19 replies to this topic

[TSR]

In early 1965, MPC of Mount Clemens, Michigan, a fairly new manufacturer of plastic model kits, got into the slot car business and introduced their "Dyn-O-Charger chassis and motor, made in America. Several bodies were made available, the first being a 1958 Scarab sports racer and a 1956 Lancia-Ferrari, two of the most popular models in the day. Shortly after, they introduced the "SC100", a dream car of sorts that was built in Michigan for the benefit of Sears & Roebuck department stores. This was a concept car based on a Harry Bradley design. Harry Bradley was a designer for Mattel as well in the 1960s.

The model was originally issued in a blue color, also sporting two-prong plastic knock-offs in the same color. The model was sold in semi-RTR form in the same type of box as the two previous models, with the chassis assembled, but the body top not fitted so as to show the potential customer the intricacies of what was in the day, an advanced concept.



Immediately after this model was issued, a fully assembled RTR car was made available in Sears stores, sold in a plain white corrugated cardboard box with inner separators so as to protect the model from shipping damage. The RTR was also molded in blue but the box did not include the decals that were supplied in the regular MPC box.







In 1966, MPC briefly issued a new version of this model, now with its body vacuum-plated with aluminum powder, like a chrome finish. These received the new MPC "sunburst" wheel inserts and the more familiar plated three-prong knock offs. Only version known was in the RTR form inside the plain-white box.









The SC100 was discontinued after 1966. The blue models were easily found a few years back, and are still around, but the chrome model is especially scarce today.

All posted pictures are the property of the LASCM and cannot be reproduced without written permission.

[havlicek]

Hi Philippe,

Thanks for showing this car. I do vaguely remember the motor shown and I guess it's because it was used in all or at least several of their cars...an interesting piece for sure. The car is something I don't ever recall seeing, but I was young and only saw whatever was at my local track so that's no surprise. The long and narrow configuration of the motor with the weight of the motor seemingly evenly distributed along it's length would have made it a natural for a F1 car, and the arm and com look to be pretty nice for the time (even if the car was or wasn't...?...a "hot" performer). Intertesting that they chose to do a "clamshell" type body even though there's some sort of ladder-type chassis in there. I guess that was because the waistline of the body is so high that the severe undercut would have made molding the body as an upper-only in one piece impossible.

-john

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

John, I still have a couple of the motors in good shape. If you care, I can send you one to play with.

Fate

[don.siegel]

There are a LOT of MPC Dyn-O-Chargers around, because they claimed it was the "fastest production slot racer in the world", and because a lot of 13 year olds like me believed them! Not to mentione that they chose some cars that were very attractive to a lot of enthusiasts. One of my first slot cars was the Lancia-Ferrari, but it had the hypoid gears, and I could never quite get them to mesh correctly - but the motor seemed awfully powerful!

These cars will run very decently, but have to be set up right, and I believe the motors are more subject to demagnetizing over the years than Pittmans or other open-frame motors.

Like you John, I don't especially remember seeing the SC-100 at the time, but I was a "serious" racer, not drawn to Thingies or buying my slot cars at Sears... The body looks kind of high for optimum handling... Still, a very unique slot car Philippe, thanks for posting, and showing us the variations on an obscure object of desire...

Don

[TSR]

Don,
Now that I quit racing since I cannot see well enough any more, I can devote more time to history... so you will see more as I progress finishing the !@#$%^ book!

The biggest problem with the MPC Dyn-O-Charger motors is that the magnets often turn to powder as they virtually disintegrate around their armatures... A strong compressed air gun is necessary to blow the magnetic dust away, and then you find out that what is left is not too pretty.

[skeeterbuck]

Pretty neat Dokk!

The driver's hear looks like it's from K&B. I wonder if MPC got them from K&B or maybe copied them.

