Q & A with Bill Steube, Sr. Interview by Jukka Moisio.
Bill Steube was born in Los Angeles, California on March 2, 1925. He's a versatile fellow, holding an Operating Engineer's diploma in steam engines and refrigeration, with 15 years experience as a chief executive in an important powerplant. He also holds a commercial flying license.
Bill, now 47, has raced sports cars and motorcycles (which accounted for the loss of one leg). He started fiddling with slot cars in 1960 with Strombecker cars. He set up Checkpoinfs famous raceways in the sixties. The Checkpoint name is also displayed above his garage.
Bill rewound his first slot car motor, using a Russkit armature and #30 wire. Team Checkpoint was created when Gene Husting put together the "Rod & Custom" race series. Terry Schmid and Bill Steube, Jr. were the mem-bers originally. Mike joined them later on.
Terry won the championship with Mike tied for third. The following year, Terry won it again, with Mike second. Mike won it the following year and Terry took second. The factory team competition at that time was very tough, yet Team Checkpoint regularly beat everyone.
Terry then went to race for Mura, and Mike won the championship again. He won every year until 1971, when Earl Campbell edged Billy Steube, Jr. Team Checkpoint won the only N.C.C. championship, too, and most of the other biggies held until 1971, such as the Mura-Cobra spectacular at Buzz-a-Rama in New York, and the Dallas race. This year, in California, Team Checkpoint members won more races than anyone else.
Q. What does the slot car scene look like to you?
A. It has become very specialized, and there"s no room anymore for junk equipment. I try to give more attention to every little detail. I try to have not only the fastest, but the best looking slot car motors on the market.
Q. What year do you consider the best racing year for Team Checkpoint? Do you think the Mura-Cobra race was the highlight of the team?
A. Every year gets better, as far as I'm concerned. The competition gets tougher, more interesting. Certainly the Mura-Cobra race was one of the highlights but more important for me is the consistant way my motors are winning races. Just imagine how proud I felt after this year's Gasparilla race, when Dave Willits, using the only Checkpoint motor in the race, won in front of 7 Pooch motors! Here in California, at home, I can do a lot of experimenting with the two main members of my team, my son Billy and that crazy Frenchman, Philippe. Their suggestions help me determine what the racers want.
Q. Today, it seems that slot racing in the U.S.A. is beginning to flourish, once again. Do you agree, and if so, what would you say is the reason for this?
A. It's picking up. More people are getting interested, and I wouldn't be surprised to see new tracks opening up here and there. This is due to the fact that it's more serious now, and extremely competitive.
Q. What are your plans for the future?
A. Team Checkpoint is in constant evolution. Mike is not racing anymore; I’ll have to find someone else. I try to keep the team to a minimum, as it is really expensive. I try to find the fastest, most serious racers. My team members right now are Philippe de Lespinay, Billy Steube, Jr., and Chris Burlew. I help others, such as Bob Crane, Don Aspenson, Herb Wade, etc. Mike has been my best racer yet, getting fantastic results for the team in the five years he raced for me. Philippe seems to be the most consistant yet, and he's fairly new to the game.
Q. You have been an influential factor in the world of pro racing. Could you please tell us, on the basis of your experience, what pro racing is really all about?
A. Pro racing is the toughest expression of general capabilities of a team. It requires cooperation between the driver and the motor builder, which happens rarely. I had good luck with Mike, because he is my son. I have a hard time with anyone else, and it gets tougher. For the driver who is his own chassis builder and sets up his own cars, it's really rough. He' s under a lot of pressure to get things done in time, drive hard and intelligently in order to get a sit-out in the main, then race and win sometimes, and cool it until the next one. For the motor builder it's the constant pressure and pain to re-do everything again and again. After the race, when you've won, the racer often doesn't even think to say thank you. I hope slot racing is going to develop in the same process as model airplanes, with better, less expensive eguipment and new tracks.
Q. You are known as a brilliant motor builder. Could you please tell us how a Steube motor gets its birth?
A. Well, I do so much fiddling it would take too long to explain. Let's put it this way: I machine them for the most precise fit I can get, and I pay particular attention to perfect alignment, magnet fitting and strength. Before I used the new Mura buss bars, I never had a hand-made bussbar come unsoldered. Selection of the best material available is very important.
Q. What kind of oil do you use?
A. Castrol Racing, automotive oil.
Q. What about the axle bearings?
A. The same.
Q. How much wear do you allow in bearings?
A. None.
Q. Would you tell us the secret of brushes and springs?
A. No big thing. The spring must not hang up on anything. Tension is important. The brush must be free in the brush holder, but not too free. It must barely move in and out, freely but with no play.
Q. Would you compare Blue Dot, Mura II and Associated magnets? How do they differ? Could you tell about trimming magnets? How would you define the difference between too powerful and proper magnets?
A. I now use the Mura magnets exclusively, because they’re much better magnets. They're extremely fragile, but also extremely strong and well oriented. The Mura mags give more speed, run cooler and lose less magnetism than any others I've used. About trimming, I now machine grind them to the correct size after making the inside radius by hand. A too-powerful magnet will get the commutator to turn black. Bad news!
Q. What about the holes in the can? What's the best can and what would be ideal?
A. The holes in the Mura can are about ideal. I run them slightly bigger when I run smaller winds. The ideal can would be a completely closed one, but it's impossible with slot cars, as the motor does work on an extremely wide RPM range. Slot car motors are actually some kind of miracle! I have been experimenting with smaller motor cans, as have some of my team members.
Q. Could you say something about timing, and at the same time define terms such as ”top end”, ”bottom end”, etc.
A. I give more timing for smaller winds, to get more punch and brakes; big winds (#24 and up) require less timing. #25 is a medium range. Top and bottom end refers to the characteristics of a motor – the kind of power curve you get out of a particular race motor.
Q. Whom do you consider the best driver and chassis builder in the U.S.A.?
A. Very difficult question! In the past, Mike was the best driver, as far as I was concerned, with Howie Ursaner and Jerry Brady for runners up. Right now, Dave Willits, Monty Montague, Mitch Keil, Lee Gilbert (before his retirement), Jan Limpach (particularly this year), Rick Boltizar, John Myers, and Earl Campbell are probably the best in their area. They are consistently fast. But to say who is the best? I like to live! A race between them, on a King track (neutral, held somewhere in the middle of the Sahara desert) would be very interesting, if all of them would show up and prepare properly for it. As far as chassis builders go, I would say that Lee Gilbert was probably the best. Right now, however, Jan Limpach, Tony P., John Myers, Carbonell and Beaver, and Philippe seem again to be the best in their area. I would say that the best drivers are on the East Coast and the best cars on the West Coast.
MAR. Thank you for your time, Bill Steube, certainly the ”Wizard of the West” when it comes to slot car motors.
