Developed by Ralph Parker and AB Slotsport, the Can Am Retro chassis is designed for 1/32 Sports and Can Am hard body cars.
This chassis will accommodate most smaller motors including S series Mabuchi, Falcons, Fox motors etc. The chassis can be built either way up to allow for either direction of motor rotation. As a sidewinder configuration, this chassis is designed for use with TSRF type Aluminium spur gears and brass pinions, however builders may find other types of gears to suit. This 2nd version of the chassis has additional features including optional use of TSRf type body mount brackets, adjustable guide lead and revised pan lengths.

Please note :- The photographs in this guide are for the Can-Am 2 Retro chassis.
The prototype chassis features the same type of construction and assembly but differs slightly. To build the prototype chassis, download the PDF file for the original chassis at the bottom of this page

So now you have chopped it up, it’s time to put it together!
First decide which way up you are going to build it, this depends on which motor you will use and in which direction it runs best. So orientate the centre section with the Spur gear cut out on the correct side and start to build!

Start at the rear of the chassis, assemble the rear pan hanger and the two pillar blocks (make sure the motor bracket is the same side as the Spur gear cut out and the wider part of the pan hanger is also on that side). Solder the pillar blocks in carefully from the rear towards the front. Do not solder the pan hanger solid! It is an idea to solder the front tags of the pillar blocks from the underside (this makes it less likely you will solder the pan hanger by mistake!)

Select the pans (ensuring they are correctly orientated). Tin the pan ends and also the underside of the pan hangers. Solder the pans to the pan hangers. It can be an idea to insert a piece of kitchen foil between the pans and centre section while doing this to ensure you do not solder the pan hangers / pans to the centre section!

Now you have a finished chassis! - or almost!
Decide which set of front axle holes suit you wheelbase and solder in the axle tubes at the correct height to give you legal ground clearance and suit your wheel diameter. Trim the unused portions of the front pillar blocks.
The chassis is designed to take a Slick 7 guide flag, but you may also use alternatives like the TSRF TSP1 utilsing a brass tubular bushing. Suitable rear axle bearings bushings are 3/16” x 3/32”.
Use the pan mount holes provided in the front and rear of the pans to mount the body. The central holes in the pans may be utilised to use cut down TSRF type body mount brackets.

Dependant on the body you select, you may have to skim the pans for correct width or if wider pans are required, add brass strip to the outside edges. You will notice that the 4 mounting holes in the pans are suitable for using countersunk screws. Mount the body using either wood, nylon or styrene blocks, epoxied to the inside edges of the body, or use your own favourite mounting system. If you require additional ballast, add Brass sheet inserts in the centre section cut outs.

Next, tin the front pan hanger and solder to the pans. Ensure that the “mount holes in the pan hangers line up with the holes in the pans and the pan still floats!

Now it is time to move to the front and solder in the front pillar blocks. You will note that the slot in the chassis is longer than the receptor on the base of the pillar block. This enables you to adjust the amount of lfront / rear movement in the pans. For full movement locate to the rear, for minimal movement locate to the front (see photo below)

Once the soldering is complete, scrub the chassis under a hot tap using detergent and a houshold abrasive cleaner to remove all traces of flux and crud and you should end up with something like this.
Note;- the pans will move back to front and also lift at the back.