Armortek

Hi all.

Thanks to the prompt action of AT I have received my 4x4, No28 today. Work commitments mean we are not able to hang around all day for delivery slots at the moment, so thanks again AT.

I hope to start it over the summer Hols. My young apprentice seems keen to undertake the job, suitably supervised(growled at). Seriously, he enjoys Design Technology at school so what better a project that will be constructional and head scratching all in one. Not to mention the tedious cleaning and prepping jobs that are a must

First task tomorrow for the lad is to check all the pieces are present and correct.
And no, service humour apart, I spared him counting the tasteless wotsits, long stand, tartan paint etc

Cheers

Charles

Joking a part Charles, apprentices need to get the rip taken out of them, It sets them up for life's little hurdles. There will be many.
So being sent to the stores for a long weight or new bubble for the spirit level is just par for the course.
And it'll keep the cheeky little b***ers in check too

Good evening all.

This is just pottering, to hot to do much. Therefore find shade, a beer(yes, its acceptable the other way round too) and something to look at. What better than an AT kit?

Just a dry fit at this stage, cleaned up the m4 threads and it bolted together nicely, and its square as well

The apprentice can take it apart, sand it, clean/degrease it and prime it. It will need a little more countersinking, for filled around the chassis. That's all for now folks.

Charles

Hi Folks.
La'al update.

Cleaned up the chassis. A bit more countersinking, decreasing and etch primer and get rid of those buttons at the front end:-
Plan is to get the chassis together and fit motion pack, after which we will see if it all works before continuing with the build.

One of the thoughts we have had is to build a fire engine version rather than a bog standard one. A challenge definitely, but maybe useful round the circuit, perhaps.

Cheers

Charles

Now your talking, short wheel base with a pump trailer or a cut and shut long wheel base like the one shown I used to drive round Castle Donnington Power Station, with blues and bells enjoying ourselves immensely. Generally looking after the coal sheds, office block, ground floor equipment and choo choo's.
Oh what fun we had with that old girl. Handled like jelly on a plate when fully laden with a full water tank. Not much better when it was empty.
The foam stank being made from mixing ox blood and water, but it was all good fun during training days.
Always nice to get the Xmas payment every year for being a site fireman too
Very dangerous job I might add, water and powerlines don't mix 132kv and 275kv. £50 quid a year single payment danger money.

I know you love em.

Sorry, there's an advert in there too for a Grenadier.

The very first Series 1, enjoy.

Hi all.

Cheers John for your input, I enjoyed that clip and will watch it fully tomorrow.

No Pictures today though, just filled and drilled chassis parts, I hope to post progress soon. One thing I would like to avoid is using those flaming button bolts.

I do have a cunning plan

Fingers crossed.

Have fun

Charles

Good evening all.

Hope all is well with everyone.

Pottered on further with No.28 today, surprising how long things take on a small model, but today:-
We'll soon have the wheels on and see how things look. Sorry about the quality of photos, still working with a new phone

Take care

Charles

Those chassis mods of yours looks really good. Smooth!

Certainly better than the BS that Richard Hammond and his mates tried to pull on that totally rebuilt 1st Series 1, (Advert for a Grenadier) Original part restoration, my bottom!
Total rebuild more like, with a "swamp thing" type weathering paint job.

Good evening all.

A la'al update ont no.28. I have been working on a dry build of the chassis, to explore options. To date we have constructed the axles and the leaf springs. The manual recommends taping or clamping the leaf springs together before assembly.

This week I mainly doing; brackets:-
This was followed by some dry assembly of the chassis:-
Axles in, wheels on:-
That's all for now folks. While its in this form we will look into the motor etc. Hope to get the chassis running, make sure all the R/C works.

Cheers for now.
Charles

Hi folks.

Interesting day, put the running gear together for the first(dry) fit. A small issue with the advised bearings, but as another set was available within the kit it worked out fine. The use of small PTO shafts is useful as adjustments are easily made, a kind of cut & shut.

We have made a short video that may help. We are happy so far, it may appear as "noisy" on the video but to the human ear metal on metal without snagging. BTW the axles are greased.

I will strip it all down over the B/Hol. weekend, sort the motor and have a go with power on and run it in for a bit.

Have a good evening and weekend, and as always we welcome constructive observations:-



Cheers Charles

Charles, excuse my ignorance, but what is a PTO shaft?

Vince

Hi Vince

Power Take Off (PTO) shaft. A shaft that connects a tractor or similar to an implement at the rear of the vehicle(although they are fitted to the front of tractors too). it consist of two telescopic parts, one male and one female.

The shafts are then cut to accommodate the distance between implement and the PTO drive on the tractor. I have had to do this a couple of times for our tractor and equipment. They also allow for the up and down movement of the implement while still attached to the tractor.

With L..dr...rs/Series 1 it should be a prop shaft, a solid length of tube connecting transfer box and front & rear axle.

So as a 1/6 version a PTO style fitting will more then make up for any slight inaccuracies during construction and operation I hope.

Cheers
Charles

Is the motion pack out for this? have i missed something?

Donald

Thanks for the info Charles.

Vince