Low Cost Race Car Parts For The Home Constructor

Australian grassroots motor racing grew up with theemployed by model engineers, home mechanics, car &
home built special. Many examples of these historicmotorbike restorers etc, to create high quality cast
cars are still in existence today. Some were built asparts that would be otherwise unobtainable. If you
circuit racers, but many were built for the ever-popularhave never contemplated casting your own metal
hill climb events held at the various climbs scatteredparts, then you'd be amazed at the many different
around Australia.things that can be made, especially if you have a
To build a competitive home built racecar todaywell-equipped machine shop. It is possible to make
requires many skills. Most importantly the racecarthose hard to get parts right in your own home
enthusiast constructor will need to have hands onfoundry workshop... for a very low cost.
knowledge of metal fabrication skills, i.e., knowing howThe foundry process is basically carried out by
to weld or braze metal, or machining skills may also beproducing a pattern, which is normally made from
required to operate lathes and milling machines totimber, but patterns can also be made from many
produce many of the special one off parts. Just as inother materials, one particular compound that can be
the early days of Australian motor racing, today'sused to reproduce broken parts to make a new
constructor needs to be extremely resourceful.pattern is RTV silicone.
If the budget is tight, the home race-car builder can useOnce a pattern is produced, it is imbedded into the
many avenues to keep the construction costs downfoundry sand to make a cavity, green sand is a
to an acceptable level, being multi skilled will allow thecommon type of foundry sand, but there are many
home fabricator to construct all manner of thingsother types of easy to use sand moulding mediums.
instead of resorting to expensive of the shelf customAfter the sand is rammed around the pattern, or the
made parts.silicate sand has set, the pattern is carefully removed
Many people are unaware that metal castingfrom the sand mould, and the mould is closed and
techniques can be used in the home workshop to castmade ready for the pour..
lightweight aluminium parts. Metal casting is not thatA simple gas fired furnace can be constructed to melt
difficult to do, and in the last couple of years there hasthe metal which is then poured into the sand mould to
been a worldwide resurgence of home metal casting,create the casting. Once the casting has cooled, it is
i.e., people have been busy setting up a simple homeremoved from the sand mould, cleaned and prepared
workshop foundry to cast special metal parts thatfor the machining & finishing operations. Quite often, the
would otherwise be quite expensive if sourcedcomplete operation; from pattern to finished casting
professionally.can be achieved in just a few days, and that is the
Basically all you really need is to build some simplegreat advantage of being in full control of the whole
foundry equipment, and learn & practice the basic skills,operation, you can manufacture and finish everything in
and before long you will soon be creating somehouse, while reducing the overall cost to an absolute
amazing things in metal with your own mini foundry.minimum.
A basic understanding of foundry knowledge and selfOnce you are familiar with the basic foundry
- built equipment is the key to your metal castingtechniques, and you understand the techniques
success.involved, you will be able to create many things in
Proven foundry methods and techniques aremetal that you would otherwise not thought possible.