drummerdad

Okay, so I have spent some time looking into engines, and drivetrain for this type of car, in scale. TDR innovations seems to have some high quality printed BBC and Hemi engines. They also have turbos, lencos, brakes and a rearend. They are pricey, but nice. I also know I can get wheels and tires from Traxxas, or ebay. Hardware, tubing etc..I can find. I think I can fabricate a set of shocks that wouldnt be hideous, but there are a few items I cant find, or I have concerns over. Remember this will be 1/8 scale What should I do about from spindles? I can make a set from styrene, but will it be strong enough? I wouldnt think so. Parachutes? Where can I get a realistic set, or a tutorial on how to make them? I would like DOT tires. Maybe I can cut groves, but the street legal drag tires have raised lettering, not the yellow on most 1/8 tires I have seen. Im sure I will have tons of questions while I start gathering parts. Ive already combed through the large scale section, and looked at as many pictures as possible.

Originally, I wanted to build it from styrene. I am familiar with styrene, have developed a few methods that work, and have the tools already. But I can see where the brass would be stronger. The downside is I dont have any tools to work it, like some of you. I have a dremel, and some files, but thats it. I dont have access to a CNC machine, or band saw, or a lathe, although that would be nice if I did. I guess what I am going to do is build a little test feature; just a few bars at various angles, using the same diameter, just different material, and see which I like more. I wanted to try aluminum also, but not welding it. I dont have the equipment, or experience. Im not sure about soldering it, though. I will find out. I will say as far as I have seen, just from my short time on this forum, the bigger cars seem to look better in brass, with the smaller looking good in styrene. That being said, the guys building in brass are artists on another level. Not saying some of you arent very talented with styrene, but the large brass frame models, with their machined aluminum engines that bolt together, 3d printed bodies, and all the other details, haunt me when I try to sleep. I cant imagine achieving that level of detail with my project. Not that I cant imagine the details I want to add, I just dont have the talent to make the parts.

Agreed. Anytime you mix water with electricity, there is a potential for disaster. I can answer some simple questions, as long as they are in the realm of beginner. There are also electrical codes and building codes to worry about, maybe even permits. But if you are thinking of adding an outlet, or doing a re-wire, call a pro.

Im looking into building my 1/8 Iroc into a killer street car shootout contender. It would be a 25.3 tube chassis, street tire, big engine, etc... I was wondering why most of the big scale builders use brass tubing? Is it preference, or structural? I know the brass would be stronger, but is styrene rod and tubing not up to the task? I solder at work frequently, and have even been known to solder copper plumbing pipes. Im sure I could learn to work with brass tubing, but Im better with styrene.

What about a couple of trucks? 1990 454 SS, 91 GMC Syclone/Typhoon, Ford Lightning, Dodge SRT-10, almost any American truck from the 40s through the 70s.

Not really. I posted a few pictures of a scratch built car hauler Im in the middle of. Its a far cry from that level of fabrication. Comp 1839 You are one of the guys I stalk on here. You, Codi and Tyrone, and a few others. Your work is exceptional. If I could machine like that, I would be building tons of cars. I know its mostly a learned skill, and I am currently in college pursuing a manufacturing engineering degree, which will include classes in machining and AutoCAD. Im sure I could pull off a few nice touches and get some good detail, but wheels and tires and the rearends you guys fabricate are just art. I would like to do this. I might start with a couple of 1/25 cars to load my trailer. But Im going to be searching for 1/8 wheels and tires and a few other things in the mean time. Here are the pictures of the trailer. Its still in work.

I would love to build the 1/8 iroc into a fastest street car/street outlaw/drag week car. I havent had a lot of luck finding 1/8 scale wheels and tires to fit the part. There are nice, scaled BBC and SBC engines and there are plenty of turbos on Shapeways, but I would need to find a lot of other parts. Most large scale guys fabricate their own stuff. I can make the chassis (out of styrene), maybe, but most of the other stuff might be above my ability. Im doing some research on it, though.

Yes, I have followed Larson for a long time, along with most of the Shootout cars and drivers. Im also in love with the Street Outlaw show, and the cars behind it. Im debating making a few cars in one of these formats, complete with equipment trailers and hitches. I also have a 1/8 scale Iroc that would be perfect for it, if I can find wheels and tires that are convincing enough.

