Finished!

General topics of interest to racers and race coordinators alike.
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AlabamaDan
Master Pine Head
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Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Finished!

Post by AlabamaDan »

The best cars are finished at 2:30AM the morning of registration - ALL six of them!!

It is very satisfying to get them the right weight, have wheels installed, graphite just right and everything then gently place them in their travel case. :D
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Pinewood Daddy
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Re: Finished!

Post by Pinewood Daddy »

I did that once a few years ago before Rail Riding and when Stan's wax paper shim method of alignment was popular. Definitely lost a few hairs!!
AlabamaDan
Master Pine Head
Master Pine Head
Posts: 197
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 12:26 pm
Location: Birmingham, Alabama

Re: Finished!

Post by AlabamaDan »

Alignment? I still don't have that figured out. I tried and tried last year and just stink at it. I learn by mentor and have no one local.
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Pinewood Daddy
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Re: Finished!

Post by Pinewood Daddy »

I have a steel version of the Pro Body tool that locates in the slot and use a reamer to make nice straight axle holes. I use the Pro Axle block in a vice with a screw driver hammer to bend the rear axles 2.5 degrees (check with a custom gage) and the dominant front axle 1.5 degrees. I use a flat 6ft piece of melamine shelving (reinforced with 3/4" angle iron) elevated 1.5" with a straight line down the middle, to get the car to drift 2" to 3". The I use the last section (8ft) of my track (elevated about 6" to 8") to check the rear wheel tracking. Twist the dominant front axle for drift, very slightly twist one of the rear axles to get the rear wheels track central on the rail. This is all off of the top of my head, haven't done this in one year. One you get the hang of it, alignment can take only a few minutes (as long as your axles holes and axles are fairly precise), vs. a few to many hours using shims. By finely tweaking alignment you can make the car even faster.
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