Further progress has been made on the Explorer's suspension. I got a set of the purple springs for the Revo, which are the hardest springs they make, but unfortunately they were still unable to take the massive weight of the body without instantly drooping to the deck. It has taken a long time to mull over the solution to the problem. I found a set of springs at the hardware store which were of the correct inside diameter of 7/8ths of an inch and made of larger diameter wire and were much stiffer than the purple springs (tested by squeezing between the fingers, not very scientific but its all I got).
I cut them in half with a dremel cut off wheel as they were too long. Then whilst holding securely in a vice, heated the last turn of the coil at the cut end with a gas torch till cherry red and hit it gently with a hammer to square off the end. This roughly squared end was further squared up on a disk sander. the final length comes out just long enough to enable full compression of the suspension before the springs coils fully touch each other. I disassembled the old springs mounted my new mega stiff springs, mounted the body and... it sank into the swamp, ...er drooped to the deck but only just.
I still need more spring power, I could add another set of shocks... that idea was considered but rejected on the grounds of complexity. The inboard shock system of the Revo makes this rather difficult, there being no standard shock towers. The solution came to me after flexing the suspension over and over thinking about the problem. I had a look through an old box of assorted springs I have had for years. Along with the usual compression type there was also an assortment of expansion springs and there some of considerable length and stiffness. Attached from the rocker arm to a point at the end of the top arm, as shown in the photos, they work providing just that extra support needed, no more droop.
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| Spring unexpanded, suspension uncompressed. |
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| Spring expanded, suspension compressed. |
A start was also made on the hull skin panelling. Some grey primer to see if it is working and some spot putty to fill some seams.
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.
This model looks fantastic. I've never thought about doing this kind of thing before but the attention to detail and how you've creatively recycled so many things really makes it special, and make me want to give it a go. Things like this make you start looking at your surroundings and everyday objects in a new light, not for what they are, but for what they could also be. Great stuff, I look forward to seeing more! :) Lee
ReplyDeleteThanks Lee I appreciate your comments and encourage you to have a crack at it.
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