I have seen plenty of pro-mods, and pro-stocks here, even several outlaw cars. I was wondering if anyone built any cars that could be used in the fastest street car shootouts. If Im not mistaken, it would take a 25-2 or 25-3 rated chassis, depending on weight. Ive been obsessed with these cars since the first time I saw them. I am wanting to build a few, but the chassis pictures online arent detailed enough. Also, where would be a good source for wheels and tires, for D.O.T platforms, and the unlimited street cars, like Jeff Lutz 57 chevy, or the Sick Second Camaro.

I like it. I wonder what you plan to do with the fan shroud? It looks like it will stick up past the floor of the bed, if you plan to use the upright engine. Most of the conversions I have seen, use a pancake engine, from a type 3 or type 4. They are barely taller than the cylinder tins on an actual engine. Just a thought.

I was wondering if anyone here has built, or are in the middle of a prostock, or prostreet bike builds. I would love to see what you are doing and where you are getting parts. Does anyone know a source for wheels for this type of build? I can fabricate the swingarms, and mod the suspension, bodywork and such. But the wheels are tough. Maybe a 1/12 scale slick from car kit?

I was thinking about that yesterday. The bead is 20", not the face. But when I did a search, someone here said their kit was scaled to a .833, and mine is not. I wonder if they mixed up the kit parts, putting 18" wheels in the kit. The wheels dont even fit the tires right, as there is a gap between the wheels and tires, and the tires are not the right ratio. So, as far as Im concerned, the wheels and tires are useless. I guess Ill be buying a set of wheels and tires for the kit.

I recently bought, and started the Lindberg Dodge Charger SRT8 super bee, model kit. I was stoked when it arrived, and looking forward to starting. I opened the box immediately, and started looking at it. I was impressed with the level of detail. But the tires dont look right. I drive a 2007 dodge charger rt, with the road and track package. Its basically, a charger daytona, without the serial number, as they made limited numbers of daytonas every year. The car has several R2T2 (R/T with the road and track) options, including the 20" wheels, so I know what the 20" wheels look like. The kit wheels dont look right at all. They look more like 18s, with a higher aspect ratio(thicker tires). I searched other threads, and they all look the same. Someone posted that they scaled to 20", (.833) but they are under .800 inches by my measure, using a scale, not calipers. Also when putting the body beside other 1/24 scale cars, it looks huge. I know the car is big in real life, but holy BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH. I was going to build it stock, with a slight lowering, because I rarely see a stock build that looks right to me. But now, Im going to have to change the wheels and tires. I want to put dodge viper wheels and tires on my real car, and add an air ride suspension, so I can go this route, but with the size of the kit, I dont know if the viper wheels will fill the wheel wells any better. Has anyone ran into this? Is the kit scaled right? Can I find wheels that will scale to 20", without using the wheels for the charger kits I would call a "donk"?

Has any one ever offered partial car kits? For example, I like using "factory engines" in some builds. So if I wanted just an ls7, or ls3 or a hemi, or any specific engine, I have to buy the whole kit. I know there are some aftermarket engine kits, and there are a few people casting and 3D printing, but Im talking about offering parts of kits. Are there any kit makers who will sell only certain parts of a kit? Or are there people who can legally cast a specific section only, and make just parts of a kit? I hate buying a full kit (at $25-30 a shot) to use an engine and trans, or wheels, only to have to either store the body, and extra parts, or throw them away. I know about the trading post here, and the wanted section. But it seems it would be beneficial both ways.

Just trying to make a comparison. I'm aware of Fords push to use smaller engines, and turbos. Good for them. I guess I'm one of the "knuckle dragging" neanderthals that prefer torque. I'm sure Ford can sell all the eco tech engines they can make. That's the way it seems to be going. Personally, Id buy a 20 cylinder engine if they made one. Just to watch the tree hugging, vegan types go all crazy eyed.

I agree it should have been a V8. Just because its American, and that's what we do here. Remember, the fastest cars in the world are rear wheel drive and V8 powered(top fuelers, and funny cars). Just my opinion, though. But I have never liked the gt40. I want a Viper.

Nice setup. Here is mine. I need to recover it, its getting a little rough.

