1321 replies to this topic

[SlotStox#53]

Holy smokes! That be FAST!!!

[Lone Wolf]

Bob, that is friggin' flyin'  That was just about the worlds record back when slot draggin' started.

 

That is going to be hard to beat. Will you be the first proxy guy to break the elusive one second barrier? I would not bet against it 

 

Bob, unfortunately that Mr. Unswitchable is staying here in NY. Too much effort has been expended to have the Post office loose it. And I dare say I have not seen another.

[don.siegel]

Great news Bob, and very impressive! Maybe with the streamlining of the body it will be even faster! 

 

Kind of makes you wonder about trends at the time, if you're doing this kind of time with a fairly standard, non-magwinder commercial chassis and a Kemtron motor, versus the ultrasophisticated motors and chassis of the time, with the obligatory Ram of course - and at 30 or 36 volts! I noticed that at the drags we ran about 10 years ago: the padlocks we tried were not as happy on 14 or 16 volts (forget which we used) as any of the rewound 36Ds that set the best times. So in fact, I'm very impressed with your time. (our strip wasn't anywhere as nice as this one either, and there was a lot of launching). 

 

Should be a great proxy! 

 

Don 

 

PS: the other question is why nobody ever used the 4V Kemtron motor at the time? Maybe because they wouldn't stay together at the higher voltages... that was the reputation in any case. We tend to think most of the period dragsters looked the same, but I kind of assume, with these guys being so serious, that they had tried all the possible combos... 

[Gator Bob]

Those runs are Super PittMan !

 

Are the Kryptonite blocks helping ... ( ) 

 

BTW .. your home track looks like it has a great choice o' tracks, what's the name.

 

 

I hear ya Joe, it sure is a beautiful car.

[Pitt Man]

Thanks guys,

 

Maybe it is the Kryptonite  

 

I  never really expected this KTM motor to be such a screamer. All I did was turn the comm and epoxy balanced it, no rezap on the magnet, no motor bearings, no magic, no secrets.

 

By the way it's running 14/48 gears (3.43)

 

It does seem strange that sub 1 second runs were so scarce running 30-36 volts in the days gone by.

 

My only guess is the old dragsters may have been traction impaired. Any other theories guys?

 

Bob, my home track is Slot Car Speedway and Hobbies in Longmont, CO. Great place, family owned and operated by really good folks.

[Jeff Bechtel]

Is that time on a 55ft. track?

[boxerdog]

You might be right. The tires were decent but the tracks were squeaky clean, maybe under-wired by today's standards?? But 55' in under a second is pretty fast. 

[Pitt Man]

Ah Jeff....good point!!   I forgot that part of the equation

 

My times are on a 1000 footer. About 41 1/2 feet.

[idare2bdul]

"My only guess is the old dragsters may have been traction impaired."

That's an understatement! The cars spun their tires the entire way down most of the time. Even our gasser, on 24 volts spun pretty good and we were down on horsepower compared to others.

Remember the full size dragsters were spinning them pretty good too back in the 60's.

[Uncle Fred]

I would have to suspect that traction is a big issue.  Back then there was no gluing the track, we just cleaned our Graupners with Carbona and ran them.  If you're turning 1.3 with a relatively stock motor on 16 v that's impressive. 

[don.siegel]

I've got another one almost ready.... just put on the decals and that took a long time! 

 

 

Been wanting to do this for awhile, ever since I saw the photo announcing this car in a 1965 Car Model magazine... and we still don't know if these were ever really issued before the Scarab...

 

Don 

 

ps: 

[SlotStox#53]

Excellent looking car Don! Love it 

 

Is that a Dodge Coronet? Was thinking of doing one of those  AFX cars for next year

[Gator Bob]

How cool .... who could not love a true Mopar standout like that ...  at first sight.

 

IIRC ... 413 with dual quad cross-ram.  Nice

 

edit .... The first 1964 factory racers were 426 Wedge w/ cross-ram  ... so ... That would be a 426 HEMI

Edited by Gator Bob, 03 April 2015 - 12:06 PM.

[Gator Bob]

Hey gang,

 

I'm starting on the refurbish of Manta Ray's Willys dragster.

 

The motor magnet is practically dead so I'm trying something new.

