Quick question. Has anyone ever completely dissembled a Power Max motor chassis assembly? If so, are there any stumbling blocks? Are the wheels press fit onto the axles and can they be removed from the axles with a wheel puller? Thanks, -Jon
There isn't much to it. To get the wheels out just un-screw the bottom plate and the wheels should pop right out. You can pull the wheels off very easy because of the plastic centers they have. The hard part is pressing new wheels back on perfectly straight so you don't get wobbles. I used a lathe to press the wheels on, keeping them straight:
Hi Jeff, I'd like to someday do a set of MBTA PCC street cars that I grew up with. The Power Max would fit in the theoretical chassis and shell I have yet to design. But the wheel base is way to long and the wheels are way to big. If I remember correctly without going back to my notes they should be 28" diameter. So even 33" diameter would be a heck of a lot closer. I don't have the right tools to fabricate with brass so I'll either rapid prototype a new chassis or fabricate one out of ABS or styrene. Weight loss converting to a plastic chassis should not be a problem as the body will have plenty of space for added weight. But before I order one and void the heck out of the warranty, I was curious as to what I was getting into... Hi Chris, Great idea. I don't have a lathe right now. But I think I can replicate the same idea with my drill press and my vise with hold down clamps. But my Dad has a lathe and I'll probably have to ask him to drill out a set of 33" wheels to fit on the Power Max axles (cant really do that with a drill press and get an exact center hole like on a lathe), it would probably make sense to have him press fit he wheels on as you described. Thanks, -Jon
