Bracket500 World Tribute Car

	The planning finally finished and the project began its global journey. The parts, sent by DVan, arrived in NZ on 1st May: This is to introduce my 17 year old step daughter, Hannah.  I still haven't recovered fully from breaking my wrist in LA (& subsequent surgery etc), Hannah "volunteered" to build this, her first car, to prove how straight forward it can be if you use good products.
The first task was to unpack & take inventory of what we are working with: Main components so far:	Chassis: WRP C-10,  a complete stainless kit - thanks Paul. I have some stainless tube WRP-T-50 & 80 (.050" & .080") along with some JDS-2016 (.065") which will be used to complete the chassis as soon as we receive the Precision Slot Cars fixture which was sent to NZ last week. Wheels: Matching "Star Convos" Front JDS 7007 Rear JDS 7009 - thanks Joe A trick paint job by DVan on the body with full custom decals by R.A.S. & Uncle Gary's detailed interior look awesome. The early plan, is to use an "off the wall" PARMA motor, because that's likely what a new Bracket racer may choose.  If you would like to sponsor something different, please contact DVan or me.  Needless to say it's performance will be helped by KD Brush Lube Ill be posting developments as they occur NZ Mark
We decided to do the front & rear bumpers.	A few important things were done The windhield,rear windsceen, Headlights & rear lights was installed using Micro Kristal Klear.  This stuff is good because: - It is readily available at hobby shops, - It adheres well - It dries clear (you can actually make custom glass pieces with it) - It doesnt fog glass - It cleans up in water
While we were at it, we cut and installed flat side windows from .005 mylar. These are really clear and light. We also trimmed Gary's interior to fit.  The detailing on is awesome, it has a tach with redline & tell tale, a Hurst shifter and other great features.  One of these will certainly dress up anyones car.	Lastly, we talked about the lack of chrome on the car.  I am no body guy, so we studied how to bare metal foil on You tube  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs5WTtHtycM  &   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_MfdJX-Nxo
Familiarisation:	Dave,  I just picked it up from the post office.  When you called it "Precision" the description is so very accurate.  We completed a very quick trial/ familiarisation exercise, installing some pins & chassis components.  The WRP stainless tube laid perfectly to the chassis kit with exactly!
setting up the fixture:	Then we changed pin locations and tried different tube wire sizes and the tolerances are dead on.  I can see "fixture" is a way better decsription rather than just "jig".  Im ashamed now with the qiality of my previous "jig" builds.  If its ok I would like to hold on to the fixture for a couple of weeks before sending it to DVan for the prize, so I can refit/reseat the chassis' of my fleet of C-series cars.
almost ready to start:	Hannah and I have sketched a few practical body mount designs and plan to begin the build this weeekend (from front to back). The postal delivery was quick thanks to you and Julie. Great timing arriving Saturday morning. We will keep in touch and describe the progress of this world tribute bracket car.
	Ok we began building from front to back, so the first thing was to build a front body mount Seeing its going to do alot of bracket racing we chose this robust and simple design, which can take the knocks.  We began by scuffing up the WRP stainless guide tongue/nose piece.  We tinned some Brass channel & 1/16 tube.  It was added to the chassis using Luck Bob's Stainless flux.
The complete mount:
	Personally I get a bit spooked when mounting bodies that have been painted already because ther is no room for mistake, but we marked twice and Hannah drilled with a steady hand.  We had ground a bit off the inside of the body for appropriate clearance.
	Then we mounted to the front of the body by marking the spot and drilling a pinhole.
	We finalised a remaining major component - the motorbox/axle housing & body mount. The first thing did was to ensure everything was square after travelling half way around the world.  Instead of using an engineers square we checked against the fixture uprights:
	Next we cut some .082 stainless tube to solder on the inside of the U bracket to make a solid motor box:
	Next we soldered in the oilite bearings, using the fixture "axle" to ensure they were aligned. We cut out the rear of the body mount slots to make a quick release/floating rear mount. The motor box rests in the chassis rails before we start soldering the chassis together:
	A closeup of the Motor box/Axle housing & Body mount: WRP C series stainless chassis awesome, they are well priced, simple. very practical, they have a great finish and will stay clean/rust free.
	Ok we got some more done this weekend and encountered some problems to solve... Sticking wih the main construction: Given we completed the fron body mount first, the plan was to centre the rear axle in the wheel well and set the correct length to mount and solder in the the rear axle housing.  It went perfectly so we soldered the "U" bracket in.
	We followed this by using the fixture to mark (then cut) and mount the wheelie bar axle cross brace:
Next we tidied up the rear by using the Precision fixture's bender function to make the 0.065" tube upright wheelie bar braces. These were soldered to the inside of the WRP "U" bracket to make a solid triangle.	After all this was completed, unfortunately, the front valance glue joint broke.  This was point of the front mount and the datum point for all measurements.  We had to glue it back in and strengthen it by installing 3x  1/16" brass pins.  Regretably it could not go exactly back into place so the rear wheels are about 1mm in front of where we wanted them.  But we were not about to un/re-solder the chassis & wheelie bars so what the hell, it still looks ok.
	We are on the home straight.... We wanted an authentic look for the amazing JDS star convo wheels, so we installed bigger 15.5 ID x 5.3 mm thickness O rings and then sanded the edge flat to look like a tread:
