37 replies to this topic

[Mbloes]

I recently acquired this 888 kit and had all the pieces for a nice build so I went ahead.

 

This kit had two unique features that I had never seen before:

 

1) the cut out drop arm (pictured), and

 

2) it came with a pair of the infamous front wheels (not used, stored deep in the vault).

 

I built the chassis pretty much per the kit with one exception - I flopped the pans out.

 

The arm is an unknown big wire arm.  The fronts are a pair of salvaged RVM - REH wheels.  Rears are Limpach fresh cuts, still available from Mid America.

 

Body is an original Champion Shadow body ("NCC legal").

 

Check it out (Click through for a nice big pic)

 

 

 

 

Thanks -

 

Chassis kit - Dave Reed

Body - Rick Thigpen

Vinyl masks - Richard Clark in NorCal

[Mbloes]

Two more chassis pics . . .

 

 

[havlicek]

That is simply gorgeous!

 

-john

[SlotStox#53]

That is simply gorgeous!
 
-john

What John said

Fantastic job on having the kit and putting it together. The original fronts and the body just finish it off perfectly.

[Wizard Of Iz]

I had an 888 back in the day.  

 

It must have been incredibly durable because I was real new at slots back then.

[John Streisguth]

Sweet looking build!

[Bill from NH]

Mike, your build looks very nice! I had never heard of an "888 Kit" being available or an 888 that used the Parma droparm w/hole. Is the droparm & pan thickness of yours both .040?  I've owned 888 chassis #112 since they first came out in the early 70's. It's still in good shape with a solid droparm & pans, both with a .040 thickness.

[brnursebmt]

I was thinking the same thing, Bill.  I owned many 888 chassis and never saw a kit or one with a hole in the center pan.  Never saw one with the 888 stamped in that location either. 

 

It is a very nice build.  Beautiful car!  I always liked that Champion Shadow body.

[gas]

In 1977 there was an 888 kit. It came with droparm, pans, front and rear axle tubes, and motor bracket. You had to supply piano wire and brass tubing.

[dc-65x]

I knew that body would look better painted and mounted on a cool car than sitting in it's box.      That simple white paint job is absolutely stunning.

[Dave Reed]

In the late 90s I called  Jan  and inquired if he had any chassis kits that he would sell... He said yes and I bought all he had at the time.. All were in packages with Header cards unattached...This is one of them.. Mike PM me on a For Sale post that was 6 years old and I was happy to see Someone was still interested in some of the Real Retro stuff...

[Dave Reed]

Aquired in the 90s and built in 2015..= Real Retro

[havlicek]

 

 

I was happy to see Someone was still interested in some of the Real Retro stuff...

 

I can definitely relate Dave

 

-john

[Bill from NH]

I thought one had to be 65 to really appreciate real retro stuff.

[Samiam]

I love it. Especially the unique heat sinks. Who made them?

 

And where can I get myself a kit?

[Tex]

Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end......

 

Schweet!

[Bill from NH]

I love it. Especially the unique heat sinks. Who made them?

 

And where can I get myself a kit?

 

Those heat sinks were made by Russ Boyington, a CT pro slot car racer & Pratt Whitney Aircraft machinist in E. Hartford, during the early 70's.

 

In post #11, Dave Reed said he had bought all the 888 kits from Limpach in the late 90's.

[Dave Reed]

All the 888s I had are gone    all I have are the Pacesetters...And Jan may have found more 888s..

[Dave Reed]

I thought one had to be 65 to really appreciate real retro stuff.

Grandparents are a wonderfull thing...Started playing with slots in 64..

[old & gray]

 

Those heat sinks were made by Russ Boyington, a CT pro slot car racer & Pratt Whitney Aircraft machinist in E. Hartford, during the early 70's.

 

In post #11, Dave Reed said he had bought all the 888 kits from Limpach in the late 90's.

I thought those looked like the ones Russ made but mine have cuts in the top and a fold in the front.

[NSwanberg]

Shiny!

 

Bring back Firefly!

[Bill from NH]

I thought those looked like the ones Russ made but mine have cuts in the top and a fold in the front.

 

Bob, I think there were variations. I have both solid & slotted ones in aluminum & solid ones of sheet copper.

[Mbloes]

First, thanks for all of the positive comments.  You guys were busy over the weekend but now that I'm back at work I'm free to post (LOL).

 

It seems that all questions have been answered one way or the other, but I will just expand.

 

As he mentioned above, I got the kit from Dave Reed.  It was perfect and beautiful and came with everything and more.  It came with both sizes front axle tubes, all piano wire perfectly cut & bent and - the best part - a set of the front wheels (no independent rotation thingies though).  Rear axle tube is 3/32" only.  Brass is all .040".

 

The heat sinks are still available from Mid America - I am looking at an eBay listing for them as I write this.

 

And Dave, if there are more kits to be made available, put me first on the list!

[Bill from NH]

Mike, my chassis #112 was built for 3/32" axles front & rear. I ran Aguirre 5/8" o-ring fronts on it. In the day. independent rotating fronts weren't used. It was common place to just lock both front hubs on a solid axle with set screws. Independent rotating fronts came into use with the "L" & "A" arms when droparms stopped being used. PCH shows the pans on its web site, so what you'd need for building more copies would be to find a source of droparms.

 

Russ Boyington has been out of slotcars for at least 20 yrs. Any heat sinks of his design sold today would obviously have been made by someone else. The originals would have had a yellow header card reading Bullet Racing.