2005 Model

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Hello,
I have been working on my model on and off for some time. The build stalled lately due to a move for a new job. I've got my workshop set up again so I'll be back at it soon. In the meantime this thread will get things caught up to date.

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Bending new pannier floors out of aluminum.

Transfer punching holes from the original steel parts.

Drilling and countersinking.

Right side installed.

Mounting brackets installed on right sponson side.

Clamped up and aligned for match drilling through the brackets to the pannier floors.

Underside views of the new parts installed.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

More pictures of the hull build.

Installing support beams for the hull deck and turret.

Next are pictures of the mods to the rear armor plate. I never could have done this work without Roland Mann's excellent drawings.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Hull build continued.

This photo is where I was test fitting the original steel deck. Notice the gap resulting from modifying the aft hull plate.

Originally I planned to rivet the deck plates together but I ended up going with counter sunk machine screws and nuts.

Some of the cast parts will need sanding and or epoxy build or both, but overall they fit nicely.

Transfer punching the left side beam for Oilite bearings.

[Peter Silcock]

Thats really fine model engineering Carlos. Boy I wish I had your skills!

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Thank you for your kind words Peter.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Bearing/Suspension Beams.

First I heated the beam then pressed the oilite bearings that were shrunk with CO2 ice. The last step was to press below flush and center the bearing in the beam with a shim stock disc.

Drilling and reaming the bearing bores.

Practice counter boring for the hull side o-ring seats. I consulted with Mark and studied at length on the bore dimensions and o-ring size.

[Adrian Harris]

Great work re-manufacturing these parts from scratch

I must admit I just got a new aluminium floor and side bars from Gill

Have you thought of incorporating the adjustable torsion bar system, whilst you're making these parts ?

Adrian.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Hello Adrian, Thank you very much. Congratulations on your new parts. Please post re-fit photos. I've definitely been thinking about the adjustable torsion bars ever since Mark first rolled them out. Primarily I was too far along with the build and I still have a lot of work ahead.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Hull Floor.

Test fitting new floor. Note the original steel floor.

I increased the setback distance and added a fourth fastener on the forward hull plate. The hole locations were marked using blind hole transfer punches.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Swing Arms and Torsion Bars.

One of my outstanding machinist mentor/friends fabricated steel swing arms for me several years ago (Vince Abbott inspired).

Setting swing arm angles for torsion bar flat grinding. I went with 33 and 35 degrees.

I ground the flats very carefully to avoid excessive heat which can ruin the temper of spring steel. Also, the setup was covered in plastic kitchen wrap (omitted for clarity) to protect the machinery against abrasive grit dust.

[simon_manning]

very nice work carlos, an interesting build, regards simon manning.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Thank you very much for your compliment Simon.

[Carlos Vollenweider]

Road Wheels.

I had the original wheel assemblies modified several years ago by Pete Fertel. One thing I failed to send along for the mod were the axle end caps so I turned them on the lathe. The height of each end cap had to be cut so as not to interfere on each wheel hub cap while maintaining a minimum gap.

End milling the residual material left by the relief angle on the lathe parting tool.

I bonded the tires using Pliobond. It's not the most modern product but it has a very long open time and I've been using it for years with excellent results.