For this kit, you’ll need:
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Optional:
- soldering iron and lead-free solder
You should have the following parts:
1 chassis frame
1 body chassis frame
4 standard wheels (smooth tread)
2 Off-road wheels (knobby tread)
4 axle mounts
4 bushing sleeves
4 axle mount square washers
2 axles
1 axle catch hook
1 hardboard car body
Follow these instructions carefully, as not all parts should be glued!
PART 1 – The Chassis and drive train assembly
Step 1
Glue the drive band hook and catch to the frame. Make sure you face them in the direction indicated in the photo.
Step 2
Step 2
Insert bushing sleeves into the axle mounts (4 mounts). Set these aside.
Step 3
Glue wheels to one side of axles — place a small dot of hot glue on one end of axles and slide one wheel on each axle (2 axles). Clean off excess glue. The wheel should be flush with the end of the axle.
Step 4
Slide one axle mount onto each of the axles (long end of the bushing should face the center of the axle). Slide the catch hook to center of one of the axles. Slide another axle mount assembly onto each axle, and glue a wheel on the other end of each axle. Accurately center the catch hook, and hot glue it into place. For best performance, center the catch hook precisely. Keep the axle mount assemblies and axles free of glue. The axel needs to spin freely in the bushings.
Step 5
Now mount the drive axle onto the back of the car — the drive axle is the one with the drive hook. The long ends go up into the chassis from below. Be certain to face the hook pointing toward the back of the car. Fix the axle in place with the square washers. You may need to put a small dab of glue on the sides of the long ends of the axle mount for the washers to fit snugly.
Mount the front axle assembly on the front.
There are 3 positions for the axles — start with the middle positions. Later you can experiment with the best placement of the axles for optimal performance in different terrain.
Step 6
Stretch the wider rubber bands over the wheels, and a narrower rubber band on the drive hook and catch.
Step 7
Check your work! Wind up the car and see how the wheels spin… correct any wobble in the wheels, and clear the axles of glue if need be.
PART 2 – The Car Body
You can decorate and add your custom designs to the body. (It may be easier to do this before you assemble it).
Step 1
Bend the hard board car body along all of the score lines. All of the bends should go down, except for the score at the base of the windshield — bend up at that score line. Glue the body in sections — put a small amount of glue on each tab. Try gluing 2 adjacent tabs at a time, set the edges in place, clean up any excess glue, and move to the next section.
Step 2
Hot glue the hard board body to the frame.
Step 3
Attach the body & upper chassis assembly to the lower chassis.
And you’re done!
