Porsche 911 with bespoke chassis

[GermanTA03Guy]

I think this is corsa grey : 

 

So i think to a achieve that proper cool singer look you have to stay really monochrome regarding the additional colors and stickers (e.g.  porsche lettering). And of course nail the stance and the wheels' finish.

[middleagedgrup]

The mention of Corsa Grey sparked a memory, as I recalled having seen @Juhunio's 934 Baby Blue build which used that colour: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=136156&id=52876

Not sure it's necessarily the flat grey that you're after, @IXLR8.  That said, perhaps backing it with an appropriate colour might achieve the desired result?

[IXLR8]

3 hours ago, middleagedgrup said:

The mention of Corsa Grey sparked a memory, as I recalled having seen @Juhunio's 934 Baby Blue build which used that colour: https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=136156&id=52876

Not sure it's necessarily the flat grey that you're after, @IXLR8.  That said, perhaps backing it with an appropriate colour might achieve the desired result?

Thank you for that link.  It's always helpful to see other member's Porsche builds.

So, the baby blue Porsche 934 and the Safari Porsche 911 in GermanTA01Guy's linked video do appear a bit more vibrant than the Singer in my photo.   However, I've noticed that neither of those two appear to have a backing color (I could be wrong about that).  Anyway, I could try white, gray and even black as backing and see if any of them will bring the Corsa Grey a bit closer to the target color.  I have Corsa Grey in mind for at least two other builds so it's worth the effort to determine how the various colors play together.  Of course, I could attempt to create a custom mix but I've really never had good results when mixing paint colors.  

 

[IXLR8]

 

The printed parts have arrived.

I've had some problems in the past with bearing fit so this time I've oversized the bores by 0.1mm and bearing fit is nearly perfect.

It's time to make the plate parts and, for me, the process begins by making paper templates.  The parts are arranged in a ruled border so I can confirm that they will print full size.  These parts sheets are sent to my HP laser printer, I cut each of them out leaving a few mm's margin around each part and adhere these templates to the plate material using contact adhesive.  Next, I drill all screw holes and drill one or more larger holes into any interior cuts as means to insert the saw blade.  To drill screw holes precisely, it helps to make a drilling guide from some scrap aluminum plate that is clamped to the part - this eliminates the drill bit wander off-center.  I don't have access to special equipment for making plate parts; only a drill press, coping saw, an assortment of files and clamps, sandpaper, etc.  Here's one of the parts sheets ready to go to the laser printer:

For making turned parts, I have a mini lathe very similar to the one in this photo.

It's very basic - no reverse or power feed - but it works well and I've been making parts on this lathe since the late 1980's. 

 

 

 

[IXLR8]

With a marathon fabrication and assembly session spanning the past few days, I finally have something to show for the weeks spent planning and designing.  Sorry I didn’t document the fabrication process along the way but I was so keen to get this built that I couldn’t be bothered to make any work in progress photos.

Sorry again for the image quality.  Obviously, my photography skills aren’t the best.

I had some problems mounting the transmission (having spaced the rear screw holes incorrectly by about 0.5mm) but otherwise everything came together without a hitch.

For electronics, I’m going to start with a basic brushed system: a Reedy Radon motor and a Tamiya/Hobby Wing 1060 ESC that was included with a recent kit, a Futaba R204GF receiver, and a Futaba S3003 servo.  This chassis layout requires a shorty lipo pack that I will need to order.  Meanwhile, onto the body.  I’m going Tamiya boxart 45th anniversary Vaillant/Kremer livery with this one but I have some special wheels to go with it.

[DaveBuildsRC]

11 hours ago, IXLR8 said:

With a marathon fabrication and assembly session spanning the past few days, I finally have something to show for the weeks spent planning and designing.  Sorry I didn’t document the fabrication process along the way but I was so keen to get this built that I couldn’t be bothered to make any work in progress photos.

Sorry again for the image quality.  Obviously, my photography skills aren’t the best.

I had some problems mounting the transmission (having spaced the rear screw holes incorrectly by about 0.5mm) but otherwise everything came together without a hitch.

For electronics, I’m going to start with a basic brushed system: a Reedy Radon motor and a Tamiya/Hobby Wing 1060 ESC that was included with a recent kit, a Futaba R204GF receiver, and a Futaba S3003 servo.  This chassis layout requires a shorty lipo pack that I will need to order.  Meanwhile, onto the body.  I’m going Tamiya boxart 45th anniversary Vaillant/Kremer livery with this one but I have some special wheels to go with it.

Looks great! Will there be a driving video?

[GermanTA03Guy]

On 4/13/2023 at 9:43 PM, IXLR8 said:

the baby blue Porsche 934 and the Safari Porsche 911 in GermanTA01Guy's linked video do appear a bit more vibrant than the Singer in my photo.   However, I've noticed that neither of those two appear to have a backing color (I could be wrong about that).  Anyway, I could try white, gray and even black as backing and see if any of them will bring the Corsa Grey a bit closer to the target color. 

Absolutely agree. A bit too vibrant. Now my own experience is that a backing color doesnt change a lot except unwanted overall transparency against light. Which is a good thing. But ive never been able to alter the original color with backing . Maybe always too much paint out of a fear of cloudiness .

Cosa grey is a great color for your build anyway i think. So im curious for your results. Maybe another manufacturer has a "better" grey ? 

These things can bugging, ive been looking for a perfect leyton house color for ages. Ps 54 Cobalt green is close, but not close enough. Needs more blue. All the other colors also from other Brands have been too blue so far.

 

[GermanTA03Guy]

By the way, looking proper, that chassis! Well done, please keep reporting how it drives when it does!

[OldSchoolRC1]

Very nice work! Love that rear suspension. 

