Fairbanks 80HP 3 Cylinder Model

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The wife is out of town for a week visiting friends, what to do with myself... :noidea:! Joking! ;D Went to the store and stocked up on chips, hamburger fixin's, and ice cream. Now for some serious shop time.

Back to work on the Fairbanks. Here's a couple of pictures of the paint job. I decided to try some auto touch up pain from Autozone. It's supposed to match standard auto manufacturer colors.

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I found a color I like, but am less than pleased with the way it sticks. You can see in the following picture where a strip along the edge pealed away.

_IGP2416.JPG


I had considered stripping the whole thing down and starting over with another paint, but instead I'm going to reassemble the engine and touch up where I need to.

I'm also replacing the SHCS that I was using for head bolts with studs and nuts. I looked high and low for 4-40 all-thread to make the studs and nobody but the local hobby shop carries them... and they were sold out! I find it amazing that Home Depot and Lowes will sell you a refrigerator or clothes dryer, but don't carry 4-40 all-thread. :rant:

Since .110" round rod is also difficult to find, I hit on the idea of using nails. I found some finishing nails in my stash that were just a few thou too big so it's easy enough to trim the ends down and thread them with a 4-40 die.

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These are the nails with the heads cut off. Next, I'll cut them to length and thread both ends.

Chuck
 
Chuck:

It's been my experience that most big box stores won't stock anything under 6-32, and you are lucky to find that. It's getting hard to even find 4-40 taps at a regular hardware store anymore, let alone anything smaller.

Don
 
She is still not arrived Chuck , Whaaaaahahahahaha (lol). Nice painting job. I like that dark green.
I hope for you that it holds on tha aluminium , or did you use a primer before painting??

Barry
 
She is still not arrived Chuck , Whaaaaahahahahaha (lol). Nice painting job. I like that dark green.
I hope for you that it holds on tha aluminium , or did you use a primer before painting??

Barry

Yeah, I used Plastikote filler and primer, but didn't really do any research or tests to see how well the paint and Plastikote work together. I had to remove some of the Plastikote from surfaces that will remain bare metal and it stuck really well, i.e., wasn't very easy to remove. On the areas where the paint chipped away, the primer is still there, the paint just came loose from the primer.

Chuck
 
If you have never worked with scale model hex nuts and bolts, you are in for a treat. It requires the patience of Jobe to get them started and tightened, especially without dropping them. Makes me appreciate socket head cap screws a lot! I was fastening the two crankcase halves back together today with 1/8" hex screws. Failing to find a SHCS the right size to use as a socket, I had spent close to an hour starting and threading in the 8 Hex bolts with two very small screw drivers delicately turning the screws 1 flat at a time. I was almost finished when it occurred to me that I had not attached the two inner main bearing caps that secure the crankshaft to the top crankcase half. Crap! :mad:

Needing a faster way to remove the screws and reattach them later, I took a piece of thick walled brass tubing and drove a 1/8" allen wrench into the end about 1/8".

_IGP2420.JPG


Worked like charm. The improvised miniature socket let me remove the screws in under a minute and will no doubt let it go back together just as quick!

Chuck
 

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