247 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

Yup and the spring post shouldn't melt again. The whole brush holder might sink into the endbell but the spring post should be OK.

[Pablo]

That's a powerful motor for a jaildoor. Is that why they started using brass strips ?

 

More power, heavier chassis ?

[tonyp]

more tracks went to battery power. Motors got faster, chassis got heavier. It's a cycle.

[Tex]

more tracks went to battery power. Motors got faster, chassis got heavier. It's a cycle.

 

Yeah, a motor-cycle!

 

sorry... couldn't resist.

[dc-65x]

Rodney just sent me a Russkit Competition Bodies ad I've not seen before. Our Russkit Lola T70 is pictured along with other super cool bodies I've not seen before:

 

 

I wish I had at least one of each!

 

Thanks for sharing it with us Rodney

[SlotStox#53]

those are some sexy slot car shells

That Ford MkIV is pretty darn low!! Didn't know Russkit made any of these, that charger !!

Wonder if PdL has any or all of these?

[tonyp]

I don't think all of those ever got released, if they were they never made the east coast.

[Noose]

I don't remember them either.

[dc-65x]

I have or have had the Cooper Maserati GP, El Fin Roadster, Ford Mk IV Coupe and Lola T70 Roadster (used for this project). I believe Rodney has showed me his Lola T70 Coupe also. So at least 5 out of those 10 bodies made it into production.

[tonyp]

We had the same ones except for the cooper.

[dc-65x]

I finally got some modern "weenie" tires from Alpha for the car. I don't have a raceway so I have to rely on online suppliers. Unfortunately the Piranha's were back-ordered. When they were finally shipped the Post Office lost them for a week.

 

The "vintagification" of the modern weenie tires began with cutting off the overhanging rubber on the inside (stock weenies on the right):

 

 

Then about .030" was cut off the front to bring the width to 5/8". This also exposed the rim so they don't look quite as pathetic as a stock weenie. The inside of the wheel is also polished:

 

 

I've also got a pair of modified Alpha wing car tires shown next to the vintage Weldun display wheels on the right:

 

 

I'll be shipping all these tires along with the car and a junk body to Rodney. He's graciously agreed to test the car out on Eddie's Blue King and flat road course. If there are any problems, Rodney will find them before the car goes to Howie to try out.

 

Watch this space................

[SlotStox#53]

The excitement is building

Did you try out the car with the Alpha sponge on your track Rick?

[dc-65x]

Yes, I ran it with the Alpha blues. It ran great on my track.

[Pablo]

I will be watching, Sir

My experience is, when a car tests well (meaning: forgiving with no bad habits) on a short track with tight turns,

it will handle well on a big track "no problemo"

[dc-65x]

Okie Dokie, Rodney received the Howie ARCO car and put it through it's paces on a Blue King and a tricky flat road course. Since the Russkit PRO Lola T70 body was not yet available I fitted an old Chaparral 2F for the test.

 

Here's Rodney's report:

 

Pre-test Preparation

 

 

Prior to testing the car was inspected.  The fender wells were enlarge to ensure the tires would not rub when rum on Eddie's Blue King track.

Some detail was added to make the care more visible on the track.  A small rear spoiler was added to make the body handle more like a Russkit Lola T70.  The guide flag is set up for recessed braid (front wheels touch on with braid recessed). 

 

Off to Eddie's Slot Car World

 

Everyone at Eddie's loves the chassis workmanship.  A real work of art.

 

Tire Tests

 

 

The car was first tested on the road course to try out the different compounds of tires. Tire choices are blue "display tires", blue modern rubber, Alpha Supernatural rubber and Alpha Piranha rubber.  The Alpha Piranha tires worked the best.  These were the only tires that could hook up the cars power down the straight without wheel spin.  So all subsequent testing is with the Piranha tires.  Because this is an inline car with more much front weight bias and the high horsepower motor, only the softest stickiest tires worked low our low spray glue tracks.  With a milder motor, other compound tires could be used.

 

Testing on the Blue King

 

 

The car would not make the turn after the finger that leads to the donut.  The car wanted to go straight.

I first tried taping the drop arm to limit travel.  This did not help  Time to check the car again on the set up block.  The guide retaining washer and set screw were hitting the nose of the Chaparral body with only very minor compression of the body.  So the Chaparral body was modified with the nose vent above the guide post that you see.  This solved the de-slotting problem. Eric commented that the guide tube could be shorter if it does not clear the Lola body. The car has great acceleration  and does not have the best brakes.  The car is really fast through the fingers The banked turn is clutched.  The car is also very fast around the donut and though the turn that leads to the main straight.  Lap times were in the 5.9 to 6.3 second range on the Blue King.  Best was 5.87 seconds.  Pretty fast lap times!  The motor does get a little hot around the commutator area so testing allowed time for the motor to cool between runs on the Blue King.

 

 

Back to the Road Course

 

 

The car motor does not overheat on the road course so many laps were run.  I got a best of 7.66 seconds.  Compare this with the best time of the Rod & Custom Proxy Road Race of over 8 second laps.  The car handles neutral and under-steers when pushed.  Also, when pushed, the nose of the car would jack up in the turn due to the long drop arm travel.  Eddie wondered what was going on.  Modern Racers are not used to slot cars with drop arms.  The car may work better if the drop arm dropped at the most an 1/8".

 

 

Driving Impressions  Summary

 

What a crazy fast car.  Lap times don't lie.  Lap times would even be crazier if the car had better brakes.  The motor drove like a typical 1970 open motor.  Works best with the electronic controller sensitivity set like a 1.5 ohm resistor controller.  The chassis works great and the car carries great speed in the turns.

 

We all love the car .

 

That's a great report Rodney, THANKS! What we think after this test is the car would probably turn faster lap times with a more period motor and tires. Less radical horsepower with more brakes would need less rear bite to harness that horsepower. That would allow the car to tail out at the limit instead of the nose popping out of the slot first.....which can lead to a wall shot. 

 

We're going to leave that hot rod motor in the car because it's a Team Cobra and Howie should have a blast driving a high horsepower vintage rocket ship!  

[Howie Ursaner]

 What a great road test. This is so cool. The car looks fantastic and seems to really perform. I am awaiting the chance to see what it can do. I see a trip to Chicagoland and the King track are in order. Fun stuff  

[dc-65x]

Sounds like a plan to me Howie...........and thanks again for your help Rodney

[tonyp]

Too bad there is not an original surface King to try it on like it was run on in the day. Beautiful,car. Like I said befor I made many copies of this and it was the east coast state of the art until angle winders came out.

[Pablo]

If the tube needs to be trimmed, Capt. Rick has the perfect tool for that

[Noose]

And someday I am going to get the body done for this. Really, I will.

[dc-65x]

Noose, the best things in life are worth waiting for and I think the body you're going to do is one of them. 

 

I do wish I'd sent the body to you with a "spreader" inside it to keep the sides from curling back up. When I got the thing it was a mess with the sides all curled up. I worked and worked it to get them in proper (more or less!) shape. I'm worried the sides are curling back up over time. Is there a 3" wide or so little box or something you can fit in the body to keep it from curling back up????

[Noose]

I think I can handle that.

[dc-65x]

THANKS! 

[Noose]

OK it's done.  Ta da.  The Lola T70 Howie might have run if it was sports cars.  Done to the specs of Howie himself.

 

Oh and an old time photo version of it too as if the pic was taken back then.  LOL

 

 

 

[tonyp]

Very retro.