Scorpion Gasser

[rv1963]

Atlantis Scorpion Gasser, way past time for me to do a drag car. this kit will get a lot of work done to it. I will first start with the tires, they have a very big dip in the middle where the tread would be,  not crazy about that. I made an arbor on the lathe drilled, tapped and threaded for a 10-32 cap head screw added a few washers and snugged the tire down so I could use a sanding stick to true the tire up, I think it looks a little better. All comments welcome.

[rv1963]

it looks like I got a double post can one of them be deleted, sorry about that.

[rv1963]

Time for a small update. I was able to make a moon style fuel tank and the cap on the lathe and mill, one pic of the finished tank the other of the cap mounted on a 3 jaw chuck on a rotary table on the mill. I still have to make mounts for the tank but I will have to wait till I decide about the final location. All comments welcome

Edited March 28 by rv1963

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Cool Robert, it seems you have some nice tools too, I'm glad to see you're putting them to good use, the tank is well made as well as the cap. 👍

I'll be following with interest!  Maybe you mentioned it in another thread, do you have Sherline equipment or is it a different brand?

[rv1963]

Thanks for checking Francis, always glad to hear from a model builder of your high caliber. Your are correct Francis my lathe and mill and most of my tools are Sherline, I really like what they have. I am going to attempt to make a 392 Hemi block and heads, I lost one of the plastic heads so I might as well take a shot at making the entire engine, wish me luck I will need it, lol.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

21 hours ago, rv1963 said:

Thanks for checking Francis, always glad to hear from a model builder of your high caliber. Your are correct Francis my lathe and mill and most of my tools are Sherline, I really like what they have. I am going to attempt to make a 392 Hemi block and heads, I lost one of the plastic heads so I might as well take a shot at making the entire engine, wish me luck I will need it, lol.

Glad to know you're going to venture yourself in such a complex process as machining the aluminum engine block and cylinder heads, it's my favorite kind of detail.  I'm currently working on the fuel cell for my Demon project, and the engine block will be next.  I'll be machining it out of aluminum me too; in fact, everything from the engine block to the accessories will be aluminum and/or brass.  We'll be able to encourage each other! 😊

[rv1963]

Thanks for your comment Francis, after watching your builds about 3 years ago that is what inspired me to get the Sherline tools and start machining myself, thanks for that. I will be waiting for the engine and trans you will be machining also my favorite part of any model car.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

21 hours ago, rv1963 said:

Thanks for your comment Francis, after watching your builds about 3 years ago that is what inspired me to get the Sherline tools and start machining myself, thanks for that. I will be waiting for the engine and trans you will be machining also my favorite part of any model car.

Thank you for this confidence Robert, if I was able to inspire you and give you the little push you needed to get started, it rewards me for all the time I spent working on them, I am honored! 😊   I will soon embark on this new chapter.

[rv1963]

Way past time for an update. My ignition magneto it's a tiny little bugger, the body of the magneto was turned on the lathe using nickel silver rod and the cap was made using the red styrene runners from the Skorpion gasser kit, in the front you can see the eight holes driller for the ignition wires and on top the eight copper posts for lack of a better word made from 30 guage copper wire. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out, all comments welcome.

Edited April 15 by rv1963

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Good job Robert, one small step at a time will take you a long way, good choice to recycle a piece of red styrene runner for the cap, no need to paint it and it will stay red without the risk of wearing off the paint when handling it. 👍

[rv1963]

Thanks Francis for the comment, your thoughts on the cap were the same as mine no painting needed, I am now working on the valley pan that goes under the intake manifold I will post a new pic when it's done.

Edited April 16 by rv1963

[Zippi]

That's good stuff right there Robert.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Looking good. The magneto is especially nice.  

[iBorg]

This one has me watching. This is inspiring me to get comfortable using my metal working tools.

[rv1963]

Thanks for all the comments Bob, Bill and Mike. Mike you should should just go for it, I learned what little I know by trial and error, and I do mean a lot of errors, lol.

[rv1963]

Time for an update, 3 pics of the engine block very much not finished yet the round area at the back of the block is just for holding in the setup it will be removed later. In the interest of transparency I had several mistakes on this block and I didn't find out till after I tried to fit the valley cover, I noticed something was way off so I checked the area from the oil pan to the valley cover and the passenger side was 50th bigger than the other that will just not fly so back in the setup and now that is fixed. I also checked other areas and found out that the cylinder head area on one was about 100th bigger than the other that is also fixed as best I could manage. All comments welcome.

[Andrew McD]

The metal work is impressive.  I am curious what you used as a reference for the dimensions.  Did you take measurements off a kit engine, research actual engine dimensions, or some other approach?  One of my long term modeling goals is to develop some lathe/mill skills to produce parts for my models.  Fascinating work you're doing, I'll be following this!

[rv1963]

I did start using the kit engine as a guide, I have no real proof but it looks like the kit dimensions are pretty close at least to my eye by looking at other 392 hemi engines off the internet. Yes I understand that using pics of the internet will be far from perfect but at 1/24 scale it's really hard to tell at that small size, also remember these pics are blown up at least 4 times bigger than real life so the parts looks so much better at their true size.

Edited April 18 by rv1963

[AmericanMuscleFan]

That's a good start Robert!  I personally use a lot of internet images mainly to confirm the appearance of certain specific details of the engine block.  The kit engine is often a good starting point for validating basic measurements, but I found several technical measurements on various websites, including discussion forums, to guide me.  Very few modelers take on a project as ambitious as machining an engine block; it's a much more complicated process than it appears.

Your determination is admirable my friend, you need to have fun and set yourself goals that will increase your motivation and your desire to go further in creating your own custom pieces.  You seem to be on the right track! 👍

[rv1963]

Thanks a lot for you comment and encouragement Francis, I may very well have set my goals to high with this piece but that's ok, I am having a good time trying to figure out the process to get a positive outcome. No matter if I fail or not I will have learned a lot and had a good time doing it, isn't that what modeling is all about? My best hope for this project is getting a finished part that looks decent even if it's not perfect. I still have much to learn but I will keep at it. The way people are treated on this forum is the reason I keep coming back it always has a very positive vibe.

Edited April 18 by rv1963

[Andrew McD]

11 hours ago, rv1963 said:

I did start using the kit engine as a guide, I have no real proof but it looks like the kit dimensions are pretty close at least to my eye by looking at other 392 hemi engines off the internet. Yes I understand that using pics of the internet will be far from perfect but at 1/24 scale it's really hard to tell at that small size, also remember these pics are blown up at least 4 times bigger than real life so the parts looks so much better at their true size.

I meant no criticism of your work.  I am trying to develop an approach to figuring out dimensions for a drawing that would provide a starting point for machining parts.  I appreciate your response .  I kind of figured as a first approach to machining parts for a model I would start by basing it on existing plastic parts.  Thank you for confirming that such an approach is a reasonable way to go.

[rv1963]

Thanks for your comments Andrew, no offence taken, ask all the question you want, I read all comments I get and try to answer to the best of my ability.

[rv1963]

Time for a small update, first pic is the valley pan which will go under the intake manifold and the second pic is it installed on the engine block, got a nice slip fit with zero play. All comments welcome.

[AmericanMuscleFan]

Good job Robert, one piece at a time and you will get a very nice engine block, you are on the right track. 👍

[rv1963]

Thanks for your comment of encouragement Francis I am glad you checked in.