Return to the BUILD

“In this stage, you will add finishing touches to the front suspension as well as fitting the steering, engine and left front wheel.”

Contents

Parts

Materials: Everything in this stage is metal except for the plastic Stabilizer Bar/Linkages and Mounting Brackets and the PVC vinyl Power Steering Hoses.

Build

Front Suspension & Steering

Step 01

Secure a Stabilizer Bar Linkage into the recessed socket of one end of the Stabilizer Bar with one (1) BP screw.

These Stabilizer Bar Linkages can be attached either way as they are the same on both ends:

Secure the other Stabilizer Bar Linkage to the other end of the Stabilizer Bar with one (1) more BP screw.

Retrieve your Chassis assembly from the previous stage. Position the Stabilizer Bar to this location of the Chassis assembly (with the Stabilizer Bar Linkages facing up) and align the holes of the Stabilizer Bar Linkages to these slots in the Lower Suspension Arms:

These slots allow for some adjustment of the screw location:

Secure the Stabilizer Bar Linkages to the Lower Suspension Arms on both sides with two (2) BP screws.

Do not tighten these all the way just yet. Once the Mounting Brackets below are installed, then come back and tighten these:

Fit the Mounting Brackets over the Stabilizer Arm at these locations and secure them to the Chassis assembly with four (4) BM screws, as shown.

The two Mounting Brackets are exactly the same part. There is a pin on each Mounting Bracket that aligns these correctly to the Chassis assembly. One pin will be towards the front of the car and one pin will be towards the rear of the car. This is also your friendly reminder to try using 3-in-One Oil on all screws going into metal:

Step 02

Slide the post of the Idler Arm up through the large hole of the Idler Arm Bracket as shown, and secure this into place with one (1) KM screw.

Even when this screw is tight, the Idler Arm should be able to rotate:

Fit the Idler Arm Bracket to this location of the Chassis assembly and secure with one (1) LM screw, as shown:

Turn the Chassis assembly over and secure the free end of the Idler Arm to this hole of the Steering Arm with one (1) DM screw:

Make sure this screw is not so tight that the parts cannot pivot around the screw:

Step 03

Turn the Chassis assembly over again. Fit the Pinion Base to this location on the Front Chassis assembly…

… then, secure it in place with one (1) LM screw at the front…

… and one (1) DM screw at the rear:

Drop the shaft of the Steering Pinion through the large center hole of the Pinion Base:

While holding the Steering Pinion in place, turn the Chassis assembly over, fit the larger end of the Pitman Arm over the shaft of the Steering Pinion as shown, and secure with one (1) DM screw.

The end of the Steering Pinion shaft is D-shaped which matches the D-shaped recess of the Pitman Arm to align them together:

Secure the free end of the Pitman Arm to this hole of the Steering Arm with one (1) DM screw:

Make sure this screw is not so tight that the parts cannot pivot around the screw:

Step 04

Make sure both Brake Drum assemblies are centered (facing straight forward and parallel to the chassis):

Take note that the shaft end of the Steering Column is D-shaped with a flat side:

Make sure this flat side of the Steering Column is facing down while you now fit the gear end of the Steering Column into the Pinion Base so these gears mesh together.

You may want to add a little oil or grease to these gears so they are lubricated and can rotate/mesh easier. I put a little oil on a cotton swab and dabbed the gears with it:

While holding the Steering Column in place, fit the Pinion Housing over the Pinion Base as shown and secure with two (2) MM screws along the outside (left) edge…

… and two (2) DM screws along the inside (right) edge:

Step 05

Retrieve your Engine assembly from Stage 12. Fit the Engine assembly to the Chassis assembly, aligning the posts of the Engine Supports and the post on the Gearbox to these matching holes in the Chassis assembly:

While holding the Engine assembly in place, turn the entire Chassis assembly over once again, and secure the Engine Support posts to the Chassis assembly with two (2) IM screws.

Secure the Gearbox post to the Chassis assembly with one (1) LM screw:

Turn the Chassis assembly over one final time and fit the two Power Steering Hoses between the pins on the back of the Power Steering Pump End Plate and the pins on top of the Pinion Housing, as shown.

I cut a little off the end of each of these hoses just so they fit a little better:

Step 06

Retrieve the Left Front Wheel assembly, Hub Cap, and Center Cap from Stage 4. Fit it over the post of the left side Steering Knuckle and secure into place with one (1) LM screw:

When adding the Hub Cap to the wheel, make sure the valve stem pokes through this hole:

Press the Center Cap into the center of the wheel.

I never put these caps in place until the model is complete. There is a good chance we will either need to remove the wheel or tighten the screw during the build and removing these caps once installed can be difficult and cause damage. I only barely pushed it into place for this picture.

UPDATE June 7, 2021: Mike Lane has released his Magnetic Wheel Caps mod to replace these stock Center Caps – check them out!

Thoughts

There were a lot of little parts in this issue so it took some patience, but the steering system is now installed!

Next Up

Stage 17 – Right Front Tire, Hub Cap, Center Cap, Outer/Inner Wheel, Brake Hoses