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Something a little different, thought this might be interesting for some.  

 

With this chassis you can adjust the weights trackside with your tire tool without even taking the body off, and they can even be adjusted between (or during) heats in seconds. Great for back-to-back comparison of different weight locations. This is something of a proof-of-principle prototype and the next version will probably be a good bit more elegant.

 

 

A local racer spotted this and shared on my FB page.

 

It was constructed by a man by the name of Sherman Collings.

Here is a 3D look at the handle instead of the graphic.

 

Since I quit punching a time clock in late 2012, I've mostly worked from home and in recent months, I realized that I was probably sitting around a bit too much for an old geezer like me. So I started looking for a part-time gig, not so much for the money, but just to get out of the house and away from the computer.
 


The main criteria was that I didn't want to have a long commute in the miserable Atlanta traffic to wherever the job was located. When I saw that the Southeastern Railway Museum in Duluth, GA, was looking to hire a ticket taker for their gatehouse, I figured it would be a perfect place for me. It's just five miles up the road and has short hours – 10 AM to 5 PM. It is also only open limited days, depending on the season. In January and February, the musem is open Thursday through Saturday. In June and July, it's open Tuesday through Saturday. Except for special events (and there are a few of those), I'll probably only be working one or two days a week.
 


SRM has been around 50 years and is officially "Georgia's Transportation Museum" by act of the state legislature. There are over 90 pieces of rolling stock on the 35-acre property, which includes a minature amusement park train ride, as well as a short full-size train ride. President Warren Harding's private Pullman railcar, Superb, (shown below) is treasured part of the collection and as with much of the rolling stock, visitors are permitted to walk through it. There's an excellent model train layout, a MARTA bus collection, and much more. The museum is alongside the Atlanta-Washington CSX mainline which sees a lot of trains every day. The museum's driveway, which is the only access, crosses the mainline and its adjacent siding, and it is not uncommon for it to be blocked for up to an hour, trapping everyone on the museum property.
 

 
The vast majority of people working at the museum are volunteers, but there's a small paid staff who are responsible for handling money and for opening and closing the museum. The latter duty is no small task, as it takes perhaps 40 mins for one person to accomplish. There are something like 70 electrical breakers in multiple locations that have to be flipped on just to power up the place!
 

 
The best part is that perhaps 25-30% of the museum's visitors are pre-teen children and their excitment is a joy to see. We also receive visitors from all over the world.
 
A couple of weeks ago, we had a young couple from Kazakhstan ("You don't have a zip code? Why not?") with their six or seven-year-old son. After a couple of hours, when this family was headed toward the parking lot, the boy was loudly wailing and throwing a fit. The two of us at the gatehouse were wondering if the child had gotten hurt. The young mother saw the concern in our eyes and smilingly told us, "He just doesn't want to leave."

Now into actual production after 10 years of arduous research. We don't have yet a release date. This 400-page, 750-picture hardcover volume has an interactive website providing all the information that would have made the printed book far too large. At the end of each relevant paragraph or sub-chapter are simple links to a web address where a person who purchased the book will be able to read the added information, that is dynamic, and add comments to an incorporated blog.

We believe that it could be the first book of the kind.

This book was edited by Don Siegel and is being produced by the extremely competent and well known in full-size car collecting circles, Larry Crane.

It will be available from many sources in the USA, including Electric Dreams, Auto Books in Burbank, CA and plenty of other outfits, and will be available in Europe and Asia from various retailers.

Called "Slot Car Dreams," its focus is mostly about 1960s commercial raceway slot car racing and models produced in Europe and Asia, inspired by the American models. It is not so much a "picture book" or a catalogue, more of a history book, the tale of the companies and the men who made it possible. It features plenty of never published information, rarely seen production and professional racing cars, and encompasses the "Classic Era" of slot car racing, the great years between 1962 through 1968, expanding to historical information before and after these years. For the first time, it will show the production cars inside their original packaging, that have become as important as the contents for slot car collectors.

Below are the book's cover (which is not its final version) and a pair of sample pages.

My dear wife and love of my life passed away ten years ago in August. She was a wonderful woman and great partner. She was beautiful, smart, clever, strong and I was in awe of her.

 

Yesterday was her Birthday.

 

I commissioned Jairus to build a car dedicated to her about nine years ago. It is a Shinoda Mongoose. I gave it to her son Trey from a previous engagement. 

 

Rest In Peace sweetheart!

