Thanks Mark. Great finds. We have the same taste in toys. I have the same ones that you picked up too. lol Here’s a D.C. show that I been going to for about 50 years. It’s their 103 show. No stinking girl toys, just stuff with WHEELs ! 5686515[/ATTACH]
Thanks for the pics. Very inspiring, so much cool stuff. It must be difficult to choose, but those kits are a great score. The Aurora Corvette Box art is killer! Is the Little Deuce Coupe a Diecast?
That's awesome, my kid would've gone nuts there. I don't even know how many hot wheels and matchbox cars he has now, thousands I'd wager. And he's pretty into his slots too...
Hello, Nice show for a little history of slot cars. We all had our Christmas Day opening of those tiny little cars (box kits) that zipped around, like the old trains when we were really little. But, these were the beginnings of our interests in hot rods and making modifications to the stock ch***is components and then sized upward. Those we hand picked at the hobby shop during our teenage days, too. Those little cars grew into 1/32, then 1/24 became like modifying those old 1/24 plastic kits model cars. Except, these had actual motors and drivelines that actually worked. So, it was closer to the real hot rod builds, except that they were mostly in 1/24 scale. The circled items in the above photo look as if the previous owner started his own custom br*** tubing frames and swing arm pickups. This DC 62 Pittman style was narrower for the sports car skinny bodies, like GP FORMULA CARS. It was more difficult to modify these motors due to the smaller structures and bearings necessary. Thin motors, ball bearings and rewound armatures were all able to be done, and the little narrow formula one clear bodies fit perfectly with the tubing frame and narrow motors. The bodies were held on with sewing pins with heads pushed into very small tubes soldered into the frame in front, rear and one on each side. That kept the clear plastic bodies secure, even on roll overs and when race car hit the pillow at the end of the dragstrip. As you can see, the outer shell shaft housing from both ends were removed on a full custom ch***is/motor housing that used the ch***is as the outer shaft housing with custom inserted bearings. Custom miniature ball bearings on motor shafts and rewound armatures. That was the ticket for faster times. The DC 85 motors were the largest ones and were used primarily for drags. As we got better, we made each little part of the outer shell smaller, thinner and shaped to fit our custom frames. We milled the motor housing to maximum strength, but minimum weight. Then the custom ball bearings were put on the motor housing. But we found out that the smaller version of the same outside shape motor called the DC 65. Finally, a smaller version of a lay down flat Sidewinder set up was done with the DC 65 motor housing for lighter weight motor and then a thinner tubing could be used for maximum power. The larger DC 85’s were strictly drag race as it was too heavy for sporty car builds and events. We all started with those stock Mabuchi Motors and started modifying them electrically. Then those had limits prior to burning out. So, the bigger and stronger motors like the top racer, Gene Husting used were for us to modify and run as fast as we could. The DC 85 Pittman Motors ruled the day. Shaved outside structures, rewound armatures, thicker Copper wire, less wire winding, ball bearings of all kinds were found and used. Those bearings, including dental bearings from those favorite drills we hate, were all part of our miniature machine shop, drag race central garage worktable. What looks like the way the custom car bodies were sold at the local hobby shops on a rack of clear plastic or thin, Lexan vacuum shaped forms. These new forms just allowed us a new way to paint and customize them to our tastes. No more outside surface spray painting. Now, it was experimenting with what type of paint would be applied via spray coats or by hand brush was the choice. NOTE: An odd choice of attire sitting next to the plastic wrapped items. At least, the parts may have come from a western hobby parts supply area. “It spurs the imagination as to how they were tied into slot cars… pun intended…” The thin spray of one or two maximum in one solid color lasted the longest, despite the banging around the road courses. But the big pillow at the end of the drag races also contributed to the cracked paint. Each style of paint had to be applied underneath the clear plastic bubble form. From the inside, no touch up was necessary as the outside always had a nice sheen. If one wanted to have custom lettering, we all learned to paint backwards after the masking tape or outlined marking pens made the space for the paint. The numbers/lettering came first. Then a thin coat of spray was applied directly over the lettering. From the outside, they looked good and detailed. If fine pinstriping was called for, then that took place prior to the final spray underneath. Usually, that technique kept the paint pristine in the road race battles and took several extra runs into the pillow at the drags, before the paint started to crack. The thicker the paint underneath, the easier it was to crack on the first impact. Jnaki In our old neighborhood, this one kid was a good kid with a lot of friends, but he never had any unusual toys. So, when I was given the directive to… “clean out the garage shelving areas of stuff I haven’t used since we first moved into the place in 1976, get rid of it…” I gave this neighborhood kid the complete wooden fishing box loaded with 5 drag racing slot cars and custom br*** frame dragsters(plus several sporty car bodies) with high speed ball bearings in the wheels, axle mounts and custom milled motors. Plus a transformer and several feet of track. Now, he was ready for his friend’s visits and unlimited play time. Just like we did way back in the early 60s. “Pay it forward,” always feels good. YRMV
The Jalopy Journal
