20 replies to this topic

[sidejobjon]

Was there a thread on HO Cox slot Cars? Can`t find one...

Thanks,

SJJ

[TSR]

Not that I know, but if you want one, it's easy since they were my babies, by force.

I should have been aborted.

[ravajack]

... if you want one, it's easy since they were my babies...

 
OK, we want one. Go ahead!

[MSwiss]

I thought they were bigger.
 
1/48 (?)
 
Or did they have HO, also?

[Don Wedding]

Here are some pictures of what Cox had to offer in the smaller HO and 1/48 scale slot cars. The white

 

car is a copy of  Dok's Car and the Yellow HO version is just scaled down.  I believe Cox Made the HO

 

scale for a short period before being bought out by Amrac. I'm  sure Dok can correct me if I have

 

made any errors on this.

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[TSR]

Cox made HO versions of the 1/40 scale cars. The bad news is that while the 1/40 scale cars worked great and were the world's first slot cars to feature a magnet to improve traction, the HO were a side job contracted by Leisure Dynamics Canada (Leisure Dynamics owned Cox since 1970 after its slot car caused near bankruptcy of 1969), in which they flew me (first class!)  to Toronto and had me rush a job of copying the successful Aurora G-Plus car despite my protests that I had a more advanced design already drawn.
 

So I did it, but am still not too happy about it to this day. The only real improvement over the G-Plus I was allowed to incorporate was the use of "magnetic wings" that allowed the car to keep its magnetic down force when drifting in corners. When Jim Russell purchased the Cox tooling at auction in the final 1982 bankruptcy of the whole Leisure Dynamics empire, he increased their size, changed the body colors and called the resulting product, AMRAC.

 

The Cox HO bodies were reductions of some of the pretty 1/40 scale jobs of which design and patterns were a collaboration between Lloyd Asbury and me. There were a Porsche RSR, Datsun 240Z and my own contraption of a Can-Am car called "Manta", the other "Torero". Theu only varied in minor detail and decor.
 

I have a whole file on these cars, including some drawings I made for the ladies assembling the little cars in Hong Kong at the "Cox International" plant there.

The only benefit I got out of this disappointing exercise besides traveling to Canada and Hong Kong with very decent accommodations was a really nice bonus with which I bought a brand new BMW 3CS at the time...

That's when they still had some cash. 4 year later, they had none left and I was long gone.

[bbr]

so u and Lloyd Asbury did the Porsche and Datsun 240Z bodies... those two bodies are still some of the nicest HO hard bodies around.

[TSR]

Thank you. I did the 3-view drawings and sections of the 1/40 scale slot cars, and Lloyd did the masters, and those were used to make the female epoxies for the molds made in Hong Kong. For the HO bodies, I took some of the production 1/40 scale models, added a bit of material to the sides (because of the chassis height) and the Chinese used them to pantograph them down to HO size.

Here is a picture of some of the prototype bodies in mid-1973:

 

 

Here is another pic showing some of those surviving bodies, hand painted by the Cox model shop set over prototype chassis:

 

 

I do not have pictures of the HO cars on file, but we have some MIB at the LASCM so I can take some next time  get there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sidejobjon]

 

Here is another pic showing some of those surviving bodies, hand painted by the Cox model shop set over prototype chassis:
 
I do not have pictures of the HO cars on file, but we have some MIB at the LASCM so I can take some next time  get there.

 

This site is amazing, Those protos are sweet LASCM IS AMAZING ON MY BUCKET LIST how many different HO were there COX not counting Amrac? Any proto HO? Please let me know if you get the pictures. Is there a guestsamet for signed copy's of book?
thank you
SJJj

[TSR]

I sold all the prototypes and have none left.

There were 3 bodies and 1 variation of the third, to make 4 cars. AMRAC produced the same cars but with new color schemes.

As far as the book, we are not there yet...

[ravajack]

...despite my protests that I had a more advanced design already drawn.

 

Anything we've already seen, like the idle-winder?

[TSR]

No, an angle winder that it had its own, tiny motor:

 

 

 

The chassis had a long bar magnet going from just ahead of the motor to the pin-style guide flag and a brass pan surrounding a nylon chassis:

 

 

We went as far as making prototype magnets and a formed steel can, I still have them.

But the Canadians insisted on a G-Plus clone.

 

[Pat McGee]

Toss the magnet, and that'd make a nice gravity unlimited type car, Dokk....

[SlotStox#53]

Love the design drawings Dokk ,really sweet looking ,shame they never went with it.

[TSR]

Those were drawn for the weekly R&D meeting exactly 40 years ago this month... I think that we can do better now, with much smaller motors, much more evolved chassis design... and I am way too old to even think of something like that.

[bbr]

Joel Pennington's gravity HO racer:

[SlotStox#53]

Sweet looking HO car!! Have to look into the gravity cars.

 

Do the gravity cars work ok on the regular home HO plastic tracks?

[ShootinSparks]

...a really nice bonus with which I bought a brand new BMW 3CS at the time...

 

Hey, we're gonna need to see a photo of her, too!     Please?  (love 'em) 

[Pat McGee]

 

Do the gravity cars work ok on the regular home HO plastic tracks?

Yep, we raced for the most part on plastic sectional tracks when cars as such were the cutting edge in the early '70's, my home 4-laner is the old slide lock A/FX track.  That said, these cars are really sweet on modern routed/milled tracks with continuous rail.

[TSR]

Hey, we're gonna need to see a photo of her, too!     Please?  (love 'em) 

 

 

Well, I don't think I have a single picture of it nowadays, but she looked like this one below, but in maroon color. It kept having overheating issues, caused by water pump cavitation because the smart Germans put the pump in the cylinder head, not the best place for one. So after a few blown head gaskets, I sold the thing.

 

 

Anyway, that's the last BMW I ever owned for my own use, and no regrets. I had a 3CSL once but it was strictly for business: bought cheap and sold for good money.

Today, some are more reliable, but some still have issues, so I stick with Daimler-Benz stuff, its treats me well.

Anyway, the Cox HO cars were an experience for me, and while it could have been better, it was not that bad. The cars run decently but frankly cannot compete with the Aurora G-Plus that are better built and have more power in the motor department.

Here are a few pictures of the Cox HO Porsche (this one appears to be one of the pre-production cars I sold over the years) and a production chassis showing the "magnetic wings" and missing the guide blade:

 

 

 

 

 

Note the difference between the prototype and production chassis at the back.

 

[sidejobjon]

TSR,

Here are a couple of your babys. Great to be on a site were you are talking with the developers.

Wow wouls like to get Proto for collection.

SJJ

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