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Building the S960 – Tips & Tricks – Part 1 (14/09/2005)
- By:
- Glenn M. Cauley
- Linked to:
- Serpent 960 1/8 scale 4WD
With the arrival of my new Serpent 960 kit, I eagerly set forth building this fine machine. Having built the front end of the car, I can tell you that the quality, fit, finish and ease-of-assembly are exceptional! It has been a very good build so far and I am very happy with it. A great job, Serpent!
In this article I describe some of the building tips and tricks that I have picked up over the years which have made for very well-built, smoothly-operating cars.
At the time I wrote this article, I have only built the front end of my S960. However, these tips and tricks still apply to building the rest of the car.
As an overall suggestion, remember to take your time and carefully prepare all parts for assembly. In the end, you will be surprised at how much better the build will go, and how well everything will operate.
PATIENCE is the key here. Sure you can "slap it together" quickly and the result will most likely be very good, or you can take your time and the result will be exceptional! To get the smoothest operation, be prepared to put things together, take them apart, make some adjustments, put them together again... and repeat, repeat, repeat. The rewards will definitely be worth the effort.
Here are some things to have on hand, or have access to:
• Metal polish paste (I use Mothers Mag & Aluminum Polish)
• Dry graphite powder lubricant
• WD-40
• Thin CA glue
• Motor spray
• Bearing oil
• Scotch-Brite™ scour pad (brown or green)
• Shop towels (paper towels)
• Cotton swabs
• Ziplock plastic sandwich bags
• Hairdryer (or heat gun - use caution)
• Drill press
• Mototool (Dremel™ or other)
• Pliers (needle-nose Visegrips® preferred)
• Black marker with wide chisel tip
• Safety glasses & gloves
Polishing the Metal Suspension Parts
Polish all metal suspension parts until they have a smooth mirror finish. This will help to ensure that the suspension operates smoothly with reduced chance of binding due to friction.
The following parts will benefit from polishing:
• Pivot balls (for suspension and turnbuckles)
• Pivot pins
• Anti-roll bar ends (ball exterior and cup interior)
The "before" and "after" pictures do not give justice to the way that the parts appear in person. There is a bright mirror finish on the parts after they have been final polished (with metal polish), and the movement after assembly is silky-smooth.
To polish a part, first clean the part with motor spray and a towel to remove oily coatings. Then mount the part in a drill press or mototool, and lightly tighten so as not to damage the surface. First polish with a Scotchbrite pad, then use metal polish with a shop towel (paper towel).
Polish the ball on the end of the male front anti-roll bar to a mirror finish.
To polish the inside of the female front anti-roll bar, mount the bar in a mototool, turn it on, then wedge a corner of the Scotchbrite pad inside the cup. For final polishing, use metal polish on a cotton swab.
Dry Graphite Powder Lubricant
When assembling the front steering blocks (with the polished pivot balls), after you insert the pivot ball into the steering block cavity, add a small amount of dry graphite powder lubricant inside the cavity and twist the pivot ball to distribute. Install the nylon cup and alu threaded plug and tighten carefully until all play is removed without binding the pivot ball.
The dry graphite lubricant gives good lubrication and smooth operation, and since it is dry it does not attract dirt like grease or oil would.
Turnbuckle Tuning
When assembling the turnbuckles, note that the plastic ball joints have different sides; one side has a molded dot and the hole on that side has a slightly larger diameter. Press the metal pivot balls into the side of the ball joint with the small molded dot.
After the pivot ball is pressed into the plastic ball joint, ensure the ball rotates freely. If it binds, use pliers to squeeze the sides of the ball joint in several places (squeezing towards the pivot ball). This will slightly loosen the fit of the ball joint, allowing the pivot ball to rotate freely.
Drive Belt Preparation
The three Kevlar drive belts are initially very stiff, but will loosen with use. A stiff drive belt reduces drivetrain efficiency.
To prepare the drive belts for use, put them in a Ziplock plastic sandwich bag and add WD-40. Let the belts soak in the WD-40 for several days. The WD-40 will cause the belts to soften slightly.
Using a Ziplock plastic bag is a safe practice, as WD40 evaporates and is very flammable. Just remember when you open the bag that the fumes will need to vent from the bag so do not hold your head over top of the bag.
Remember to thoroughly dry the belts before installation.
Clean and Lubricate Bearings
Make sure that all bearings are clean and lubricated before installation. It is much easier to do this before installation than after. The smaller, unsealed bearings in the S960 kit (e.g., steering servo saver bearings) should be cleaned and be lubricated with a drop of bearing oil.
