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64 Dodge D100 Pickup Pro Street


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3 hours ago, Codi said:

I like that tip you shared Francis on using the tip of the end mill to cut the grooves on the out-put shaft.  Filed that one away for future use. cheers, tim

Glad you like the trick and the fact that you could have to a try it on your builds Tim!

I must work with what I have as tooling so sometime I have no choice and be imaginative to reach my goal...  The sad part is the fact that these splines will be hidden (as for many details) on the final build... Fortunately the pics will still be in the thread to prove they are there and how they were done!   Take care, Francis

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QUESTION;  Francis, something I've been wondering about.  While viewing the closeup photos, the initial cuts have some flash from cutting, this is normal.  How do you get for instance, the long grooves so cleanly cut and smooth? 

Is the hardness grade of the aluminum you use here greater than let's say,  the usual aluminum material for micro tubing?  I know polishing that soft material is not easy, also all cuts made just smear.  The results you show are indeed exceptional.

The edges of the finished pieces are clean and crisp and not rounded from polishing, same with the holes drilled. 

Could you offer some insight?

Mike..

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11 hours ago, Mike Williams said:

QUESTION;  Francis, something I've been wondering about.  While viewing the closeup photos, the initial cuts have some flash from cutting, this is normal.  How do you get for instance, the long grooves so cleanly cut and smooth? 

Is the hardness grade of the aluminum you use here greater than let's say,  the usual aluminum material for micro tubing?  I know polishing that soft material is not easy, also all cuts made just smear.  The results you show are indeed exceptional.

The edges of the finished pieces are clean and crisp and not rounded from polishing, same with the holes drilled. 

Could you offer some insight?

Mike..

Hello Mike and thanks for your inquiries!

The aluminum used for most of my parts is the hardest that I can find and usually sold as T6 or 6061. I am not an expert so I don't know if an harder grade of aluminum is available (maybe someone can answer this for me) but the one I use produce good results using a 2 flute style end mill at high speed.  It is always a good habit to make several shallow cuts (0.010'' at a time) instead of a deeper ones that leave marks or bites in the groove walls resulting of too much material removed on a single pass.

The aluminum on those tubbing is soft material and called «cheese or butter» I think by many experienced machinists and it is very difficult to achieve high end result with this kind of aluminum. It is also quite impossible (at least for me) to machine this kind of aluminum, the end mill just creates kind of «plowing» and the results are not the greatest with a lot of sanding and filing at the end.

Hope this is helpful for you and answered your questions, I'm always happy to help as much I can in the limit of my knowledges!

Regards, Francis

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Hello everyone,

I had just a few hours of bench time this week so today's update is pretty slim but like we say it's one part at a time...  I made the Lenco shifter bracket out of a T6 aluminum rod and I wanted the handles to be functional so I drilled the bracket edge to edge in order to insert a brass rod as a pivot.  More update later with the rest of the shifter and the mechanism parts.

Comments and questions are welcome and appreciated!

Take care, Francis

Shifter bracket on milling chuck. Slots for the shifter levers are made using a 0.020’’ end mill.182_Lenco_Shift_Bracket_1.JPG.9d84145ebd49b4ce902b0b0be515c002.JPG

Hole for the pivot pin done using a 0.020’’ drill bit.183_Lenco_Shift_Bracket_2.JPG.60cad666cf004cd34068fb7a7614c66a.JPG

Shifter bracket final.184_Lenco_Shift_Bracket_3.JPG.648e98372d1877022f4fb8f0587141a5.JPG

Shifter bracket near the big dime.185_Lenco_Shift_Bracket_4.JPG.ed144c03ab80d0fec255993fd90e1f37.JPG

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Hello everyone,

I do have finally finished all the parts for the Lenco transmission including the shifter handles, all the levers (forward and reverse), rods and jam nuts.  I also made the side supports with a 0.047" brass rod and the mounting brackets are welded on.  The transmission is not finally assembled because I do have ordered brass bolts to connect the gear cases together.  As soon I get them I will make the fanal assembly minus the shiter that will be mounted on the transmission by inside the cab when the floor pan will be definitively glued (a lot of fun in perspective...).  This is my first ever all machined transmission and I'm very happy how it turns out, i will move to the flywheel and clutch set-up.

Take care, Francis

Lenco components including the shifter handles, shifter bracket, manual pods, jam nuts and the levers (forward and reverse).186_Lenco_Parts_1.JPG.63d86fd5b34273d5d50f2439156575b1.JPG

Lenco side supports made with brass rod. The mounting brackets are welded by resistance.187_Lenco_Mockup_1.JPG.2133a206dcf40bb47ab75eca0e43050b.JPG

Lenco transmission with shifter.188_Lenco_Mockup_2.JPG.cdb88036d98dd0a1b4a4e4e338e2c30b.JPG

Same parts different view. The shifter will be mounted on the reverse case using brass bolts. The brass pivot pin on the shifter is testing purpose and not permanently mounted..189_Lenco_Mockup_3.JPG.e825d33fe53bc6af7af2486439a1c7bf.JPG

Same parts different view.190_Lenco_Mockup_4.JPG.a6f7a1e092649406a8a0daa15f77ac09.JPG

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My goodness, beautiful fabrication here.  Such a small scale, this is just delicious!

Francis, thanks for the raw material information.  Yes, I checked online with McMaster-Carr, the 6061 is correct, an aircraft grade aluminum, super hard in comparison with the butter soft micro tubes I struggle to get polished.  What a task!  I found some material I can use for front laced wire rims for dragsters. 

