Mark's Super Snake

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

I'm on to pack 9 now.  This is mostly the engine.

Stage 65. The start of the radiator

Start by dropping the etched grill on the radiator rear.  It only goes one way round- check the the centre screw hole lines up.

Add the fan bracket and screw it in place.  There is a notch which you need to line up to make sure it's properly orientated.

Stage 66. The fan and shroud.

 

Screw the shroud to the radiator.  Make sure that it's the right way round.  The fan bracket must be centred in the fan shroud, or the fan won't fit.

 

Stage 67.  The front of the radiator.

 

Fit the cap and screw it in from the bottom.

Fit the rad top to the rad rear.  The lugs are offset, so this only fits one way round.  The lugs are slightly different sizes to make sure it goes the right way round.  Don't push this on too hard or it's tricky to get the rad front fitted.  

 

Add the rad front.  Make sure the mounting lugs go to the bottom. This just clicks into place.

 

Screw the etched grill in place with 2 tiny black screws.

This completes the radiator for now

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 68.  The carbs and cylinder heads.

We start by fitting the air filter grill to the housing.  I found you get a nice smooth curve by rolling it round a wooden spoon handle.  

Then it drops in the housing nicely.

Our the top on and screw it in place.  

Now screws the carbs in place.

Screw the head in place.  A spot of lubricant on the screws definitely helps here.

And the rocker covers complete the stage.  These are labelled L & R, as is the head, so no excuses for getting them the wrong way round.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Now on to some of the details with stage 69.

The support bracket is screwed in place.

Then this little tube is fitted.  This has a flat on the peg so only goes one way round.  I don't know what this is for.  Oil to the head perhaps?

Now we add wha they call a pressure pump to its mounting bracket.  I think this is the water pump, but not completely sure.

Then the bracket is added to the front of the engine block.

Stage 70.  The alternator, water hose and pulleys.

First off, assemble to alternator.  This just clips together.

Then assemble the two halves of the hose.  Again, these just clip together.

Add the alternator tot he front of the engine.

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Now push the pulley assembly on.  This was a bit stiff.  With hind sight, it may have gone easier if I'd scraped the paint of the pegs, but it did go ok with a firm press.  Be careful not to put too much pressure on the brackets.

Now add the fan and screw it in from the back of the engine front.  Make sure you can turn it with gentle pressure.  There are 4 little holes that will need to be lined up with 4 pegs on the bracket already fitted to the radiator in stage 65.

Now push the water hose onto the radiator.  This has a flat on the peg to align it properly.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

stage 71.  The right engine block, exhaust manifold and the light switch.

Start off with fitting the gas filter (fuel filter!)

Moving on to the light switch, this goes in the back of the dash.

It's secured in place with a bracket.  This one is a bit fiddly to get in place, or perhaps I was just being ham fisted!!

Back to the engine now.  Take exhaust manifold R1, and fit it in the holes marked R1 in the pipe connector.  It's got a flat on the peg, so only goes one way round.

Repeat for the remaining manifold pipes

Stager 72.  The left black, exhaust manifold, gearbox top and rad support.

Assembling the exhaust manifold is the same process as before.

Slot the engine front in place.

Slot the gearbox cover in place.  

Now put the right hand side of the block in place, and screw it together.  Helpful hint!  Put some lubrication in the screw holes before pushing the two halves of the block together.

The exhaust manifolds are now clipped in place.

Clip the radiator onto its mounting bracket.

Stage 73.  The bottom of the engine block and some more details.

Firstly, add the head assembly.  This was a bit tight, but scraping the paint off the holes in the block made it easier to fit. Also, make sure the small pipe in the engine front is still fully located.  Now our engine is really looking the part!!

Add the engine bottom.

Add the oil filler pipe and cap.

Followed by the pressure probe.

Now add the connection pipe.  I guess this is an oil pipe.

This is the front connection.

This is the rear connection.

Moving on to the radiator, push the two parts of the additional radiator together (I think this is an oil cooler).

Screw the etched cover in place with 4 small silver screws.

This just pushes onto the radiator bracket.

This completes the pack.  Ok, I couldn't resist putting there engine and radiator together!!

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

This pics aren't showing up for some reason, but you can view the same diary on my forum with the pics showing correctly.

http://www.partworkmodels.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=202&t=9159&start=40

[admin]

On 10/11/2020 at 6:26 AM, Mark said:

This pics aren't showing up for some reason, but you can view the same diary on my forum with the pics showing correctly.

http://www.partworkmodels.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=202&t=9159&start=40

here is the fix:

 

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

On 10/14/2020 at 9:57 AM, admin said:

here is the fix:

 

 

Thanks, and thanks also for re-uploading all the images 😃

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Now I'm on to pack 10 where we finish the engine, add the front shocks, and prepare the front wings (Ok, fenders if you speak American)

Stage 74 Sump, distributor and plug leads

Start by assembling the coil.  Easy, and it only goes one way thanks to a flat on the location pin.

