Body How to?????

[bckyrdbshr]

OK, I've got the Delta Plastiks 1/8th Porsche GT 911 body. As you know the body is 325mm wheelbase and the Senton, Vendetta, and Infraction mega all have the same wheelbase of 333mm or very close to this. My question is how to go about mounting the body to any of the above mentioned and have it still look right? I can align the front wheel arch and deal with the back or vise versa or just try to split the difference between the two??? I want it to look good but am afraid to start cutting and messing it up. I'm a perfectionist about things like that and if its not round or if its not straight and the more I mess with it the worse it gets and then its usually the garbage bin next.. Any tip, tricks, or hints???

 

[Diem Turner]

I go about mounting my bodies in the following manner and it has always resulted in a well positioned body.

Start by putting the uncut body on the car and adjust the body posts so the top of the wheel arches are about 1/4" above where you want them to be when the body is mounted. I like to use small pieces of stiff foam that I place between the body and each wheel if it isn't snug and the body has some play or slides around. This has two advantages:

• The body doesn't move every time you touch it
• The body is pretty much auto aligned to the centerline of the chassis

Move the body front to back until the wheel arches line up with the wheels. Take your time with this as you only have one shot at it. Make sure all four wheels are where they're supposed to be before proceeding on to the next step.

Then I take a marker and mark the body post holes. First the front two and I mark them 1mm inboard of where the body post is. This creates a little bit of lateral tension and keeps the body tight. Then I mark the two rear holes with the markings 1mm forward of where the posts are. This provides a little bit of longitudinal tension, again to keep the body tight.

I then start the holes with a body reamer and finish by using a stepped drill bit to drill out the holes (8mm in my case, make sure to measure yours before committing).

If the body fits with the wheelbase of your car then you can just cut the body along the lines as given by the manufacturer. If not, mark them where you need them to be. I personally prefer the score and tear method of cutting bodies as opposed to using Lexan scissors as I find it produces crisper cuts and hardly requires any finishing other than some light sanding. Once you have everything cut out, your body is ready for washing, scuffing and painting.

Hope this helps

 

[Tex Koder]

OK, I've got the Delta Plastiks 1/8th Porsche GT 911 body. As you know the body is 325mm wheelbase and the Senton, Vendetta, and Infraction mega all have the same wheelbase of 333mm or very close to this. My question is how to go about mounting the body to any of the above mentioned and have it still look right? I can align the front wheel arch and deal with the back or vise versa or just try to split the difference between the two??? I want it to look good but am afraid to start cutting and messing it up. I'm a perfectionist about things like that and if its not round or if its not straight and the more I mess with it the worse it gets and then its usually the garbage bin next.. Any tip, tricks, or hints???

Let's post some pics...
So everyone is on the same page of what you're seeing.

 

[slick2500]

I go about mounting my bodies in the following manner and it has always resulted in a well positioned body.

Start by putting the uncut body on the car and adjust the body posts so the top of the wheel arches are about 1/4" above where you want them to be when the body is mounted. I like to use small pieces of stiff foam that I place between the body and each wheel if it isn't snug and the body has some play or slides around. This has two advantages:

• The body doesn't move every time you touch it
• The body is pretty much auto aligned to the centerline of the chassis

Move the body front to back until the wheel arches line up with the wheels. Take your time with this as you only have one shot at it. Make sure all four wheels are where they're supposed to be before proceeding on to the next step.

Then I take a marker and mark the body post holes. First the front two and I mark them 1mm inboard of where the body post is. This creates a little bit of lateral tension and keeps the body tight. Then I mark the two rear holes with the markings 1mm forward of where the posts are. This provides a little bit of longitudinal tension, again to keep the body tight.

I then start the holes with a body reamer and finish by using a stepped drill bit to drill out the holes (8mm in my case, make sure to measure yours before committing).

If the body fits with the wheelbase of your car then you can just cut the body along the lines as given by the manufacturer. If not, mark them where you need them to be. I personally prefer the score and tear method of cutting bodies as opposed to using Lexan scissors as I find it produces crisper cuts and hardly requires any finishing other than some light sanding. Once you have everything cut out, your body is ready for washing, scuffing and painting.

Hope this helps

Score and tear is all I ever do, I still struggle a little bit with the wheel wells though.

 

[Diem Turner]

Score and tear is all I ever do, I still struggle a little bit with the wheel wells though.

Yeah, it's by far the superior method of cutting out bodies. This video helped me out a lot. Yes, it's a bit more challenging with 2mm bodies, but this helped me understand how to best go about it. Time stamped to start at the wheel wells. (This guy does awesome work btw...well worth a sub)

 

[SrC]

If the Wheelbase is longer. Line up the front wheels, aligning the nose first. Then see if you can steal some mm for the rear wheels.?? Depends on the rear body's lines and wheel arch. How I do it.
There are many ways people do it. Stealing 8mm or so is a bit much. The Vendetta chassis is odd sized and my guess it's actually 1/9 scale. But wheel base throws it off?? Does the track width line up well enough? What also matters.

 

[bckyrdbshr]

Thanks for all the reply's and tips. When I get my wheels n tires in I'll be able to tell more what's going on. Then if I don't think its gonna look right I'll probably sell it and just go for the Mustang or Nissan Z body. I might even try out one of the no prep drag bodies, they have the same wheelbase of 333mm. I might have to throw on some wider arms or wheel wideners or both to get the width right. We'll see I guess..

 

[SrC]

You are going to drive yourself crazy trying to mod the chassis dimensions to fit a non direct fit body?
I usually do it the other way around.
I rather keep the chassis in its stock dimensions. And work around it.
Bodies are limited for the Vendetta chassis. But slowly they will appear. If looking to a Licensed Brand Scale contemporary body other than the 2 Protoform(PL) bodies you stated above that might fit specifically, be patient. The Vendetta Chassis is still fairly new yet.
I still say it is closer to 1/9 scale. FWIW. So retro fitting/modding any generic fitting 1/8 body will be a tough one, IMHO. The Vendetta wheels are like 1/9 scale.
If the Vendetta conformed to actual 1/8 scale GT dimensions, bodies would be plentiful. Just not the case.
The 4x4 On-roads are not to any traditional Hobby grade scale. Arrma calling it 1/8 was deceptive advertising IMHO.