I will be looking for some trailer wheels and tires in the future. Any advise or links would be appreciated. I can only find 5 now, I'll need eight matching wheels. It will be a triple axle, but researching for the trailer revealed a lot of tire issues. Most triple axle guys carry two spares because of frequent tire wear. I did search. I also wasn't able to find any real info on the requirement for a triple axle. I figured it would be be over 12,500 lbs,(if it were real, of course) and assumed it would need three axles. A friend told me one time he couldn't tow a trailer for another friend, because it had three axles, and his truck was not a dually. I was not aware this might be a law, but it kind of makes sense. I spent some time looking today, but was unable to find anything. Either way, I'm going with a tri-axle, and a dually to pull it. Thanks for the links and kind words so far.

Not today, but a few months ago. I saw this.... Bugati veyron. He was running down I40 at about 90 mph. I made my wife catch up so I could take this shot. There were several other cars trying to catch up also. He was running with several other high end cars, who apparently were running defense for him.

Almost everything made(especially the more complex it is), is built globally. I work for Bell helicopter. Its an American company. But the helicopters are mostly built in Canada. Why? Money. The large American corporations get tax breaks and cheaper labor from other countries. And the foreign companies get the same breaks from the US. I searched for an aluminum casting company to mass produce a product for me(not in the model industry). Most American companies wouldn't even return my emails, because of volume deficiencies. And when they did, the cost was ten times the quotes from overseas. There are no more American only companies, except small businesses. They only have to produce a certain percentage of a product in the US, to qualify as an American company. Even HD has a few overseas parts and processes, I'm sure. Personally, I prefer an American car because that's what I like. Big, rear wheel drive,V8 engine...I don't want an import. Never had one I liked. I do own a Ducati, but I think if I could buy an italian car, it would be an import I could live with. Just my .02.

I've played drums for about 25 years. No bands, just for myself. I mostly play progressive metal, and progressive rock, with a little symphonic and power metal thrown in. Circus Maximus, Dream Theater, Sonata Arctica, Symphony X, etc.. just to name a few.

Thanks for the comments everyone. It is a work in progress, so some things will change. First is the hydraulics cylinders. They are too big. And I don't like the way the sit. The truck was just for show. It will have a dually pulling it, eventually. I'm still deciding on what. I'm thinking a dually cadillac escallade ext. I haven't seen any converted to a dually yet, so I might try it.Either way it'll be a four door, dually pulling it. And I will need some tires, but it will be awhile. I will look at the site posted by Florent. Thanks I also have plans for tie downs on the outside, between the upper and lower surfaces of the I-beams. But I don't know what to do about straps for the cars. If it were a real truck, they would get tire straps, so I'll be looking into something like that. I would like to be able to change the cars on it. It will also get a rail on the top, a couple of hydraulic leveling feet, and some means of pulling the bottom tray into the base of the trailer. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. It'll also need six matching tires. I can only find five right now. I'm always open to suggestions, and advice on what and where to buy. I've been out of it for a long time. I'm amazed by what is available now. The 3d stuff just blows my mind.

Hey everyone. I'm going to attempt to post some pictures of a new project I'm working on. I've been out of modeling for about ten years, and recently got back into it. So my stock of parts, and tools is as poor as my skill level. But I'll get better, and I am slowly rebuilding my stock. This is the car hauler. The truck in the pictures will be modified to be a double cab dually, so it is only for reference. I was looking at car hauler kits, and didn't like any I saw. The idea was to carry four cars, so I googled a few haulers, and put a few ideas together. I know it isn't as good as a lot of builds I have seen here, but it will look okay. I've always been a ten foot builder. They look good from about ten feet. Any closer, and the issues start to show through. The idea is the gooseneck will lift to allow a car to be loaded underneath. I still have tons of work to do, but this is the basic design. I'm not happy with the hydraulic cylinders on the neck right now, so those will change probably. I also have to make a hydraulic lock mechanism, and the hydraulic stabilizing feet. Then it will need rails, additional supports, tie anchors, suspension, etc..

Hey everyone. Ive been lurking for awhile and decided to join. Im an installer at Bell helicopter, by trade. Wiring, sheetmetal, composites, etc..I mostly work on Bell 429s. I had been into scale modeling, but took a break after my kids got ahold of several models, and "played" with them. I had maybe 20 completed models, most are scrap now, between moving, and accidents. So i decided to start back. Its been maybe 10 years. Ill try and post pictures of my restart project. Im sure ill have some dumb newbie questions also.