20 replies to this topic

[Isaac S.]

Stole this chassis off eBay a few months ago. Story from the seller was that the car was raced at Parma Raceway and used a "testing car" by a Parma employee trying to figure out how to level performance on the track with BBs in the motor can? Whether this story is true or not is was definitely raced at Parma. 

 

With this information, I chose to use a NIP early '70s Parma Elfin body that was given to me by Pablo. Thank you! I was first thinking of using a MAC TI22 or Lola T163 body but the Parma connection was cool, and so was the body.  Sent body off to Noose for interior plus paint. They turned out wonderfully and the colors really pop. Love the light white lace, too. Added a rear spoiler and it's done. 

 

Chassis was obviously built by a master. There was a huge glob of solder on the pan downstop and I repaired it the best I could. I probably should have cut some away before but it still turned out okay-ish. Has Steube pans and drop arm with Steube-Associated fronts. Axles are 3/32" front and rear. Motor is an MPP kit with what I think is a S24 Mura/Green arm, I love the endbell. Faas gears mesh great. I got some road grime on it this weekend but tires will be cleaned soon. 

 

 

 

 

[elvis44102]

Dan Bloodworth was a Parma employee in the early '70s. There were a few others that worked there, but I can't remember their names any more... This was when Parma made mostly the controllers onsite at the raceway upstairs... I always built Dan's race cars from the bottom up, chassis and motor... Bartos used those circular holes pans, I

just did not like them...

[dc-65x]

That's a wonderful car Isaac.
 

here was a huge glob of solder on the pan downstop and I repaired it the best I could.

Have you tried this stuff for sucking up excess solder? It works well especially if you add some acid flux:
 

Here are the remains after I got done with the "solder blob sucker-upper wick". I'm using the drop arm, pans rear axle tube, and my own motor bracket:
 

 
Next up well shine these babies up and get after the chassis center section .

[Isaac S.]

Yeah its good stuff. I might still do that.

[Mark Onofri]

If I ever figure out how to get my files from my other phone, I'll direct you to the thread with this chassis. I think I remember, hmm, oh yeah, some of the blogers(?) Didn't like the holes . Something about disruptive surface tension from the holes. Make what you will of that. I think 🤔 (really, sometimes I do) It's A-KICKIN ! Kinda partial to brass boat anchor chassis's. Scotch bright tares through solder most Ricki Rickie , just use the solder sucker upper (or cleaned old braids) first. AND WHERE A MASK ! Lead poisoning SUCKS! Haven't tried a air compressor blow gun ,yet. Someone suggested that in a post(?). 😬 Ok,if you say so.

[Mark Onofri]

I almost killed this phone ,yah!
Happened just the other day!
Where was I, oh yeah, it's supposed to say "most Rickie Tickie" .If you ignore the fact that it's a drop arm, looks like a champion centre section. Or maybe it's just me.

[Bill from NH]

Mark, Isaac's chassis drop arm has two round holes about the same size as those on Champion's Brasscar chassis. I sometimes wonder why brasscar racing never had a comeback. My kids were born in the early & mid-80s, so I never got to do any brasscar racing.

[John Luongo]

bill, you may remember one of the first inter-track regional series was with x12 motors, brass car chassis only and run by charlie harris in the late 80s i think. the four tracks involved were modelville, arlington (a bizzare extended and banked fig 8), londonderrys fast tracks (american red), wakefields cobra track. each track fielded a 4 man team. 2 races at each facility for points. trophy and bragging rights went to modeville.

[Bill from NH]

John, I don't recall that series of races. Was Rochester open at that time? Since Modelville got bragging rights, Dick P. must have been heavily involved blueprinting chassis. Perhaps brasscar chassis became too costly to manufacture compared to the, then new, steel flexi chassis being manufactured in the orient.

