In July of 1967, Mike Morrissey, professional racer for the renowned Team Russkit, wrote the following in Car Model Magazine. it all boils down to the fact that there are two kinds of racers: slot racers who just want to see how fast they can make an electric-motored machine go and model car racers who want to race scale models of the real thing.
I place myself firmly in the scale model racing camp a probable result of a passion for cars and model building as a youngster. Sure, I have an interest in speed but it is more important to compete with little machines that truly resemble their one to one counterparts. When I moved to Oregon in 2004, active club racers were using plastic or resin scale models in their race programs. Unfortunately, O-ring front and .790 rear wheels looked anything but scale. I continue to race these non-scale cars at Spare Time Raceway (STR) but my passion resides with True Scale rides.
The GT1 Experiment
Several years ago, NWTSR, a group from Portland, Oregon broke with tradition and began racing what it called a GT1 class. The rules called for a production chassis (either Scholer or the now defunct Tifosi), scale wheels and plastic Group C or GT1 bodies powered by Falcon 7 motors.
I was quite skeptical that a stock production chassis such as the Scholer would work well with hard body cars. I also thought that the price point of the Tifosi was too high to appeal to a wide audience. Instead, I began experimenting with modified brass ProTrack, TSRF and stamped steel chassis with some success. I found that the modified proTrack chassis handled best but modifications required soldering. Finally, one of the guys built a Scholer based scale car to NWTSR specs and I was hooked on the concept.
Electron Raceway adapted the NWTSR GT1 rules but expanded the list of acceptable plastic models to include the Ferrari Enzo because of its similar wheelbase and track to other cars in the class and because of its low price point. The Scholer chassis is relatively easy to set up and requires no soldering although brass front and side pans must be fabricated. GT1 became a staple for racing at Electron and has since been included in the class rotation at STR (another local club track). The cars handle well because they are relatively long, wide and low and can accommodate the power of the Falcon 7. With Falcon 7 power and scale wheels, these are not the easiest cars to drive but are not only fun but very fast.
C5R Corvettes
Our group attempted to develop a Scholer based, Falcon 7 powered class for the C5R Corvette. The class failed to catch on. I believe there were two factors at play. First, the C5R body was heavy and had a relatively high CG. Second, the Falcon 7 motor had too much power for this chassis/body combination.
TA2
A few years ago, NWTSR developed a TA2 class. This class included modern Camaro, Mustang and Challenger plastic model bodies. The chassis was Scholer and the power was supplied by sealed Super 16D motors. In order to improve handling, fender flairs were allowed to increase the rear track to 3.25 inches and the front track to 3.15 inches. Again, we followed NWTSRs lead and began building and racing TA2s. We selected the Deathstar instead of the S16D because our local tracks are shorter and tighter than those included in the NWTSR circuit. Several racers have built TA2 spec cars while others have expressed serious interest.
Historic Trans Am
I loved the old Trans Am series and suggested that we use the existing TA2 spec chassis and motor along with 1/25 scale model Trans Am cars of the past (1966-1971) to create an Historic Trans Am (HTA) class. The beauty of this class is that the 1/25 HTA bodies fit on the TA2 chassis with no modification (it is necessary to stretch the width of the HTA bodies and add flairs). HTA cars look and run great! In fact they seem to be a bit faster than the TA2 cars.
Can Am
I have always been a fan of Can Am and Endurance cars. I stumbled upon inexpensive Tamiya slot car bodies cheap and light replicas. Models are wide, and have a relatively short wheelbase. Rear track limited by motor mount and gears most have rear tires stick out about one eighth on each side. Again, the Scholer chassis was selected and the power plant is the Deathstar.
Cobra/Corvette Challenge
The idea of racing early Cobras and Corvettes was the brainchild of Larry Shephard. Larry was the consummate modeler and slot head who was the prime mover in organizing the annual slot car conventions. Sadly Larry and his good friend and slot car rival Rocky Russo recently passed. I think that the Cobra/Corvette Challenge class would have flourished if the Conventions had continued beyond 2005.
Our Cobra/Corvette challenge (CCC) class is based upon the KISS principle (Keep it simple stupid). The place to start is with the 289/427, 1/24th scale Cobra. This model has the same wheelbase as the Scholer Can Am cars. The Cobra is quite narrow but can be stretched to fit an unaltered Scholer Can Am Chassis. This class is meant to re-create early Cobra/Corvette racing, therefore cars will be limited to 1953-1967 model years. In order to promote competitive diversity, bodies with approximately the same wheelbase will be selected and stretching and/or wheel flares will be allowed (but not required) to facilitate tracks that are equal. In addition, all that is required is a body swap with an existing Scholer Can Am car.
Sports Car
The True Scale Sports Car class is also based upon the KISS principle. Many modern sports cars have the same wheelbase and similar track to the chassis set-up for TA2/Historic Trans Am. Again, simple body swap and voila Sports Car class. To promote a competitive diversity where no one make or model dominates, we have chosen to run only closed cars. In addition, our rules allow the width of the model as measured from the center of the front and rear wheel openings to be a maximum of 3.25 inches. This excludes cars like the Ferrari Enzo or FXX that would more appropriately fit on our GT1 class. So far, some in the group have built and tested the Ford GT and the Ferrari Modena coupe. Both handle well and really look great.
Gran Sport
Prototype racing during the 60s through the early 70s produced some of the most interesting and unique designs imaginable like the Chaparral 2F, Ferrari 512, Porsche 917, and GT40. The cars were run in an endurance format at tracks like Le Mans and Sebring. Factory support led to fierce competition that pushed the envelope of technology. Over time, the technology and styling cues from these great machines were incorporated into production sports cars. These prototypes are the essence of our Gran Sport class of racing.
Recently, we added a Gran Sport to our True Scale classes of racing. It was an easy extension to our True Scale Can Am class. A simple body swap and possibly an adjustment in track was all that was needed. Already, the class has attracted interest. Rons Gran Sport bodies include a Ford GT 40 and a Porsche Carrera 6. Rich just completed a 917 and Jack just completed a Ford GT 40. Before the last race at STR all three of us pulled out our Gran Sport rides and did some head to head racing. The cars were very well matched and I think this will be one of the most popular True Scale classes because the cars are fast and fun to drive.
