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    • #38421

      Art

      Thanks again for organizing the test session at Nova Ridge on Monday evening

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      The 1960 Ford Galaxie Starliner

       

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    • #38422
      Avatar photoKen

        Jim,

        That’s one beautiful looking Starliner.

        By the way. I’m seeing the guy that supplied the kits later today. Tail lights for everyone may be arriving very shortly. He apparently still has them.

        He may have your door handles too, Jim.

      • #38429

        Nice shots! Wish I’d had some nicer sports cars in the background at the time 😉

      • #38502

         

        ?  ?

         

        Felix.

         

      • #38504
        Avatar photoKen

          Hi Felix,

          What took you so long to chime in, brother? 🙂

          This is still in the testing stages at Nova Ridge track only. It’s far from an official class yet.

          The H&R Racing chassis, and Monte Carlo look cool.

        • #38561

          Hi Ken, thanks for your note; I hope you are doing well.

          Nice to see you at the Grp25 show last month; every time I came by you had a bunch of people at your table so I didn’t want to interrupt. I had decided to drop by just as a temporary escape from all my eldercare duties, problems, and worries. I saw a couple of things worth buying, but I just couldn’t get into the buying mood.

          I posted the Monte Carlo kit photo as a curiosity; didn’t know if the ones you got are from the same series. I got the kit long ago when we were planning to add another race series at the club I was in. But the series never materialized, then the owner moved and the track was sold. The kit is very unusual for AMT, with everything pre-finished and the painted sprues sealed in the blisterbags. The body is fully painted, but will probably need clearcoat. It’s 1/25’th scale, so, just 4% smaller than 1/24’th. This body has a WhlB = 120mm,  FrW = 77mm,  RrW = 76mm.

          I’ve posted a few of my 24’th scale chassis here, but I’ve been hesitant in the past to post examples or discussion in case it was thought that I was trying to convince someone to go ‘to the dark side’ !  But since f1nutz, and now you, have done some of those postings I feel safe !

          For those who have not used metal chassis in the larger scale, this one in my photo is a Pf1300, a very early generation ‘Pla-fit’ chassis, long out of production; not as sophisticated as the current versions, but a bit easier to adjust. Plafit chassis development has an interesting history and influence on 24’th scale racing. It’s a Japanese company that changed the nature of 24’th scale metal chassis with some very fundamental new properties (float, suspension, and linkage designs) that were quickly copied by some of the German manufacturers, like Schöler. The Plafits were adopted as the top competition chassis in the main northern European clubs. These guys are very serious about their toys and became the centre of the 24’th scale ‘slotcar universe’. The European pro-racers later started replacing the secondary parts of the Plafits with their own modified designs. They kept the large brass baseplate and the CNC’d bearing holders, but started modifying the aluminum H-plate and T-plate. They later started making these replacement parts from Carbon-Fibre plate, and Phenolic plate.

          ( The one in my photo is an old chassis, but the H&R one is archaic! After the wheelbase adjustment is bolted tight, the geometry and whole structure on the H&R is static. Also, it’s based on 1/8” axles which introduces another layer of incompatibilities on the bearings, gears, and wheels. The H&R chassis are also inline! )

          This trial run is an interesting idea as a test. We will likely run into compatibility problems with parts, something that I still find irritating in going from 24’th to 32’nd scale; things are just done differently between the two scales, including some things that just don’t make any sense. Also, people who have tried a chassis that performs well in 24’th and downsized to 32’nd scale (like the Pf3300, a 32’nd scale version of the Pf1700), have found that it just doesn’t have the same dynamics in the smaller size. In the end, it seems that a ‘well-designed’ scratch-built brass/piano-wire chassis works best.

          The 25’th scale will be tight on the track, but should be do-able on 3 ½” lane spacing. (Still, these are fairly large bodies. If the test fails for these ones, don’t be discouraged, it won’t necessarily fail for others.) If people are interested in running 24’th scale on Art’s tracks, there are a few other options, like 50’s and 60’s sports car model kits that are naturally smaller and would run well. I have a few other options as well, if people want to pursue the idea. There is also a whole new series of 24’th scale metal chassis finished slotcars out, that are being promoted as able to race on Scalextric track! I’ll bring one of them along to the next meet I attend.

           

          Here’s a closer photo of the Monte Carlo body, in between some parts-fit testing and adjustment.

           

          I don’t have a stash problem; I could stop buying any time I want to !  

          Felix.

           

        • #38562
          Avatar photoKen

            Very nice looking body, Felix. I’ve always liked the 70 Monte Carlo.

            The AMT Impala’s (all the various years) have the same wheelbase of 120mm just like your Monte Carlo.

            My prototype chassis is not quite as fanciful as the H&R Racing chassis. But it works well. At this point the DArt wheels/tires, and Fox 10 motor are the foundation of this new class. The chassis can be made out of anything you wish.

            What’s an H&R Racing chassis going for these days?

          • #38614

            Thanks for your note, Ken.

            My Monte Carlo body in the photo is just at the test-fit stage (parts just taped in place); needs fit adjustments. Some of the others in the posts look very nice. Your chassis looks good, and the Fox10 is an appropriate motor for this use. That’s what I’ll be installing. I managed to find some raw material brass to make the extra parts I need for the chassis.

            I don’t have an H&R. The one in my photo, above, is a PF 1300, a very early generation Pla-fit, a Japanese company with interesting and very significant contributions to 24’th scale racing. (See 4’th paragraph above, for curiosity.)  I wouldn’t waste your money on an H&R chassis; it looks like a 50’s/60’s design in stamped light gage brass. There are a lot of compatibility problems with it. Also, you probably know how highly I regard inline gearing!  One of our clubs tried to run a series with these chassis; it wasn’t very successful.

          • #38615
            Avatar photoKen

              Hi Felix,

              Thank you for the correction. My humble apologies for the mistake.

              I am curious if the PF 1300 will work with the Big Bruiser class?

              You already mentioned that you are going with a Fox 10 motor. Are you able to use Art’s wheels and urethane tires on the Pla-fit chassis?

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