453 replies to this topic

[Alan Draht]

Lathes are good for truing comms and making zipgun barrels!

 

Yes, indeed!!

 

This discussion about Angelo and his 1/24 dragsters allows me to segue over to raising the subject of what I've long wanted and planned to build after I finished my re-creation of Howie's "rocketship" and the other slot car refurbishment/ restoration projects that I added to the program's scope of work over the last six months.

[Alan Draht]

I want to build a replica of Manuel Maldonado's dragster, Rod & Custom's January 1966 "Car of The Meet":

 

 

[don.siegel]

Great idea Alan - a superb looking car! 

[Alan Draht]

Manuel Maldonado, in his own words...

 

Hi There, I just got the bug to search and see if anything was on the web regarding Slot Cars that ran in the 60's at the Rod & Custom races. My name is Manuel Maldonado and I built cars for many racers at that time. Chuck Blayney had me build him an altered, won first time out, Then Gary Gabelich wanted a top fuel car, won first time out, now these guy's where racing have years head start on me being around slot car's. Bob Braverman and Gene Hustings where the king's. Chuck and I even went to the race's up in the Bay Area on a Greyhound bus, neither had a driver's license. Set low E T and runner up, always ran good up there, San Jose and San Mateo, Oakland. One race had low E T and got to the final and dropped a chunk of weight in the final and wheel stood and I lost, the guy's running the show asked if I thought I could go faster and I told them yes, so they announced that I would make a single for a track record. The crowed gathered, it was a car show, so there was a big crowd, well this thing gets about 50 feet and blow's both rear tires throwing the car in the air screaming! You could hear a collective OOOOOH from the crow. Sold a car to one guy up there that told me if I could build him a car he could go under 1:20 with a Pittman Motor (he had lots of them) everyone was using the Ram 7 poll now, he would be able to win races. First run right out of the box it went 1:18. The other car I sold up there the guy never paid and when I asked for it back it was in peices and you could see the lead from the pencil tracing the parts! I quit building cars for people right then. I did go into Gene Hustings and Bob Braverman's home track and beat them both, then I got drafted and served in Viet Nam as a gunner on a Huey. When I came back the sport was gone. This article came out well I was in Aberdeen proving grounds in the service. I still have this car! They had a slot car exhibit at the Peterson Museum a few months back, all road race stuff, no dragsters when I showed them my car I got run around to all the guys putting on the exhibit and a few collectors wanting to buy the car! They stopped at $50,000.00 I loved those days Rod and Custom had a race at a different track each month and it was a dog fight, had top time more than once, bragging right's was always worth a lot in drag racing. Manuel

[Howie Ursaner]

 

I vaguely remember the elevator operator.  I never used the elevator.  I liked the stairs, the little narrow staircase, where the public rarely went.  You could climb to the fifth floor where the slot car department was located, and pop in or out, unnoticed, under the radar.

Elevator operator was Charlie ! Manuel Moldenoado built the best Magwinder dragsters in the world ! i built one like his, but i made it too light. cutting out too much material, so it cracked a thin rail. The LASCM has it now. 

[Alan Draht]

Elevator operator was Charlie ! Manuel Moldenoado built the best Magwinder dragsters in the world ! i built one like his, but i made it too light. cutting out too much material, so it cracked a thin rail. The LASCM has it now. 

 

I've been thinking about building Manny's R&C 1966 "Car of the Meet" top fuel eliminator since the day, seven or eight years ago, that I conceived the idea of trying to replicate my long lost copy of your car from the same mid-1960's time period as Manny's dragster.

 

I started gathering raw materials and vintage slot car parts to build replicas of both your car and Manny's dragster in 2012 - 2013.

 

At the time, I honestly didn't think there would be much chance of finding the extra time needed to build the "re-creating Howie's Rocketship" project, much less Manuel Maldonado's gorgeous 1966 dragster. 

[Uncle Fred]

Manuel Maldonado's car is the holy grail of Magwinders.  Magwinders were the ultimate scratchbuilt.  I made five of them, three Top Fuel and Two Funny Cars.

[Alan Draht]

Manuel Maldonado's car is the holy grail of Magwinders.  Magwinders were the ultimate scratchbuilt.  I made five of them, three Top Fuel and Two Funny Cars.

 

Wow!  So you and Howie have been down this road before and are subject matter experts.

[Alan Draht]

As a novice in the field of magwinders, I am relying to a large extent on the information contained in a series of fabulous Gene Husting race reports and how-to articles in Rod & Custom's December 1965, and January, February, March 1966 issues.

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[Uncle Fred]

Yes Alan,  I would be happy to help in any way I can.  I learned from studying every photo and article I could find.

[Alan Draht]

Thanks, Fred!  

 

A couple of questions I have off the top of my head are what do you use to clear coat the polished 1/16th inch thick magnesium side rails to prevent them from oxidizing?

 

Do you clear coat the polished magnesium rails before or after assembly using what Gene Husting describes as "numerous" 1/16th inch aluminum tube cross braces, pinned and epoxied at every joint? 

