an ideal home for all the wires from the switches on the dash.....

 

D-U-D-3-copy.jpg

 

Having spent a couple of hours thinking about how best to implement this detail...this is what I came up with.

As you can see...it has two 'inlets' for the wires...and a main outlet to route the whole loom back along the cockpit with the main cables from the dials...making it much easier to tidy it all up.....

 

IMG-7490.jpg  IMG-7489.jpg

 

Now I can start on the wiring...and select an ideal place for the switch box on the side of the tub below the dash mounting :)

 

to be continued............

 

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15 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oh wow   the tub looks fantastic as does the IP too and your work on the connections or unions is fantastic,  great work and great updates.  

Chris

 

Many thanks for kind words Chris :)

 

What does the 'IP' refer to?

 

Ron

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