9 replies to this topic

[Steve Okeefe]

Table Top Racing Chassis

as published in Model Car & Track - November, 1963

"A Survey Of Currently Available Components"

 

 

 

 

[BWA]

In the very first picture, I still have everything pictured there, chassis, all the motors etc.

 

Cool stuff.

[Tex]

Wow! You must be 150 years old!

 

LOL  Just kidding. I think it's fantastic that a few people like yourself retained all that old stuff; it's HISTORY, man.

[Dennis David]

I wish I had retained 10% of what I once had but between the US Army, college, living overseas and marriage it's all just a dim memory.

[TSR]

Please note the crown gear on the Unique chassis. Don Siegel recently was curious about it because if also features a small spur gear in the molding. The likely reason is that Unique did not manufacture this gear but found it in some kind of a mechanical toy and purchased it from that toy maker.

 

 

 

But note that is chassis has a different crown gear....

 

[don.siegel]

Thanks Philippe, that sounds pretty logical. 

 

Other interesting point here is the set screw wheels on the two top chassis - did they come like that? Don't remember that at all, but it would mean that Unique was ahead of Russkit in releasing a car, or at least a rolling chassis, with set screw wheels - and earlier than I had thought! 

 

Don 

[TSR]

Don, No one can be 100% sure but these were found mint in their original clear-plastic boxes in different places, and since they both have the same wheels, it seems logical to believe that they came that way. But there were other setscrew wheels before both Unique and Russkit, as early as 1962, the screws being set at an angle on the flat inner surface of the wheel and the wheel having two setscrews. We have a few odds and ends like that, marketed by small shops or cottage industries.

[BWA]

Don, I was the exception to the rule regarding setscrew wheels. I used them right from the beginning. Dad had a Lathe and small Milling machine, and, I learned to use both at a very young age.

 

I made my first ones in 1960, I was 11 at the time. I also used 3/32 axles. I didn't get my first 1/8" threaded axle stuff till late 63 when Revell brought out their first chassis only kits, and, later in 64 when the early Monogram kits came out.

 

This was in Winnipeg. I got all my hobby/slot car stuff from Gooch's Bicycle & Hobbies, at 614 Portage Ave.

 

I didn't make many sets, because, like most kids with no money at the time, most new cars were built from the last cars parts.

 

Any motors I had, were Eldon 3 volt, and, later a few train motors scavenged from dad's HO train stuff.

[Steve Okeefe]

Don and Philippe,

 

I think those set screw wheels on the Unique cars are the real deal.

 

If you check the two photos in the last scan in post #1, you will see the two Unique cars shown both have the same set screw wheels shown in the LASCM photos.

[TSR]

Steve, I agree, they are the real thing, the evidence is right in our face!
Missing in the pictures I posted are that of another really neat Unique chassis with twin aluminum tubing booms between the steered front end and the angled brass plate supporting a sidewinder DC-703 motor. We do not have a boxed item but we have two loose ones. I have added those to the list of "things to take pictures of" when I go to the LASCM.

It is actually amazing to see how nice the early Unique stuff was, and how pathetic the later cars are...