48 replies to this topic

[rmjlmartin]

A Flexi 3 bare chassis that I haven't built yet...

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[rmjlmartin]

A Flexi 4...

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[rmjlmartin]

And a Flexi 5, which will be the last for tonight.

Would we like any particular specs on the chassis? Things like weight, width, exact wheelbase, overall length, that kind of thing?

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[rmjlmartin]

Here's an original narrow/Indy pan Flexi-Kar. I'm not sure if that's the original body or not, but I've seen pictures online with similar bodies, so...?

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[rmjlmartin]

And a Parma International 32. (1/32 scale)

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[Bill from NH]

Just a couple comments on your Flex Kar & Int. 32 chassis photos. Both have over-under brush spring motors rather than the dual overhead springs of a Deathstar.. This dates them more than 20 years old. Do you have the actual cars? There isn't anything wrong with these motors, I have a couple. The magnets are a bit weaker, but I think the endbell hardware is better, & I like the steel brush springs better than Parma's brass/copper ones. I don't think the AC Cobra body was original to the Flex Kar. That narrow pan can be hard to find & was first introduced to fit some Parma F1 bodies. That's probably what that chassis was first used for. That pan will also fit a Flexi 2 centersection, both 4" & 4 1/2".. It is sometimes used with model car kit bodies in hard body racing.

[rmjlmartin]

All the pictures I'm posting for the moment are cars I own. I'm getting back into slot cars after a 20+ year absence and I'm interested in the history between then and now, and I like to tinker. I've spent the last 6 months or so tracking down examples of most different Flexi style chassis to play with. The 1/32 scale flexis are the most interesting to me, but we race 4" 1/24 scale here, so that's what I've done the most with.

But I do have a couple of International 32s, and I've run one a bit. They're fun little cars, in my opinion. Not as fast as their bigger siblings, but still a lot of fun.

From my research, I figured that the pink endbell was an earlier version. How do the 16Ds hold up on current commercial tracks? All the ones from my old cars that I had as a teenager have burned up in short order.

I knew the Flexi and Flexi-2 pans are interchangeable. Is it worth trying? Is there enough benefit to make it worth it?

[Jay Guard]

Jason:

If you want a great handling 1/32 Flexi you ought to try out JK Products  #JKX321 1/32 Cheetah 11 Chassis w/1-Piece Pan.  The handling is simply amazing, Light-years ahead of any other 1/32 Flexi that I'm aware of.

[Bill from NH]

Jason, I ran the Parma pink endbell motors for commercial track racing from 1996 to about 1998 without any burnup issues for myself of two kids. Deathstars had lighter cans & stronger S16D magnets, so I went with them once they became available. Slotworks had a good 16D motor too back then, but getting one locally was difficult because they weren't too plentiful. I should say that in the 1996-20005 timeframe, i blueprinted  my 16D motors rather than run them stock out of the bag. Only in a sealed motor race did the motor remain stock, but even then we were allowed to change brushes & springs to aftermarket items. Today, most of the entry level classes at commercial tracks, which used to be 16D, is now done with the sealed FK cans. Motor building used to be a fun part of slot car racing.

 

Swapping Flex Kar & Flexi 2 pans around won't be a big improvement item, unless you're purposely trying  to lighten a car up. I only mention it if you ever have the chance to just buy pans separately, grab them. I once raced a friend's Flex Kar with Flexi 2 pans in a GTP race. I jumped out to a quick lead on a 180' Engleman track for 4 or 5 laps, then the car literally came all apart. I was a DNF. I always raced my own cars after that. They didn't always win, but they never fell apart either.

 

I thought your photos were you own cars, I just wanted to be sure.

 

If your local raceway starts a 1/32 class, the JK chassis mentioned by Jay above  is a state-of-the-art chassis & the one to have. What sort of track(s) does your local raceway have?

[rmjlmartin]

I actually don't remember ever burning up a 16D motor as a teenager, either. The only motor issue I remember was when, after I was told by someone at the track that you could adjust the timing on the motor by slightly rotating the commutator, tried it and broke the wires...

 

But I've thoroughly fried several of my old 16Ds since I've started up racing again. They've all burned through a winding where the wire attaches to the commutator. And of course, 16D parts aren't really available that readily aside from Ebay, and the new FK motors are what everyone uses, and they're cheap.

 

I do have a few more 16Ds, including a Slotworks one or two, that I've got with the older chassis I've been collecting. I'll probably use them in something, though there isn't a class locally that I can race them in.

 

I've wanted to try a Flexi 2 pan on my old Flexi, since it looks like you can tune it a bit more, since it can be moved front to back in several positions. I will keep an eye open for a pan.

 

The track owner is talking about possibly doing a 1/32 scale class, but if he does, it'll probably be only those JK cars, not the older chassis. I'm going to be getting one eventually, but I haven't had much time to devote to much other than the cars my boys and I are racing.

 

The website for our track is https://www.mach1raceway.net/ There's a King, a Tri-oval, and a dragstrip. The owner is talking about adding more, but I don't know what exactly he's considering.

[rmjlmartin]

Jason:

If you want a great handling 1/32 Flexi you ought to try out JK Products  #JKX321 1/32 Cheetah 11 Chassis w/1-Piece Pan.  The handling is simply amazing, Light-years ahead of any other 1/32 Flexi that I'm aware of.

I've been mostly racing JK 1/24 scale cars, and they seem to handle very well, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the 1/32 scale, too.

 

Is there anyone else that's making a 1/32 scale flexi at the moment? I just saw this ( https://www.facebook...2087062/?type=3 ) on Mossetti's Facebook page, but it's probably not exactly the same thing, though it looks like it probably "flexes".

[rmjlmartin]

And I have a few more pictures that Paul Menkens asked me to crop and post.

 

A Champion Astro, a Ferret Spider, and a Trinity Slotworks Spyder (second version?).

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[rmjlmartin]

And one more of Paul's pictures, a Parma narrow pan Flexi-Kar with an Indy car body.

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[rmjlmartin]

And I see that the first several pictures didn't post in the correct order. The one on the left is the Trinity Slotworks Spyder, the top right is the Champion, and the lower right is the Ferret.

[rmjlmartin]

Ok, I have a few more pictures here finally...

 

This is a Champion Turbo Flex Indy car (narrow pan).

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[rmjlmartin]

A Parma 1/32 scale Super Womp.

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[rmjlmartin]

A Trinity Slotworks Spyder 2000.

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[rmjlmartin]

A JK Cheetah 11.

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[rmjlmartin]

And a JK Cheetah 21, my current regular race chassis.

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[gc4895]

Fun looking at all these legacy chassis. Just get into one "wreck" and get a reminder of how fragile these antique chassis really are. My racing buddy and I enjoy building pairs of these to compete with each other one on one. However, these wouldn't survive one heat of the current racing program we participate in. In this program, we are thankful for the shocking, irreplaceable durability of the C-43 current design.

[rmjlmartin]

Here's a 1/32 scale Parma Flexi Womp.

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[rmjlmartin]

And an old Dynamic chassis, which could be a precursor to the whole flexi thing, courtesy of Paul Menkens.

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[Mark Onofri]

Martin, it seems like all these were posted in flexi chassis history. Granted, you've done a bit of chronological refinement in this thread.

[Mark Onofri]

Why stop now you might as well transfer the rest of the photos from that thread to this one. If there's any I posted that you need more angles for let me know.