1:12 scale 1966 Ford GT40 , 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 and 1:18 scale 1967 Ferrari P4
- Thread starter P A D
- Start date
Max M
Western Thunderer
Simon, what you are not allowing for is that it is an Italian design.
I worked for FIAT Auto and once their engineers had a 'good idea' it was the devil of a job to convince them it wasn't.
simond
Western Thunderer
I worked for Rockwell, we had an office in Torino. Though I never did any projects with FIAT, I was a regular visitor there when we were doing the MG-F window system.
and as you know, I have a Guzzi. Many years back, I was a very happy owner of a Lancia Fulvia (that was full of strange ideas, worked well though) until a tennis coach from Oswestry used it instead of his brakes...
Atb
Simon
and as you know, I have a Guzzi. Many years back, I was a very happy owner of a Lancia Fulvia (that was full of strange ideas, worked well though) until a tennis coach from Oswestry used it instead of his brakes...
Atb
Simon
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Here is my rebuilt MG TD gearbox, done in 1977.
Another good practice was to keep the nuts on the gearbox cover’s studs, something I need to remember now I am about to tackle the 1935 Kestrel’s mechanics - epicyclic preselector gearbox, anyone?
Another good practice was to keep the nuts on the gearbox cover’s studs, something I need to remember now I am about to tackle the 1935 Kestrel’s mechanics - epicyclic preselector gearbox, anyone?
Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen
Western Thunderer
Hi Tim,
Can you feel my envy? By the sound of it you were already checking out MFH kits so you can hardly blame me for having laid out all that cash.Enjoy!
That's a lovely shot of the front suspension and not an image I have come across in my Googlings. If you have any more you can share please put them up.
By the way, on the Alfa there are numerous fastenings around the bodywork linked by wire. Do you know their purpose? Were the cars prone to shedding bolts and shaking to bits? I intend to add these but only have hex bolts so I may have to order some square brass rod.
Cheers,
Peter
Peter,
This is the website on which I found the photo;
Classic Reborn: A Kiwi recreates classic 1930s Alfa Romeos, by Roger Lacey — The Shed
I found it an interesting site.
You're correct, I've been looking at these kits for some time and your very interesting build of the GT40 helped me make a decision. I'm a great fan of the late 1960's and early 1970's sports car racing and was lucky enough to attend a couple of the BOAC 1000 races and even end up on the set at Le Mans whilst making the film of that name for a couple of days. The Targa Florio has always fascinated me hence the decision on which model to build. I still try to attend historic racing car events and relevant car museums. The Simeone in Philadelphia has a great collection.
Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum | Ranked #1 in the world.
all the best
Tim
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Those two links are fascinating, particularly the Simeone "Maintenance Drive" video!
Happy New Year, Car Lovers! Paul
Happy New Year, Car Lovers! Paul
Hi All
Take a Revell 1:18 kit and convert it to NG rail.
This ran on my outdoor line until it was lifted a couple of years ago. The kit was purchased very cheap (I think £10 recently see on ebay at over £100) about 16 years ago, in the Bluewater shopping center my one and only visit killing time one evening when working in the ares.
Wheel from IP Engineering, 3-6v motor, Meccano gears and 4 rechargeable AA cell in back. It looked OK beside various 16mm (1:19, 32 mm gauge) models. Base on photos of a similar conversion of a real one at Stratfold Barn.
Ex road, now rail.
Regards
Allen Morgan
Take a Revell 1:18 kit and convert it to NG rail.
This ran on my outdoor line until it was lifted a couple of years ago. The kit was purchased very cheap (I think £10 recently see on ebay at over £100) about 16 years ago, in the Bluewater shopping center my one and only visit killing time one evening when working in the ares.
Wheel from IP Engineering, 3-6v motor, Meccano gears and 4 rechargeable AA cell in back. It looked OK beside various 16mm (1:19, 32 mm gauge) models. Base on photos of a similar conversion of a real one at Stratfold Barn.
Ex road, now rail.
Regards
Allen Morgan
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Hate to say it, but if ya'll thinking these are securing bolts to stop the shackle turning (lower one) then you're mistake, they are in fact grease nipples to lubricate the shafts inside.
I don't know how it stops rotating, but it must some how. My gut feeling is that the front chassis spigot fixing is splined and the shaft runs right across the vehicle as a form of anti roll bar affair.
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michael080
Western Thunderer
I've been wondering the same. I guess these rods do the trick. They block any longitudinal movement of the axle, so that the springs only allow an up and down movement. The shackles only purpose is to compensate the elongation of the springs.
Strange concept.
Michael
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
For comparison, the front suspension on my 1935 Kestrel is similar but shows the locations for the grease nipples. This suspension with much improvement by ERA became hot competition. Note also the cable brakes, remarkably good and adjustable while driving.
Photos taken just now in my very cold garage.
Photos taken just now in my very cold garage.
oldravendale
Western Thunderer
Hi Paul.
Could you possibly lay the car on it's side so we can see it from underneath?
Happy 2021 to all.
Brian
Could you possibly lay the car on it's side so we can see it from underneath?
Happy 2021 to all.
Brian
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Hi Brian, that was the best I could do, honest! If this discussion is still going on in three months time then I could chance a better composition.
I have to admit I have more experience with torsion rod front suspensions, much simpler to understand and repair. One of the significant differences between pre and post war Rileys.
I have to admit I have more experience with torsion rod front suspensions, much simpler to understand and repair. One of the significant differences between pre and post war Rileys.
simond
Western Thunderer
Good spot, Michael.