 

Last night I dreamed that God had called me to the great beyond and he said "Bring your cars we have a track!"

Here we are with yet another motor issue in Retro racing. As an IRRA^® BoD member I can assure you we are working towards a solution. Some of you wanted this "fixed" yesterday but I think you already know that's not feasible. We can not make a "knee jerk" reaction to this because it is at the core of our program. Act too fast, without all the information and without studying all the possibilities, and you often compound the problem. And for the conspiracy theorists out there, well don't you think we should wait for confirmation and all the evidence before we lynch Tim and JK? There will be a solution.
 
As a track owner and a Premiere Race host it is my responsibility to make my event as fair and fun as possible. To that end I will do what I think needs to be done, up to and including hand-outs in all classes, to make things as level as possible. I firmly believe the IRRA^® will come up with a workable solution if this is indeed a major problem and not just a momentary blip. However we have no control over the Chinese manufacturers and little sway with JK. We simply don't have a big enough economic punch.
 
I personally believe there is no ulterior motive or greed agenda associated with this from JK. But we are at his mercy if any motor changes need to be made.
 
I'm posting this now so those that hate hand-outs will know that, as of now, hand-outs are a possibility at the R4/10. If that changes your mind and you won't attend then I'm sorry. I'm hoping that a solution is coming soon and this will be a non-issue.

By 1969, the pro-racing chassis design had evolved to a design that it would carry until the end of 1972, when new technology was introduced that offered an instant increase in performance from higher cornering speed.

The late Bob Emott had been the design leader from the early days of the anglewinder design, and effectively became the best chassis builder in the United States and likely, the world, inspiring other builders in the USA and abroad. He would do so until 1971.

Never resting on his laurels, Emott continuously evolved his designs, and this car is typical of his progress. Built for Team Mini Wheels Chris "The Judge" Vitucci, it represents the "next step" in the evolution of the so-called "plumber" chassis (so named because described as a "plumber's nightmare" when first introduced.


The center section is now made of two rails on each side of a 1-1/4" Cobra drop arm, one being a brass rod. The "motor box" of older 1968 chassis is now gone, main rails connecting shorter "half rails" to the rear axle tube. The side pans are now hinged two ways, with the rails hinged from the front of the drop arm.




The front axle tube is now partly "vented," to allow easier lubrication and also lower the center of gravity, even if by a minuscule amount. 

The front wheels are Mini Wheels, while the rears are Cobra. The guide and the gears are Cox items.

The motor is a faithful replica of a Kean massaged Champion "535" can with a Mura endbell fitted with Champion hardware. The endbell is side vented to expel as much of the heat as possible. The armature is a dual wound Kean on Champion blanks, 27/28 wire. Magnets are Champion Arco "DZ." The lead wires are Marklin stuff, lots of strands there. Axles are 1/8" drill blanks, the rear running inside Globe-Versitec flanged ball bearings.

As found in the pile of chassis retained by Bob Emott and purchased by the LASCM a few years ago, it needed a few repairs but was in quite nice condition, so it was simply repaired and washed. The soldering mess on the drop arm was left alone as it happened during the main event in which the car was raced (Vitucci having TQ'd) but he worked to destroy the car during the race. I decided not to touch it.

The guide and lead wires were still attached to the chassis and I left them alone as they showed no damage. It was missing its Kean motor, so I assembled one from parts, exactly as Bob Kean would have done in early 1969. The drop arm is engraved, as many of the 1969 Emott chassis were:

"Super Arm Batwinder"
Built for Chris Vitucci
The COBRA killer
By
Bob Emott





The body is a Dynamic McLaren M8, painted and decorated as a replica of the original Dave Bloom artwork by the best person to do such a job today, Joe "Noose" Neumeister. He was there, and his memory cells are quite excellent at remembering what colors to apply.











This one was a tough job for me, as the motor clearance was the tightest I had to deal with on an Emott chassis so far, and I did not want to remove or grind anything off that would have compromised the originality of this great car, which set the American "Blue King" qualifying record with a then fast 4.72". We now have no less than five "Blue King" record holding cars at the LASCM, the oldest from 1967, the youngest from 1985!

This car is of course fully functional, as all restorations performed for the LASCM are. But it is now a shelf queen, a witness of a great period in the history of electric model car racing.

I am spending the next four days filling up the shelves of the display room with production and hand built slot cars, as well as built-up static kits and MIB kits.