Your updates are a thrill to view....I like this!

Mike..

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18 hours ago, Mike Williams said:

My goodness, beautiful fabrication here.  Such a small scale, this is just delicious!

Francis, thanks for the raw material information.  Yes, I checked online with McMaster-Carr, the 6061 is correct, an aircraft grade aluminum, super hard in comparison with the butter soft micro tubes I struggle to get polished.  What a task!  I found some material I can use for front laced wire rims for dragsters. 

Your updates are a thrill to view....I like this!

Mike..

Thanks for the compliments Mike!  Glad to know that you found this information useful, you will see on your first try how different 6061 aluminum is in comparison with aluminum.  On the other side it's also more difficult to work with this hard aluminum especially when you want to make a lot of fine tuning manually, but the finish is superb.

Take care, Francis

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14 hours ago, Codi said:

Okay Francis, now that you have MINE done........go ahead and make yours.   ?

That's a good one Tim!  I take it as an approbation... speaking transmission, I can't wait to see what kind of amazement you will bring us for the Maverick because amazement will be... again!  Take care, Francis

 

12 hours ago, John Teresi said:

Francis.....My God!!!!! ......this is just Awesome ??

Thank you John, I feel very honored to receive your compliments, your reputation is well established as one of the best model car builders so it's very special to me to see you commenting my work, I do appreciate!  Take care, Francis

 

8 hours ago, thatz4u said:

I totally agree...

Thanks for seconding John's comments on my build Al!  Take care, Francis

 

7 hours ago, gasser59 said:

Its time for a drawers change Francis. My GAWD that is a masterpiece in and of itself. I'm addicted and need more, more....

Thanks for your support Brad!  No problem for «more» because more and more to come, I'm not finished with that thing!  Take care, Francis

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21 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

I just went back through all 14 pages and I'm just speechless! This is beyond amazing! True craftsmanship!

Thanks Brian, I really appreciate your kind comments.  Your own builds are exceptional and the Transtar log truck you build drive me crazy!  I Still have a lot of parts to do so feel free to come back anytime!  Take care, Francis

 

8 hours ago, Lowlife ! ! said:

Wow I'm blown away !

Not been about since the engine build started, just incredible , how you get your parts so accurate and in scale ! !

Really like the anodising, looks even more real with a bit of colour ! 

Thanks for the compliments Martin!  I make a lot of internet searches for the measurements of 1:1 parts in order to make them as realistic as possible.  Anodising is new to me and I do love the rendering and the possibilities of this process not counting that it doesn't hide any details, its like machining a part in already colored aluminum.  Take care, Francis

 

2 hours ago, majel said:

Every single component of this build is a model in itself!  That Lenco transmission is just amazing, your machining skills are phenomenal.  This is going to be a beautiful truck!

Thanks Jim!  I work hard to make all these parts and I wish to deliver the best build I can.  I continue to learn a lot and I already have ideas to improve some of the parts I made on my next build.  I love sharing and I learn a lot from watching the work of other members on this forum, it's an endless source of ideas and motivation!  Take care, Francis

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Hi Francis!

To your point about the "hardness" of aluminium... I fabricate many brackets or ancilary parts for the "real" 1/1 hot rods I build from aluminium, and I found a source that I did not expected...

The maintenance shop at a local food manufacturing facility uses a lot of that T6 aluminium, and mucho stainless also, because food processing machinery needs to be cleaned and disinfected often, with sometimes very harsh cleaning agents. They usualy have scraps, leftovers or just worn parts that they are willing to let me scavenge tru. You would be surprised at the number of trick parts I found and adapted to rods and pro-touring 1/1 cars. 

Your Lenco is fabulous (as usual!). Keep on. Hope we will se all this in person this coming october at the Québec show!

CT

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2 hours ago, Claude Thibodeau said:

Hi Francis!

To your point about the "hardness" of aluminium... I fabricate many brackets or ancilary parts for the "real" 1/1 hot rods I build from aluminium, and I found a source that I did not expected...

The maintenance shop at a local food manufacturing facility uses a lot of that T6 aluminium, and mucho stainless also, because food processing machinery needs to be cleaned and disinfected often, with sometimes very harsh cleaning agents. They usualy have scraps, leftovers or just worn parts that they are willing to let me scavenge tru. You would be surprised at the number of trick parts I found and adapted to rods and pro-touring 1/1 cars. 

Your Lenco is fabulous (as usual!). Keep on. Hope we will se all this in person this coming october at the Québec show!

CT

Hello Claude,

I also found a good source for small pieces of T6 aluminum not too far from my home but I'm not  that lucky with brass... I checked with several machine shop in my area but they dont use this material very often so it's pretty scarce I would say.   I would be interested to make more of the large parts (large being relative at 1/25 scale) so I will have to find a solution or pay the big price on shipping (this material is heavy) if I want to refill my inventory of raw material.

Thanks for the compliment on the Lenco by the way but I will need a very good (out of the ordinary) summer building session to have this thing ready for the Quebec show so I will continue to hope for the best... miracles can happen!

Can't wait to see you my friend!

Take care, Francis

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8 hours ago, Straightliner59 said:

Such magnificent work, as always, Francis. That Lenco is fantastic! Thanks for sharing your work, my friend!

Thanks for your kind words Daniel.  It is always a pleasure to share when you feel the interest in a given project as you have just done ... and you will always be welcome my friend!

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