I was prepared to believe that the “hex head things” in Tim’s photo were the means of “rotation prevention” but I like the longitudinal links a whole lot more. The shackles can swing on the chassis pivots, if there’s a link preventing the axle moving fore & aft. This will prevent (well, substantially reduce) axle wind-up under braking too.
the longitudinal links are well hidden in the photo, but they’re there too.
I’ve seen similar arrangements on rear suspension to prevent “tramp”, but never on the front.
what jolly fun!
HNY!
Simon
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Oftentimes some grease nipple points were left off a car. Don’t ask me why, they just were. The next best thing would be a hex bolt but in some cases it would be necessary to drill and tap a hole to accept a grease nipple. A good example on my post war Riley RME is the steering box housing. It would have been so much easier to have sold the car with a greasing point.
But would that have cost more money? I don't know about when your Riley was made but in the 1980s I did some work for a company making machines to be used for car manufacture. I can'rt remember the details but several thousand pounds extra was spent to save about 20p per car. That amounts to a lot of money on many 1ooos of cars a year.
Regards
Allen Morgan
Focalplane
Western Thunderer
Allen
This is a good example because the steering box has a flat steel cover, fastened with three bolts. Many owners have drilled a hole in the cover, tapped it and fitted a grease nipple. Hardly a difficult improvement. I can understand some modifications could be expensive and would never have been contemplated by the manufacturer. More’s the pity because omitting a simple improvement can affect customer and dealership loyalty.
Some manufacturers of “pedigree” cars would naturally prefer that DYI mechanics not be tempted, yet how did Popular Mechanics Magazine survive all those years?
The RME was made in 1953 when many owners still worked on their cars. Admittedly Riley (or the new owner Nuffield) looked at a market that included “executives” but the owners would still have had their cars serviced by their dealership who may well have freely given feedback to management.
This is a good example because the steering box has a flat steel cover, fastened with three bolts. Many owners have drilled a hole in the cover, tapped it and fitted a grease nipple. Hardly a difficult improvement. I can understand some modifications could be expensive and would never have been contemplated by the manufacturer. More’s the pity because omitting a simple improvement can affect customer and dealership loyalty.
Some manufacturers of “pedigree” cars would naturally prefer that DYI mechanics not be tempted, yet how did Popular Mechanics Magazine survive all those years?
The RME was made in 1953 when many owners still worked on their cars. Admittedly Riley (or the new owner Nuffield) looked at a market that included “executives” but the owners would still have had their cars serviced by their dealership who may well have freely given feedback to management.
Tim Humphreys ex Mudhen
Western Thunderer
Mick,
Agree about the grease nipples, I believe these have been added to enable lubrication and hence the bolts seizing over time. I also think the bottom part of the shackle is fixed and can't rotate, there is a rod running transversely across the car and that it may well be splined,
Happy New Year
Tim
mickoo
Western Thunderer
Tim, I reckon it's a very early form or anti roll bar, the grease nipple lubricates the splines inside, stops them seizing as you note. If it's a racing car then you could adjust the left and right side to alter the suspension for say predominately left handed circuits or any other factor of which I have no idea
.
P A D
Western Thunderer
Simon,
Your query regarding the front suspension has certainly generated some interest amongst the engineers and auto aficionados. Here are some further shots of the underside of the model. I assume that if the front springs could move fore and aft that the front brakes would be applied, as the brake levers are pivoted off the axle.
This view shows the bottom of the supercharger.
The rear springs are mounted in similar fashion to the front, albeit with dampers at each end of the springs. I guess fore and aft movement is prevented by the prop shaft. The brake linkages are only push fit at the moment so I can remove the engine and cockpit floor for painting.
Here's a look at the headlights with the innards " chromed " and the lenses push fit. There are also clear mouldings for the bulbs, so they should look pretty good when finished.
Tim,
Thanks for the links to the Kiwi 1:1 scratch builder and the Simeone Foundation although I'd already found the latter and downloaded some useful reference images.
Allen,
Your Landrover on rails is fascinating, but I guess like the majority of 4X4s we see in big cities these days, it never goes off road!
The comment re the price of the kit on Ebay doesn't surprise me, having seen some stupidly expensive out of production 1:12 Tamiya kits on there recently, the Lola T70, Porsche 910 and Ferrari Enzo in particular.
Cheers,
Peter
Your query regarding the front suspension has certainly generated some interest amongst the engineers and auto aficionados. Here are some further shots of the underside of the model. I assume that if the front springs could move fore and aft that the front brakes would be applied, as the brake levers are pivoted off the axle.
This view shows the bottom of the supercharger.
The rear springs are mounted in similar fashion to the front, albeit with dampers at each end of the springs. I guess fore and aft movement is prevented by the prop shaft. The brake linkages are only push fit at the moment so I can remove the engine and cockpit floor for painting.
Here's a look at the headlights with the innards " chromed " and the lenses push fit. There are also clear mouldings for the bulbs, so they should look pretty good when finished.
Tim,
Thanks for the links to the Kiwi 1:1 scratch builder and the Simeone Foundation although I'd already found the latter and downloaded some useful reference images.
Allen,
Your Landrover on rails is fascinating, but I guess like the majority of 4X4s we see in big cities these days, it never goes off road!
The comment re the price of the kit on Ebay doesn't surprise me, having seen some stupidly expensive out of production 1:12 Tamiya kits on there recently, the Lola T70, Porsche 910 and Ferrari Enzo in particular.
Cheers,
Peter
Tom Insole
Western Thunderer
Wow! looking at that underside I'd be scare to drive that on some of the UK roads these days. So many vital parts hanging the same height as the sump. On a side note the sum is huge too, Must take a fair amount of oil to fill it. A really nice model. It's fascinating seeing the engineering of yester years.