How to build a 1/32 scale GB-Track/TSR Porsche 917PA rocketship
The first GB-Track issues, the Porsche 917PA used in the German Interserie and in the Can-Am, were not a commercial success, in spite of their lower price and good performance. Quality-control problems plagued them, and many were dumped at cost by retailers.
The net result for the enthusiast is...easy availability of low-cost, excellent bodies, a perfect subject for a TSR conversion.
|
|
Set your TSR32 chassis as shown, with the steel pan and the front axle set at the shortest wheelbase attainable. Install the pin-tubing as shown, cutting one end so as to just allow the black plastic retainers to hang onto them. |
|
|
After disassembling the driver compartment from the body, remove excess material with a Dremel disk as shown. |
|
|
Lightly shave the sills inner sides just behind the front wheel wells, so as to be even with the whole sides. |
|
|
Remove the gearbox details and shape as shown so as to clear the TSR chassis and motor. using a Dremel disk and files. |
 |
Glue the gearbox bits back in place with Plastic Weld. |
 |
It is necessary to remove the
turbine to clear the TSRF motor. It can later be shaved and replaced from
the top of the decorative Porsche flat-12 engine. Push the driver's
compartment back in its location and apply a drop of silicone clear glue to
the fastening posts.
|
 |
Once every bit of the inner body clears the chassis and allows the plastic chassis to rest perfectly flat on the steel pan, time to mount the body. For this we used the Automatic Body Mounting Tool (T3207) and a pin-vise fitted with a drill of the same diameter as your mounting pins, the whole operation taking less than a few minutes, for a perfect fit. |
 |
All the details from the GB-Track car are kept, but the performance level is going to be something else again... |
 |
A comparison between the stock chassis and
the TSRF32 quickly reveals the difference between the basic toy of which the
design has not evolved for many years, and the serious performance-oriented
contender which throws all the old concepts out the window. The absence of
flexible lead wires, the adjustability and flexibility of the new chassis
are matched by its near indestructibility.
|
 |
Here we go, and the lap times are bettered by one third! The pin heads holding the body can be color-matched to the body to make them more discrete. The steel pan can be trimmed to fit closer to the body. |