Pit tips

Radio Control Car Action, Sep 2000 by Newman, Jim

WIN AN OFNA Z-10 RALLY! Radio Control Car Actlon will give a 6-month subscription (or extend an existing subscription) to the author of each idea used in "Pit Tips." "Top Tip" winners will be sent an OFNA Z-10 Rally kit. All published "Pit Tip" authors win an OFNA yo-yo. Send a rough sketch to Jim Newman, c/o Radio Control CarAction. 100 East Ridge Ridgefield. CT 06877-4606 USA. BE SURE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS ARE CLEARLY PRINTED ON EACH SKETCH, PHOTO AND NOTE YOU SUBMIT. We're unable to publish many good Ups because we don't have the sender's name and address. Please note: because of the number of Ideas we receive, we can neither acknowledge every one nor return unused material.

Get hosed

If you are running a nitro vehicle and you lose your air cleaner, you can make a temporary one until you're able to get another. Simply take a small piece of pantyhose and slip it over the carburetor opening. The pantyhose can be held in place with a small 0-ring.

BOB PLANT Fargo, ND

Garden-hose coupling

Make a temporary header coupling out of a piece of old garden hose. Simply cut it to shape and attach it with zip-ties. It will keep you running until you have a chance to visit a hobby shop.

ALAN ESCALANTE Sun Valley, CA

Safety pit

Most pit boxes have a lot of space in the lid that's left unused but is a good place to store supplies. Attach a pencil bag to the lid with double-sided tape, and use it to hold ESC manuals, first-aid stuff, a calculator and other supplies.

GARY PRICE Orem. UT

Better gear seal

Cut a thin rubber band and use thin CA to glue it to your gear cover on the side that meets the gearbox. When you attach the gear cover, tighten the screws until the rubber band bulges slightly.

KEN PRATHER Boynton Beach, FL

Flywheel removal

Make removing the clutch bell on your Losi NXT easier by rotating the throttle/brake servo i8o degrees from its stock position. Mark where the new servo mount will go and drill new holes for it.

PATRICK SALM Newton, WI

Wing thing

Cutting out touring-wing side plates is easy, but they are never the same shape. Line the two sides up and hold the together with a small piece of double-sided tape. Then sand their edges on a flat piece of sandpaper until they match.

TIM PENNINGTON Waukesha, WI

Easy-to-make masking Place a few pieces of masking tape on a clean glass surface, overlapping the pieces by 1/4 inch or so. Draw your design on the tape and cut it out with a hobby knife, then pull the design off the glass and stick it on the inside of the body.

ROSS SUBASIC Bridgeport, OH

Plug puller

Servo leads can be difficult to install and remove in tight compartments-especially when they're coated with exhaust residue. Modify a pair of tweezers by bending one of the tines in an "L"shape and adding serrations to the opposite side For additional grip.

CHRIS SPEARS Boise, ID

Lead retainer

Cut a piece of scrap car-body material as shown and slide it over your servo or battery wires to prevent them from disconnecting.

KYLE RIDGE Wilkes-Barre, PA

Toe check

Here's a quick and easy way to check front toe. Place the front tires against a wall, then use an RPM camber gauge to measure toe on each side. At the track, use a flat board that's about 4 inches wider than the width of the car on each side to act as a "wall."

ROSS JAENKE Berea, OH

Hold those screws

When you remove the engine from a vitro vehicle, the engine-mounting screws always seem to get lost. To keep them in place, simply slide a small piece of fuel tubing over the threads of the screws.

CARL SMART Aberdeen, MD