Been thinking about this for a bit....Nitro 12L3

[GoMachV]

I had a blast with the Cox Nissan GTP in my younger days, but the engine was such a POS. Always wondered how a Norvel .061 would do in a pan car. They were terrific in the LMH helis and Bolink used them in some legend chassis as a spec class. The muffler throttle is better than the maples throttle and far more simple. I found a L3 axle and diff parts, and had some TRC tires laying around...need to make up some axle blocks and get deciding on the rear T plate setup. I want to keep it true to the era, L3 stuff will be fine. I may use the old style front end tho, as they were bulletproof and simple. Chassis will look like a L3 but with no cell cutouts. Anyway, here is a quick teaser

[FullThrottleTXOutlaw]

I've got some of those rollers laying around. You've got my attention. Interested to see the youtube video of how this turns out.

[GoMachV]

knocked out the chassis today, mocked up with old school front end. Next is the hard part, coming up with a simple yet effective rear pod to hold it all.

[romulus22]

A 10L is on my to-do list. Like how its looking already. You've got my attention.

[LoboNYC]

I knew I wasnt only one who felt that way, I had a Nissan cox car and had a few runs. The rest of the time was spent trying to get the thing to stay on. POS motor indeed .
Seeing one again only brings back that nostalgic feeling I had over 20 years ago.....the feeling of throwing it in the trash!

This build however is turning out great!

[GoMachV]

Baby steps....

[LoboNYC]

Sweet,

After a few baby steps, she will be crawling!

[kink]

Looks like a great project!

[GoMachV]

Got a little further, top deck needs massaging and will incorporate a servo mount or bellcrank...and a brake strap

[rraeford]

You're blowing my mind dude. This is so cool. I have an L3 out in my shop and I was thinking of selling it. Now I may have to make one of these. What will you call it? L3 Nitro?

[GoMachV]

Got a lot of details still to go, so plenty of time for a name! Haha

I had my friend do the milling on the blocks, little did I know he uses child labor!

And yes, the older one did some of the work. Kids are learning young!

[romulus22]

Looks amazing. Why not build the throttle/brake servo into the upper pod plate? I would think you would want it on the same fixture as the engine so it doesn't push/pull on the throttle or brake under suspension travel.

Edit: just read your post about the servo, I always overlook words when there's cool pictures to look at.

[GoMachV]

There are two options, and that is one of them. It was used on the thunder tiger pan car. The other is a cable operated system used on the Cox Nissan's brake. The first Nissan had a rod from the chassis mounted servo to the exhaust throttle and it would rev when you hit a bump. Not a great system! I like the idea of cable operated for low profile but it's much easier to mount to the upper plate.

[LoboNYC]

gomachv: REV when you hit a bump? that sounds too familiar...im reliving nightmares!

Romulus: remember when i mentioned my experience with the Nissan car? Now you can understand why i would never purchase again.

Cox: Im glad your car did not deter me from the Hobby...

[GoMachV]

The Cox car was still a load of fun! The later Maples throttle fixed the revving issue and I had a blast with it