[IXLR8]

9 hours ago, DaveBuildsRC said:

Looks great! Will there be a driving video?

Thank you!

I only have the video feature in my phone which is quite awful, to be honest.  Anyway, I've never uploaded a video so not sure about that.

[IXLR8]

6 hours ago, GermanTA03Guy said:

By the way, looking proper, that chassis! Well done, please keep reporting how it drives when it does!

Thank you so much!

Yes, I plan to run the car on my concrete driveway (high traction) and on a sealed pavement parking lot (low traction) and I will report the results.

[IXLR8]

3 hours ago, OldSchoolRC1 said:

Very nice work! Love that rear suspension. 

Thanks,

I was considering McPherson struts for the front but opted for A-arms instead.  Maybe someday I'll tackle struts.

[Nick G]

This is just awesome ! great build .

[canyoncarver]

Subscribed!  Awesome build!

 Made me inspired to try to figure out how to build the 956 New Man I always wanted... in 1:10. 

 

[IXLR8]

7 hours ago, canyoncarver said:

Subscribed!  Awesome build!

 Made me inspired to try to figure out how to build the 956 New Man I always wanted... in 1:10. 

 

I'm happy you like it and pleased that it's inspiring you to build your dream car.

I wasn't too familiar with the 956 but I've done a quick check and apparently Tamiya produced an RC version (58521) in 1/12 scale only??

Anyway, it appears that 1/10 scale lexan bodies are available and you could pick up a set of decals from MCI.

It's an incredible looking race car, that's for certain.

[IXLR8]

Apart from adding lights, the body is finished.

The decal set included black stickers for bumper guards but their shape is so convoluted that I was concerned about them laying flat so I've opted to paint them instead.  I used the body's protective cover as a mask and it worked great.

 

I'm very happy with the build so far.

On to the LED's.

[middleagedgrup]

Oh my, that's a good looking car! Top work - looking sharp. 😎

[BuggyDad]

Wow. That's pretty! 

[IXLR8]

1 hour ago, BuggyDad said:

Wow. That's pretty! 

 

1 hour ago, middleagedgrup said:

Oh my, that's a good looking car! Top work - looking sharp. 😎

Thanks so much.  Designing and building this car was interesting and a lot of fun as well. 

I know from photos that this car had BBS mesh wheels but I might actually prefer the look of 5-spoke wheels.  Maybe it's because they color-match the body - not sure.

Anyway, LED's have been installed...

I'm planning to drive the car in the next few days so I'll post my driving reactions next.

 

[BuggyDad]

Looks epic. What are those tyres on the mesh wheels? Are they foam? 

[IXLR8]

33 minutes ago, BuggyDad said:

Looks epic. What are those tyres on the mesh wheels? Are they foam? 

Thanks again.

They are Tamiya's Racing Slicks (front: 50454, rear: 50547) and I have two sets.  They're rubber but a bit hard - the rears are slightly softer than fronts.  I have no experience running slicks so not sure how well they will work for me.  We shall see. 

[Re-Bugged]

A real peach of a Porsche 👍🏻
It sure looks the business, fantastic work on the chassis as well, enjoy the maiden run 😎

[IXLR8]

Driving impressions:

So far, I’ve ran the car on three different surfaces and my initial impressions were that handling seems very well balanced overall.  The first run came on my concrete driveway – very high grip.  Handling during off-throttle corner entry was neutral and I was able to begin applying throttle at mid-corner without a problem.  Too much throttle applied earlier would result in some understeer but it seemed easy to control.  Again, this is a very high grip surface so I wanted to move onto something that provided a bit more challenge.

The next run came on the church parking lot which has been sealed and, on the day, was a little dusty.   Again, off-throttle corner entry was very neutral but applying throttle in the corner usually resulted in a spin.  It was very slippy and the car was difficult to drive fast on this surface.  Suspension settings at this point remained at approximately 1 degree camber angle and zero degree toe angle front and rear.  After a run, motor temperature was only warm so it probably could use a larger pinion.  I replaced the 19t pinion with a 20t so final drive ratio is 7.28:1 and I feel that straight line speed is very good.  However, that Reedy Radon motor is a bit of a sledgehammer and this surface was begging for something with less punch.

The final run came at the tennis court, running mostly big sweeping figure eights on one side of four adjacent courts. 

Grip here was much better than the parking lot but nothing like the concrete driveway.  Before the run, I removed 2 shims (washers) at the rear arm pivots which affectively increased toe angle to 2 degrees.  As before, corner entry handling was very neutral (even with partial throttle) but this time I was able to begin applying throttle early and exit the corner at full throttle.  If I pushed too hard, the tail would step out and if I was slow to react, this resulted in a spin.  It wasn’t abrupt and I could feel the spin coming and react accordingly but it did catch me out a few times.  I ran two 40-minute stents playing with partial on-throttle corner entry and how early I could begin to pick up the throttle before exiting the corner.   I didn’t count laps but I reckon there were well over 1 hundred and I managed to spin the car 5 or 6 times in total.  All of those spins came at corner exit and at the same place so perhaps that surface had less grip than other parts of the courts.

Next, I’ll bring some corner markers to the tennis courts and layout a course so I can work on braking. 

Overall, the car is tremendous fun to drive.  My biggest disappointment came when ESC’s low-voltage protection hit and I needed to stop to change the battery.   

 

 

[Re-Bugged]

Nice, sounds like a great success 👍🏻

[IXLR8]

15 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

Nice, sounds like a great success 👍🏻

Thanks.

It's far from perfect; even the basic TT-02 will be faster through the turns.

However, driving this car provides a challenge and that makes me smile so I'd call it a success.