7 replies to this topic

[tonyp]

These are in the other thread but were failures. This was the era of totally unlimited glue and they were all designed with the idea of getting through the glue better. Fred Strauss and I were alway willing to try anything in the quest for that "magic" chassis in our battles with the Camen crew.

Steel Puzzle Pan the motor pod rattles around like the original one built years before by Sandy Gross. It ran OK but nothing special; I doubt we ever raced it.
 




The Starship. Again it was OK. I know Fred raced it a few times, but it was no better than a straight rail centersection. I think the biggest problem was it was just too stiff.
 




The Panzer. The idea was super stiff, keep the weight out wide and not effected by the body which was supported by those light pans. Since we were running with the front tires not touching, the front axle is in an over-sized tube and just rattles around. The concept of letting the body move without effecting the chassis is the basis of my Aero chassis I built for Retro. Not sure how it ran, but I know we never built another one in any form. lOL.
 

[Half Fast]

Tony-
 
Very Interesting!
 
Cheers,

[tonyp]

Here is an early F1 failure.













Tried an Iso-fulcrum I think for a second F1 for myself. Ran it about 10 laps at Zepplin on the Hillclimb, put it in my box, and the next day desoldered it for parts.

[tonyp]

This F1 built at the same time was even worse.

[tonyp]

This Can-Am was not as much a failure as it was just too damn heavy. Front tires are mounted on pans and I still was not convinced yet the softer fronts worked better than the '60s vinyl.

[Eddie Fleming]

Are you convinced about the softer fronts now or do we just run them because that is what is required?

[tonyp]

Cars run better with the foam fronts. The front of the chassis doesn't seem to hunt with them. John Gorski did an afternoon of blind tests back when Retro started and the foam fronts were always faster.

I wonder now if those cars back in the day would have been faster also.

[tonyp]

Maybe on a punched King track there would be no difference but every time I had gone back through the years to a rock-hard front on a standard King or Hillclimb the rock-hard front was slower. Wonder rubber seems to be a perfect combination.