3 replies to this topic

[bradblohm]

Hello everyone,

While looking through the things I got from Jerry Mrlik's son Jeff, I remembered this item. Now, everyone knows about the Lancer and Dubro Chaparral 2Fs, and they are gorgeous.



I did find another unique 2F in one of Jerry's boxes. From this angle you can see it's a bit more crude:



It is about the same height:



The back is a little higher and more square:



Overall, it's a little larger:



Did you catch the name on the business card taped in the body? Yes, it's...



What the heck is that! Speaking with the guys, we think that since Jerry was the main man at the GM Tech Center for Jim Hall's Chaparrals, and Jerry raced slot cars with Ted Lech and Bud Stordahl (the Dyna-Rewind guys), and Larry Shinoda (the "Thingies" man), that Larry must have carved a buck for the "new and secret" Chaparral 2F that they were working on as a slot car for Jerry to run. They would have been some of the first to see the car, so...

Any chance there's more of these around?

[TSR]

Brad, indeed Larry made those at the GM R&D along with the thingies, I had one once. I think that he actually sold them at the Groove with the other bodies because the one I had originally came from there.
Those guys really were having some fun in their job!

[bradblohm]

Hey Philippe,

 

I see I've lost the pictures of the Chaparral 2F with Larry Shinoda's business card taped inside, so I'll get them put back up shortly.  Anyway, the guy who came to the 2017 Shinoda reunion who raced with Larry, and Jerry Mrlik, and Dave Corben, and Ted Lech knew about the Chaparral 2F bodies.  Larry absolutely made them and sold "a few" at The Groove so that they could be considered "production bodies".  Everyone always complained they were too wide, and over scale, and the guys would just stand back and say, "Hey, they are production bodies!"  I guess slot racers have done that from the beginning...

[TSR]

Sure thing... special bodies have long been used by racers to gain an advantage. Remember the Shark Ferrari 330P3 used by Cukras in 1966 at the R&C race, or the 10-thou Russkit Lotus 40 only available to Morrissey's boys?