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Time Attack/Circuit Racer Mitsubishi Evo V


GTmike400

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I've been tinkering around with models again and I've had this kit sitting in the closet waiting to be built since the Southern NNL Nationals this past November. Finally decided to have a go at it. This is the first model I havent completely planned out ahead of time, sort of coming up with it as I go.

The overall plan is for this to be one of those crazy Japanese time-attack/circuit racers that you see in the unlimited classes with completely redone suspension and drivetrains. I'm starting off with the tube chassis out of brass, the skeleton of it all.

So lets get to the pictures.

After building the main hoop I had to machine some control arm mounts for the rear. I'll be incorporating a double wishbone rear suspension similar to that in the LMP cars.

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Here you see one finished "bulkhead" and one thats been machined. I decided to use files to perfect the final shape.

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Several hours and lots of filing later...

This is my first time ever doing any major soldering, let alone a tube chassis. My hat is off to those of you building brass chassis, or doing any brass work. This is frustrating!

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I started to build the floor framework. On the passenger side I made a raised tunnel for the exhaust.

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Here is the framework for the raised tunnel. I used angle brass to aid in securing the brass sheet.

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Enjoy!

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Nice to see you back at it Mike. Lookin' good!

Thanks Mark! We need to catch up sometime!

very nice. I have recently started doing some soldering and I was wondering what you use for a iron and how do you control heat with joints so close together.

I'm using a small butane pencil torch. Controlling the heat is difficult. The torch really helps over a regular iron because the heat is more focused and precise. Since the heat is more focused it doesn't take as much time to bring the area to be soldered up to temperature as a normal iron, therefore the heat doesn't seem to wick away to the other joints causing them to come lose. I've also tried to make as many joints as possible a snug fit so even if the joint begins to remelt it doesn't fall apart as the piece is held captive by a pressure fit.

I'm sure the further I get along the more difficult it will become to keep joints together.

Hope that helps!

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I spent a lot of time today working on the rear end and started the roll cage. I'm approaching a bump in the road as I haven't figured out how I want to do the front suspension yet. (I suppose its time to look up some racecar reference!) The rear end is almost complete. I still need to build the wheel wells and add a few more tubes. The cabin area is just being started.

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Somebody had asked how I jig my parts up. Most stuff is held in place by fit, some of it is held by reverse action tweezers. This is a more complex jig setup to hold the control arm bulkheads. I used a 1/32" drill bit (solder doesn't stick to tool steel, drill bits are cheap, and I had one laying around) through both bulkheads to insure they were lined up correctly, then the tweezers are holding the bulkhead in place ready to be soldered.

More pics of where the project currently stands.

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The body fits the chassis like a glove. Couldn't ask for a better fit.

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Thanks for looking, hope you enjoy!

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VERY nice work Mike. After seeing your work in ATL for the first time years ago, I would expect nothing less. You have delivered again!!!

You build some gorgeous parts.

It's great to see you back at it.(obviously got the woman thing figured out and you have more time for modeling!!!LOL)

Dirk tuned me onto a torch from Radio Shack (about $19) that is butane and has a controllable flame. I can't believe I have lived without this tool for so long.

Look forward to more of your work and to see some of this in person in Nov.

David

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I've spent some time designing the front suspension geometry, which I have of course overcomplicated. Instead of the standard vertical strut in the front I am going to build a double wishbone push-rod suspension typical of F1 and LMP cars. I spent a lot of time planning on paper and drawing in 3D SolidWorks before doing anything on the front. Now I need to machine 4 more of those control arm mounts.

I have also done some extensive work on the cabin/rollcage area. The roof structure maybe be familiar to those of you into WRC. I have used some smaller diameter tubing for a lot of the secondary supports similar to the what I'd do on the 1:1 Cages I've built. I also started the floor pan using .015" Brass sheet.

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One thing that I've found quite amazing is I have used 13ft. (4meters) of brass tubing so far, and yes, it is 1/24 scale.

Enjoy!

VERY nice work Mike. After seeing your work in ATL for the first time years ago, I would expect nothing less. You have delivered again!!!

You build some gorgeous parts.

It's great to see you back at it.(obviously got the woman thing figured out and you have more time for modeling!!!LOL)

Dirk tuned me onto a torch from Radio Shack (about $19) that is butane and has a controllable flame. I can't believe I have lived without this tool for so long.

Look forward to more of your work and to see some of this in person in Nov.

David

Hey David, thanks for the kind remarks. I'm using a Bernz-o-Matic torch that works fabulously for the work I'm doing. Forget the soldering iron now! Can't wait until November!

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Great job, Mike! I can't wait to see this progress and am glad to see you back at the bench. I guess we are all SOL in 7-weeks when you girlfriend returns from Italy (unless she finds some Italian Stallion over there: whoa better not let your mind start thinking about that...forget what I just said, LOL).

I think you are right on the money with the soldering tips. I've found that what works for me is to get the basic frame together. Then start soldering and adding bits and pieces as you progress and try working to where the joints farthest away from each other are done first. That way when you solder parts that are closer together, you have a structure around it so that the joints may heat and cool and not really move.