Here are some views of the "pro racing" side of the room with original and reproduced cars, period trophies and boxes. There are "drag racing", "pro racing", "thingy" and "hand built" sections. Still tons of work to do, but getting there at last. The models and boxes are located at the back of the large room, in a section all by themselves.



One corner of that section shows part of the extensive display:



The 1967 Rod & Custom Cup is surrounded by cars that actually took part in the races, rare survivors indeed.



The sole surviving "Team Russkit" box, complete with its original contents. It lived for over 35 years in the boot of a VW Beetle...



One of the most famous slot car boxes of all time, and the most traveled in the day, was that of Bruce Paschal. The airline stickers show how simpler things were before the first oil crisis in 1973.



Possibly the only Gorski controller still in its original box... with a Parma prototype at right and a custom painted set of Champion handles by Dave Bloom:



There will be over 200 "pro racing" cars on display, covering a period from 1963 through 1973. Chassis, motors, tires, tools will also be on display. If you lived that era, or love it as a younger person, this place will make you happy, even if you cannot physically visit, as there will be videos and detailed pictures online.

My late brother Willy took me to my first sports car race when I was 7 or 8  in Wichita Kansas in 1957 - 1958. Back then they were racing on airfield tarmacs. I really enjoyed seeing the Ferrari, Maserati and Lotus racing cars to mention a few but the one thing that really stood out to me was the dual racing stripes that some of the cars were sporting. Ever since I started racing slot cars in 1964 I had always painted dual racing stripes on many of my cars. 

 

Seven, eight years ago I had an idea to make literal “Racing Stripes” into a slot car. I began with the sketch you see here. Working as an engraver I had access to a computerized engraving machine and proceeded to cut a piece of brass to look like double racing stripes. Going thru many pieces, bending and shaping the brass until I finally came up with a design I liked.

 

This is the result, finished a few days ago.

I wanted to keep a kind of dual theme in mind.

 

Dual racing stripes for the “body” and frame with two main rails. There are actually four rear wheels, two per side mounted back to back. The front wheels have two “O” rings that were ground down to size. Two prong knock off’s. Double holes in the rear of the “body” to facilitate two megaphone exhaust pipes that still need to be made and mounted, still have to figure out how to make and mount them. I also made the motor bracket with two “slits” on each side.

 

Racing Stripes will probably never see track time except maybe a slow parade lap or two just to prove it can!

 

Thanks for reading,

 

Marinko

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The new Janis Nabokins built track was finally put together today.

 

The 46 metre track has individual 12 volt power supplies on each lane.

 

All that remains to be done is the track wiring and the final track height leveling.

 

The Wellington Slot Car Club now has a track that will be the envy of many. 

 

 

Congrats to Cap Henry for showing them the way around an indoor oval and holding his own versus none other than Tony Stewart in Fort Wayne midgets race. Fellow slot racer and car owner Joe Liguori was in the mix also, finishing third behind Cap.
 

 
After eight years, Smoke Rises in Fory Wayne Again

Hi guys,

 

I made some "old school" dragsters with my CNC mill. Strombecker padlock and good old 36D motors. The 36D 7.75" dragsters runs very well and also are lightweight; the padlock dragsters are 7.75" and 4.0" wheelbase set-up.

 

 

 

 

 

A couple of pics,. of the yet unfinished tracks that will be in Ernie Mosettis', soon to be open location.

 

A 6 lane 135ft. Policar track............mainly for 1/32 plastic chassis cars.

 

 

And a yet to be painted/braided 135ft.(ish)  Ogilvie flat track........Steve agreed to "unretire" to build this one.

 

It will be a spray glue track.

 

 

Unseen in these pics., but, there is also plenty of space for pit tables, the shop etc.

 

Cheers

Chris Walker

My recent fad.

Full of steel wires.

I have been building this track for about two months, working 25-30 hours a week or so. I based almost everything on the fine tutorial Steve Ogilvie posted here last year. I had to change a little from his guidelines as my work is not to the level of Steve's, G. Gerding's and C. Dadds. Like everything I do, I managed to overcome my shortcomings and make things work.     

 

I replaced a four-lane Carrera track with this. I am hopeful that our small group will find this enjoyable and be more involved than they were with the local raceway.   

 

Thanks to Steve and to Slot Car Corner for the router bit and the pre-taped braid. That made it so easy!

 

 

 

I would like to throw out another point of view not that anyone will give a damn.
 
