152 replies to this topic

[John Luongo]

i dont know why that wouldnt work. infact when i build one i will use those requirements. i just may have to bring one to the ne retro race at 1010 raceway in bristol ct this week. for a new racer, are there any assembled 4" angle winder retro chassis available for a reasonable price point? D3? 

[Eddie Fleming]

How wide?

[Tim Neja]

The SCRRA angle winder coupe class originating from D3 rules is the perfect example of great handling retro cars.  Switch from coupe to trans am bodies and you're good to go.  

[MG Brown]

 

The Dodge Charger was not run in Trans Am.

 

True, but the Challenger was, driven by Sam Posey. Not sure if anyone makes a '70s Challenger, but it would be a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned.

 

My friend, the late Tony Adamowicz, also drove one of the Autodynamics Challengers at Riverside. Ronnie Bucknum also drove an Autodynamics Challenger in 1970 at Kent. Posey did have the best finishing record with the T/A Challengers in 1970.

I have never seen a '70 Challenger T/A or '70 Challenger AAR 'Cuda available as a modern 4" Lexan slot car body so it would appear as though the point is largely moot.

[snolde]

How wide?

Depends on what will fit the fender wells without sticking out past them.

3.125" or 3.25"

[Jay Guard]

To make things consistent with other IRRA classes I was thinking of an inline chassis, minimum 120 grams, 4" wheelbase, a .750" guide lead and a 3.125" wide chassis and wheel track.  Body could be 3.250 wide.  With these specs it might be possible to easily convert a Stockcar chassis for the Trans Am class.  I know Camaro, Mustang, and Javelin bodies do exist or can be slightly modified and back-poured so that shouldn't be a problem.  Maybe run this class as a warm-up before some of the big events to try it out.  Nothing set in stone here at all.

[snolde]

Could be inline OR angle winder, builders choice

I plan to build one soon, just ordered a camaro body.

going to try an angle winder with a 3.125 track width, if it is possible to fit everything inside, if not then 3.25

 

4" wheel base

.750 F1 fronts .015 front chassis clearance.

.790 Rears with an .040 rear clearance.

120g weight

.750 GL

CR-102 Motor geared 14-38 to start with.

[John Luongo]

i would second those specs scott for my angle winder build, sans the cr102 motor. prob use an older jk motor as a development mule. good stuff!

[John Luongo]

The class may be only possible as a local option race. track owner buys chassis kits, motors and assembles the cars to IRRA or SCRRA spec and sells them at a competitive price point to a new RTR gr10. nice upgrade for a new racer from GR10.

 

Slightly faster and better handling cars with interesting retro bodies. the car would be set up for whatever style the raceways track is and at whatever power level keeps them fast but helps them stay on the track.

 

The new entrant would prob not be traveling to other raceways, unless they are having fun and not frustration. once the rules are hammered out it may help get new racers in the front door.

 

Running the trans am class before a major race would be exciting for a new racer. Just a thought.

[Bill from NH]

 

I plan to build one soon, just ordered a camaro body.

 

 

 

Scott, just a curiosity question. What does Alabama have for commercial raceways or do you plan to run on routed wood home/club tracks?  I never see Alabama race reports published, yet, I know some of the home tracks are online here or on Facebook. I'm just wondering what there is for Alabame tracks I know nothing about. Or do you simply plan to do a lot of traveling?

[MSwiss]

Bill,

[snolde]

 

Scott, just a curiosity question. What does Alabama have for commercial raceways or do you plan to run on routed wood home/club tracks?  I never see Alabama race reports published, yet, I know some of the home tracks are online here or on Facebook. I'm just wondering what there is for Alabame tracks I know nothing about. Or do you simply plan to do a lot of traveling?

 

Hi Bill,

 

Home Track is Atlanta Slot car Raceway. a couple of hours away.

I also go to The Raceway in Cleveland TN and The Viper Pit.

 

There is a Club track in Hueytown, Alabama that I have been to, wing car racing, but I'm not really into wing cars, never have been.

[John Luongo]

For chassis I would stick with a stamp steel chassis and definitely a entry level motor.  Not exactly sure what that would be but I'm sure there is something out there that doesn't click 4 second laps on a king.

 

Champion turbo flex? $20 new. everybody prob has one anyway. old jk falcon motor.  good handling $50 entry level car. Hmmm...

[Noose]

[Jason Holmes]

I had a 1970 AMX 390 4 speed very nice car My Father in law to be told me that I would need a truck when I moved to So. Dakota so I signed the Pink Slip 

 

Gave it to my Dad March of 1978 and we loaded up my Wife to be Chev. Monza and took off when I got there about 3 weeks later on a Sunday we were 

 

driving to church I saw a PLY. GTX 383 six pack it had 10.93 on the window I looked closer after church small sign it said Motor just rebuild 1 pass Black Hills Speedway can talk on Monday

 

Long story short I paid 2100.00 Mech lean and Never bought a Truck but today I still miss my AMX 

 

Jason

 

PS 1 of those Mark Donohue Javelins Lived in the Black Hills when I was living there in 1978 super sweet car very fast

[old & gray]

Champion turbo flex? $20 new. everybody prob has one anyway. old jk falcon motor.  good handling $50 entry level car. Hmmm...

