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RC LowriderTrurning your model car into a remote control cruiser. From the November, 2010 issue of Lowriderbike Author: Rene Vargas Illustrators: Rene Vargas
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 Notice the distance between...  Notice the distance between the wheelwells from the car that came with the Kyosho remote control kit and our El Camino. The distances are very noticeable, the '59 is almost an inch and a half bigger than the Nissan Skyline.  Notice how big the frame of...  Notice how big the frame of the remote control car is, it's only about 5 inches long. This means that we have a lot of minor adjustments and a few bits of construction to do. As our Spring 2001 issue comes out, we decided to do some serious model business. David Anthony Garcia of Drag-N-Shop in Santa Fe Springs, California, and I looked around for the best stuff and came up with this tech. Actually, we stumbled upon this tech while looking over the stock at our local Hobby Shack. Hobby Shack carries the Kyosho 1/25-scale RC car, which we thought would be a good tech piece when combined with a lowrider model. David and I quickly headed back to the Drag-N-Shop and got started on the tech. We took a long look at the Kyosho RC car and studied it very carefully before doing anything to it. Looking it over until our heads could no longer take it, we made sure that everything would bolt up. As we got to work, we noticed a lot of little things, the first of which was that we wanted to use spoke rims and not the stock five-stars. The second involved how we were going to place our '59 Chevy El Camino body onto the RC frame. We took note of both problems, knowing that there would be some serious engineering to be done when we got to the rims and body. So sit back and relax, take some notes on what to do and highlight the stuff that would be confusing for you as we start another cool model tech for all of you serious model builders. So if you like this tech, give us some feedback. We're always interested in what our readers have to say and we're always looking for good tech ideas.  The first step for David Anthony...  The first step for David Anthony Garcia was to take apart the wiring system of the remote car, as well as the adjustable lower bracket.  David measured the thickness...  David measured the thickness of the piece, which was 3/8th of an inch, in order to duplicate the center.  David then moved on to cutting...  David then moved on to cutting the 3/8-inch thick and 21/2 inches long piece out of plastic.  David's next step was to glue...  David's next step was to glue the pieces together giving the rear those extra-added inches that it needed. It would be best if you use one solid piece of plastic to ensure extra added strength.  David thought that it would...  David thought that it would be good to add a support bar out of metal, shaped as a "U."  We used a lot of glue in order...  We used a lot of glue in order to hold the two pieces together properly. Like we said, it's better to use one piece of plastic for best results.  We thought that it would be...  We thought that it would be cool to add a rear shock to the back of the car. Sorry we didn't show you how to put it on, but when you buy the shock it comes with detailed instructions. We did do one thing that wasn't shown in the instructions; we made a rear metal pole in order for the shock system to work properly.  The next step is a tricky...  The next step is a tricky one. David Anthony grabbed his soldering iron, heated it up and made sure that it was hot enough before he removed the ground and power wire. He then heated up the solder, so that it would melt and make it easier to remove the wires.  Next we carefully solder the...  Next we carefully solder the wires back on, after making the wires a few inches longer. Make sure that you don't place the wires on the wrong post (positive and negative).  We were almost done with the...  We were almost done with the frame, all we had to do was connect the wires to the server.  We thought that it would be...  We thought that it would be cool to add some spoke rims to our RC car, but it would be a lot of work. The first thing that David did to ensure this step was to remove the bearing from the original wheel.  As you can see, David marked...  As you can see, David marked where we were going to cut up the rim.  Using a small dremel bit,...  Using a small dremel bit, David carefully removes all of the unwanted material in order for our little project to work. Remember, don't go too deep because you might go through the spokes, and also don't try to go too close to the edge, because then the bearing will fall out or you might mess up the rim.  David now carefully places...  David now carefully places the bearing in its proper place, using a pair of tweezers.  Now we had to make some spacers....  Now we had to make some spacers. David used some plastic pipe lying around the shop. There's no specs, as long as the rim can be placed on properly without too much wiggling, and as long as the plastic pipe fits around the spindle, you're fine.  We wanted the full effect...  We wanted the full effect of the Dayton, so we wanted to use the knock-off. So what David did was drill a smaller hole than the spindle as you can see. The smaller hole will enable you to thread the knock-off on (almost like a real Dayton).  David carefully thread the...  David carefully thread the knock-off on to the spindle, making sure to not to over-tighten the knock-off because it might break.  The real hard part came when...  The real hard part came when we got to the rear rim. We sat there and pondered for a while, and finally it hit us that we needed to cut out the center of the rear rim.  Once removing the center of...  Once removing the center of the rim, David rounded off the hook-up by sanding. This allowed us to glue it to the back of the Dayton.  Finally we were on the home...  Finally we were on the home stretch. David sanded the back of the rim flat. This allowed us to glue the original piece of the rim to the back of the Dayton.  Check out our finished frame,...  Check out our finished frame, now we move onto our body.  The first step that we took...  The first step that we took for the body was to remove the firewall and fenders with the dremel tool. We used the round cutter bit.  You should only remove the...  You should only remove the fenders and firewall as pictured, this will allow you to sit the server in its proper place.  David thought that it would...  David thought that it would be a good idea to remove the back section as well. Doing this will allow the rear shock to set in place.  In order for the frame to...  In order for the frame to snap right into place, we had to trace the shape that needed to be cut out, check it out.  Use the same circular bit...  Use the same circular bit to cut out this piece. Try to get in as close as possible, and follow the line to its specs.  After cutting out the piece,...  After cutting out the piece, we needed to make sure that it would stay in place so we added two pieces of plastic that would hold the front of the frame in its proper place. If you skip this step your body won't be centered.  Next we removed the side body...  Next we removed the side body clips of the Skyline.  When we removed the body clips...  When we removed the body clips we placed them onto a piece of 1/4-inch thick plastic and the same width as the clips. After gluing, we had to cut the body clip of the piece of plastic. Do the same to the other side.  We placed the two body clips...  We placed the two body clips onto the frame, using pieces of tape to hold the body clips in place like so.  We used a lot of glue on the...  We used a lot of glue on the back of the body clips, and held them in place where they belong on the body of our El Camino and sprayed on the hardener when we thought that it was centered.  Check out all of the different...  Check out all of the different body styles that you can use. From our '59 El Camino to a '63 Chevy Impala to a Ford Explorer, this frame can virtually go under any model. Use your imagination and see what you can come up with.
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