New TDR Products and REVIEWS

[arick]

LIMITED TIME OFFER........TDR MULTI MEDIA OFFENHAUSER ENGINE KIT

TDR has eight multi-media 8th scale Offenhauser engine kits in stock. Each kit contains 50 finished resin parts and 10 rapid prototype'd parts. As a bonus, each kit also contains a three speed manual transmission and starter. The resin parts in this kit significantly reduce the weight of the finished model and also reduce the prep time required should the builder want to smooth the RP parts.

These 8 kits may sell fast and we may not do another run for awhile, so please place your order by visiting our web site at "www.tdrcatalog.com".

[Hawk312]

Is the oil dip stick on the passenger side or the driver side?

Bill

It is on the passenger side.

Guys, I will be posting some pictures of the alternator shortly. I spent some time drilling it out and cleaning it up, which took a little while. But I will have pictures shortly.

[Hawk312]

Ok, so here is the alternator cleaned up and drilled out. After looking at the pictures, I think the texture just a little on the heavy side for an alternator. I am debating trying to sand it down a little. What are everyone`s thoughts on that?

The "slots' in the back were done with the back of a number 11 blade. I didn`t get it quite perfect, but the material seemed to respond well to this. Again, the material semms a little more "gritty" than styrene.

[Harry P.]

Ok, so here is the alternator cleaned up and drilled out. After looking at the pictures, I think the texture just a little on the heavy side for an alternator. I am debating trying to sand it down a little. What are everyone`s thoughts on that?

The "slots' in the back were done with the back of a number 11 blade. I didn`t get it quite perfect, but the material seemed to respond well to this. Again, the material semms a little more "gritty" than styrene.

Nice job opening up the alternator... it'll look really cool with the coils inside.

I agree it's still way too textured, the surface texture is out of scale. I'd sand the whole thing smooth... whatever texture an alternator has would disappear in 1/8 scale. However, the texture does work on the heads and the block... you just have to remember to "choose your spots" for the texture.

[Harry P.]

BTW... don't know if you mentioned this or not, but what are you using to build the kit? CA?

[Hawk312]

BTW... don't know if you mentioned this or not, but what are you using to build the kit? CA?

I am using Insta-cure CA glue. And of course I had to pick the super thin kind which is runny and can get to be a mess pretty easily. Using a thicker CA glue would definitely easier to work with.

[Hawk312]

Just another quick pic. Fixed the head fitment problem by sanding down the mounting "tabs" just a little. Everything seems to fit pretty well. Also painted and installed the oil filter.

I sanded down the alternator and primed it. I am also trying to decide what type of bracket configuration I am going to fabricate. I will hopefully have more pictures soon.

[Hawk312]

Here is the alternator, which I primed and sanded smooth as best I could. As you could imagine, it was a little tough getting in the tight spots. I used 400 grit sandpaper, knife and some files to clean everything up. Testors Aluminum Plate metalizer was applied.

[horsepower]

Thanks!

I need ideas for the cylinder head bolts. As many of you know, they are typically a bolt with a large round beveled area at the bottom of the hex area, and it is a little difficult to fabricate 20 of them in 1/8 scale. Any ideas?

instead of building it as using the stock bolts, build it as an engine that has aftermarket studs & corresponding washers & nuts instead.

[Harry P.]

Here is the alternator, which I primed and sanded smooth as best I could. As you could imagine, it was a little tough getting in the tight spots. I used 400 grit sandpaper, knife and some files to clean everything up. Testors Aluminum Plate metalizer was applied.

Much better!

[Hawk312]

I spent some time with strands of copper from stranded circuit wire wrapping them around a center core I built up from scratch plastic. I twisted them in groups of three, and then twisted them together to try to simulate what the coils inside of an alternator look like. I was working from about 10 reference pics. As you can see, I`m not sure if it was worth all the time an effort, as it is really difficult to see the results through the front of the alternator. I also have the pulley on it now, which hides them just a little more. I think if I were to do it again, I would try to thin out the "spokes" in the alternator front from behind to try to bring the coils a little closer to the openings.

Now with the pulley on and the bolts detailed a little, it is really convincing. Once the weather improves here, I`ll post more pics of it. I also still have to figure out the alternator bracket. It`s going to take some planning to get it perfectly aligned with the pulleys on the engine.