Others have discussed using varying melting point solders using the highest melting solder to do the first items and then work your way down to the lower melting point solder. I haven't personally tried this approach, but since these are some accomplished folkds, I assume this approach does work.

Another approach is to use heatsinks. You would obviously have to be careful as heat sinks will draw heat from the part and if it draws it away from the area you need to get to too much, it could pose some problems.

Finally, from time-to-time, I use a product that I purchased from Small Pats, Inc., called "Heat Shielding Compound". It is a paste that you can mold somewhat like clay. As the heat gets to it, I don't think it as much dissipates the heat as much I noticed it hardens and believe that it holds the parts in place such that when the solder loosens, it holds the two parts in place. Again, I don't know how the technology of this product works, but do know that it has helped me in many applications. Anyone interested can look it up on their website, but when I went to copy the link, I noticed they are out of stock. I need to do a search on-line to see if anyone else carries this or a similar product (should have stocked up when I had a chance) http://www.smallparts.com/s?searchNodeID=1...p;Action=submit

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Thanks for the tips Dirk!

Just a quick update of tonight's progress. I've started working on the wheel wells. I used .015 brass strip for the wheel wells. I annealed some .032" Diameter rod to simulate bead rolling. You'll notice that the insides of the well are missing a giant square chunk. This will be filled styrene since it needs to have holes for the control arms and suspension components to poke through, styrene is just a lot easier to cut to that level of detail instead of brass.

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I do need your input though. I'm not sure if the bead rolling is out of scale. I keep think its too big because I know mathematically it is too big and I am extremely tempted to redo it. Here it is apart of the frame, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

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Nice work and I am very inpressed that you have done it all with a pencil torch. I have no issues using my HAKKO 936 w/ various tips for precision work.

I do not want to take away from the quality of work done or the amount of engineering show thus far, but I agree the beads are too big and not proportionate to the scale at hand.

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Thanks for the kind remarks!

As some of you know I am a perfectionist, this can be seen in redoing the wheel arches. I removed the bead rolling and then I actually trimmed the wheel arches to make them a little smaller. I then resoldered everything and added some .020" rod to simulate the bead roll. It still didn't look right. I then removed the .020" rod, and then soldered some .015 rod which did the trick. I also went from three bead rolls to two.

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Here I've laid the original wheel arch with .032" bead rolls to the new wheel arch with .015" rod.

I have also completed a majority of the work on the frame. All the brass work on the main part of the frame is done. I really need to start doing a lot of styrene work to fit the body to the frame before I can finish the front end mounting for the bumper and headlights.

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As you can see I've removed the hood using photoetch saws. The front portion of the body sits up on the wheel wells just resting on it. This will soon be taken care of by notching the fenders to get the body to sit flush with the frame to start the rest of the fabrication. Also note the markings for the new wheel arches.

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I really like this picture, it looks mean with those massive wheel arches.

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Enjoy.

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Man that is amazing stuff U've done there but I must ask one question and please forgive me for saying this "why" would just building the kit roll bar system and improving on the plastic be easier, guess I'm just not into it as others R OOB kit stuff is my bag and just a little bit of modifying will do me thank you. But hey don't let my comments upset you I really do think it's absolutely amazing and it really does impress me and make me think why didn't I start this hobby years earlier or be born only 15 yrs ago so I could start doing stuff like that now. All I can say is WOW and well done congrats on a good job so far can't wait to see it complete and marvel at real talent.

Dingo :lol:

Don't take this as an insult or anything it's just beyond me really.

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Man that is amazing stuff U've done there but I must ask one question and please forgive me for saying this "why" would just building the kit roll bar system and improving on the plastic be easier, guess I'm just not into it as others R OOB kit stuff is my bag and just a little bit of modifying will do me thank you. But hey don't let my comments upset you I really do think it's absolutely amazing and it really does impress me and make me think why didn't I start this hobby years earlier or be born only 15 yrs ago so I could start doing stuff like that now. All I can say is WOW and well done congrats on a good job so far can't wait to see it complete and marvel at real talent.

Dingo :lol:

Don't take this as an insult or anything it's just beyond me really.

Dingo, no offense taken. It's a rather simple answer though. "Why not use the kit roll bar and improve it?" because that wouldn't be any fun!! ;)

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I've finally had some time to focus on this project and start cutting open the the doors. I have also opened up the rear wheel wells. I had to open up the rear wheel wells before opening the rear doors to help with alignment.

After opening the front door I began work on the door frame which is built out of styrene. Some brass rod was used to aid in strength, particularly the b-pillar. Window frame sills were also added around the upper door frame on the body. The rest of the door frame is currently separate from the body and the frame, but will be glued to the frame later. Also note that the exhaust cutouts havent been made in the door frame yet.

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I was curious to see what it looked like mocked up with a wheel and tire in the middle of progress. Note, I will not be using this wheel as it is too large, but the outer diameter of the tire is correct.

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Enjoy!

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