664 replies to this topic

[Bill from NH]

Rodney, I was looking at some 1980's issues of Slot Car Enthusiast magazine the other day. One had several Oakland Speedway photos, taken on what might have been a portable track. These photos were credited to Eric Jan. Any chance he's your friend Eric, that you mention in some of your posts?

[Slot Car Rod]

Yes, the same Eric.  The 1989 magazine shows Eric's pictures of a portable track I made.  Thanks, Bill.  I forgot all about this magazine story.

 

 

 

[Slot Car Rod]

Riggen body Indy Eagle.  I painted the body with TCL back in the day. Powered with an A-can Mura motor. 

 

 

[Alchemist]

Hi Rodney,

 

Would you have more photos of that portable track you constructed please, as well as the footprint?

 

I'd like to know more please.

 

Thank you.

 

Ernie

[Slot Car Rod]

Ernie, the portable track consisted of two 4'x8' sheets of particle board.  The simple layout consisted of an oval with an S-turn.  I do not have a picture of the whole track.  The track connected with four screws and a coupling board.  Wiring was connected with trailer wiring connectors.

The Jaguar is one of the first TRUESCALE bodies, and the Porsche is a Parma body.

 

 

 

[Alchemist]

Hi Rodney,

 

Thanks for the info.

 

How did you find it, working with the particle board?

 

Much easier to route - even with the veneer surface?

 

Thanks Rodney!

 

Ernie 

[Slot Car Rod]

Ernie, particle board is very easy to route.  I have not used board with a veneer surface.

[Slot Car Rod]

Rick helped me identify the builder of these two chassis.  They were built by Dave Fortner.  Chassis are inscribed with "I" with antennas.  One chassis has wire main rails, and the other has steel main rails.  Thanks, Rick.

 

The Oakland Speedway/Mike Wong car has a Porsche SS body.  The KNG car has a Lola body.

 

 

 

 

[tonyp]

Nice 2 period pro cars. Both successful designs.


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[Isaac S.]

Very cool, the Mike Wong car is beautiful. Does your Indy Eagle have the Cobra or Phaze 3 GP chassis, it kinda looks like it.  

[Slot Car Rod]

Isaac, I remember the chassis being a Cobra chassis (1970).

[Isaac S.]

Okay, that is what I thought. Thanks. 

[Bill from NH]

The Indy Eagle chassis has a Phase III/Ferret anglewinder bracket, drop arm, & pre-bent piano wire main rail.. I ran Phase III  chassis weekly with these items on them from 1970-75. I think it was Ferret who actually manufactured the Phaze III chassis. The motor bracket occasionally shows up stamped FERRET on the back. On Phaze III chassis they're blank. Phaze III also sold chassis kits that included the before-mentioned parts.

[Rotorranch]

I'd like to find one of those Eagle bodies. Anyone repopping them?

 

Rotor

[Slot Car Rod]

Here are more production chassis.  I have not seen the Eagle body copied.  Maybe someone else has.

 

Left to right:  Phase lll, Cobra, two Phase lll, Eagle car.

 

Phase lll

[TSR]

Bill Fernald,

 

 

The Indy Eagle chassis has a Phase III/Ferret anglewinder bracket, drop arm, & pre-bent piano wire main rail.

The Riggen "Eagle Santa Ana" was a Cobra/Phaze III/Ferret shared product (as I explain in the book, the three companies were after a while, a single one after various legal proceedings).

Riggen merely purchased the chassis from the Cobra folks and put their own wheels and gears on it, with the ubiquitous Mura "16D" or Mabuchi FT16D motor and their own body, which they also sold in bulk to Cobra.
See "Slot Car Dreams", page 122 and 123.

[Slot Car Rod]

Pictures from a 1970 Auto World catalog.  Thanks everyone for the input.

 

Riggen.  

 

 

Phase lll.  Note two versions.

[Bill from NH]

Nice production chassis Rodney. Phase III used wide drop arms, like yours, & narrower drop arms with the same rail layouts.  Both widths of drop arms came with a hole & also were available solid.

[Slot Car Rod]

A 1/24th-scale McLaren M8F slot car body is hard to come by in the States.  The bodies are a "cottage industry" European product. 

 

I picked up a well-worn M8F slot car raced in Oregon, and restored it.  The car as found weighed an astonishing 8.9 ounces.  Lead was added below the chassis drop, and lead covered the top of the pans.

 

I reused the main rails, drop arm, and motor bracket, and replaced and rebuilt the remainder of the chassis.  

Note, the chassis is now flat on the bottom, and is low to the track surface.

 

I replaced the Parma motor with a new Mura super wasp motor.  The wheels were re-used, and new rear tires were added.

 

The body was cleaned up and lightened.

 

The car now weighs 6.2 ounces.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Isaac S.]

, that was bad! 

 

Super cool now, very low and the body fits very well now. 

[Bill from NH]

A big improvement on this one Rodney!  You must have one of the best, if not the best, privately owned collections of previously raced slot cars in the US. Just a personal thing, but I've always enjoyed building from new rather that restoring an old relic. I still have several of my old chassis, but others were lost during various house moves. Commercial raceways closed in this area 10+ years ago, so that has taken some of the sting away. 

[TSR]

All I can say is... yikes! 
Nice save.

[Slot Car Rod]

Here is a Lotus I originally purchased for the Versitec SS101 motor.  The car was pretty nice, so I decided not to part it out, and decided to clean it up.  The body looks like a Russkit.  Riggen wheels.  The Lotus body really polished up.

 

 

 

 

 

[Isaac S.]

Very nice, I like the body mounting system and wide motor mount.  I like the stance. 

[Slot Car Rod]

Isaac, the motor bracket is very nice, and is actually homemade by the builder.  The motor bracket is a little thin, so I braced the bracket.