15 replies to this topic

[don.siegel]

Here's a project I've been meaning to do for awhile, and with GT cars the theme at Bordo this year, I'm finally getting around to it! Built just the way Bob did it, with a Russkit Adjust-O-Jig. A couple warnings if you decide to do this: the motor mount template is off a couple mm, and I had to enlarge three of the holes to get it to fit! And when he says "set jig for 4 inch wheelbase" - don't! It's actually about 1/16" shorter, and I had to resolder the front axle once it was already in place. I did do a rough check of the car's wheelbase first, and it seemed about 4", but in fact it's shorter. 

 

I pretty much stuck to his layout, except I reinforced the front guide carrier, moving the guide forward, and glued post holders into the body for mounting... Also, instead of the cardboard interior, I had a thin plastic one, maybe Russkit, that may save a few more hundredths of a gram.... 

 

First, here's the original article, from Rod & Custom, April 1965. That seems a bit late to be using a Bonner motor, but the car itself probably dates to 1964, which would be more logical - the Bonner was still winning or placing in 1/32 Midwest races at the time, but soon became obsolete. 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's my attempt at this car; it uses a fairly well detailed Revell GTO body that I picked up many years ago, and mounting hasn't quite been completed yet - still waiting for some paint to dry! Don't have a set of Revell inserts, but will try to find something similar. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don

[Pablo]

[mike1972chev]

Looks "kewl," Don.   Build on!!! Will look awesome when finished.

[Martin]

This is a trifecta for me, love the Revell GTO body and it was my first slot car kit back in the day.

Love magazine builds
Love Bob Bravermans work in this field and in the M/C world.

Nice work, and good pick.
 
AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Bob Braverman
 
This might be of interest for those that have not heard of Bob.

[Bill from NH]

Nice build, Don! I don't have a Bonner or the body, so my Adjust-O-Jig will have to get used for something else. I remember Bob Braverman for his Rod & Custom motorcycle articles on a Yamaha and for his slot racing drag cars. With no commercial tracks at the time in Maine, I never spent much time reading about his road racing slot cars.

A son of his showed up on Jim Allen's scratchbuilt.com about 15 years ago with the drag cars. As I recall, some of them later showed up on eBay. Anyway, you have to let us know how this Ferrari works once you've put some track time on it.
 
Do you have more photos of your build on Photobucket?

[don.siegel]

Thanks, Bill - yes I remember when Bob's son showed up, it was good hearing from him! 
 
No more shots of the build, on Photobucket or elsewhere: I'm afraid I don't have the patience or technique of Rick, and wait till it's finished before I take pictures in general. I'm usually too busy grumbling at myself for the latest dunderhead move to want to take a photo... 
 
Here are a couple shots of the finished car (unless I think of something else). Dyno figures aren't too encouraging, but we'll see once it gets on the track... 
 
Don 
 

 

 

[Bill from NH]

Nice wheel inserts, Don.

[Eddie Fleming]

It looks great, Don.

[don.siegel]

Well... it ran nice and smooth and... really, really slow! So didn't enter this one in the race - it would have been like a wing car, braking once a lap, but without the speed. 
 
Maybe the Bonner got demagnetized at some point, and that's kind of hard to tell without it being on the track. So... will have to try to find a rezap, or another motor... Just can't trust those 60-year old motors any more. 
 
Don

[Pete L.]

Don,
 
 Great job, it really captures the era!!!

[Dave Crevie]

Remember, the Bonner motors were fast in their day. If you are trying to compare it with even the earliest can motors, it will be slow.

I had no luck trying to re-magnetize one of mine. I am left with thinking that I can cut new Alnico magnets to fit, but haven't tried it yet.

[Ecurie Martini]

I recall trying a Bonner back in the day (~1962) and finding it slow compared to the Pittmans. My favorite was the Pittman DC 70X series and I returned to one in 2000 when i revived my early '60s style build at the behest of the late Rocky Russo:

 

 

It was an interesting build but with to-scale tires and a very heavy Fisher resin body it was really only capable of dignified parade laps!

 

EM

[don.siegel]

Here are a couple period 1/32 Bonner powered cars - except that a couple have more recently mounted bodies and one doesn't use a Bonner! (huh? - but I thought I remember it did, and anyway, it has the British equivalent). 

 

 

First, the little Porsche, as found, with a real monocoque chassis! It's either a fiberglass body, or probably a Strombecker with fiberglass reinforcement inside, and epoxied bits to hold the rear axle. Steering of course, which seems to be mandatory on these cars! 

 

 

Next, the Mercedes 1950s GP streamliner, with a vac-formed body I mounted on the found chassis - looks like a commercially made model, with an MRRC steering unit bolted on. 

 

 

 

And finally a found Aurora Cunningham body mounted on a found chassis, but when I opened it, it wasn't the Bonner I remembered, but a K's (Kayser's) from England, which, like the Bonner, was the "must have" motor in the 1962 timeframe - and like the Bonner is a lot slower than you'd expect (we had a long discussion on SlotForum about this, including with some slot racers who were there at the origin, but without drawing any real conclusions). Anyway, it's a nice period car, with VIP steering again! 

 

 

 

Don 

 

PS: these Bonners both rev up pretty nicely too, and I think I tried them on a track, where they weren't too bad... 

[Ecurie Martini]

Steering was pretty much de rigueur "back in the day" - at least in the UK.  In 1962 sent a couple of cars over to compete, by proxy, in the Whitehaven GP.  There were also several entrants from a group in Michigan.  They were all Pittman powered - DC 195/196 as I recall.  None of the U.S.entrants fared all that well.  As I remember the comments, they were considered to be hard to manage, that problem attributed to their lack of steering.

 

I have never found steering to be anything but cosmetic - it looks good on open wheelers.  I think the issue was learning to manage the Pittman motors which were far more potent than the nearly universal Triangs and (as in the above photo) K's.  (Remember, the ubiquitous tires of the day were the rather hard SMEC rubber)

 

EM

[don.siegel]

You're right EM: the received wisdom in the UK was that steering was necessary on short, tight tracks, not on longer, wider curve tracks... And I've never found steering anything but cosmetic, but love how it looks! 

 

Most of the English tracks also used Sandtex paint, with inbuilt grip - Jeff Davies and friends also used that on the recreated Southport track at Brooklands in 2000 - great grip even with perished tires, as they say.. 

 

Don 

[Dave Crevie]

I think the Bonners were a west coast thing. I can't remember seeing any in the Midwest. I picked mine up

while out in the LA area. I think the attraction was that they were smaller and lighter than the Pittmans and

K & Bs. Being low voltage motors, with three pole arms, they certainly did wind up higher on 12 volts that the

five and seven pole Pittmans..