This just pushes onto the engine.

On to the breather connection.  Clear out any flash or excess plating otherwise this part is quite difficult to fit.

Now push the breather connection in place.  If you over-did the hoel cleaning, just use a tiny drop of super glue to hold it.

Now push the distributor in place.

Now on to the plug leads.  As their expert says, glue the lead connectors on to the plug leads.  I preferred to do the leads one by one so I didn't get the lengths mixed up.

Fit the lead to the distributor.

Then push the lead into the hole in the head.

The left side of the engine completed.

The completed distributor.

The right hand side of the engine.

Now add the sump.

Now the engine is fitted in the chassis.  Get the two exhaust pipes connected first, then the engine is held by screws that go into the bell housing.  It seems odd fixing the engine this way (to me at least!) but it's held securely and the screws are inconspicuous on the finished model.

This completes stage 74.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 75 Front right shock and side panel.

Firstly, fit the shock piston with the pin.  This pushed in nice and easily.

Now fit the shock cylinder to the side panel.

Now screw the side panels to the radiator, making sure that the battery leads lead out like this.

Add the spring and hold it with a bit of masking tape.  That makes life so much easier......

Now make sure that the dimples in the fan are pointing up/down/left/right.  There are small pins int he bracket in the rad that they fit into.

Now fit the side panel in place.  Make sure you engage the shock absorber piston, or you have to take the darn thing out again.... (go on, ask me !!)
As the instructions suggest, it's far easier to remove the rad hose and then refit it when you're done.

This completes stage 75.

[James H]

Lovely 😎

Heavy, ain't it?

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

8 minutes ago, James H said:

Lovely 😎

Heavy, ain't it?

Sure is!  

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 76, Engine centre panel and the brake master cylinder/reservoir.

Firstly, push the brake reservoir onto the support.

Now fix this onto the centre panel.

Now clip this in place, and fix it to the side panel with two screws.

Make sure all the electrical tonne actors and cables are coming out the left side of the car like this.

This completes the stage.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 77, the left hand side panel, shock and speaker.

Fit the shock piston as before.

Then fit the speaker and shock cylinder.

Now fit th is to the car, again, same procedure as for the right panel. Again, watch to make sure you don't trap any cables.

This completes the stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 78, battery, strut and oil filter.

First off, fit the handle to the battery.

Now push the battery over the mounting.  I was thinking about fitting battery cables, but the battery needs to be removable to replace the actual batteries for the lights and sound, to I decided not to.

Now push the strut bar in place.  This is a strut that stiffens up the chassis and improves the car's handling.

Now assemble the oil filter.  This was a bit fiddly, but the instructions cover everything.

Fit the thinner oil pipe to the filter.

Follow the instructions for the various pipes, and you should end up with your model licking like this.
A couple of points.  All the pipes needed their length adjusting slightly to get them to look right.  The thinner pipe was very reluctant to go on the peg in the oil pump.  I swelled the pipe by shoving a cocktail stick down the end.  Then superglued it in place.  

The oil cooler looks like this.

This completes the stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 79, the electronic gubbins

The first thing to do is to fit the windscreen washer reservoir.  This just pushes on.

Next we plug the 9 cables into the circuit board.  These only go one way round, so don't force them.

This screws under the left hand wing.

Then lead the cables through the clip like so.  It's far easier to push them behind the clip one at a time than in one great bundle.

Now plug in the cables numbered 1 to 5.  Again, they only go one way round.  Note that cable 5 is the one going to the battery at the front right of the car.  This comes down the right hand panel, then is clipped in the slot in the rear engine panel.

This completes this stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 80.  The front left fender.

We don't do anything with this at the moment, other than admire it.  But to be fair, it's an impressively heavy and well finished part that is worth admiring.

Stage 81.  The chassis front panel.

First, fit the two hood supports.  (Trans. bonnet hinge brackets!)

https://flic.kr/p/2k6Gb3L][img]https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50603891896_e01c572179_c.jpg[/img][/url]

Now fit the front left fender to the front panel.  A drop of lubricant in the holes makes it easier to drive the screws home.

This completes the stage.

Stage 82.  The right fender.

This screws into the front plate just like the left fender.  It looks like it is going to be a bit flimsy, but it's actually very solid for a heavy assembly.

This completes the pack, but who could resist putting the fenders on the chassis!!

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

I've got pack 11 now, and it's huge!!!!

Here's the box!!

Here's the part for stage 83.