 

I have some NASTY industrial magnets that were getting thrown out at work several years ago from our magnetic drive pump line.

 

These babies WILL make you bleed if mishandled. They look like cobalt to me.

 

I checked the magnet's orientation on the Ram 857 and a pair of the cobalts and carefully, with thick gloves, sandwiched the Ram between them.

 

I'll let this assembly cook a couple of days and see if the Ram picks up a good field.

 

Man, talk about cogging! The arm really snaps with these monsters in place.

 

I also have some that are even stronger, but I can't get them apart at the moment until I find my thick leather welding gloves.

 

If this works, I'll never need zapping services again.

 

 

Bob, any update on the Kryptomagnet effect ?  

[boxerdog]

Bob, a little off-topic, but......I hated screw-on braid back then, and I discovered that I still hate it!!!

[Lone Wolf]

Don, I have one of these started and was thinking of finishing it for the race. Might be cool to see them go head to head like the mag article shows. I started with a tan Polar lights kit and was going to paint it white but I actually found a white one ( some kind of limited edition thing and quite scarce I'm told ) and was going to go with that instead. It's  pearl white though and not really correct. I'll have to decide on pearl white or painted white. 

 

You have a '64 sedan there and the actual car was a '65 Coronet 500 hardtop. 

 

I don't know how to link it but you can put the title  below in the SB search

  

MPC Ramchargers '65 Coronet

 

 

If people want to see a grudge match I'll finish mine for the proxy, by the way, decals look great, a real pain in the *** they are.

[JohnnySlotcar]

Could be a mysterious aligning of magnetrons aiding some racers!

[don.siegel]

Joe, mine's the Lindberg kit, and is sold as the Ramcharger; I always thought the real Ramcharger was a '64...

 

I glued and epoxied the hood, and fitting mounting posts front and rear, I assume like the original MPC. That one had a full interior, but not sure how, maybe it was mounted pretty high, and the interior was not quite as deep as on the kit. Thought I'd keep it bare bones anyway, without even a driver - is that kosher for the proxy? 

 

The Lindberg kits seem pretty common on ebay and not too expensive, at least when I looked a couple years ago. 

 

As for the decals, well, my hands are still trembling! 

 

And yes, I'd love to see a head to head Ramcharger race! 

 

Don 

[Pitt Man]

Bob,

 

I do have a report on the Kryptomagnet experiment.

 

I had let the magnets put the squeeze on the Ram for 4 days.

 

After removal, there is noticeably more snap to the motor, but it still feels wimpy. I'd say better than nothing, but not a cure for a weak magnet.

 

All is not lost though, thanks to Johnny Slotcar, I now have a magic magnet thingie.

 

Here's my new used Triktrax  zapper. Behave all you misaligned magnetrons, everyone line up nicely and sit still.

 

 

[havlicek]

That looks more like a forklift battery, but should dim the lights in Fresno in any case!  Both you and Rick T need to talk so you don't both use your zappers at the same time.  The strain on the grid could be catastrophic ...enjoy!

 

-john

[SlotStox#53]

Sweet! You got one of the BIG boys

Those wimpy padlock magnets aren't gonna know what hit em!

[Gator Bob]

 

 

If people want to see a grudge match I'll finish mine for the proxy, .......

   I Do  I Do

[Gator Bob]

Bob,

 

I do have a report on the Kryptomagnet experiment.

 

I had let the magnets put the squeeze on the Ram for 4 days.

 

After removal, there is noticeably more snap to the motor, but it still feels wimpy. I'd say better than nothing, but not a cure for a weak magnet.

 

All is not lost though, thanks to Johnny Slotcar, I now have a magic magnet thingie.

 

Here's my new used Triktrax  zapper. Behave all you misaligned magnetrons, everyone line up nicely and sit still.

 

 

 

Bob ... You can run those magnets in the Unlimited class ... 

 

Wow, wow holy cow. ..  put those Kryptoplates in the zapper and you can save the world from .....

 

[hiline2]

Ok, now I know why my ceiling fans are running backwards !!!    

 

Really, serious question, can a padlock block be zapped while in the chassis ??  

[boxerdog]

Sure, depending on the chassis.