Threadlock
Where indicated in the instruction manual, be apply an small amount of the threadlock.
Use only “removable strength” threadlock such as Loctite 242® “blue-grade.”
DO NOT use permanent threadlock such as Loctite 262® “red-grade.”
Graphite Part Preparation
Before installing any graphite parts (e.g., shock tower, radioplate, chassis stiffeners), prepare them by sealing the edges. There are many ways to do this, including rounding edges and wet sanding, but I prefer the “quicker” method for nitro cars.
1. Using a Scotchbrite pad, sand the edges of the graphite part. The idea is not to dramatically round off the edges, but rather to eliminate sharp edges.
2. Use a chisel-tip black marker to blacken the edges of the sanded graphite. (This is mostly just for good looks.)
3. Carefully seal all edges of the graphite with thin CA glue, applied with a cotton swab. Be careful not to let the CA get onto the surface of the graphite part or you will mar the surface.
Note that when you first dip the cotton swap in the CA, the cotton will start to smoke and emit strong fumes. Do not let these fumes get in your eyes!
Unbinding the Suspension
If the suspension is binding it may be due to any of the following:
• Bent parts
• Dirt in the parts
• Overtightened pivot balls
• Overly-thick spacers
• Misaligned suspension pin holes
With the new kit, the first 2 reasons can be eliminated.
OVERTIGHTENED PIVOT BALLS
It is a very common occurence to overtighten the pivot balls. When assembling the pivot balls in the steering blocks, tighten the alu plugs (covering the pivot balls) to remove all play while not binding the pivotball. It takes only a fraction of a twist of the alu plug to bind the pivot ball.
OVERLY-THICK SPACERS
In some cases, the clip-on spacers (for setting caster and wheelbase) may be slightly too thick and may cause the suspension arms to bind. If this happens, sand one end of a thick clip (4mm) until the binding is gone.
Note that this is NOT the case with the S960; all clips were of perfect size and did not cause any binding.
MISALIGNED SUSPENSION PIN HOLES
If all else has been checked and there is still binding, it may be caused by misaligned suspension pin holes in the brackets or bulkheads.
Sometimes when you insert a pivot pin through holes in a molded bracket or bulkhead, the holes may not be absolutely perfectly aligned... just enough to cause a bit of binding. This may be due to extremely slight shrinkage or movement of the bulkhead during cooling after the molding process. It does not happen very often, and certainly occurs less on the S960 than other kits I have built.
What you need to do is "relax" the plastic bulkhead slightly so that the pin holes will once again align themselves, relieving pressure on the pin and freeing it up.
How to do this? Gentle heat.
Assemble the parts, and then aim a hairdryer (on high heat) at the parts of the bulkhead where the pin passes through. Manually move the suspension arm up and down. When the plastic warms up, the holes should re-align and the suspension movement will suddenly become very smooth and bind-free!
You can use a heat gun if you don't have a hairdryer handy, but be VERY careful... you don't want to melt any parts!
Installing Optional Parts
Before you begin your build, and especially before you start an assembly step, collect all the parts that you plan to install. Get everything ready before assembly, so you avoid having to disassemble parts to install optional parts.
Open only the parts bags you will need to complete an assembly step, and put the parts aside in a tray.
During the assembly of the front of my S960, here are some of the things that I had planned to install in the front end (aside from the stock parts):
• Aluminum middle block (808251)
• Aluminum middle shaft coated (902253)
• Front CVD axle set (902280)
• Titanium steering turnbuckles (902129)
• Servo saver spring 2.2 black (902139)
• Alloy steel flathead M4 screws with Allen sockets (replacing the stock Philips head screws)
• Servo saver horn #2 (as opposed to horn #1 as indicated in the instructions)
When installing optional parts, make sure that all parts fit together properly and operate properly.
More To Follow
In Part 2 of this article
(http://www.mytsn.com/publ/publ.asp?pid=11411)
I will write about assembling the rear end of the car, including more tips and tricks or anything noteworthy about the assembly.
The tips & tricks I describe here will apply to the assembly of the entire car, not just the front end.
Stay tuned!
IMPORTANT NOTE!
When you are using power tools (drill press or mototool), you MUST exercise extreme caution, and use proper protective eyewear and gloves. NO loose clothing around power tools, either! It only takes a momentary lapse in concentration to receive an injury or damage a part.
Start polishing with Scotchbrite pad
Finish polishing with metal polish and towel
Polish inside and outside of front anti-roll bar ends
Completed front end
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