Not much to do with the stage (but that soon changes!  There is a lot of work in this pack!)  Just screw the fenders to the body.
I've used a couple of microfibre cloths to protect the body from scratches, but anything like a towel will do.

This completes this stage.

 
 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 84, the air scoops

The first one goes behind the door.

The second goes up a bit higher.

The other side is the same of course.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 85 gives us the hood, front grill and lights.

Firstly, fit the emblem to the grill.  Make sure you get the grill the right way round.  It isn't quite symmetrical. I found you needed to bend the little pegs out, and even then the emblem needed a firm push to get it in.  Be very careful not to bend the grill.  You'll never get it flat again if you do!

Bend the 6 tabs up at 90 degrees.  Again, double check to make sure you bend them the right way!

Put the grill in place, and bend the clips flat.  Again, check that everything is the right way round!

Screw the grill in place.  You can't get this one wrong!!

Finally, clip the lights in place.  Double check the orientation as these are just lined up be eye.

This completes this stage.

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 86 give us the hood hinges

Firstly, screw the hinge bracket to the hood.

Now assemble the hinges on to the brackets.  Don't over-tighten these screws as everything needs to move smoothly.  However, these shouldn't be any slop either.

Fit this to the hood.  Again, you're aiming for a nice sliding fit.  Not too tight, not too loose.

Add the spring and the screw that holds it in place.

The other side is merely a repeat of the same.

Now slide the hood into place and tighten the screws.  Mine didn't line up properly, as you can see.  There is a gap on the left and the hood overlaps the fender on the right (of the picture)

This is easily resolved.  Loosen the screws holding the fenders to the body and the front grill.  Just half a turn should do.  Then push the fenders to the hood lines up nicely, and re-tighten the screws.

These are the screws that need loosening.

It lines up nicely after adjustment.

That completes this stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 87 is mainly the front lights and hood details.

The horns go on the front panel.

As does the light bracket.

The hood pins go here.  However, before fitting them, make sure the go through the holes in the hood easily, and that the lynch pins go through the holes easily.  I had to clear them out with a small drill bit and pointed knife.  I think the thickness of the plating had made the hole too small, or perhaps there was some flash there.  It's much easier to do this before the hood pins are fitted.

Now fit the left headlight LED.  

Then continue to fit the remaining headlights.  It is a little fiddly to get the main beam cables trapped behind the cable clip, but goes OK in the end.

The fog light lenses are glued in with a bit of white PVA.  Just plain PVA wood glue is ideal as it dries clear.

Gently bend the headlamp cables over a bit so they don't foul on the chassis front plate.

Feed the cables through the holes.

Now screw the front facia in place.

The cable clips just push into place.

Now on to the hood lanyards.  Things get a bit fiddly now.

First, bend the wire so that the lanyards don't fall out.

Insert the pin plates, close the hood, then push the lynch pins through the hood pins.  This is, to be perfectly honest, very fiddly.  I found that I needed to trim some burrs off the hood pins to get the bonnet to close properly.  

This ends this stage

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Sorry folks, I realised, I never got round to adding the last couple of stages to the diary.

Stage 88 is the trunk lid.

First, attached the latch to the inside of the lid.

Then attach the emblem.

And that's it for this stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 89 is the lower rear body and trunk hinges

The body part goes on easily.

As do the hinges

The hinges are retained by two brackets.  Again, no dramas, and it all fits nicely.

This completes this stage.

 

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

Stage 90 gives us the rear lights and fuel cap.

First off, the fuel pipe bracket fits inside, and screws on from the outside.

Now screw the filler cap to its base.

And fit this in place.  I love the quality of the logo on the cap!

The rear light goes on from the outside of course.

Then the LED circuit board goes on from the inside.  I needed to ned the wires a little so it sat flat.

The the cover is screwed in place.  Be careful not to strip these screw holes.

Then lay the wires in the grooves and secure with the clips.

The completed stage looks like this.

I couldn't resist placing the body on the chassis, of course!!!  

Wow, this looks good!!  Big and impressive!!  I can't wait for the last pack now!!!

[Mark, The Master Modeller]

On the home straight now, I've got the last pack!!

Stage 91, you get the windscreen.  Nothing to do yet!

Stage 92 gives us the windscreen trim and wipers.

I coloured the wiper blades black to represent the rubber.  Simple use of a black Sharpie!

The screen goes in easily enough.

Then the trim is fitted.  This needed a fairly firm push to get it to clip in.  Be careful not to push on the screen itself.

This completes this stage.  The wipers are fitted later.

Stage 93 gives us the upper vent grill.

Fit the wipers.  These have tabs in the pegs to make sure that they are in the correct parked position, but remember, don't let people try to move them!!

This is screwed in from underneath.

This completes the stage.