162 replies to this topic

[Jairus]

Update:
We were suppose to take the cars to Pelican Park Raceway for a photoshoot with the cars on the track last wednesday. That would have given the guys a chance to test them on the track and set up a date for the first of 3 races. But... the weather didn't cooperate at all. Freezing temperatures, freezing rain and 5 inches of snow canceled the race.  
The cold snap is over finally as of yesterday, so the plan is to go down to Eugene this coming Wednesday.  Race date will be announced along with some pictures of the cars on that beautiful scale track. 

The cars in the paddock waiting for a chance to stretch their muscles.

The nice little hand made car display stand in the back will be awarded to the winner of this series. :-)
Hope to take and post some studio pictures along with specifications this week. 
So stay tuned!
 

[SlotStox#53]

Good luck to all the Goodwood Proxy racers!! Great picture Jairus ! The cars look sooo cool sitting there together

[Regis4446]

  Thank you  Jairus

 

and good luck

[dc-65x]

Hi Jairus,

 

Nice to see that group of hand carved beauties.

 

Looks like I changed my cars number from 4 to 14 for nothing. I made the change at the request of a non-registered number 4 car from Europe. It is not in the lineup......"Much Ado About Nothing" 

 

Perhaps I can remove that "1" decal I applied so Rodney and I can be team numbers 3 & 4 again.

 

Thanks for the update Jairus

 

Rick

[Bruce Wayne]

It must go without saying that I'm very happy and excited to see this event get started 

 

All the cars look awesome and whether they win, place or draw everyone deserves much praise and should be very proud of their hard work and efforts, as well as their patience and endurance   

 

Big thanks must go to Jairus for taking on the arduous task of of organizing and running the 
Proxy. Carry on Soldier, carry on...

 

 Thanks indeed for the carved wooden Trophy base too, a very fitting tribute!  For the winner that will remain a handsome reminder of the event and point of conversation for years to come    

 

I wish all the entrants the best for a safe and competitive race, rain, snow or shine 

 

Bruce 

[Jairus]

 

In no particular order, the cars were tested on the local track.
Yesterdays race at Pelican Park was canceled because neither of the guys I was going with wanted to make the trip. So... we had a bunch of racers tonight test all the cars on the Edgewater Raceway track and the unofficial results are as follows.

Car 3, 10, 14, 22 all preformed beautifully!  Ran smoothly with fair to no brakes but good handling and smoother than I expected. Best runners were the two yellow beasts by Rick Thigpen in my opinion. But, we haven't run the race YET!
Car 11 a little less... probably due to the narrower rear tires.  But no problems with it other than cornering. Smooth and quick.
Car 77 wouldn't go due to the tire on one side touching the chassis. (Sorry Jaak, will fix it)
Car 7 was fantastic for being built nearly 50 years ago!  Not as fast as the first four but handled just as well on those vintage tires which shocked me.
Car 1... vile!
Truing up a set of Ortmann tires to replace those vintage Monogram Tiger pieces of cr*p for the next test run but I have no illusions to winning in any way shape or form.
 

 

Probably won't hold the first round till after the holidays.  But stay tuned.


(As for Rick T. I now hate you!  )

[Regis4446]

thank you for this information Jairus

I am very happy in the photo, I'm in front of Rick
But I think this will change in the race 

[dc-65x]

Hi Jairus,
 
Thanks for the update. It's fun to follow along with the process.

 

 

 

 ......Best runners were the two yellow beasts by Rick Thigpen in my opinion. But, we haven't run the race YET!

 

I agree Jairus, anything can happen in a race!

 

It's too bad we didn't have a bigger turnout so we could have separated the GP's from the Sports Cars. It's understandable though. Carving a body is not easy!

 

It's been a long time since this all started so I want to show Rodney's vintage hand carved California style Sports Racer / Hot Rod that started this Proxy:

 

 

 

Is this a cool vintage slot car or what? The body is hand-carved WOOD!



My buddy Rodney sent me these pictures of his latest build. Here's his story about the car:

I just completed another 1/24 scale wood-bodied slot car. A one-off 1963 Cash Spl. The late Ron Cash carved the body out of balsa wood.





The R/D chassis was assembled from a new kit.



It's Revel-Pittman RP77 powered.



The car drives great. Eric was really surprised how fast the car is. The balsa body weighs very little. The chassis has a very low center of gravity. The Cash Spl. body has great style and is reminiscent of the many American V8 powered specials I saw in the '60s.

Maybe Rodney will send me a little info on the late Ron Cash that I can pass on. It's obvious he was quite a craftsman.

Hope you guys enjoy the pics.

 

That car inspired us to make our cars "BEASTS" just like Old Yeller II that terrorized the expensive foreign sports cars in West Coast road racing:

 

 

Man I love that car. Look at those WHITE WALL TIRES!

 

OOH OOH!

 

Jairus.........now don't shoot me but..........not being much of a wood carver but loving the old Pittman's and such..............the first thing I thought of when this Proxy was discussed was..............ANOTHER PROXY!

 

I know what you're thinking,   But before you pull the trigger, let me tell you what came to mind:

 

Quite simply, it's the same mechanical rules as the Good Wood Proxy but with say model kit, mid 60's and older, front engine sports cars. Perhaps two classes, Over 2 Liter and Under 2 Liter.

