Hardbody How-To With Brian Meharry (Part 2)

Part Two - Body Assembly and Reinforcement

Strip styrene; it's inexpensive and comes in many different shapes and sizes. I feel that it's probably the most overlooked building component in hard body racing. I use .020 thick plastic because it is strong, flexible, and fairly light weight.

I use a medium thickness super glue to tack parts in place. It's good to use an acc- elerant such as "zip kicker" so that the glue dries instantly. For final assembly of the hood, bumper and grills, I use a generous amount of contact cement.

It can't be stressed enough to take your time assembling the body and adding re-enforcement. I use .020 strip and sheet styrene that I buy at my local hobby shop. The purpose of using this is to back up and strengthen the assembled body against impacts during racing. Accidents do happen in racing, but my cars usually last a very long time because I take the proper steps.

Additional reinforcing tabs help secure the front bumper or nosepiece depending on the type of car that you're building.

I was actually satisfied with how the rear bumper fits to the body straight from the kit, but I decided to add small tabs on each side to make sure it stays in place.

Here's the view from underneath once I assembled the body with contact cement.

Once I have assembled and glued the major body parts into place, I secure them tighty with tape and allow the glue to dry at least overnight. The purpose of the tape is to insure that the adhesive doesn't expand and separate the joints.

That's it for now, let's work on finishing the body and putting in the drive train next time.

Stay Tuned to Slot Car News for Part Three of Brian's Hardbody How-to.  

Racers be sure to check out the Mid-America Hardbody Racing Series page on Facebook for race dates and more information.