14 replies to this topic

[Keith Tanaka]

The last hardbody race of 2014 was held 4 days before Christmas on the BPR MTT Flat track.

A smaller turnout (xmas shopping?) didn't affect those who raced as everyone had a lot of fun as usual.

 

A driver's meeting was held to discuss the dates for the 4 hr. hardbody GTP enduro and next year's hardbody Nats.

Copies of the rules for the new GTP/Group C class were handed out.Here's a link to the proposed D3 hardbody rules starting January 2015:  http://d3hardbodyrac...rules-effective

Signups for the GTP enduro will begin at our next monthly races (Jan.18th). More info on the Enduro and 2015 Nats will be posted soon.

 

Thanks to Jim and Debby Watterson for their support of D3 hardbody racing at Buena Park Raceway.

Thanks to our race directors: Victor Dubrowsky, Hector Gonzalez.

 

Here's the link to the race/photo report:  http://socald3.phanfare.com/

 

 

Our next D3 hardbody races will be on Sunday, January 18, 2015. 

The race schedule for the January race has been changed to the following:

 

1st race (starts at noon sharp):  MIXED Race (any D3 hardbody)

2nd race (starts 15 min. after conclusion of 1st race): COMBINED Race (3 C's, Jalopy, Trans Am)

3rd race (starts 15 min. after conclusion of 2nd race): 80's-2015 NASCARs

 

 

Keith

[rvec]

Keith,
I always look for your race reports and images of the great cars you folks run at BP. If I lived close by, I would be racing with you guys but Roseburg, Oregon is just a bit too far away. Several years ago on a trip south, I visited with Bob Scott and we made the trek to BP. I brought a few of our Econo class cars (plastic bodies, simple rattle scratch chassis and 1+ inch ProTrack rear wheels). Bob and I thrashed around on the flat track and had a blast.
We too, in Oregon, have a group C class and run with a Scholer or Plafit chassis and a Falcon 7 power plant. These cars are very fast and fun to run. Below are a few images of my track and some of the cars. BTW, we do allow the Ferrari Enzo to run in this class because it is cheap and has the same wheelbase and track as many of the Group C cars.
Finally, I know it is difficult to attract new members especially for scratch build chassis classes. I seem to remember that you were using the TSRF chassis for a class of racing. Why were they dropped and have you considered other options like Scale Auto, BRM (both RTR) or a class similar to ours using a production chassis the require only some simple modifications to handle well?



Note - the Modena does not belong in the class but some have not yet built Group C cars



Scholer chassis and BRM pre-painted body







Chassis images for a GT40 build - This particular class uses deathstar motors but the chassis set up is the same

[Tim Neja]

I can tell you from my own perspective as one of the BPR hard body racers that we LOVE to scratch build our cars!  I'd prefer if we stayed away from any pre-formed bolt together chassis!! Part of the appeal to the hard body cars IS the scratch building aspect of our class's.  To each his own--this is just my own humble opinion!  Nice track and cars you have up there!!

[Roger U]

Rich, Very nice looking track and cars. I like the looks of the wide front wheels and tires you"re using. Do they come with the chassis or can they be bought separately?

[rvec]

Rich, Very nice looking track and cars. I like the looks of the wide front wheels and tires you"re using. Do they come with the chassis or can they be bought separately?

Scholer/Plafit chassis are bare - no wheels, motor, axles etc. - tires are ProTracks - They are cut down a bit to fit front wheel wells

[rvec]

Tim,
I love what you guys are doing with scratch builts. In the case of small town clubs, we have a difficult time attracting new members for our scratch built classes. Are you concerned that it is difficult to attract new members with such a steep learning curve? I was simply suggesting that for new folks a production type chassis might be a way to hook them on slots and not subject them to the frustrations and learning curve associated with scratch building. As they gain experience they can experiment with scratch building and move into the fold. Has this been tried and has it failed? If so, how do you maintain a viable group?

[Keith Tanaka]

Rich, D3 hardbody racing was created to focus on "scratchbuilding". When Paul Sterrett and Mike Steube created D3 Retro racing back in mid 2006, they wanted a scratchbuilding racing class based on the '66-'68 timeframe. D3 hardbody racing is an extension of the original retro racing class. 

 

Although we didn't scratchbuild/race hardbodies back in the 60's, we wanted to continue the focus of scratchbuilding coupled with "hardbodies" from model car kits. It was a good combination and has continued to be popular at BPR. 

 

We know that scratchbuilt hardbodies is a "niche within a niche" as far as slot car racing is concerned. The look of the cars and how you drive them (similar to real cars, you have to brake for all turns and drift the car thru turns) is fun racing. Getting others up to speed as far as scratchbuilding is concerned is the real challenge. We try to help out newbies as much as possible at BPR and luckily we have enough good scratchbuilders to share their knowledge and expertise on scratchbuilding. Learning to scratchbuild takes time and effort, but the end result is the best!

