Modifying Avant Slot(bargain) chassis (wb and other issues)

[alexis in greece]

As posted elsewhere I bought several of these chassis to use with existing bodies.One issue is wheelbase which had to be modified in order to fit.So here is my method.

Chassis prior to butchering

 
First cut out the front axle uprights

 
Then put the parts on the jig which has been previously adjusted to the desired size,
making  sure there is a 1mm gap allround to allow for epoxy glue to fill in

 
Next cut 2 pieces of  transparent lexan sheet 1 mm  thick.I prefer it to other alternatives(brass for example) for 3 reasons
-1mm lexan is stiff and hard
-in many cases rules forbid the use of metall reinforcements to the chassis
-circuit board is thicker and heavier

 
 
I superglue them in place then remove the chassis from the jig.Next apply epoxy glue to reinforce the joint,pressing with a wet finger(saliva is best) the glue to fill the gaps around the cutout pieces 
making sure they are competely filled
 

 
After the epoxy has set I strenghten the joint by screwing 3mm long grub screws



I have used this method to elongate 

 
of shorten wheelbase

 

Another issue to address on certain cars is that the rear bodypost of the chassis is under the cockpit,preventing us from using a lexan one.Fortunately this chassis has 2 holes on the sides,I drill them with a 2.5 mm bit then countersink them using an 8 mm bit .



 
 
An identical  issue is with the front body post,I solved that making a "bridge" of 1mm lexan sheet heated and bemt in the middle,the body of Ninco Mosler



List of the cars I modified so far:
-Ninco Mosler std wheelbase-front bodypost bridge-original rear bodypost used
-Ninco BMW LMR ext wheelbase
-SCX Ferrari 550 Maranello short wheelbase
-SCX Ferrari 599 std wheelbase
-MB Ferrari 430 std wheelbase-front bodypost bridge
-Carrera Ferrari 575 short wheelbase
-SCX Porsche GT1 short wheelbase-original rear bodypost used

[chappyman66]

Nice illustration of a way to maintain the independent front wheels if desired.
Always good to see different methods!

[chappy]

For the price of those chassis it is an excellent foundation for modifying to fit other cars. Art in used to be the kind g of chassis foundations , but with the thousands of these rolling chassis with motors but no tires, and so cheap it has given the semi scratch builder another ,method both cost effective and functional to work with.
Nice work Alexis
Bob

[RBPhillips]

Thanks, Alexis for your two recent Artin chassis posts; it motivates me to get going with mine!

Two bodies arrive today to fit to mine....