188 replies to this topic

[kvanpelt]

Thanks, Mike and Ray, for the kind words and good products.

As you mentioned, at the ROC for the F1 race, I was introduced to the motor mounting practice by Greg VanPeenen. The same motor that was mid-pack in my Can-Am car was put in my Dennis Samson F1 chassis and immediately was one of the fastest cars on the track and convinced me that this mounting practice was the way to go. The problem doing this with a modified bracket, the angle and alignment was eyeballed and not precise enough to replicate with multiple motor installations.

The Versa Bracket has solved that problem. I have installed a number of these in my cars, including the Manta Ray Z-railer I ran this weekend with the same results. If I had my way, I would make the same angled bracket without the "Versa" for an absolute fool proof install.

[kvanpelt]

Being an infrequent Retro racer until recently, I have to be honest that most of my blog viewing was done on that other site.

This morning when this topic popped up, I was surprised to see these brackets have been available since 2010. A very well-kept secret by the fast guys that have been using them since then!!

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Bud Bartos on his podium placing cars in both F1 (including TQ) and Stocker at this past weekend's Retro Summit, using C/R Versa-brackets and Brackagras.

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Dave "Shadow" Simerka, on his F1 win at  Penn-Ohio Race #5, at Rt. 93 Raceway, in Akron, OH, using the Chicagoland Versa-bracket and Brackagra.
 
Dave also had a Chicagoland brass Versa-tongue on his Bud Bartos-built Z-rail chassis.

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Cap Henry on his R4/6 Can-Am win.

Cap had a C/R Versa-bracket and Brackagra on his Mike Muir-built, Bartos style, torsion Z-rail chassis.
 
This is the second year in a row Cap has taken a win at the IRRA™'s biggest event of the the year, using a Mike Muir-built Z-rail chassis using the Versa-bracket and Brackagra.
 
BTW, below the pic of Cap's car is the original Hot Rod chassis that inspired me to build my first Retro three-rail, Z-rail torsion chassis, back in 2010.

[Cap Henry]

Brad Feuerstein's Mike Muir-built third place F1 also had a Versa-bracket. My fourth th place car will soon have one LOL.
 
Thanks for the great products, Mike!

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Dominic Luongo on his Can-am win at The Retro Revival, held at Rapid Raceway.

 

Along with the Versa-bracket, he also used a C/R "Horseshoe" bracket brace, and C/R steel guide tongue brace.

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Gary Clinton Jr. on his GTC-FK Coupe win at RetroPalooza 4, at Hudson Valley Raceway, using a C/R Versa-bracket on his Eric Gehrken/3D-built chassis.
 
Gary also took second, with the same car, in GTC-PD.
 

[blkdout76]

Thanks, Mike, for making such a great motor bracket. Couldn't believe the difference in setting a proper gear mesh and how quiet my cars were.

[Dominator]

It's all I use now!

[MSwiss]

Congrats to Duran Trujillo on his Can-Am win at the Summer Classic at BP Raceway, using a Chicagoland Raceway 2 degree bracket on his Greg VanPeenen-built chassis.
 
The chassis also featured a Chicagoland Raceway coined steel guide tongue brace.

[MSwiss]

Geary recently whipped up a new bracket for Thazer Raceway owner, Dave Geehring.
 
It's an .040" thick, 2 degree (super gear mesh), with the distance from the the motor to axle approximately the same as a JK.
 
It's 3/16" hole for direct bearing installation, but I'll open up the hole with an Unibit for a 7/32" axle tube, N/C.
 
Along with the square top, taller motor mounting plate, for ease of soldering your piano wire "U" brace, it has screw holes at 12 and 6 o'clock to give racers an easier way to switch motors without removing the crown gear.
 
For 1" wide (shown), order Thazer1.
 
For 3/4" wide, order Thazer75.
 
Add the "AT" suffix for an axle tube.
 
$10.00 each - short discount available to raceways.
 


Square top, taller motor mounting plate, for more area to solder your piano wire, top "U" brace.
 


2 degree, SGM design (super gear mesh)
 


Additional mounting holes at 12 and 6 o'clock.
 
If using a piano wire "U" brace on top, soldered to the face, vs the top edge, unless split, the 12 o'clock hole will probably be covered.
 
I think Dave G.'s plan is to use the 6 o'clock hole to screw in the motor and solder it on top.
 
Note: If using either of these holes with self-tapping screws, the initial installation of the screw will probably raise up
a burr, which should be carefully ground/scraped off.

[SlotStox#53]

Very nice looking bracket, Mike.

Got a slight vintage slot car look to it... or it could just be me?

[MSwiss]

Here's what the 3/4" version of the new "Geehring" bracket looks like:

 

 

 

[Dave Fiedler]

They look super sano!

[John Miller]

Looks good, Mike.

[SlotStox#53]

3/4 bracket looks just as good as the 1" one, top stuff!

How much are they, Mike? Same price as the normal Versa-bracket?

[MSwiss]

$10 each.

With the taller faceplate they use up a little more material.

[MSwiss]

Congratulations to Duran Trujillo, on edging out the field at the Aug. 24 SCRRA race, in one of the closest, first thru eighth finishes, in the seven-year history of Retro racing, using a C/R Versa-bracket and guide tongue brace, on his Greg VanPeenen-built chassis.
 

[MSwiss]

Congrats go out to all the winners at Sano 7 using the Chicagoland Raceway Versa-Bracket, Retro racing's original and only (as of this date) production angled face bracket, in their GVP chassis.
 
Ralph Thorne (GTC PD), David Krumnow (Can-Am FK), and Matt Bruce(Can-Am PD) all won, with Matt setting a new distance record of 299-1/3 laps.
 
Ralph and Matt flip-flopped, TQ'ing the class they didn't win.
 
The top three in GTC-PD, and four overall, ran them.
 
In the Can-Am PD A Main, an unprecedented seven of the eight cars ran them, including the top seven.
 
All the above mentioned PD cars, also used the C/R steel and brass, guide and horseshoe bracket braces, and used modified JK D311 (the original circa 2008) nose/pan piece.
 
Greg VanPeenen has asked me to produce the modified nosepiece along with a lightened version of guide brace, time frame to be determined, but realistically, not in the next two weeks.

[kvanpelt]

In the Can-Am PD A Main, an unprecedented six of the 8eight cars ran them, including the top five.

 
Make that seven of eight.
 
My JK X25R had your bracket in it as well.

[MSwiss]

Thanks, Kev, my brain is only working on seven cylinders.

[Ralph Thorne]

That's the first time I used one of those brackets and I was digging it. Killer gear mesh!

 

Why make it harder than it has to be?

[MSwiss]

Thanks, Ralph.
 
Congrats on your super showing at the race.
 
Your double runner-up and a win (like David K in FK) in PD on the King was a whole lot of all right.
 

Thanks, Kev, my brain is only working on seven cylinders...

... and normally it's one of these. LOL.
 


Bugatti W16 cylinder engine

[John Streisguth]

And I just happen to have a JK kit with this bracket in my "to be built" pile... timing is everything!