	While we were preparing to install the front end we realised the centreline of the front axle butted against the guide post making the standard mount impractical for bracket duties.  It made tightening/undoing the guide nut too difficult for regularly using the car so we gout our thinking caps on. Standard front axle & mount:
	When we started we had a goal of a nice clean car that would not rust so we used the WRP stainless chassis along with WRP stainless tube, so we intended to continue with this goal in fabricating a front end.  We bent a 4 right angles in a length of 1/16" K&S brass tube so we could easily go around the guide nut area, leaving it clear for full access. Because the material is so soft we strengthened the corners by mounting the "stub" axles at the right height & added a short length of square brass tube as a brace:
	We set the ride height with the guide in and no braids.  That way, when the braids were installed, the tyres are lifted above the surface and have no risk of track strike:
	With the braids in we could move to the back of the car and set the wheelie wheel ride height using a business card. TIP: once the wheelie wheel ride height is set, DO NOT adjust by bending the chassis or wheelie bars, just change the o ring thickness profiles.
	The last thing we did was to set the rear body mount by drilling holes in the body and mounted a .050" stainless tube across.  This will stay permanently mounted to the body and rest inside the "quick" release floating mount.  That way you can easily remove the two front body pins and slide the body off
	Seeing the clean stainless WRP chassis is complete, we were keen to tidy the car before doing the mecanical bits.  So we wanted some nice finishing... We mentioned earlier we had to strengthen the front valance by drilling holes and inserting/gluing 3 pieces of 1/16" brass tube.  So we repainted that area Matt black
	Next the JDS star convo wheels were so nice we just had to do them justice by highlighting them with white tyre lettering.  On the front, we used modllers 1/24 letraset to add "Good year" and sealed it with matt clear decal sealer.  We havent had a chance to get the airbrush out yet to stencil "Good year" on the rears, but we will do before we send the car away.
These are the results:	Before we installed the awesome interior, we thought the car needed appropriate class marking DYO (Dial Your Own) and a Racing number.  Mark had got these done by a guy with an ALPS printer a couple of years ago, so we thought 500 was the most appropriate racing number. We also wanted to stamp the down under flavour on the car, so we manufactured some "NZ made" and some Driver safety net decals to put on the inside of the windows.  Here is Marks info on how to make your own decals: Click Here
Drivers side	The fully detailed interior was then finally trimmed up & taped in.  Its even got leads on the tach!!! "Courtesy from Uncle Gary"
	The last thing we wanted was a drag chute. Mark had use different model chutes to make rubber mould for his other cars, so we resin cast some chutes and selected the one to best suit the Studebaker:
We attached it to the car, painted it and added the detail like a chute pull, shrouded & insulated chute line and a remove before run type tag to make it look more authentic:	So as far as the looks go, we plan to do the rear wheel lettering & touch up the paint. Then we will get the car race ready by doing the motor, installing the running gear Hannah & Mark
The tools and bits we needed:	The last major thing was the motor. WE chose a PARMA Rotor motor because they are widely available and reasonable.  Because its a Bracket car we only did a few things to get it race ready.  We will not blueprint because there are plenty of people who can do thet better.
	We dis-assembled the motor and alignend the bearings/brush hoods.  When all aligned we glued the endbell bush and soldered the can bush.
	While the magnets were out we tapped the motor mount holes to 2-56.
	We hand reamed the bushes to 2.0mm, put the magnets back in (correectly orientated using a small compass), spaced the arm so minimal movement and screwed on the endbell:
We radiussed the brushes
After fully assembling the motor we lightly lubricated the bushes hooked it up for 1/2 hour to a simple & cheap break in box we made: When it was done flushed the motor with lighter fluid.	The break-in box was made from bits purchased from a local franchise, but Ive found everyone in USA can get the bits from Radioshack: 4 "D" Battery Holder $1.89 Model: 270-396 | Catalog #: 270-396 Fully Insulated Alligator Clip Adapters $2.99 Model: 270-354 | Catalog #: 270-354 Just buy 3 D size batteries and you are in business.
	We rechecked the alignment of the rear bushings and reamed to 3/32"; installed & wired the broken in motor; Installed the running gear and adjusted the gear/pinion we also tidied the wiring with heat shrink tube:
Then the final assembly was done:
	Well thats it for us.  All thats left to do is sign the roof.  We will ship it up to the nearest track (500 miles away) for them to race.  Its a pity we wont get to see it running anywhere but Dave West  (Dragman21) has promised us plenty of photos and videos.
Hannah proud of the finished car:	We want to thank -DVan (Bracket500.com) for the oportunity, and all the great sponsors who made this happen -The clean stainless chassis by WRP, -The ease of the build with the Precision Fixture; -Beautiful partsgenerously donated: -JDS wheels, -Garys spectacular interior, -RAS decals.  We trust the people who will race it around the world will enjoy it. Hannah & Mark
A collage of the work whe put in:
Hannah gets the last word(s): "It was real simple to put together. All the bits just fitted into place, easy as anything.  The way things work out, Im sure I could do it again, without Mark hovering around. I hope you like my first slot car and it goes well, for people around the world. Thanks to everyone, Bye" Hannah	That sounds good DVan,  hopefully it will show people new to the hobby,  if you take things slowly and carefully, anybody can build a nice clean car. Mark

Next Stop:at the Track with  Dragman21 Dave West


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