28 replies to this topic

[AB75]

Anyone recognize who made this chassis? This was my first non-box stock wing car. Purchased it around 1990 from Grand Prix Raceway in Smyrna, GA. I've used various motors in it over the years, but the Gr15 shown is what was in it when I bought it.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[Bill from NH]

I can't identify the chassis, but the fronts are Slick 7.

[Mr. M]

The bending and style look like a Craig Landry Yeti. Thoughts?

[MSwiss]

Craig was Zap and more of a tripod guy.

 

My guess is it is a "racer made"/ low volume piece.

[Mr. M]

Yes, Mike, Zap, age makes the details drift. It does look like his style. The bends look jig built, very nice.

[AB75]

Thanks for everyone's input, and I'm now pretty confident it's a Zap chassis. 

 

For reference, here are a few known Zap chassis photos, and the metal work is identical. Also for context, Grand Prix Raceway was selling a lot of Zap products at the time, so even though I bought this used, I'm sure it would have been built using on-hand parts.

 

 

 

[MSwiss]

I doubt that is a Zap chassis. Certainly not a production item. I don't think Craig would deviate from his volume work to build something that different.

 

Plus it has what appears to have a longer guide tongue than the Slick 7 ones Craig would have 100s of sitting on his workbench.

[Bill from NH]

It might be from Brazil or another So. American country.

 

 

Here are three ZAP I-15 chassis of that period. As Mike said, they're tripods.

[mreibman]

When I first saw it, I thought it had a Camen nose, but then I saw it was wire and had lead on top.

The rails and motor box look like they're from the old Camen stuff. Very similar to what Ted Matkowski used to build as a plurimeter in the early '90s. I still have one of the Matkowskis.

 

Found a pic of a camen online. I don't have this chassis.

 

[jimht]

I would say not one of Craig's but certainly a nicely done wire center rail.

 

Reminded me of this piece of masochism:

 

 

 

[Bill from NH]

Is this chassis one of your builds, Jim? I've seen the piano wire pillow blocks used before on Japanese chassis.

[Bill Seitz]

The Camen chassis pictured above has the Snapper formed main rail where the pillow blocks are formed in the wire. The nose is Camen Concord, so that is a Concord chassis. The OP's chassis has spring steel pillow blocks, so it's not Camen. It shares some wire bending style with a Zap chassis, but as has been shown, it's not a typical Zap design. There were other low volume I-15 chassis builders, and I suspect this is from one of them.

[jimht]

Is this chassis one of your builds Jim? I've seen the piano wire pillow blocks used before on Japanese chassis.

 

No, not mine although I've wasted plenty of wire doing similarly crazy stuff.

 

This one was manufactured in quantity by Tim and Garlon Wood from West Texas during the I-15 era, made with either several fancy jigs or farmed out to one of the same wire formers that make wire grocery carts.

 

The Woods brothers were woodworkers apparently offended by paint so their last track had a beautifully finished wood surface complete with varnish and original wood grain... like racing on a tree, but pretty.

[mjsh]

Looks to me like the Zap light glue tripod with the outside rails cut.

[MSwiss]

I doubt it.

 

Motor box looks different. 

 

The non-gear side looks different/straight.

 

The motor brave has it's jogs in different spots.

 

The Zap also looks like the rails might come closer to meeting in the middle.

 

PS - and the motor brace is part of the rails.

[mjsh]

Looks like, a more precise word would be inspiration.

[Bill from NH]

Camen also sold the Snapper Grp. 15 main rail as a separate piece. Someone probably bought one of these rails & built the piano wire nose on it. There is now one of these on eBay for $20 from Washington state.

[MSwiss]

No, the chassis in the top picture has traditional pillow blocks.

[Bill Seitz]

I have 3 chassis built with Camen Snapper main rails, and there's not enough wire length to form the wire nose on the OP's chassis. Camen used spring steel nose pieces with this main rail. As Mike and I have both pointed out, the OP's chassis has spring steel pillow blocks, so this isn't the Camen Snapper/Concord main rail. Jim Honeycutt identified it as coming from some guys in Texas, and I'd believe that.