 

The idea would be to recreate the "fiberglass body" era of slot racing. Those bodies are rare but hard plastic model kits are available and would be a good substitute me thinks.

[Dennis David]

Our those knock-offs meant to cut your opponents tires ala James Bond? 

[dc-65x]

That's vintage!

[Jairus]

It's only been 6 days that the Concours post has been up and we have a grand total of ..... 3 votes.  We'll leave it up for the duration of all three races and I only want members of that forum to vote since none of them have "dogs in the fight" and being modelers, they understand what goes into scratch building.  I will stay on them till we have at least 25 votes total.

I really don't want any of the racers joining and voting please. Let's leave this one up to the greater unwashed. (Just wish they would get over the "slotcar" stigma most static modelers have.)

 

 

All the cars have been tested and we are almost ready.  Jaak's car still is experiencing some rear tire contact with the body so I will fix and test again tonight.
My car runs and handles much better now with trued up tires but the gear mesh is not as smooth yet. Those bevel gears need to get worked in.  Probably put it on the test bench for a while till it quiets up.

However, I have no illusions of running even close to Rick's and Rodney's cars.  For some reason those machines are fantastic even with-out a chassis pan.

Personally, I would have thought them to roll over on their tops at each corner.

But I think we are ready. Taking all the cars to the track tonight and will get the first race planned.  Maybe Saturday afternoon if the other drivers are willing.

[SlotStox#53]

Cars look amazing Jairus   Sounds like the DC65 powered cars are gonna be a force to be reckoned with!

 

Good luck to all competitors & cars Look forward to reading the results of each race & how each car goes, really interested to see how your Maserati & Bruces Merc run..

[Jairus]

Bruces Mercedes already runs rings about my car.

I have absolutely no faith in the performance of the Maserati.

 

If I had to do it all over again... I would have done what Rod and Rick did and go fantasy, lower the C.G. and use a huge torque motor with a wide track and longer wheel base.  Because that seems to have done well for them.

[Jairus]

Okay, we have a first race date set for Next Thursday night at Edgewater Raceway.
Wish us all luck because these cars are not easy to drive.  I just hope there are no accidents or damage...
Full report on Friday next.

That is all.

[dc-65x]

Flexi racers driving balsa wood bodied vintage cars at ten tenths as if they were made of steel and lexan............a terrifying thought!

 

Jairus, please tell them that eight tenths is fast enough.

[Jairus]

You are more than welcome to come up here and help drive. 

[dc-65x]

 

Wish us all luck because these cars are not easy to drive.  I just hope there are no accidents or damage...

 

I appreciate everyone's participation in the event and I thank them all in advance.   It's just that car's like your Maserati and the other beauties are works of art to say the least.........  

[Bruce Wayne]

I made a suggestion offline to Jairus some some time ago about running them in a Time Trial fashion rather than heat racing, and I still think it should be worthy of consideration. 

 

In this case it seems almost appropriate, same as they do the real priceless vintage autos they "race" at the 1:1 Goodwood Festival of Speed  .

 

Sure they might hit a few hay bails going "up the hill", but at least there wouldn't be any multi-car pile ups

 

Would this not be a viable option  ?

 

 

[don.siegel]

I say, let them pile up! 

 

As Rocky/Professor Fate always said, "they're all doomed".... 

 

And if you can get one of the local drivers to nerf Rick's car, I'll send him some good French chocolate... 

 

Cheers, 

Don 

[dc-65x]

 

I say, let them pile up!

 

  Well Don, I'm not so worried about Rodney and my team cars or your vintage battle scared warrior but the other 5 entries are really works of art.

 

 

......running them in a Time Trial fashion rather than heat racing......

 

Bruce, this is what we'll be doing with the R&C Proxy. The cars will be driven by the same great driver, on the same lane, on the same day. The best times and driving impressions will be recorded. A tech sheet similar to the originals in the magazine will also be provided.

 

Please consider building a car for that event. It's going to be a hoot!

[Jairus]

Yeah, I am strongly considering that prospect Bruce.
The first race will determine how the following two races will be held. But a time trial of 2 minutes on each lane with total laps recorded makes a lot of sense.
Although I doubt a race held with 4 cars on the track at the same time would be much different.
 

[Jairus]

... but what I do know is that I am making plans to build a much better car! Because I had more fun building than I did planning a race.

[SlotStox#53]

What car are you looking at making next Jairus? Any ideas yet?

[dc-65x]

... but what I do know is that I am making plans to build a much better car! Because I had more fun building than I did planning a race.

 

What car are you looking at making next Jairus? Any ideas yet?

 

Rodney and I are in the middle of building mechanically the same era of slot car but with a model kit body. Kind of a tribute to the fiberglass body era. They will be front engine racers from the mid 60's and earlier.

 

So far, mine is a 289 Cobra for the over 3 liter class and possibly and MGB for the under 3 liter class. Fun stuff!

[Jairus]

Same rules. Balsa wood construction, pre-1965, open can motors. That sort of stuff.

But this time lower, slightly wider and DC65X powered.
Because I really like making laps in those wonderful machines Rod and Rick built. 

 

No rules other than that. No scale under chassis clearances either.
And... no specifically replicated cars. Fantasy all the way!