I think there are enough similarities to say both chassis were probably built in the same factory. I've seen the lighter weight motor bracket in Rodney's chassis used before in chassis said to be Champion. When I did the blog's eBay forum, they'd show up occasionally. I never saw one in the raceway's I visited or the Champion literature I had.
Rodney's rides
#226
Posted 13 February 2021 - 02:52 PM
- Slot Car Rod likes this
I intend to live forever! So far, so good.
#227
Posted 13 February 2021 - 03:17 PM
Don, wow, I have never seen the first generation Champion jail door chassis.
With Oakland Speedway, there was transformer/power pack power (not batteries) for a long time. Everyone seemed to run lightweight Indy/F1 cars. Thingies were in the middle of this. Later came battery power and heavy sports cars and anglewinders.
Rodney
#228
Posted 13 February 2021 - 03:31 PM
That is an early Champion Brass Rod frame. There was a multitude of these "brass strip frames" I have a picture of one in the catalog.
- Slot Car Rod likes this
#229
Posted 13 February 2021 - 09:07 PM
Everyone, thanks for your input. Here are three more Champion chassis inline cars. Note, two cars have rear axle tubes and one has axle bushings.
The Chevy is really fast on a modern hill climb track.
The Ford is a Mirage version. The McLaren is an Mk6.
Rodney
#230
Posted 13 February 2021 - 10:22 PM
Really like the Champion nickel plated chassis. A bit late to the party in the day. But now they are classic beauties, great looking cars Rodney
#231
Posted 13 February 2021 - 11:14 PM
All very cool Rodney. The McLaren Mk6 reminds me of something in my future.
- Tracking Angle likes this
Rick Thigpen
Check out Steve Okeefe's great web site at its new home here at Slotblog:
The Independent Scratchbuilder
There's much more to come...
#234
Posted 14 February 2021 - 03:38 PM
Nice car Rodney, this is a similar car I restored some time ago.http://slotblog.net/...n-rtr-makeover/
A real favorite of mine.
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#237
Posted 15 February 2021 - 02:09 PM
All excellent cars Rodney!
If I may ask you please, what manufacturer made this Mirage body and is it still available today?
Thank you.
Ernie
#238
Posted 15 February 2021 - 02:28 PM
Ernie, the Ford Mirage body is a Lancer thick plastic version. I messaged you regarding a Lexan version for you.
Rodney
#241
Posted 15 February 2021 - 05:20 PM
Rodney, your black Mirage has brass rod chassis sold by Lancer. They also sold a narrow version of that chassis to fit F1 & Indy bodies.
- TSR likes this
I intend to live forever! So far, so good.
#243
Posted 15 February 2021 - 08:34 PM
Love the Gulf Mirage. The Revs Institute now has the original car https://revsinstitut...1966-ford-gt40/.
#244
Posted 15 February 2021 - 09:17 PM
Isaac, I did not see the Gulf Mirage there. Lot of nice cars though
#246
Posted 16 February 2021 - 04:06 PM
Looks really good now. How does the Champion jaildoor with the Champion 507 handle versus the car with the 517? I'm going to make a similar car so wondering what would be best.
#247
Posted 16 February 2021 - 05:03 PM
Isaac, I always thought the 517 had more grunt than the 507 to deal with the heavier jail door chassis cars. Maybe more magnetism and thicker wire gauge armatures are the reason.
Also, I do not think the simple Mura rewind motors shown in some of the cars had enough power for jail door chassis. Oval hole BB can Mabuchi based motors work well.
As far as handling, my opinion is the 507 and 517 and even the 617 seem to handle the same on a modern hillclimb track or small club track.
Rodney
#248
Posted 16 February 2021 - 05:31 PM
Very helpful. I think I will try to find a 517 or 617 for it. Thanks
#250
Posted 17 February 2021 - 06:21 PM
Those are great cars Rod, but I think you've exceeded your quota of Champion jaildoor chassis...
I recently acquired one with a Champion 525 (not sure the arm is original), and was wondering what body to use... hmm, have an original Champion McLaren, that should do the trick... although your Mirages are impressive too. Any tuning tips for these chassis?
The only one of these I've really tried is a Champion Lotus 40 with the Mabuchi BB motor - not too impressive in fact, on an AMF Royal - seems rather underpowered.
Don