Project PHOENIX

[gordon]

... doesn't happen often so I thought I'd share it - maybe someone has even mentioned it before.

If you were starting to build this thing, and you had the standard chassis, transmission, diffs, wheels and tracks on the shelf, the obvious difficulty is matching the wheel drive ratio to the tracks, as per all the above discussion.

There's also been a lot of chat about the track sprocket tooth number, but wouldn't it have been a simpler option, at time of original production, to make one or more special pairs of drive sprockets with slightly different diameters and numbers of teeth? Obviously you would start by knowing what the front drive roadspeed should be, but specially-made drive sprockets would let you match or iron out any variations, within the limits of being too small for the tracks to run round or so big they hit the 'body'

Build it first, with standard carrier drive sprockets, and try it with the front axle out of gear, then measure it, then fit track sprockets with extra or less teeth till it's a perfect match with the front axle in drive?

Oh, and I hope it's going to get a real body and not that collection of concrete blocks like the original did in the photo.


Good luck.