TOPIC:

Aaaargh the suspence is killing me...

Undercowl coming right up...
First some more details of the reinforcement - after sanding :


Almost right, only a minimal amount of extra putty needed (and glossy paint of course) :


And now for the undercowl!
I wanted to paint this to run the FRP chassis so I made a bit of an experiment from it.
A MkI TBG isn't a fantastic quality item so trying out some stuff can't hurt...
First up - how much can I sand it before it starts showing after paint?


Maximum 600 dry sanding paper I think... inside smoothens out :


Outside looked pretty good too after a first glance :


It might have actually been better if I stopped at this point.
But then I noticed some scratching...
So I put the undercowl in DOT4 and did some finer sanding :


Only to find out the inside was fine and the scratches I had seen were mostly "natural" lines on the outside.
Still I cannot stand something like this so I sanded the outside up to 1500 wet :


Still needs a polish. I think I've found the perfect stuff for that...
It's quite affordable but shipping's just a female dog.
No other real source to get this outside the US as far as I've seen.



Anywho, you can even see how much the undercowl shrunk - leaving a second imprint of the holes.
So I may just spray the outside... and put it on this bathtub!
Tapping some thread into the otherwise unused holes would do the job :


I'll only do that on the front. I'll fill up the rear holes and use velcro there so I still have battery access.

What you need is a Tardis, will save you a lot of hassle with experiments like this

Maybe I could borrow your Evo for that...
In a way, this experiment is the next project's time machine.
Best to try stuff out on items that are imperfect to begin with.

Second round of putty for finer smoothening :


Now it's at a level I can find acceptable - you gotta either know or have a really good look to spot that it's been altered.

Some more work done on the undercowl too - reinforced alu tape to cover up the holes :


Filling it up with resin on the other side :


Then sanding... and since I didn't really get it smooth (poored on too much and need epoxy), some putty for the finish :


More sanding :


Still not that smooth :


But I won't go the extra mile here because it is actually there to get damaged instead of the chassis itself.
Here's the inside painted after I did the bits of tape with permanent marker first :


Maybe I'll rough up the surface next time as well because paint doesn't stick that well on it...

I went looking for some more self adhesive velcro (at "Blokker") but they don't carry that stuff permanently.
I'll have to find some for attaching one side of the undercowl to the chassis.

Soon a last post in this topic with the steering parts and undercowl on!
Then I'll move the story back to the "customization quest".

Okay, a bit of a bump in the road...
The step screws used on a bathtub chassis are 3mm and I've been using 4mm here so they fit the bearings in the steering.
Disassembling a few times has eroded the threads, giving the screws too much room to wiggle.
So I think I'm gonna have to fill them up with molten bits of a sprue tree and redo the threads.
A new terrain of restoring for myself...

How about trying to fix the thread with something like a HeliCoil?

Thanks, that's the term I needed. We're even on the "Pokemonish".
Something like that was the first thing that popped into my mind but it was too vague to go on a search...
I will now though! Seems like just the solid mech approach I'd strive for.

Edit - I only hope the bit of plastic is big enough to fit it...
Otherwise I'll have to see if 840 bearings exist at all.

Hey guys, do you read this ad the same as I do?

Inner diameter is 4mm
Total width 5.4mm
Length 8.1mm 6mm



Thanks!

Btw - 840s do exist but they're half a mm thicker, which will give all kinds of new trouble...