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New guides for old - a Carrera story!

How DO they do that??
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wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

New guides for old - a Carrera story!

Post by wixwacing »

I have often heard slotracers giving poor old Carrera some verbal stick over the last couple of years and inspite of their advancement in leaps and bounds, it appears that the hoary old chestnut is their guide!! I'm not too sure why as I quite like it, especially for board track racing!! It performs considerably better on the routed track tops than some models I could name, but that won't allay the critics.



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Now, what has happened here is a pure coincidence. On the last meeting of the year one of the classes was 'Yank Tanks' (no disrespect intended to our North American cousins) which involved racing the largest car (in 1/32 scale) you could lay your hands on. One enterprising member purchased his entry that very same day from our local slotstore and proceeded to modify it within limits on race day!! I won't go into any more detail than that but suffice it to say it all ended in tears and drama, even though he pulled a second out of the bag in one heat. The disaster which befell him was guide related and with the front end well and truly pickled, he gave me the model to repair in the hols.



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Well, I got the model home and tried several times to recover the situation but the damage was too extensive. The only solution was to replace the guide. The guide to do the job was one of the Ninco after market guides which are longer and a little deeper and spring loaded too. The remedy was to be a transplant of a 'Wixwacing' guide holder onto the front of the model. The model was stripped and the guide parts were removed with a dremel (that's how bad it was) and a new plate was made from bare circuit board to cover the gaping hole.



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Once the plate was formed it was trimmed to size with an extended rear end. This was because the hole left by the old guide system was quite substantial and I was looking for extra surface area to increase the bonding surface. The new plate and the plastic under chassis were drilled in several spots with a 1/16" drill to create an extra key. The contact surfaces were also heavily cross hatched with the back of a modellers knife. The centre tube was left free as the depth could not be set until the model was ready for reassembly.



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Extra strength epoxy was used to bond the two surfaces and the assembly was left to cure for twenty four hours. Once set, the guide tube was installed along with the front and rear axles. The guide tube position was then set allowing the front wheels to just make contact with the track. The tube was then spot soldered in place allowing a couple of minutes between spots so the epoxy wasn't too badly heated. When finished, the guide wires were reinstalled with new collars and the body mounting holes enlarged a little. the body was then assembled and the whole was checked for free movement. A quick blast on a friends track at a later time ensured the fix was complete. What had been a disaster had become a blessing in disguise.....maybe!!



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In the interest of confidentiality, the name of the model owner has been withheld!!
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
ddyke
Pitcrew
Posts: 48
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2008 2:22 pm
Location: Westside of Cincinnati: The Baddest Part of Town

Re: New guides for old - a Carrera story!

Post by ddyke »

Even though I am hurt about the Yank Tank comment [You guys would die to have a 454 Chevy or a 426 Hemi - don't lie, tell the truth] - I am going to take the high road, turn the other cheek, and compliment the fine job!
Scrappy Dan
When I'm not eating food or sleeping, I'm down in the basement, wrecking slot cars!
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