Building the ACME Valve Cover stock racer for 2023
under construction
As we are getting ready for the 2023 season, we wanted to document a “Turnkey” build from the ACME Cup Official team. This racer will be built with stock components and race ready for the season. And, available for folks to use at each event in 2023 if not being raced by an ACME staff member.
A budget of $35 dollars was used to build this ACME racer from ground up. The first solution was to select an old rounded VW Valve cover in the scrap pile to be used as the foundation for the car. We found one In decent condition and compared to a few other banged up valve covers, this was chosen to represent ACME’s entry.
So…. what color should this car be? How about Gloss Plum 🙂
UPDATE: The car is track ready 🙂
Parts Needed for the Build
Deciding on a chassis and components to make this racer within budget had two easier build / design choices for the chassis and wheel setup. Either single spline / Tunnel as the restoration for Bruce’s Manx valve cover, or axles through the body as Vincent P.’s setup as described on the Wheels/Chassis page of this web-site.
Although you wouldn’t typically use a rounded valve cover for individual bolts/axles for each wheel, the valve cover we found was in better condition and relatively straight – but, deciding on skateboard wheels for the final build, we wanted the ability to mount the wheels inside the valve cover to protect from side rail contact. This build will mirror the restoration build.
- Skateboard Wheels and stock bearings 52mm diameter, 29.8mm wide to fit inside the Valve Cover for protection (as exactly shown below). AMAZON Click Here: $16 total
- Qty. 2 U-Shaped wire clamps ¼” to secure Axle to metal bar. Qty. 2 with nut 6-32 X 1/2″ screw and lock nut. Home Depot – $5 total
- 1 ¾” wide Metal ¼” thick bar. Home Depot $0 – in Parts Box but $15 for 3 feet.
- Axles: Qty 2 Carriage Bolt, 5/16″ x 3.5″, 4 lock washers, 16 regular washers (smaller diameter to fit 5/16″ bolt), 2 nylon locking nuts. $3
- UNIQUE Washers: Qty 8, Skateboard wheel washers, still allowing the bearing to turn but the wheel to be secured. AMAZON Click Here: Parts Box
- Krylon Gloss Plum spray paint / primer combined, Lowe’s Hardware Store: $6
Total Parts cost for the ACME VCR Build: $33
The Build Steps
“my mind is a raging torrent, fluttering with rivulets of thought, cascading over waterfalls with creative alternatives….”
Track Test Run
Fast and Straight on the Test Track – The AMCE Valve Cover racer will compete for a lot of class wins and hopefully get an entry into the final bracket for each race of the 2023 Season.