Showing posts with label Touring Cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Touring Cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Swap Shop - Renault Megane Trophy
In 2011 Hot Wheels added the Renault Megan Trophy to their ranks. A race version of the Megane RS, the Megane Trophy was built to take on the Renault Eurocup, though it has also been spotted on the touring car circuit as well as the Toyo Tires 24 Hour in Dubai. As the track is the natural setting for the Megane Trophy I decided to throw on some high performance wheels and tires. Pretty sweet!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Hammering down the Fast FeLion
Introduced in 2009, the Fast FeLion quickly became one of my favorite castings. With modern styling that heralds the famous Jaguar E-type it is not hard to appreciate the Fast FeLions sleek, aggressive beauty. Who would expect anything less from designer Fraser Campbell, the man behind other favorites such as Fish'd & Chip'd, La Fasta, and the Fast Fish.
I have always liked road racing, so one day I got the idea that I would try to make a Touring Car version of the Fast FeLion. The first place I looked to start was a nice big spoiler. This presented a bit of a problem for me, as I haven't tried anything as ambitious as this before. And to tell you the truth I was a bit nervous about ruining my casting. I know they only cost a dollar, but hey, it's my neurosis. Anyway, after a bit of sifting, I felt I had found a donor car with the perfect wing, the Nerve Hammer.
I quickly set about dissecting both cars. After sizing up where I wanted the wing located, I took some masking tape and marked off where the holes for the posts would go. Then came the fun/nerve-racking part. I unboxed my Dremel, loaded up the 191 High Speed Cutter, donned eye and ear protection and set about cutting away material from the inside of the casting. I was careful to stay in the area I had masked off, only taking a small amount of material at a time. It is important to use the top speed on the Dremel to prevent 'zinging' the casting or worse, your hand.
After a few minutes of patient cutting I began to get small convex divots on the outside of the casting. At this point I switched over to my hobby knife to perforate the divots and open up the new holes. After a test fit it was clear that the holes were not quite big enough, which is good because I still needed to square them up. I went manual with a triangle file to finish up the opening, going slowly, and test fitting frequently. Once I was done with the casting I made some modifications to the plastic interior to hold the spoiler posts. I then reassembled the car, added a couple of machine screws and viola!
Phase one is now complete and I could not be more pleased with the result. Next on the order: a nice big air dam.
I have always liked road racing, so one day I got the idea that I would try to make a Touring Car version of the Fast FeLion. The first place I looked to start was a nice big spoiler. This presented a bit of a problem for me, as I haven't tried anything as ambitious as this before. And to tell you the truth I was a bit nervous about ruining my casting. I know they only cost a dollar, but hey, it's my neurosis. Anyway, after a bit of sifting, I felt I had found a donor car with the perfect wing, the Nerve Hammer.
I quickly set about dissecting both cars. After sizing up where I wanted the wing located, I took some masking tape and marked off where the holes for the posts would go. Then came the fun/nerve-racking part. I unboxed my Dremel, loaded up the 191 High Speed Cutter, donned eye and ear protection and set about cutting away material from the inside of the casting. I was careful to stay in the area I had masked off, only taking a small amount of material at a time. It is important to use the top speed on the Dremel to prevent 'zinging' the casting or worse, your hand.
After a few minutes of patient cutting I began to get small convex divots on the outside of the casting. At this point I switched over to my hobby knife to perforate the divots and open up the new holes. After a test fit it was clear that the holes were not quite big enough, which is good because I still needed to square them up. I went manual with a triangle file to finish up the opening, going slowly, and test fitting frequently. Once I was done with the casting I made some modifications to the plastic interior to hold the spoiler posts. I then reassembled the car, added a couple of machine screws and viola!
Phase one is now complete and I could not be more pleased with the result. Next on the order: a nice big air dam.
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