Re: Thimble Drome Champion

sdjjadk Wed Jun 25, 2014 9:30 pm

crankbndr wrote:I think these and some other car engine had a large journal crank and case, the flywheel is pressed on the splined crank.
I didn't tear it down that far to know for sure, I have other car engines with large crank and the crankcase goose neck is much larger than normal and the front of the crank is angled instead of splined
to fit on a angled flywheel hole. I'll see if I can find some pics of those.

Out of the cars I own /owned, the Funny Cars as well as the worm gear driven cars like the Dune Buggy etc.. were the only ones with the beveled crank. The rest of them had / have splined cranks but all of them had / have the large journal crankcase.
Also, here are some pics of the crankcase and beveled crank.

Shawn

crankbndr Sat Jun 28, 2014 8:25 am

To paint the front axle holders I tried Dupli-color adhesion promoter for plastic and it worked very well right over the chrome.
First the adhesion promoter then light primer coat then color then clear, they came out nice. Not fuel proof though. I also used it to paint the seat black.
I also found a like new set of front wheels and tires.

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Thimble Drome Champion - Page 4 Screen83

crankbndr Fri Jul 04, 2014 11:25 am

It took a while to get the reproduction stickers from Down Under and they are very hard to work with but I was able to finish the Eagle.
Nice ones sell for three to four hundred on eBay and a NIB, forgetaboutit.
Going to toast the 4th with my favorite American beer, this Yuenglings for you!!

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crankbndr Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:07 pm

Ive wanted an early issue Cox Prop rod for a while now, it was the first Cox toy I had and we ran the crap out of in the street.
This one came along so I got it, it came with a new red nacelle and the Bee is like new. When I broke it down found out the red nacelle is for a later issue Rod.
The blue one is mounted differently and glued on, wow, going to have to remove the blue one by cutting, grinding, sanding, filing OH MY!
The two nacelles look to be the same shape, the red mount needs a red tank Space Bug Jr to go with it.

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crankbndr Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:10 pm

The cockpit is like new

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crankbndr Thu Oct 09, 2014 4:14 pm

A quick rub down with Goof Off and some Novus #2 on the nose shows the yellow body will shine once again

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dckrsn Thu Oct 09, 2014 6:29 pm

Yikes! That is going to be a beauty of a prop-rod.
That red nacelle is going to look sweet.
Nice score. Beer Cheers

Keep us posted on the progress.
Bob

crankbndr Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:47 pm

The blue nacelle is really glued well, no give at all, took it down this far with a belt sander. If i make a mistake now the body will be toast.

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crankbndr Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:49 pm

The wheels and tires cleaned up well though

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crankbndr Sun Oct 12, 2014 7:58 am

I found a nice Space Bug Jr. to go on the Rod, I haven't worked with any of these older cast cases, what is a good way to brighten them up?

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batjac Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:49 pm

crankbndr wrote:what is a good way to brighten them up?

Flowers and a box of chocolates works well....

**Cribbs74** Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:06 pm

Ian has a method he uses on those old cases. His turn out flawless. Maybe he will see this and post if not, shoot him a PM.

Ron

crankbndr Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:23 pm

Thanks guys, I'll try searching the archives and see, should have done that anyway.

crankbndr Sun Oct 12, 2014 4:27 pm

batjac wrote:
crankbndr wrote:what is a good way to brighten them up?

Flowers and a box of chocolates works well....

I been wondering about you avatar, I've seen it before but can't place it. Looked through all my old papers, its pretty cool, where is it?

dckrsn Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:41 pm

crankbndr wrote:
batjac wrote:
crankbndr wrote:what is a good way to brighten them up?

Flowers and a box of chocolates works well....

I been wondering about you avatar, I've seen it before but can't place it. Looked through all my old papers, its pretty cool, where is it?

In the mean time, this ones from KustomKraftmanship's instruction pages. 1987
Bob

Thimble Drome Champion - Page 4 Kk_shi10

crankbndr Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:45 pm

dckrsn wrote:
crankbndr wrote:
batjac wrote:
crankbndr wrote:what is a good way to brighten them up?

Flowers and a box of chocolates works well....

I been wondering about you avatar, I've seen it before but can't place it. Looked through all my old papers, its pretty cool, where is it?
In the mean time, this ones from KustomKraftmanship's instruction pages. 1987
Bob

Hey thats a cool one too, I'm going to save it, thanks!

crankbndr Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:54 pm

It took many hours to fit the nacelle to the body, I used Ians good advice, "be patient do not rush". I worked on the fit for a short time then set it aside then come back later.
If not I would have rushed, got frustrated and botched it up. The nacelle fit is factory and the body is almost done.

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**Cribbs74** Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:17 pm

Looks brand new. Great work.

crankbndr Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:12 pm

Cribbs74 wrote:Looks brand new. Great work.

Ian must have seen your post because he sent me his methods for restoring the Thimble Drome cast cases, I think he is a master at engine restoration and using his advice will work on the Space Bug Jr. next. Shout out of thanks to Ian!!

crankbndr Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:01 pm

I got the Space bug Jr. cleaned and mounted up, using Ians advice and methods I still could not reproduce his results on the engine.
The new nacelle came with factory screws, good thing as Ive had trouble in the past trying to use different screws on Cox models.
The body is done, now to work on the pan.

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1/2A Nut Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:05 pm

Do you know the pitch of the red prop I have a few but couldnt tell the pitch. Huh...

crankbndr Wed Oct 22, 2014 3:37 pm

The prop I have is a 5/3, I forgot the maker name but the logo on the blade is a K with a sunburst and on the other is a R with a sunburst.
They came with early Cox engines, I need a white 6/3 for the Prop Rod. Got my eye out for one on eBay. There is a guy that repros the white one.

On closer look both logos are same K, from Marks site the maker is Kay-Sun

crankbndr Thu Oct 23, 2014 5:27 pm

Like the castings for the Champion car the Prop Rods pan was a little rough around the edges so I filed of the edges and started sanding with 600, 1000, 2000 wet or dry on the whole pan.
Finished it off with a metal polish and the two halves a ready to mate.

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Davenz13 Thu Oct 23, 2014 11:17 pm

Man that is looking real nice.
I have never seen Goof Off or Novus products here although we have a Novus windscreen replacement and repair company.
Can you tell me who makes those products and I'll see if I can hunt some down. Those and your meticulous work sure do a nice job Thumbs Up

crankbndr Fri Oct 24, 2014 6:56 am

After seeing your question I did a little digging, the bottle of Goof Off 2 I have is about eight years old and no longer available (I should have bought a case).
The closest I can find that is safe on plastic is Goof Off Heavy Duty, it's a different formula and looks like it's hard to ship out of the US. The old formula was combustable and would kill you if you live in California.

http://www.goofoffproducts.com/product/heavy-duty-remover

Thimble Drome Champion - Page 4 Goof_o10

Novus is sold on eBay and Amazon and should have less shipping problems

http://www.novuspolish.com
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R1.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xnovus&_nkw=novus+plastic+polish&_sacat=0

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