Carrera 1/24 Adjustable Chassis

[dw5555]

I know this doesn't exactly fit in with you brass chassis guys but I needed a plastic chassis that I could use to expand my Carrera Gt fleet. Carrera has great cars but in the 1/24 field there is a large gap in what is running out there.

The size of the chassis was determined by the smallest wheelbase car I had in Carrera which was the Cheetah. So that was my starting point. The narrowest width was the Gt40. The chassis adjusts out 3/4" from the smallest which should give me more than enough adjustability. Most of the cars I have there is only 1/2" difference in wheelbase .

The chassis was cut out of 2.25mm Styrene. All I had was 1.5 and .75 so I just glued them together. I wanted something simple and the easiest solution was to use 1/32 parts since I had almost everything. (plus this is for home use, not racing so they should hold up) The only issue I was going to have was 1/24 wheels on a 3/32 axle. I ended up using Scaleauto wheels and put brass tubing inside the wheel to shim it down to 3/32 which worked great. I used adjustable axle mounts for the front and a Devis3D scratch builders pod screwed down in the rear. This way I can still adjust the rear axle height with shims under the pod if needed. I used a B-Nova adapter for the guide mount. The only thing I'm not sure of is I used plastic square tubing for the adjustable length. I'm not sure it will hold up. I may have to go with brass if it flexes to much.

The body I chose was not my 1st choice but it was cheap ($11 shipped) Man I didn't realize how expensive models were. Just finished putting my last coat of clear on it and then a few decals.

Well that's my 1st scratch build even if it is in plastic.

Dave

[chrisguyw]

Really nice job Dave!!........I don't think anybody will believe it is your first scratch chassis........well thought out, well executed :text-bravo:

I do hope I am wrong for your sake, but, I do I do think your comment on the "softness" of the square styrene tubing is spot on........I think your chassis will perform much better with some increased stiffness in this area,.....so brass would be a better bet.

A chassis that is too soft longitudinally will cause the rear axle to "tramp"....this will be most evident with higher horsepower motors/sticky tires, and or track, but even with a milder motor etc., it is not the "hot ticket for smooth consistent performance.

If you really wanted to try something different next time, you could use some smaller square brass tubing with a piece of snug fitting piano wire inserted into it....... the piano wire (which has a memory) will greatly reduce the possibility of the brass bending/kinking, (and staying bent/kinked), which in a crash, it definitely has a tendency to do.

Again, great build!!! :)

Cheers
Chris Walker

[MrAdept]

That's awesome!

Thanks for sharing.

Mark

[dw5555]

Thanks for the tips Chris. I had a feeling after I put that tubing on that it wouldn't be strong enough but since this is the proto I'll get the bugs worked out on this one. Actually I like the piano wire idea.
I also waiting on some new smaller diameter tires from PG, the fronts are a little to tall and hit the top of the fenders.

Dave