Thanks for the info man. Ya I did read yours and followed it while you were in the making. I'm looking to do it but not spend so much cash on it. I have alum from 2mm to 4mm and I think I can pretty much get away with only buying a couple items here and there. I liked the angle iron idea for the servos, and the alum rod. Did you tap the rod so you could screw into it? Also how high do you mount your throttle servo since on the xl tvp there lowered there and we have to bring it up? Thanks for the help guys. Terry
Well, few things:
1) Budget is good, but be careful - better to do it once RIGHT then twice - and since you are talking about the fuel tank, please just be careful
2) if you want, instead of using aluminum plate, you can also use the 1"x1" angle to make a tray between the TVP's - I did this on my 1/6 scale Savage:
You will need to shave a little out of the middle to make them fit, but you can get all the aluminum you need for the tray out of one 3' stick...
3) For the throttle servo, all I did was take the angle iron, and put it down to touch the engine mount. Then I used a drill to drill the angle where the stock TVP holes are. This way there are no permanant changes.
4) One thing to consider, in keeping with the budget theme - if you use a remaining piece of that angle, you can mount the servo under your tray - instead of drilling into the TVP like I did. Remember, whenever you drill a hole in the TVP, you weaken it (to a very small degree) so minimize the holes you drill and try to make sure the holes are used for attach stuff that provides additional support.
5) I did NOT tap out the tank mounts actually. I cheated
🙂 I used a 7/64" drill bit, which is the perfect size for an M3 screw to self-tap. Just remember to use locktite anytime you have metal on metal, especially when the metals are different (steel & aluminum, etc)
6) If /when you make the tank mounts, don't drill the hole straight through. I drilled only 1/2 through the post from the bottom at dead center, and then about 1/2 through the post from the top, but offset to one side on purpose. This way when you mount the post to the tray with the centered hole, if you need some more room or are off a bit, you can rotate the post, and the off-set hole on the top allows you to adjust it a little - was a life saver for me.
This is pic is also on my 1/6 scale Savage, so you won't have this munch room up front, but you can see the tank in the tray made with the angle aluminum. I trimmed it down to the black line you see to make it flush with the TVP's after I shot this pic.
I hope this helps - I really really enjoy fabricating stuff from scratch, so if you need a hand - let me know!
Bob