Chuck

[TSR]

If anything in the time frame, K&B would have copied MPC, but it is not the case. Each driver's head in the day (Cox-Monogram-MPC-K&B-Revell-Russkit-Lancer etc. ) is different, however virtually all the Japanese manufacturers and Champion copied theirs on the Cox model.
And the best one today? The new Electric Dreams, available in both 1/24 and 1/32 scale, that is a synthesis of the best ones in the day!

[havlicek]

Hi

John, I still have a couple of the motors in good shape. If you care, I can send you one to play with.

Fate

Hi Rocky,

Thanks for the generous offer , but I don't really have a use for one. Much apreciado

-john

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

John, I Feel like a school yard "dealerman"...wavying an unusual near mint motor under your nose that you haven't seen!

The weakness is in the chassis which bends under normal use. I haven't seen the crumbling thing. That has my attention!

In the spring of 65 in Goldsboro, North Carolina, the local track had this monster High Speed Figure "8" with 80 degree banks. We drove the thing with a doorbell button. One of the cute marketing ploys of MPC was that the blisters were also vac bodies. One in the box kits was a Lotus 29 body. This car, the Dynocharger with Lotus 29 was THE car of choice in the annual "Indy 500" race. The way the race was done was guys could come in anytime during the month, pay a quarter to "qualify" during 4 laps. The top 16 would race, a 2x8 100mile qualifyer followed by the 500 for the top 8.

cool.

I think 80% of the cars were dynochargers.

I was top qualifyer and won with a rewound 36d, I was the only rewinder in the area, and a wire and pan chassis under a Dubro Lancia ferrari! It was a tad incongruous to see the Lancia in a field of Loti! Grin.

Fate

[sportblazer350]

thanks Dokk for another great article. And after looking at so many of these over the years i realised that i have yet to purchase one! Maybe this article will inspire me to search one for myself....

[don.siegel]

No wonder we hadn't heard much about this one: I found only two brief mentions of the car, in the preview sections of the January 66 issues of Car Model and Model Car Science.... here's the latter. The Car Model preview pages also had the Lindberg model shown below...



And here's the MCS cover with the Lindberg GT 200 Dream Car, a 1/12 scale motorized model.... look familiar? I know I saw somewhere that this thing was a real show car, but can't find the reference now....



Don

[TSR]

Yes indeed, the SC100 and GT200 are one and the same. The picture of the SC100 shows it with the decals that were inside the box, and that also have the name of the actual body shop that built the real thing.

Now I am going to surprise the heck out of some by revealing that one of their favorite thingie is a real car... just wait until I scan what I found yesterday...

[Horsepower]

I can't wait to see THAT! In reference to the SC 100, I DO remember seeing it and thinking it looked like a roller skate because the center of gravity was so high.

[edscars]

Bringing this thread back to life, I hope it can be found by those originally interested in the car since it's and old thread. I don't often buy cars on ebay, particularly large scale ones, but made an exception for this one.  It was an ordeal getting it shipped to me, but the package finally arrived today.  The side decals read "Body by Baughman, Evanston, IL" which is what attracted me to the car, among other things. I'll try to restore it with newer tires and one knockoff hubcap which is missing, if I can find them.  Perhaps PDL was referring to these side decals in post #12 regarding the body shop that built the original 1/1 car.

Attached Images

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

[Gene/ZR1]

[edscars]

Nice ad Gene. Do you think this ad was from the Sears Christmas Wishbook from 1966?

[Gene/ZR1]

Nice ad Gene. Do you think this ad was from the Sears Christmas Wishbook from 1966?

 

Check with Don Siegal, I think he would know about this catalog page.   (SearsSummer66) ?

[don.siegel]

Yep, it's the Sears Summer 66 catalog. 

 

Don 

[Mike Patterson]

I had the Lindberg model. It might still be in the attic somewhere.

[Martin]

Was the Lindberg model a bigger scale ? Having a faint memory here.

 

Answered my own question, it was 1/8th scale. that's a lot of plastic.

Attached Images

•