148 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

The key link to the era is done. Mr Drop Arm is ready to go:



To me this really gives the chassis a vintage look:



Next comes the pans:

[havlicek]

... that qualifies as slotcar porn. :-) A beauty of a job!

[Hworth08]

Nice drop arm. I'm guessing we started using the plate arms about March of 1967. I remember our local builders discussing why we didn't think to just use a simple (and heavier) brass plate instead of all those brass rods.

[dc-65x]

OK, here's what I'm stuffing in this drop arm. On the left is a Cox guide, at center is my modified guide, and on the right is a stock Parma "The Blade".





Steve Okeefe taught me to do this. I used a Dremel tool, a file, and some sandpaper. It does nothing but, I hope, add to the "reflecting the spirit of the mid-1960s racing era."

What do you think?

[TSR]

Yes, Rick, but aren't you supposed to build a slot car? All I see here is fine jewelry...

[dc-65x]

Thanks, Dokk . I sure hope this thing is fun to drive so it won't be just a paper weight . Anyway, here is the finished chassis:





I thought it would be fun if I used period pan hinges, up stops and down stops... no .030" piano wire:



It weighs 64 grams. Is that heavy or light for a D3 chassis???

[Tex]

It weighs 64 grams. Is that heavy or light for a D3 chassis???

Yes.

LOL!

It's all relative. It's not the lightest nor is it the heaviest. It can/will be made to run good on some tracks. On a King track, it may be too heavy to win. Unless, of course, if run against similarly-built vintage cars!

[TSR]

Rick, trust me, you will NEED the weight.

[slotbaker]

Very Retro BLING.

[Jairus]

Rick, That is a good weight for the King track... just don't hit anything
Thicker pans for the Kingleman (.040) and even heaver drop arm (.062) for the flat track must might be the trick! Very beautiful chassis by the way.

[dc-65x]

I know it HAS to be slower than the modern-design D3 cars but I'm wondering how a vintage design will drive. I'm somewhat concerned about the weight because I don't want it to be too much slower down the straights. It already is going to have a slower speed exiting the corners.

I'm kind of after a slower cornering speed though. Not so punched in the turns. Maybe it will have a touch of drifting action . Toward that end, I'm using 1968 spec rubber. Below from left to right are a modern Alpha 7/8" X .800" wide wheel-tire, my 1968 legal 5/8" wide Alphas on our cloned Riggen AA vintage wheel and an Alpha narrowed up to 5/8" wide:





Geez, that wheel on the left looks like sh*t at least to me .

Anyway, here it is together:







Here are the double thin lead wires, Cox look-a-like guide, no guide clips, and no guide nut:



Here we have a 1/8" axle with no pink crown gear and no angled pinion gear:



Here are no plastic wheels with foam tires:



And finally, we have a view of a bovine, tilting pile:



Or not ...

Time to get a Dynamic Lola T70 body mounted and test it at Eddie's,

Onward...

[Tex]

Looks great, Rick!

[havlicek]

A remarkable example of craft and talent, Rick! It almost doesn't even matter if it's the fastest or the best-handling car or the lightest or whatever else.

Of course performance is the ultimate reason for building these things, but when they're as beautiful as this you have to remind yourself they're built to run!

[dc-65x]

Actually it's not ALL about "performance" for me. But I am interested in finding out how much "performance" is lost if a vintage racer is built in a vintage style and if that car fun to drive? If it is fun, then is the tradeoff of "X time per lap lost" worth it to have cars that are more faithful to their vintage roots? Perhaps the vast majority of "racers" feel the cars are merely a means to an end, that end being RACING? There is certainly nothing wrong with this and I wish all the racers out there all the best. Having fun with slot car is a good thing!

I guess I personally hold the cars and people of "The Golden Era" of slot racing in rather high reverence. Fun for me would mean that racing is a means to an end. That end being a way of gathering with like-minded people and sharing our vintage cars that we love. So far I know of two other people who feel the same. For us "The Cars Are The Stars". Different strokes for different folks

Thank you to everyone for your support. I hope she runs well enough to send down to Mike to try at BPR.

[Jairus]

Next step:

Take a Mabuchi can and endbell and slide that over the TSRF motor with some endbell hardware contacting the brush tabs on the little JK motor. End result is that it would take a VERY close look to tell the difference from a real vintage car...

[TSR]

Now, THAT's a cool idea!

[Keith Tanaka]

Don't you see what happened to our beloved Evil Dokk when he got involved with those T-shirt-wearing, sandal-clad D3 brutes?

Edo, do you mean this "D3 Brute" car?



Or this "BP D3 T-shirt Brute"?



John Tore Anderson - a Brute.

Just kidding, Edo.

Keith

[Keith Tanaka]

Edo, actually the car is Bryan Warmack's concours-winning entry (and 2nd place in the last Can-Am race at BPR).

Tore couldn't wait for me to take his photo and post it on Slotblog.

Keith

[Bill from NH]

Somebody has been looking at too many wrestling magazines and needs to take more of the little red or green pills.

[Edo]

Hi Keith,

Tore could've been a perfect D3 brute specimen IF those perfect color-coordinated shades of gray he's wearing weren't so sophisticated. The guy is way too stylish, too much pizzazz for a brute. A trendsetter he is, if you ask me. Or maybe a fashion victim?



PS: Hey, Keith, is it true that, God forbid, some of them even wear sneakers?

[TSR]

Edo,

Trust us, Tore IS a brute.

[Keith Tanaka]

Hey, Keith, is it true that, God forbid, some of them even wear sneakers?

Edo,

I don't see a lot of sneakers worn by Brutes. In the summertime I do see a lot of sandals. Tore probably even wears sandals with steel toes when he works in Warmack's machine shop.

Keith

[Noose]

Based on his "hammer heritage" I do believe Tore The Brutus Maximus wears the shoes of the ancient warriors. My daughter calls them "clogs".

[TSR]

Yes, right now he is clogging on the lathe inside our shop, making way too much noise.