 

Sounds like a good entry point, the questions that comes to mind:

1. What do you use for front tires? Fitting IRRA Retro fronts to .062 axles is difficult, (ducks under desk) are stickers the answer?

 

2 this sounds a lot like Flexi GT (recent rules at http://slotblog.net/...ed-by-trinity/)

[John Luongo]

 

Sounds like a good entry point, the questions that comes to mind:

1. What do you use for front tires? Fitting IRRA Retro fronts to .062 axles is difficult, (ducks under desk) are stickers the answer?

 

2 this sounds a lot like Flexi GT (recent rules at http://slotblog.net/...ed-by-trinity/)

i like the idea of an entry level retro class. i am not sure how to put it together, bob. east coast irra anglewinder rules would be a good start. but where would the price point be compared to a rtr flexi gr10 car? if similar in cost and providing an improved performance, it could be a great way to introduce new racers to our crazy world of retro. anglewinder class rules exist already. makes me wonder why hasnt the concept taken off? we already have a full day of retro racing, where do you add a novice race? tech at 0700, race at 0800? done by 9-0930? 2 min on 2 min off. having a novice race early would allow them to hang around (and buy parts), ask questions, do some bench racing, then watch how the big boys do it. let's face it, 8-10 years from now half the current retro racers, myself included, won't be able to attend any more races for various reasons. it would be nice to pass along our love of the hobby to younger racers.

i plan on building/grafting/hammering an anglewinder retro to irra rules for fun.

[snolde]

Started the initial layout of my AW build, waiting on the camaro body to arrive before I solder anything.

This way I can look at the body and figure out if everything will fit ok.(Guide lead, track width front and rear and so on.)

I think I am going to use two .055 per side as the main rails, already bent the wire and made an axle tube and put it all on my PSC jig.

Looks like the motor and spur gear will fit ok with a 3.125 track width. measured the motor angle to the rear axle at about 12 degrees.

I will post a photo later.

[John Luongo]

nicely done, scott! your way ahead of me. i am waiting on bodies myself, but have found a couple of bent "donor" chassis in my "box-o-stuff" that i may be able to repurpose and meet the rule requirements. i like your 12 deg motor angle, should make for a decent gear mesh without a power loss. i will post photos of my build when completed and track tested. best regards

[Jay Guard]

John / Scott:

While angle winders are certainly easier to drive than inlines they are also inherently more difficult to build, sure not a lot more for an experienced builder but probably not so for a beginner. BTW...There are no current IRRA rules pertaining to angle winders but there were a few years back and of course the California Retro guys do have an anglewinder class so I'm not saying there are no rules,  The bad news is that IRRA angle winder class was dropped as there was very little interest.  I think basing a Trans Am class off of existing inlines rules would make more sense.  Maybe just use the existing GT Coupe rules with an added minimum weight of say 120 grams and (at least for now) allow the guide to extend out the front of the body.  Just my $.02 and trying to keep it simple, especially for beginners and the experienced alike.

[Dave Crevie]

Right-o. Keep it simple. Use a stamped steel chassis with a mid-range performance motor. Have ready-to-run versions available for the newbies. An advanced class can be developed for the experienced guys, which will create a goal for the beginners. But someone needs to start it. Talk is cheap. Get it going for real.

[Jay Guard]

Sure Dave but under who's banner?  The IRRA actually did have a Retro Flexi class way back early on but dropped it for a number of reasons.  I think making it essentially an existing class with very few modifications it might be possible to get the IRRA to try out the new class.  Especially so since Trans Am is really very "Retro".

[snolde]

So here is the photo of the beginnings of my new chassis.

nothing soldered yet, just bending some wire to see what I can come up with.

 

 

1.2 inch axle tube notched out and trial fitting of the motor.

It will work as a 3.125" track width.

 

Waiting on my camaro body to really start building, ought to be fun!

Also waiting on some .055 Chicago Land plated wire to build it with. 

[snolde]

John / Scott:

While angle winders are certainly easier to drive than inlines they are also inherently more difficult to build, sure not a lot more for an experienced builder but probably not so for a beginner. BTW...There are no current IRRA rules pertaining to angle winders but there were a few years back and of course the California Retro guys do have an anglewinder class so I'm not saying there are no rules,  The bad news is that IRRA angle winder class was dropped as there was very little interest.  I think basing a Trans Am class off of existing inlines rules would make more sense.  Maybe just use the existing GT Coupe rules with an added minimum weight of say 120 grams and (at least for now) allow the guide to extend out the front of the body.  Just my $.02 and trying to keep it simple, especially for beginners and the experienced alike.

 

Makes sense Jay, what do you think of adding a rear spoiler like Can-Am or Coupe? I think they don't belong on a Trans-Am car.

[John Luongo]

Very nice work so far, scott! very good basis for an angle winder. i esp like that chassis building block, looks very versatile. i have nothing together at this time, just a couple of donor chassis to create a frankenretro.