Race Modified; Mardave Meteor Project

[Coelacanth]

I've been able to remove it with just a toothbrush, hot water and Dawn dish soap. I think that's what it is, too...mold release guck.

[jwscab]

if you can find Simple Green where you are, that works pretty well for getting funk off of tires.

[Lonestar]

wd40 works very well too

[sheriff]

Dan, only just seen this thread, great read and the car looks superb!

I've just sold an unbuilt NIB meteor, wish I'd kept it now! Still have enough parts to build 2 cars though.

Oh, apply silicone spray on those tyres, you'll be amazed.

[DerbyDan]

Dan, only just seen this thread, great read and the car looks superb!

I've just sold an unbuilt NIB meteor, wish I'd kept it now! Still have enough parts to build 2 cars though.

Oh, apply silicone spray on those tyres, you'll be amazed.

Thanks Sheriff.... I think by the time i've finished with this project most parts will be new/unused - of the Mardave parts the only non-new bits will be the steering bell cranks & the steering levers/hubs..... oh, & one rear wishbone

Anyway - with massive thanks to DennisM this project is going to be even more faithfull to the magazine feature than I ever thought imaginable - Dennis sent me these two fantastic parts that I just never in a million years thought i'd get my hands on but will really authenticity to this build;



.... the same Kawada MX1 motor & the PB Mustang wing mount bracket - only the power of this forum & the generous members on it would make these things possible! - Dennis - I owe you one!

[DennisM]

You´re welcome Dan.
It´s a pleassure to support a build like this.

The soldering job is NOT my work

[Orlinon]

Nice build. I love the simplicity of the Mardave cars. I have an Apache, a Meteor, a Marauder and 4 Cobras in various states of repair. I also used to race 1/8th scale Mardave nitro stock cars in the early eighties.

I've used Autoglym Vinyl and Rubber Care on my Meteor tyres and it worked a treat with a bit of a scrub. They stay shiny for ages (but not too shiny ). I imagine any similar automotive product would work.

[Asso_man!]

It's funny you should say that, I tried cleaning up the tyres, they are new but the white residue (what I presume is mould release agent) just won't budge even with a good scrub with warm water & washing up liquid

I've had the same issue with some new/old tires and the best solution was to scrub it dry with a hard shoe brush. Very nice build and period mods, I love the English cars!

[DerbyDan]

Problem solved!... I exchanged my three piece wheels for a brand new pair of the later dished type wheels, complete with some nice shiney new tyres

There has been some progress on this project, albiet very slow. I've drawn up the motor bracket/heatsink & the bracket required to fit the rear chassis stiffener & had these two items waterjet cut from 2mm thk aluminium & then folded up on our brakepress here at work.





As you can see, i've also drawn up the rear shock tower & the 'T' shaped rear chassis stiffener - I will get these cut from some FRP/G10 material, probably by Fibrelyte.

Also here's a photo I took recently of all three of my 1/10th Mardave buggies - two Meteors & my old Cobra racer... I also have a Marauder in bits.. that's being gradually cleaned up & will get rebuilt one-day (hopefully sooner rather than later)

[Miggers]

I often wondered what became of this project Dan,I see it's culminated very nicely.

Well done mate.

Chris at Mardave told me ages ago that he hadn't got the shell moulds for either the
short or LWB anymore.

[Hammerstien]

looks great sir just got lwb body to paint on mine and sort wing mount out
could do with some repro bearing spurs though

[crusaderlyf]

Dan, only just seen this thread, great read and the car looks superb!

I've just sold an unbuilt NIB meteor, wish I'd kept it now! Still have enough parts to build 2 cars though.

Oh, apply silicone spray on those tyres, you'll be amazed.

Thanks Sheriff.... I think by the time i've finished with this project most parts will be new/unused - of the Mardave parts the only non-new bits will be the steering bell cranks & the steering levers/hubs..... oh, & one rear wishbone

Anyway - with massive thanks to DennisM this project is going to be even more faithfull to the magazine feature than I ever thought imaginable - Dennis sent me these two fantastic parts that I just never in a million years thought i'd get my hands on but will really authenticity to this build;




.... the same Kawada MX1 motor & the PB Mustang wing mount bracket - only the power of this forum & the generous members on it would make these things possible! - Dennis - I owe you one!

I always love the kawada MX-1 motor it looks very cool, two of them in my collections.

[Miggers]

That Kawada's a doozy.

What turn is it Dan?

[Jimb]

Hi
I happened on your article recently as I have been stripping down and rebuilding my old Meteor over the past few weeks. It's been interesting and very helpful. The photo of the dismantled diff was particularly useful as mine had disintegrated! I also appreciated your efforts on the body shells as picked up one of those repro Penguin body shells (my original one suffering from a bad paint job).
I'm now grappling with the problem of replacement tyres. I wondered if anyone knows whether there are any new tyres available to fit the red wheels. Not many vendors provide the dimensions on their web sites.

[DerbyDan]

Well - sorry guys I forgot this thread even existed.... but since my 'runner/racer' version of the Mardave Meteor is currently entered into this months Car of the month competition I though it best to update the story to where we are now!

Up until now this thread seems to have been following the intended build for a shelf-queen car based on a whole bunch of new parts (including a NIP chassis) & basing the whole build on the heavily modified car of Greg Halliday car that was the subject of a series of magazine articles in the UK mag Radio Race Car International between 1988 & 1990.

However, over time I've collected a few more parts (including another very beaten up car) - enough to build a runner version of the shelf car..... something that I've always found quite tantalising since its always one thing to build a dream car just to look at - but to actually experience how it drives is something that I think I find more fun!

So below is a collection of photos of the car that I've built from the 'best of the rest' parts & is going to run at this years Vintage Revival meeting to be held at the end of this month - the car is fitted with a 13.5 brushless motor controlled by a Hobbywing V2 120amp esc - the idea that the 'mild' 13.5 motor shouldn't put too much strain on the gearbox (which has no slipper) from a standing start or accelerating from low speeds - but can have timing dialled in to obtain a bit more top-end.

Home-made bumper made from plastic nylon sheet (shape based on the magazing car) - also inboard mounted steering bellcranks to minimise bumpsteer & lots of weight to get that front end 'turned-in'


Close up of rear end showing aluminium motor mount - that I drew up (along with the shocktower/rear chassis brace bracket) on CAD, had laser cut & folded. This is intended to dissipate hear away from the motor into the chassis - a common problem Bitd was that the heat from the motor mounted directly to the plastic gearbox would cause it to 'warp' so much that it would force the pinion out of mesh with the spur causing it [the spur] to get chewed up in the process. Photo also shows the Fibrelyte cut rear shock tower - again cut to my supplied CAD file


Bodyshell fitted is the one that I sprayed up for Penguin Custom Bodies ebay advert - but now trimmed at the back to suit the custom shock tower - which unlike the original does not provide a fixing for the body - a second 'front' body post is used to mount the body at the rear...


Long wheelbase chassis is just one simple folded piece of aluminium.


Side profile - the body that suits the LWB chassis is actually quite sleek looking IMO








Hobbywing speedo mounted onto custom-made rear chassis brace - rounded Core LiPo sits across the chassis beneath.