Hybrid Aurora AFX "Flamethrower" chassis

As mentioned in a previous article, this Corvette has been fitted with a particularly quick Aurora AFX non-M/T chassis which was converted successfully to a hybrid Flamethrower chassis. 

Why do such a thing? Simple. When the chassis’ I have just don’t come up to standard for lack of spares or some other reason, then the next best thing is to improvise. Sure I could whack in a Tomy Turbo lighted chassis or an Aurora G+ chassis but this was a challenge more than anything so why not try it? Besides, the non-M/T chassis in question was freakishly quick and to not use it somehow would be a total waste.

This is a guide on how I achieved it. Match up the photos with each step and it will make a lot more sense.

      You can use any copper pick up shoe and bend it till it suits, but I find old Tyco shoes ideal as the 90 degree angled “tabs” required are already provided in the shoe design and are simply two snips away. Use mini side cutters for this as you can make very accurate cuts with smaller tools. Clean the shoes with an ink eraser before cutting or clean just the tab before the soldering stage as this will assist with the solder sticking. Solder prefers a nice clean surface to adhere to.

        Clean the riveted plate section on both sides of the chassis with an ink eraser and slip each tab piece in under on both sides. If this proves difficult then gently prise up the plate with a thin screwdriver. It’s a bit fiddly but not impossible. Just take your time and avoid stabbing yourself as I have done several times. Ouch !

       Using a soldering iron with a small tip and very thin solder, quickly sweat the joint and make a thin solder join. Don’t linger too long with the soldering tip or the plastic will melt and the solder will build up. If the copper was correctly cleaned before hand, then a solder laden hot tip will suffice and a reasonably quick “wipe” on the surface should deposit a thin film of solder. This may take a few attempts but take a break between attempts being careful not to build up too much heat. We’re talking a very small volume of solder here as you don’t want the car fouling the track with a lump of solder !

       Take another break and let things cool down a little. Next sweat a small area towards the top of the tab (in this case the bottom of the tab as the chassis is upside down). This is where the wire for the Flamethrower light bulb will be soldered to. Again, be quick about it and less is more.

       Choose a suitable light bulb and test across the track rails BEFORE this next step because you don’t want to find you’ve just soldered a bung light ! Make sure you use a controller too otherwise the bulb won’t light up when testing. If you’re using a dedicated power supply you can go straight across the 15V terminals to test or use a 9v battery. Trust me, the lamp WILL light up across the battery. Thread each light bulb wire through the front of the chassis via an existing axle hole. The non-M/T chassis’ have two holes on each side. Failing that, there is room to drill a small hole on the bottom part of the chassis behind the front axles. There is no need stating here to drill a suitably large enough hole for the bulb wires.

       Adjust the bulb centrally towards the front of the chassis and above the front axle leaving enough length so the bulb will easily slip into the bulb receptacle of the slot car body. Cut the wires to the correct length and strip back a small section of about 6mm to expose the copper. This is more than you actually need but allow for errors and trim later as you need. Again use small wire cutters/strippers and be careful as the wires are very thin and will easily break off. This takes some skill so practice first with a scrap piece of wire. You can use a sharp scalpel or hobby knife but be very careful.

       Sweat the ends of the wire and deposit a small amount of solder. You can take a little longer here than you did earlier as this step does not involve the chassis.

      Solder the wires to the tabs with minimal applications of heat and solder. Again try to use a solder laden tip instead of applying solder directly from the spool. Try not to de-sweat the tab join to the rivet plate or you may need to start again so be quick about it and don’t linger with the heat.

     Track test and hopefully everything was done perfectly first time !

Cheers, Angel