[John Luongo]

i dont believe that rochester was open at that time. bob hughs track also in londonderry had recently opened around the time of the series and would have been a nice additional track to race on. dont know why he wasnt involved with the series. yes, dick p did very well blueprinting brass car chassis. dom qualified to represent londonderry fast tracks with a brass car chassis set up from gerry herveau of grand national race way in lowell. each track ran elimination races to determine which four racers would represent the track. basically wing car bodies; one race with wings and one without at each track. iirc, modelville at the old ashland location ran the fig 8 and hill climb. i think dom finished 4th overall in the series.

[Bill from NH]

Sometime around 2000, the owner of that former Londonderry track came into Matt's with two black trash bags full of old parts, while I was there. Most was weird stuff that couldn't be used for flexi racing, so Matt got it all for $5 a bag. I found a couple brass front guide plates for chassis building & still have them. Matt probably threw most of the other stuff in the dumpster. I lived in Derry from 1978 to 1982 & never knew the next town had two raceways. From 1979-81, I raced Group 20 at the Lowell "Y". 

[John Luongo]

fastracks ran a 6hr enduro on their old american red track once. group 10 gtp cars. we ran a prelim race to establish lane choice. ralph and i ended up on red lane for the entire enduro. we will never have to practice on that lane again. we finished in second place even though no other cars past us. red lane lap counter was not working right so they had one of the kids count our laps as we passed the start/finish line. i think gerry and his track was at the lowell Y in those years

[Bill from NH]

When I was at the "Y", their young youth director, Dick Kenyon, ran the slot racing program on a shortened Orange & an American Black. It was fun running Group 20 wing cars on the Black, I don't know what happened to the tracks, but Dick Kenyon moved to Manchester, worked for Benson Lumber in Derry, & occasionally showed up at NfS with his two sons. I last saw him at a Manchester medical lab about 4 or 5 years ago.                                

[John Luongo]

gerry had a small figure 8 and a 6 lane olgivie 60ft tri-oval at grand national race way in lowell. about 5 mins from our house, so we raced there every week. once you won 2 races, you had to race with the faster racers, not with the kids anymore. mostly box stock flexis and 4.5" nascars. for nascar, in addition to the normal flexi clearances, he had a body height gauge which kept bumpers and roof heights equal. 8-34 gear rule with 7/8 tires. very close racing and lots of fun. generally speaking, you got beat by a better driver, not his equipment. best regards

[Bill from NH]

I've heard several people say good about Gerry, but I don't think our paths ever crossed. I can't recall if he was still open when I raced at the Y, but some of the guys I raced against had also raced there & so had t5he fathers of a couple teenagers. Tom Stickney who raced at both QCS & NfS was a Lowell kid who watched slot racing at the Y, but did not race, remembers me being at the Y. The Y had a 2-man team, 4 hour, endurance  race using 36D Parma  belt-drive cars. They paired each adult with a youth. I was paired with a kid named Rob Plante, who was almost as good a driver as me. We should have won, but our car was a slug, so we finished 3rd. 

[John Luongo]

those old whisper jets were smooth, but slow. good rental cars

[Mark Onofri]

BillNH , that's too funny. The YMCA here had a small track. That was my first (hands on) exposure to this.

[Mark Onofri]

First car I bought (1/24) was a Parma brass car w/ a Porsche body, silver with a maroon & black stripe. Still got it & the box ! Brought up the topic of racing them @ Speedies but Dan didn't think there was any interest. Current average price on eBay is <$75.

[Bill from NH]

Brasscars seem to always be for sale on eBay. I don't know if there is a ton of the used ones out there, or if I keep seeing the same ones because nobody wants to pay the asking prices.    What motor came with yours? Was there only one motor that came with them? My guess is that the Mura C-cans came in their brasscars, but what did Parma use?

[Mark Onofri]

Yes, it was a lowly Mura G-12. The rules @ Miniature Grand prix of Westvalle limited the cars to them. Still more than I could handle, At the time.

[Mark Onofri]

Found it " Stube chassis like this one" Maybe a case of which came first the chicken or the egg. Definitely shows a progression in the basic design. Or,the ever popular,"How can we get rid of this s**t" approach to chassis design. Either way, very cool Issac, your the bomb.