[chrisguyw]

I keep buying/building new stuff, and whenever I look around my work room, I am always staggered at the kits and part builds that I have to finish,..so,...an early News resolution is to build the stuff I have on hand, and not buy anything else....we will see how that goes..
 
In no particular order, I have decided on building a K&B lola T70 that I bought from epay likely more than 10 years ago. All the body bits are there and minty minty, but, the chassis was built (not well) and is missing a few bits,.....luckily, I have what I need.
 
Box contents..........
 

 
I started with the motor, which unlike the body, was , not minty.............
 

 
 
 
A good clean up.....comm true, static arm balance, magnets zapped, new brushes/springs, and, most importantly, I bored out the horrible molded in axle bushings on the motor case, and replaced them with some oilites,..............much better !!
I did use some neo "tweaker" magnets on both top/bottom motor plates,...this is a good quick fix for the older vintage magnets, but, just make sure you get the polarity correct !!
 
 

 
 
 
As far as the chassis, I did want to improve the handling, by adding some weight, and freezing the drop arm/adding adjustable guide height, while being able to revert the chassis to stock if the need arose.
 
So I used the many wheelbase holes on the chassis to bolt on some drilled brass strip, and then used some simple piano wire "L's" to attach the pans......much improved handling. without altering the stock chassis.
 
I did trim the top aluminum rails on the chassis so that I could lower the body just a touch,...not "slammed" but more in line with the actual car.
 
As far a freezing the drop arm/adjustable guide height,...there is a small hole on the stock chassis plate, and I only needed to drill a small hole in the drop arm and install a 2/56 nut bolt through both......spacers between drop arm/chassis plate work to set the ride height.
 

 
 
 
I did replace the rather sloppy original front nylon axle bushings with some 1/8 oilites.......and the sharp eyed among you will notice that front axle spacers are yet to be installed
 

 
 

 
So, I am pleased with how simple   the mods were, and look forward to its maiden run...........still a few bits to do on the chassis, and then on to the body
 
Happy New Year
 
Chris Walker

[Anthony B]

Outstanding Chris - like your idea on the bearings - I have 2 superbly built cars that have K&B Chassis - that I would like to tweak to get a bit more oomph out of the motors....so any advice welcome,

One of the cars I am referring to:

   

   

I picked up a collection years ago of parts and must have 20 new crown gears - but no matching pinions - any ideas on substitutes?

[chrisguyw]

Hello Anthony,.....trust you are well !!

There are a few simple  , things you can do to the motor to give it some help.

1/ Use tweaker magnets on the tops and bottoms of both motor plates (see my motor pic.)......this will help give the motor a touch more magnetic field strength, which is a good thing for these motors....just make sure you get the polarity correct

2/ You can remove the motor brush/spring retainer clips and clean both the brushes and the brush barrels, and slightly stretch the springs (10%), and reinstall.

3/ Boring out the stock plastic axle bushings and replacing them with some single flanged (1/8th) oilites will not only reduce friction, but, will also result in a much smoother/better handling car.

4/ Not sure what your car is currently geared at  (stock K&B's are generally 12 x 32 ), but, a 10T pinion with a 34T spur will also liven things up a bit, particularly for club type tracks. This combo will fit perfectly, and will have the same lash as the stock gear ratio.
Any 48 pitch pinion (.093 bore) will work just fine with the spur gears you have.....if you do not have one, they are relatively easy to find on ebay, and if all else fails, I will be happy to send you one. (I will not be able to send one until the end of March, as I am away from home, enjoying warmer weather).

5/ Not sure if you are contemplating doing much on the handling front ?,.....but the pans and freezing the drop arm do wonders. Freezing the drop arm with a machine screw is very quick and easy to do, and not only does it improve the handling greatly, it allows you (with spacers) to adjust the guide height for various tracks (raised rails/tape, recessed braid etc.).......highly recommended !!

Hope this helps, and please let me know if you have any more questions.

Happy New Year
Chris Walker