Lockdown is now easing so I was able to get back to do a bit of racing. At the moment I’m gently getting back into it so booked in to a loca...
Lockdown is now easing so I was able to get back to do a bit of racing. At the moment I’m gently getting back into it so booked in to a local club that races in a car park. It’s a great friendly pace, and very laid back. Ideal to try to get my eye in and blow some cobwebs of my racing thumbs that have seen very little action.
As the surface is not a prepped race track I decided to run a very old TRF417 that has had a hard life before I picked it up. It’s used to test electrics etc in the street, or any in prepped surface and is more of a basher than a race car.
Anyone that knows me is aware that I can be a bit lapse at prep. My TRF's have always been consistent and quick, especially when it comes to running at local clubs. I usually have a set-up that works well and leave things as they are. I'm not one to constantly rebuild diffs / shocks at the race track, and in reality I don't even do it between club meetings unless something has broken. This obviously changes when at large race events, but it really is a bit of a weak spot.
This came to bite me quite hard. The chassis I have been running is an old TRF417 that I picked up years ago as a (well) used non-runner. I did the minimum to repair it and it is just the chassis I would use if I want to run a car on an non race prepped surface (Such as a carpark, or just on the street).
I had started to strip it down last year, as I was aware that I would be running on a carpark track. Although once it was stripped down, I just never returned to it as we basically stayed in lockdown all year here in the north.
So when it looked like racing was about to start on the new carpark track that a local club had organised, I dug it out and quickly rebuilt it. This was easier said than done as I seem to have mislaid several parts including the bottom deck 😱 After a couple of days raiding my many spares I found parts and hastily assembled the chassis in the early morning before the event.
As I hadn't rebuilt or checked anything I was unaware that the rear gear diff was shot. After many years of hard use the pin had worn the bevel gears and the diff was a mess. occasionally locking and other times slipping.. The problem was that the intermittent diff issue and the combination of very low grip and rusty thumbs also made it quite hard to isolate. I didn't really find out until just before the final, and there was no time to swap it out.
It was all in all a very busy day, I couldn't quite get on top of the set-up. I will put this down to the extreme weather, not having the right additive, feeling a bit delicate from the night before and it was just so cold I was shaking when trying to wrench.. .
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| No rain.. just snow!!! |
Despite the difficulties at the track It was so good to get out and race with buddies after all this time. It just reminds me how much I bloody love racing,
Hopefully the next time I will have more luck and will give the chassis a good service.
#Tamiya #Tamiyarc #Thercracer