[Howie Ursaner]

There are a couple of excellent articles on building a magwinder. When i came back to slots in 2008 i wanted to build another one but  got busy with racing.

[Alan Draht]

Thanks, Howie.

 

I think those excellent magwinder how-to-build articles written by Gene Husting appear in the Rod & Custom magazine series pictured above.  If there are other information sources that I'm missing, please let me know.  

 

Also, please let me know if there are any materials or vintage 1960's dragster parts and motors that you need to build yours.  I've got more than enough to build at least one or two for myself.

 

It's always tempting to build two.  It's more efficient time-wise when it comes to machine tool set-up's and operations, for one thing.

[MSwiss]

There are a couple of excellent articles on building a magwinder. When i came back to slots in 2008 i wanted to build another one but  got busy with racing.

How,
My upcoming 102 ft. long strip will hopefully inspire you to build one.

[Alan Draht]

Thanks, Fred!  

 

A couple of questions I have off the top of my head are what do you use to clear coat the polished 1/16th inch thick magnesium side rails to prevent them from oxidizing?

 

Do you clear coat the polished magnesium rails before or after assembly using what Gene Husting describes as "numerous" 1/16th inch aluminum tube cross braces, pinned and epoxied at every joint? 

 

Never mind.  I found the answers in Gene Husting's January 1966 "Impossible" article on how he built his record-setting 0.988 second fuel car.

 

He used "Krylon Crystal Clear".  It looks like he sprayed the clear coat before assembly, which makes the most sense.

[Alan Draht]

Just a few weeks ago I thought that I'd be toting a box full of 1/24 slot cars to Mike's Chicagoland Raceway for testing.  Now, like everyone else, I'm doing the "stay at home" thing.

 

Having accomplished everything I set out to do and then some in terms of building slot cars up to this point, I have a clean slate to work with going forwards.

 

This was something I wanted to do when I first saw the R&C story in 1966.  Looking at Angelo's magwinders up close back then probably reinforced the urge to build one.

 

I just need to slap myself and say yeah I'm really going to do this, build replicas of vintage magwinders.  

[don.siegel]

Alan, that's amazing you got the message from Manuel himself - that was really the most impressive looking dragster in any of the stories, and the others weren't too shabby either; 

 

If you get any other stories or racing details from him, we'd be interested. 

 

Go for it guys, would love to see that one recreated. 

 

Don 

[Uncle Fred]

Sorry guys, one of the great luxuries of being independently wealthy or retired is taking a nap in the afternoon.   

 

Alan,  I never liked Krylon.  It always yellowed.  I would regularly disassemble and polish.

[MSwiss]

Just a few weeks ago I thought that I'd be toting a box full of 1/24 slot cars to Mike's Chicagoland Raceway for testing.  Now, like everyone else, I'm doing the "stay at home" thing.

 

I just need to slap myself and say yeah I'm really going to do this, build replicas of vintage magwinders.  

There is a guy on FB, out of the Detroit area, Floyd H., that's really into the recreating magwinders, thing.

 

[Uncle Fred]

Building a Magwinder is a huge investment in time and effort.  Alan,  I wouldn't epoxy aluminum cross braces.  Threaded steel rods are the way to go and you can epoxy or Loctite the nuts.  The chassis needs to be ridged especially in the back by the motor.  Remember the frame rails are the motor end plates.

 

Wait, its been 53 yrs since I did this!.

[Alan Draht]

"The other car I sold up there the guy never paid and when I asked for it back it was in peices and you could see the lead from the pencil tracing the parts! I quit building cars for people right then. I did go into Gene Hustings and Bob Braverman's home track and beat them both, then I got drafted and served in Viet Nam as a gunner on a Huey. When I came back the sport was gone. This article came out well I was in Aberdeen proving grounds in the service. I still have this car!"

 

Manuel was drafted, served in Vietnam as a gunner on a Huey, and he when he got back, "the sport was gone".

 

Ain't that the truth.

[Howie Ursaner]

How,
My upcoming 102 ft. long strip will hopefully inspire you to build one.

They need 36 volts to get going !!  Right now a little drag racing seems like fun 

[Dave Crevie]

How,
My upcoming 102 ft. long strip will hopefully inspire you to build one.

 

Will it be ready when all this virus crap is over? 

[MSwiss]

With it sounding like May 1st, as the earliest I can reopen, I would say yes.

There is more work to he done, but I took Ray's Willys down the strip, last night, as the first pass.

[Alan Draht]

Wow!  May 1st is just around the corner.

 

I have been thinking a lot about building replicas of mid-1960's dragsters since last week.

 

It's been my objective to do that since 2012 when I also decided to build a replica of Howie's slot car.  I've been accumulating vintage parts and motors for both projects ever since then.

 

Last week when I raised the idea of building replica vintage magwinders for my next project, I had forgotten that I acquired these two vintage kit dragsters sometime during the past eight years.  One is a Russkit based dragster; the other is a K&B.

 

They were stored in a different drawer.    

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