86 replies to this topic

[gluebomb]

Hey there,

I'm not seeing the 330 P4 Spyder body that Testors used for their RTR in that listing but assume they sold it seperately - anyone have a stock number for the original or a source for the Truescale re-pop from 6 or so years ago ? 

Cheers,

S..

[TSR]

Simon,

Pactra sold the body separately in clear form, but finding one will be a tough nugget. Testor issued their RTR car with the same body, now factory painted. A beautiful car!

 

 

 

 

Note that the chassis was designed by the same person who drew the "Cucaracha" for Cox!

[Gator Bob]

_Dokk,

_{What motor is in that 330 P4 Spyder?..}

_{BTW... Who did the drawings for the Cuc?}

----------------

_{Does anyone know... Is this a Pactra #116?}

_{http://slotblog.net/...ed/#entry504331}

[TSR]

You ought to pay more attention, we went through all the Pactra and Testor motors less than a year ago in these pages...

The motor is the Testor "Turbo MK1", an Igarashi can with zinc die-cast endbell and overhead Pittman style brushes.

We also went through the whole Cucaracha story. The designed of the body (but not of the chassis) was Fred Naff, today Millie Naff.

[Gator Bob]

Oh...   OK boss.... 

 

Now.... Are you paying attention to my question about the Pactra Corvette?

 

You posted a DuBro for some unknown reason.....

[TSR]

Bob,

I posted a picture of a DuBro to ask you if that was the one, before you posted a picture of your car. At this time, I don't know for sure if it is a Pactra because I am not at the museum and a Vette being a Vette, I would have to compare it to a known Pactra body with factory tag. Hence, at this time, speculation is open...

Why don't you post a pic of the bottom of your car to see what you did to the chassis and running gear please?

[Gator Bob]

Vette being a Vette,

 

Why don't you post a pic of the bottom of your car to see what you did to the chassis and running gear please?

Pictures posted.

[TSR]

Muchas gracias. Have you driven it yet? A 707 will simply rip that chassis out of its slot... I tried a 707 in a brass AMT chassis and it totally ruined the car's handling from too much torque, and with the stock 701, it was sweet as can be...

[Gator Bob]

Not driven yet. But it will be an MRC in my hand when I do.

 

Thumbs up

[gluebomb]

That Ford Mk IV body on the RTR is different from the Lancers I've seen in that it doesn't have the "Gurney bump" on the roof - useful if you want to do the early Sebring car.

Did Lancer offer two versions or is that one special for Pactra ?

[TSR]

Simon,

In the day and because demand was high, Lancer had multiple molds for each body they produced. Generally 4 to 6 of each car depending on the model's popularity. It is likely that some of the Ford molds had that detail and others did not. The "current" one produced in thin Lexan by REH may have the bubble on its top, while I added to my "things to do" list to check the number of them in both clear and painted we have at the LASCM of the real thing.

In the meantime, I stripped and polished the old Pactra-Lancer body and am now ready to apply the decals.

It still is at this time, after nearly 20 years of collecting old slot cars, the only genuine example I have ever seen, so it is important to keep it as original as possible.
 

Not a body you would want to mess with by repainting or adding details that were not on it when it came out of the Pactra factory in its large triangular box! 

 

Shown here with a NOS cockpit already fitted with the original Pactra driver's head and the sheet of NOS decals.

 

 

The metallic "Candy Apple" red as they used to call it is backed with silver:

 

 

Anyone out there has one of these cars, with the iso-fulcrum chassis and the Hemi X88 motor? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[gluebomb]

Thanks Phillippe,

 

You're right, the REH repop has the bubble, as does the not-quite-as-nice Whitepoint copy of the Lancer - Did anyone else do a decent scale MK IV ?

[TSR]

Not that I know, and remember, this is a Pactra thread, let's not deviate too far...

[Patrick Vaughn]

Does anyone have a lead on one of these for sale?

 

This is the 1961-62 Ferrari made by Pactra in what seems to be 1966-67. My all-time favorite F1 car.

 

Thanks.

 

pactra_sharknose_(#50_1966:67).jpg

Looks like I’m about 2 years to late but yep, I have one available

 

[Patrick Vaughn]

I'm going to try to add some I didn't see pics for. Here's the first:

 

[Patrick Vaughn]

[TSR]

A comparison between the various iterations of the Pactra Chaparral 2D model, from Pactra, Aztec and Kal-Kar:









 

[don.siegel]

Ok, here's one for you guys, especially you Indy fans. 

 

Just received a body listed on ebay that was described as a Gilmore from Pactra; sounded about right, seem to have remembered something like that. 

