17 replies to this topic

[Slot Car Rod]

Rick (dc-65x) was kind enough to send me a pro slot car project to complete.  A 1971 Boltizar steel main rail chassis, a Rick (dc-65x)-built Champion C can motor and Faas gears were sent.

 

The car has been completed.  The chassis was repaired and cleaned up.  Riggen wheels were added.  Rear tires are natural rubber.  Original tires would have been orange.  The cool Champion motor Rick built now has an NCC20 armature.  The open armature was too much for the test track or the local hill-climb track.  Marklin train wire is no longer available locally, so modern lead wire is used for now.

 

Eric and I felt the body should be a McLaren M8 since Kirby Ferrari 612s are rare.  Victor supplied the wonderfully-painted McLaren body.  NCC air control was added.  The interior is from A B Slot Cars.

 

Eric commented that the steel main rail chassis is very well-built, and there is little chassis flex.  It looks like it was built for a Blue King (large track) and lots of tire glue.  Time for a track test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plastic for NCC air control

 

NCC air control added.

 

Notes that came with the chassis:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[don.siegel]

Thanks guys; great looking car and it's nice to have the whole history too. 

 

Don 

[Bill from NH]

Great restoration job Rod! In the '70s, Rick often came up to Connecticut to race with us on the C&C Blue King in Coventry. I made a jig for turning down the can sides on my Unimat. Adding a middle slot or hole to the top & bottom was as important to changing the magnetic field as thinning the can sides. 

[don.siegel]

Remind me guys: what was the point of changing the magnetic field? Seems like all this would only weaken it... was that the objective? 

 

Don 

[old & gray]

That is exactly correct. Magnets and cans were producing fields stronger than the armatures needed.

[Mark Onofri]

I've got a thing for this type of chassis. Some day I'll get around to having some Camen centre sections cut from a pattern that Bilnh was nice enough to give me.
You win the "I've got the best cars" trophy.

[Bill from NH]

I once built a Champion C-can Grp 20/27 motor with Blue Dots. I had the top & bottom surfaces ground to .020" in addition to adding the 3rd slot & thinning the sides. In testing, that thing ran so hot that I brought it home, packed it away, & never ran it again. I think it had a .510" Camen arm in a .530" hole. I probably should have built a second setup, but I never did. I ran Grp. 20 & 22 arms in my open motor setups into the early '80s.

[dc-65x]

Great restoration Rodney!

 

The backstory:

 

Quite a few years ago fellow Slotblogger "JAZ" (Jeff Morris) sent me the Boltizar chassis and a later (1984) Ray Kallio "wing car" chassis.

 

I had always planned on restoring these cars but I finally realized that my friend Rodney would do them the most justice with his period correct techniques. 

 

Thanks Rodney for bringing both the racers back to life.      

 

Below is a link to Rodney's restoration of the Ray Kallio car:

 

Ray Kallio 1984 all-steel G27 chassis

 

[Martin]

Nice car Rodney, 

Hopefully not to distract from your restoration but I did a Rich Boltizar chassis for  Nicky, who found this chassis in the Buzz's basement.

 

Thought it might be of interest and some build similarities even though I assume the one I did is earlier?  

 

 

[Slot Car Rod]

Thanks for the background information, Rick.  Good to see another Boltizar chassis, Martin.  Eric and I think the chassis you restored is newer with no floppy pans.  Bill, I also ran Group arms in my open set-ups.

 

Track Test:

 

The car is very easy to drive, and the handling is surprisingly neutral, even when pushed.  Eric thinks the NCC 20 power is perfect given low track glue conditions.

 

 

[Martin]

"Good to see another Boltizar chassis" 

 

indeed, I had not herd of Rich Bolltizar before Nicky told me about him as an east coast chassis builder. Nicky who had close ties to Buzz's and even worked there. That basement was a time capsule, and I restored a handful of chassis from there, all signed. All in bad  shape.  

What year did floppy's fall out of fashion?

 

Good to see this one on the track 

[MSwiss]

The only Pro style car I built in that era was a non-floppy, plumber only, built probably in early to mid '71, as a 15 year old.

It had become an acceptable option by then, possibly by the success of the Limpach 888, although I'm not entirely sure it had come out by then.

I decided it would an easier build for someone like myself, and when finished, got the blessing from our raceway's guru, Csaba S.

That said, I don't think hinged pans ever went away.

[Bill from NH]

In the early '70s, Tony P was selling plumbered, none-hinged chassis for $10. His hinged pan chassis were $25. He later sold both versions of his tripod chassis. I never saw an unhinged version of his ISO, so don't know if those were ever made.

[Martin]

For your viewing pleasure here is the Tony P "Da Iso" next to the Boltizar chassis.

 

 

 

Bill, I do have a the TonyP Tripod chassis as found if anybody wants to see it.

Rodney please P.M. me if this is taking away from your post?

[Bill from NH]

Martin, I built a clone of Tiny's ISO back in '75 except I used a 3/32" piano wire front axle. I didn't run it until '79-81 with a Steube 22 arm. An old photo of that chassis is posted in a thread someplace on here. I have a Champion slate block with Tony's ISO pin positions drilled on it.

[Mark Onofri]

🤯

[brnursebmt]

Does anyone know what became of the builder,  Rick Boltizar?  

[Martin]

The 1970s Slot Car Chassis Builder

If you are looking for the vintage, master model builder Rick Boltizar, historical racing entry forms and community archives from around 1970–1971 show he was a highly respected scratch-built slot car chassis builder and racer. [1]

• Where he is now: According to community check-ins from peers who tracked him down, he stepped away from public internet spaces and does not maintain an online presence. He was last reported to be living in the Southwest, specifically working in the home goods and rug sector in Albuquerque, New Mexico.