We have some R/C stuff going on, or soon will be.
I FINALLY got the Pandora Celica XX clear body I ordered, along with some wheels that look "kinda-sorta" like the ones I have on Ms Swan.
Imagine this in white, without the crazy negative camber on the wheels, and not lowered so far.
Body still in box.
And the rims.
These were as close as I could get to the rims on my "1:1 Scale" out in the garage, and while they're not very much like the ones I have, they are "period correct", so they'll do.
These are what's on the "real" car now.
This will probably be a winter project, except for masking it and painting it, which has to be done in a WELL ventilated area, and by changing the body and wheels/tires on my little Trans Am car, I can run in a different class to get more "seat time". I'm typically a bit better than "middle-of-the-pack" when I'm racing the little car, which is about where I expected to be. These old eyes and reflexes can't keep up with The Kids, but I've surprised a few people with some of the moves I've done (pulled?) out on the track. Hey, one of the Rules of Racing is that if you see an opening, that will advance you, go for it!
And I've been really good at avoiding pile-ups, which happen occasionally.
Still tinkering on the "Speed Run" car, and should have that one ready to go back out in a week or so. Had some "issues" getting the correct "bullet connectors" for the power wiring, and had to modify the chassis a bit to fit the new speed controller. I was really hesitant to take it out and let it rip because the brakes on the speed controller I started with were soooo bad. Even going into the set-up menu and turning the braking force to the maximum (only 50%) didn't help much. The new controller is a high-end model from Castle Creations, about the best you can get (and Made In America!!), and has much, much more adjustability, up to 100%, which generally locks the wheels, so some experimentation is required.
And the new truck is very, very nice. Great ride, brakes, handling, good stereo, and so far (with 255 miles on it) we're averaging 20MPG, better than my Jeep which was doing about 15MPG. Our insurance went up a whopping Twenty-Eight dollars, which really surprised me, as I thought it would go up enough to maybe add another zero to that figure, but nope.
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Happy to hear the pickup is working out!
ReplyDeleteI'm tempted to say (at this point) it's nicer than my Jeep was when new. It rides a bit stiff, but takes bumps and bad pavement like they're almost not there. Really well-controlled, well-damped suspension.
DeleteGot my "Bullring" cargo tie-downs today. I'll hold-off putting them in until I talk to the bedliner guys. The other plugs snapped into the bed are round ones for securing an overhead/pipe rack, and since we'll never do that, I'll have them leave those plugs in when the spray the bed.
Take a good look at the fasteners for your time downs. Pops got himself a nice set of similar tiedowns and discovered that the fasteners were not up to the same spec as the rings when they let go as he was tightening the ratchet strap. From the pics I saw they were pure Chinesium. He ended up replacing them all with some domestic stuff sourced from Fastenal.
ReplyDeleteThese look to have good quality hardware. They're held in with one, large (1/4-20?), Phillips head screw.
DeleteWhich reminds me.....I still have to watch the installation video. The "instruction sheet" that came with them had a web address, and nothing else!
So all around good news! :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah. It's a really nice truck, and so far (knock wood!) we're very happy with it.
DeleteHave to wait another couple of weeks to get the bedliner and tonneau installed, but as long as it's done before Winter sets in, we should be fine.