 

But now, looking at the real Gilmore Special from 1935, it had a riding mechanic and this one has a single driver molded in - otherwide seems pretty much the same layout, but a lot of cars from the 30s were similar... 

 

I also just looked at Steve's list on the first page, and no Gilmore is listed. Plus, I don't seem to have a lot of documentation on Pactra bodies, or in general. No catalog that I've seen, and they weren't huge advertisers. 

 

Aurora also did the Gilmore as a hard plastic kit in their Indy Winners series, approximately 1/25 scale. 

 

Any ideas? 

 

Don 

 

[MattD]

Maybe that is the old Bugatti body????    

[don.siegel]

Nope, the Bugatti didn't have the side exhaust pipe... and I just remembered why I knew it was a Pactra! The same seller had one up for auction the previous week, with the label! I lost that one, but won the unlabeled one a little later - and for $10 more! 

 

Here's the ebay photo: 

 

 

So the question becomes: why did they make a single-driver model of a car that had a riding mechanic (1935 Gilmore Special), or was there another Gilmore without the mechanic? 

 

Odd this doesn't seem to be listed anywhere. 

 

Don 

[don.siegel]

Just for kicks, here's the Pactra Gilmore alongside the Aurora static model and alone... 

Don 

 

 

[TSR]

Don,
two different cars. The Indy-500 history is complex, with many changes in the formula since 1911. There were two eras when mechanics rode with the driver, the first one because it was necessary to help the driver 9by actuating both the fuel and oil tank pumps to establish constant pressure on the carburetors and the engine bearings, since most early engines like the Peugeot did not have oil pumps), and after1931 and as the sophisticated 8-cylinder, expensive engines from the Miller, then Offenhauser shops were effectively put at a disadvantage, most cars adopted the 4-cylinder 'marine" engine in their cars, now with mandated riding mechanics in 1933. This lasted a few years, but BEFORE and AFTER, the cars were single seaters.
The Pactra "Gilmore Spl" (Gilmore was an oil magnate) was a 1928 Miller chassis fitted with the 4-cylinder "marine" engine, as raced at Indy in 1932.



The Pactra bodies of prewar Indy and European racing cars are especially nice, and quite accurate. They should make beautiful models with an adequate chassis and tall, narrow wire wheels.



 

[don.siegel]

Thanks much Philippe. 

 

I was a big Indy fan as a kid, but haven't followed it or read about it in years... and was very surprised to see a riding mechanic mandated in 1935! So thanks for the explanation. And the photo - couldn't find anything like that in my Google search... 

 

So Pactra was wrong claiming this was the 1935 Gilmore? Have you ever seen this one listed anywhere? 

 

Don 

 

PS: A buddy just sent me this link: 

https://www.imcdb.org/v425093.html

 

Movie Star Car! And the film, The Racing Strain, is on YouTube... 

[don.siegel]

Just checked: riding mechanics were mandataory from 1912 to 1937, except for the period 1923-29. It was Eddie Rickenbacker who reintroduced the riding mechanic after buying the speedway in 1927... 

 

So unlikely this car entered the 1932 Indy 500 - either an early one, or in other races entirely. It was probably a Miller 91. 

 

Don 

[TSR]

 

Just checked: riding mechanics were mandataory from 1912 to 1937, except for the period 1923-29. It was Eddie Rickenbacker who reintroduced the riding mechanic after buying the speedway in 1927...

Don, yes, and the pic I posted is as I said, of the Gilmore-Miller in 1928.

Starting in 1912, the AAA Contest Board declared that riding mechanics were made mandatory for all races of 100 miles or longer (which included Indianapolis).In 1923 riding mechanics were made optional,
Most of the 1923 though 1929 cars were single seaters, mostly Miller and Duesenberg that shared almost all the wins during the period.

They were brought back from 1930 (not 1929)  to 1937 and made mandatory once again. From 1938 on, they were again declared optional, but no teams in the starting field used one ever again.

The picture I posted was indeed, of a 1928 Miller with a 4-cylinder Miller "Marine" engine, a car of which body was later widened for the mandatory mechanic, sponsored by the Gilmore "Red Lion" oil company, and effectively, your totally correct Pactra model.
Nothing wrong with that Pactra body, but it is unusually not one of the 8-cylinder supercharged variety, as few then experimented with less costly, non supercharged engines in their attempts to beat the odds.

By the way, in 1928, Lou Meyer won in a single seater Miller 8-cylinder, you can see the car (which I was very privileged to drive around a lap of the famous speedway in 2015) right on front of my own ride, both there for a story in Road & track mag:



Lots more info about the 4-cylinder engine in the great book "Offenhauser" by Gordon Elliott White. And...

https://en.wikipedia...Riding_mechanic