 Tim (JK) came into this with people complaining about the inconsistent motor situation. Too many dogs and never enough bullets. Brushes are too soft, brushes are too hard, whatever. He has tried to make the situation better.  
 
I for one thank Tim for his efforts. That includes the successes and the warts as well. I hope Tim chooses to continue to produce products for our hobby.

Dear racers and raceway owners,

 

JK Products® (JK) would like to thank the many racers and raceway owners who have supported our involvement in USRA racing in the past. Unfortunately, JK believes that the USRA is now so corrupt that we can no longer support the organization.

 

As of today, we are renouncing the company’s membership In USRA and withdrawing all its products and support. It is acknowledged that this is a very serious action and we hope racers will understand this action is not being taken lightly.

 

The final straw was the national director’s refusal to allow approval of the C43 Aeolos chassis despite the unanimous approval of the scale division director, the scale technical director, the assistant scale technical director, and the majority vote of the product approval committee; the national director remains the only one opposed. We believe his highly selective interpretation of USRA rules is often incorrect and unfairly biased against JK.

 

This action is not taken solely due to the national director’s veto of the C43. JK has worked to try to remedy the situation within the USRA but it quickly became clear that USRA is not being run for the benefit of the racers. Sincere apologies to all racers inconvenienced by what JK views as a necessary action, and for the long term good of the industry.

 

JK Products® remains firmly dedicated to supporting the raceway owners, racers, and the slot car industry, as you will see in the coming weeks, months, and years.  

 

 USRA Final.pdf   802.64KB   486 downloads

Hi Bryan,
 

If you would have asked before posting, I would have explained that what you are seeing is exactly one of the process changes that results in lower variability.
 
As explained previously, JK Products Retro 7R and 7 motors are now 100% robotically computer balanced. They are the only motors in the industry that are 100% computer balanced. This is an internal processing/tolerance change, not a major product specification change. The IRRA^® board was informed of this process improvement and other process tolerance improvements, all designed to reduce variability and make our motors the most consistent motors in the industry.

 

In the past, all our armatures were hand balanced, like some of our competitors. As you can imagine, this hand balancing was not nearly as consistent as an automated machine can be. Not only that, the automatic balancing can balance to a much tighter tolerance using much smaller corrections than are available using hand balancing. That is what you are seeing in your photograph. Notching for larger changes, and very small drill holes for even better balancing than ever before.

I will have a detailed balancing post on our Facebook page later today, including a video of the process that you might find interesting.
 
Finally, if anyone thinks they have found a problem with any of our products, please grant me the courtesy of contacting me first by email; I will always respond. If I don’t satisfy your concerns, feel free then to express them on social media.

So first off I want to say that I'm enjoying Retro racing so much. I never imagined it would be like it is and what it has become. I have had tons of help from everyone getting me some wins here and there and for that I'm very thankful.
 
I want to talk about some subjects that I catch on here and Facebook from time to time.  
 
I want to talk about the JK Retro Hawk. I see people talk good and bad about these motors, some things I have seen is you need 10 to get one good one. When I first read that from multiple people, I was kind of shocked. Are some motors better than others? Sure, every time, even when you custom-build $700 Group 7 motors that have identical specs.  
 
Now some of you may believe me or may not believe me, I'm not here to judge, I'm just here to tell you my experience with these motors. When I go to a race and, for example, I race two classes that day, I will buy two motors and put them in my cars, and break them in, in the car itself. I have yet to be underpowered IMO to a point where I lost a race, at least that I think.  
 
I honestly think that how you break them in is everything! I race these motors every week at my local shop (PJ Raceway) in three different classes and i cannot tell you how close racing is on a weekly basis. I'm not here to argue with anyone, I enjoy racing Retro very much and tend to get along with everyone and want to keep it that way.
 
But I cannot express myself any better when I say 8 out of 10 JK Retro Hawk motors can win a Premier Event. I'm totally shocked actually on how consistent they are from one another because how they're made and where they're made. These are motors that are nothing special spec-wise, which I'm sure we all can agree on.  
 
I think you need to be patient enough while breaking these motors in. I have had motors that in 10 laps are where I want them to be, and I have motors that take 100+ laps to be where I want them to be. Don't give up on the motors that don't run after 100+ laps; I've been in that situation a lot.  
 
Well, I think I'm done with this little rant, I feel better now. 
 
Thanks, guys 'n gals,
 
Chubby