 

The wire chassis Jim showed does resemble the Camen Snapper main rail, but again, there's not enough wire in the Snapper main rail to create the nose configuration. Jim may know the origin. I don't know if the Snapper main rail was formed in-house at Camen or elsewhere. The similarity of the formed wire "pillow blocks" suggests this wire work was done by the same person/shop.

[AB75]

This one was manufactured in quantity by Tim And Garlon Wood from West Texas during the I15 era, made with either several fancy jigs or farmed out to one of the same wire formers that make wire grocery carts.

Jim,

“This one”… Were you referring to the photo you posted or my original post?

Adam

[jimht]

No, I was referring to my photo in post #10.
 
The chassis you posted has 11 bends in one piece of wire and the one I posted is the only one I've seen that was comparable, seems like a bit too much work for a "one-off" chassis.
 
If it wasn't the only one available where you got it it was probably built and sold locally because I don't recall ever seeing it available through any of the distributors.

[MSwiss]

Jim,

 

I've been meaning to post this to show you.

 

I built this as a hobby project in about 1986.

 

The center piece is 13 bends. With the vertical bends to better support the pillow blocks and triangulate the motor attachment points, it was a bit tricky to get flat and with the motor brace level. I think I got  it on the third or fourth try.

 

I'm 99% sure this was the first perimeter I15 chassis, as it created a lot of grumbling that it should be illegal because it was too high tech/not in the spirit of the rules.

 

I was already a Pro when I built it. I finished it just in time to have the younger brother of a friend, Phil(?) Olsen, tech it.

 

He TQ'd and set a World Record, IIRC, the first lap it ran. I'm pretty sure he also won the race. I then lent it out at the Pepsi 500 to a local, Greg Creasy, who I think TQ'd and won. It's all a bit hazy, being 37 years ago, but It was a dominating car. I don't remember ever trying the car.

 

The chassis sits as it does as I had a plan which, obviously, involved lightening the steel nose.

 

I can't remember exactly what. LOL.

 

 

[jimht]

Nice. Fun with piano wire.

 

OTOH... all mass-produced perimeter chassis should be stamped steel. LOL.

 

"The spirit of the rules"... as if creativity rules were about anything but lowering everyone down to the same level.

[MSwiss]

Thanks.

 

And I'm not very good at bending piano wire. I'm just glad it's cheap. LOL.

 

I have a friend who regularly asks me ("you sure you don't have one?") to see my big race-winning chassis and I never can produce them because I would inevitably remove the wire motor brace to put on my next car.

 

Speaking of I15, as mentioned, I was long gone from racing it when I built that chassis. But I did do it for 1 or 1-1/2  seasons.

 

Using Mura arms, I always thought it was slot car racing 's version of hazing. LOL.

[Bernard Powell]

Jim,
 
I've been meaning to post this to show you.
 
I built this as a hobby project in about 1986.
 
The center piece is 13 bends. With the vertical bends to better support the pillow blocks and triangulate the motor attachment points, it was a bit tricky to get flat and with the motor brace level. I think I got  it on the third or fourth try.
 
I'm 99% sure this was the first perimeter I15 chassis, as it created a lot of grumbling that it should be illegal because it was too high tech/not in the spirit of the rules.
 
I was already a Pro when I built it. I finished it just in time to have the younger brother of a friend, Phil(?) Olsen, tech it.
 
He TQ'd and set a World Record, IIRC, the first lap it ran. I'm pretty sure he also won the race. I then lent it out at the Pepsi 500 to a local, Greg Creasy, who I think TQ'd and won. It's all a bit hazy, being 37 years ago, but It was a dominating car. I don't remember ever trying the car.
 
The chassis sits as it does as I had a plan which, obviously, involved lightening the steel nose.
 
I can't remember exactly what. LOL.
 
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