There's nothing like building and racing your own slot cars, especially when it handles good!

 

Before D3 Retro and D3 Hardbody racing started at BPR several years ago, we did race RTR cars (TSRF) at BPR. The ready to run cars were good enough to keep everyone racing, but when scratchbuilt cars started appearing in 2006 at BPR, we made the transition to these cars. There's nothing wrong with RTR racing, but as soon as you build/race scratchbuilt cars you tend to not race RTR's anymore. Scratchbuilt cars have shown to be better handlling cars than RTRs and as you know, everyone likes to race a good handling car. Our D3 hardbody racing has grown over the years as far as building/racing many different racing classes. With our "mixed" race format, we now have a good way to allow any type of hardbody car to be built/raced. Being able to build/race any type of hardbody racing car has eliminated any barriers to racing "your" favorite race car.

 

Doesn't matter what type of slot car racing you have or prefer, it's all good!!!

 

 

Keith

[rvec]

Keith,
Thanks for the background information regarding D3 hard bodies. It looks like your program has been quite successful, as I see many participants for each race reviewing images. Keep up the good work in attracting new folks into model car racing D3 style.

[Phil Nyland]

Great looking cars and track Rich! love to race there one day.  We are very fortunate to have Keith who does it all, and is a super talented racer.  Hope you guy's can make it down this way one day.

[rvec]

Great looking cars and track Rich! love to race there one day.  We are very fortunate to have Keith who does it all, and is a super talented racer.  Hope you guy's can make it down this way one day.

Sounds Good! I know it takes a lot of time and effort to put on a successful race program. Class development,rulemaking and race reporting are thankless tasks. I can see that Keith is the driving force in your club. I hope that others shoulder the burdens as well.

Rich

[Dennis David]

I've been looking at what both of your groups are doing and we are making the plunge into 1/24 scale hard body racing. We've been racing Slot.its on our flat track for a few months now and there is growing interest. We are also using a production chassis but in our case we are trying Scaleauto cars. With some legacy BRMs as well. It will be interesting to see how we evolve.

[Dennis David]

Keith, I think D3 in a way was the perfect storm as you had the guys in place to gain traction. If a new guy came along there were people there to help them the ropes. Imagine another side of the the coin. The guy who was mad for Lego when they were younger. For me I'm really attracted to bolt together frames and I love the high end carbon/composite stuff. If I lived in Europe I could exactly see myself building those types of cars. Scratchbuilt is a relative term. The machine tool guys probably wonder why you don't create your own hubs and while your at it cut your own gears. 

 

I've followed your racing and really like the tutorials that you've done. Ryan Miller is up this way (Northern Ca) and I have seen his hardbody cars run. I've taught him a thing or two on the track with our Slot.its ;-) and now he's going to try his hand with the Scaleautos we'll be racing. 

 

That's the beauty of our hobby, but the common thread with hardbodies is you really have to drive them.Some days you own the car, some days the car owns you.

[Keith Tanaka]

Dennis, hardbody racing is fun. Doesn't matter what type of chassis you use (stamp steel, nuts & bolts, scratchbuilt), the focus is on having fun building and racing cars we like.

 

The D3 philosophy has always been on "scratchbuilding" using materials, tools and techniques developed in the 60's ('66-'68). D3 Retro came first, then we added hardbodies a few years after.

D3 hardbody racing is a "niche" within a niche, so it's not easy to run this type of program. There's nothing quite like seeing a big smile on a racer's face when they take the first few laps with their newly built, scratchbuilt hardbody. 

 

Scratchbuilding hardbody chassis/cars allows us to build/race any type of hardbody car since the chassis is custom built to fit the car body. There's no limit as to what type of cars we race as its left up to the individual to do what he wants. The addition of our "mixed" races, "lap differential" and "racer handicap" methods has opened up the scope of our hardbody racing to any type of hardbody. It's unique to have a racing program which allows so many different types of cars to race against one another and yet have a somewhat level playing field.

 

Focus on having fun and keep racing hardbodies!

 

Keith

 

p.s. - sorry about this post as its redundant. I previously posted a similar response to Rich. 

[gonzo]

i was fortunate to have participated in "THE 24HRS OF TACOMA "race this past nov.{thanks to j henry}.We raced the new brm cars.My first experience with rtr cars.First reaction was there a lot slower than scratch builts but got use to that real quick.They would be good for a beginner class as stated above but we here at bp dont have a large influx of beginners at one time.So its a question of what comes first chicken or the egg.Do we have rtr and they will come or they dont come because we dont have rtr. I dont know.There is talk about a special event with rtr cars sometime this year to maybe stir up interest in hardbodies.well see how that works out

[gonzo]

ps. I suppose the rtr cars can run in the mixed class so we really wouldnt need a large influx of beginners at one time.Hmmmm something to consider