[comp1839]

you may want to pick another style of alternator to do this on. the stator windings really aren't visible on a delco-remy unit. the rotor windings are mostly covered by the fan on the rotor shaft. the mopar alternator housing is a little more conducive to what you are trying to accomplish.

Edited May 12, 2010 by comp1839

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Dave's right, the Mopar alternator would be a more logical choice if you want your windings to show.

Hawk, it just so happens I have a spare Mopar alternator.......if you would like to take at a look at it & decide if it works better for your build, send me your name addy info (Email or PM) and I'll stick it in the mail to you.

If you want to use it......it's yours.

Edited May 12, 2010 by GrandpaMcGurk

[Hawk312]

Thanks for the tip guys. Thanks for the offer, Grandpa. I would like to keep this a "stock" build up for the review for now, but I may changed my mind once this is completed.

Here is a picture with the pulley on. Now that I look at it, the coil detail isn`t too bad. I think this is really going to look good on the motor.

I ran into my first fitment problem that I am trying to work through. As you can see from the pic, the alternator pulley stick way out from the other pulleys, evem when butt up against the valve cover. I was trying to avoid mounting it way out in the open space to the right of the valve cover, but I would like to have it closer to the engine. Here you can see what I mean:

[Hawk312]

Any thoughts anyone? I`m not liking the thought of cutting into either the alternator or the valve cover, and bringing out the balancer pulley just isn`t going to look right, IMO. I am tempted to just mount it far off to the side to clear the valve cover.

[Ralph Henderson]

don't know if this would be right, but can you mount it low on the other side??

[ajwheels]

As in real life, the Delco 10SI series alternator is too deep to be mounted in front of the cylinder head face on the small-block Chevrolet unless a long-style water pump is used, or a multi-groove pulley is adapted. On this model, which has the short-style water pump, this alternator will need to be mounted down below the cylinder head, or up high and outside the head / valve cover face. Note the attached pictures and the relative size of the alternator and thus the locations used to mount it.

Hope this helps............

Tony

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Great pics Tony...I've even seen this alternator mounted on the frame under the floor boards being run by a pulley off the tranny tailshaft.

Guess the guy didn't want it hangin' out in the wind on a 1:1 Deuce.

Edited May 15, 2010 by GrandpaMcGurk

[Hawk312]

Thanks guys for clearing that up. And those pics will be great reference AJ.

Thanks everyone!!

[Hawk312]

Guys, sorry for the delay, again. I was building the alternator bracket, sanding and filing etc., when it snapped in two in my hands. I`ll post some pictures once I get it back together. I may just end up going with a real simple set-up.

Thanks again for all the help.

[comp1839]

if it's not to late for you, you can always check out http://www.marchperf.com/ they have a ton of options for belt drives.

[Hawk312]

if it's not to late for you, you can always check out http://www.marchperf.com/ they have a ton of options for belt drives.

Thanks for the tip. After seeing what they have there, it makes me want to tear apart everything I have done now and start over. Some nice stuff there!

[Hawk312]

Ok, so the brackets and alternator are in place. I went with a generic bracket up top, and then went for something a little custom down below. Creating the brackets wasn`t nearly as difficult as I thought, but lining everything up was a pain! But it was worth it.

So, except for the additional alternator brackets, fan belt, oil drain plug, and dipstick, this is a complete stock buildup of the TDR SBC engine. I can think of a million details I can add to this thing, but I wanted to give everyone an idea of how it builds up "out of the box." Everything fit really nice, and was fun to put together. This was a learning experience for me for sure. I am sure as I get the hang of working with this material and fabricating parts I`m not use to fabricating, the end results will be better. One thing I am going to be sure to do on the Mustang body and any future builds will be to use high-build primer on the smooth parts. As you can see from the pictures, it requires a little more than some light sanding and basic primer to get the texture leveled out.

I am not sure where I am going to go with it now. It may go in my `82 Camaro kit I have lying around, but I hate to "waste" it on that. We`ll see. I was thinking about getting the `32 Ford kit to build around this engine. We will see.

[comp1839]

looks good! are you gong to put an intake on it? or wait?

[GrandpaMcGurk]

Hawk, do you still have the engine parts that came in your Camaro kit? If so (and you are so inclined) , it would be interesting to see your engine beside the R/M supplied engine.