Very interesting. Please keep us updated. On Friday, November 22, 2013 11:45:40 AM UTC-5, TyngTech wrote: > > I'm going to document the Cromwell rebuild on this thread. During the > build I hope to highlight what worked, what didn't, and what will be new > for 2014 on the venerable combatant. For those that don't know, the > Cromwell has pretty much battled in most US battles since 2005 and is > little changed since new. Those that know my battling style, know that I'm > not exactly a Sunday driver, so when I let this beast out of its cage, the > tank sees its fair share of bumps and bruises. This will be the first > major overhaul and It will be interesting to see how the plywood > construction and my design choices have held up over the past eight years. > > First pic, here's the hull stripped of everything with a new coat of > paint. I'm glad to say that there was no structural issues with the hull. > All the glue joints are still tight and IMO proves that well executed > plywood construction is a very viable option for these models. At this > point, I've installed a new set of 1/2" bearings for the suspension arms. > These bearings are the flanged stamped steel "wheelbarrow" type. The old > bearings still sort of worked but were gummed up with mud and rust. I'm > going to think of a way to seal these a bit better for the next eight years > of use. > > > <https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-zyc90yqA8gU/Uo-BkBy895I/AAAAAAAAAWM/8d1-elsyMAo/s1600/2013-11-22+07.50.17-B.jpg> > > Here's the engine bay. This area had an almost constant coat of oil from > the chain drive. I'm glad to note that the liberal coat of Titebond II > glue that this area was sealed with was not effected by the oil one bit. > Astute observers may note that gray epoxy plug in the lower center of the > rear panel. This is were the safety cutoff switch used to be mounted. The > switch in this location was prone to shutting off when reversing in thick > brush (not a good thing). The switch will be relocated elsewhere. > > > <https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ma0fqJsCoYY/Uo-Dtg4gzpI/AAAAAAAAAWY/vdB7TiPDlWE/s1600/2013-11-22+07.50.32-B.jpg> > > Here I'm highlighting some past repairs. The red circled area is a > section that was cracked and pushed upward when the Cromwell's right front > idler hit an object at full speed (a paper pinata at a Daneville event, go > figure ;-). Luckily it was a clean break and it was epoxied back together > and has held ever since. The blue boxed area is an additional layer of > 1/4" luan plywood that was epoxied in to thicken this area up. The > original single piece of 1/4" luan in this area was punctured by a tree > root. Lesson here is that areas subject ti impact, 1/4" plywood is not > enough. > > > <https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-_ssWO8Rcm5A/Uo-HDTCaPAI/AAAAAAAAAWk/Al1PMS1H37w/s1600/2013-11-22+07.51.41-B.jpg> > > That's it for now. The next installment will be the refurbishment of the > suspension and road wheels. > > Steve Tyng > > >
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