The Gunze Sangyo line of static model kits are beautiful to build. But even more fun to convert into a slot car.

   
   
   

First step was to change the colour to something close to what Ford offered for the real car. Tamiya metallic orange looks about right.

   

This specific shade of paint will not shine without clear coat. Here's the difference.

   
   

The body was measured for wheelbase, guide, and body post details. The chassis was fabricated.

   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Custom aluminum chassis with Sloting Plus roller bearings. BWNC1 motor with 13x28 gears. Slot It rear and BWA front wheels with D'Art tires. Professor Motor axles and wire. Slot It guide and braid. The original wheels from the kit were turned down and used as inserts.

The car is very stable on the track due to it's width. It weighs 81-grams.

Thank you very kindly for looking.
Ken

   

If you've wandered on to the Slot Cars Direct website recently, you may have noticed that the venerable Tomy Turbo has received the 'hobby chassis' treatment from British Bulldog HO Racing. The BDR chassis is the brainchild of Barry Johnson, patron of the UK's HO cars & parts emporium and - with help and guidance from Terry Flynn at Harden Creek Slot Cars in Florida - he has captained the ship admirably. Despite the pandemic, a production chassis will be available pretty much on schedule - from Thursday 1 October. Pre-orders are being taken now at SlotCarsDirect.

I interviewed Barry for the September issue of Slot Car Magazine (details here) and he spills the beans about a fascinating development process. The reason behind the BDR project is that the supplies of the Turbo chassis are dwindling and much of what is left is horrible. What we have now is a nylatron chassis with the Viper-esque front end, enclosed axle holes, a new guide pin, flatter bottom and a slightly redesigned rear end that is tighter and has more space for a bigger choice of gears...

       

At the front, the enclosed axle holes are for two wheelbases - 1.5 and 1.7 inch - although I haven't butchered the preview chassis (yet) to see if a Turbo F1 body will fit.

   

The SCD lexan clips do fit, of course, so that means Barry has gone for just the standard Turbo 'wide' tabs rather than add pin posts. Neither is the position of the clip any different - not a 'low-rider' - which I think is probably a good choice for racers wanting big magnets and big tyres at the back. You can compare the stance between the BDR (#98 Daytona car) and an original Turbo (#1 Le Mans car) with the same wheels fitted...

   

The first release will include the chassis, magnet holder and clip - and there'll also be an entry-level rolling chassis built up with mostly Turbo components - including the classic 6-ohm can motor - although with a new guide pin, shoe hangers and N42 neo traction magnets. The shoes are the slightly modified design Barry has been selling for the past few years. There will be silicone tyres front and back. On my preview version, the gearing was 7:22, although the car is advertised with 7:25.

       

The BDR chassis will take many of the high performance Viper components, as well as the original Turbo bar magnet. Barry is looking at sourcing a brass weight similar to the JW's HO Speed Parts version, which - I can tell you - goes very nicely with the Slot Cars Direct 7-ohm can motor. Also available from Slot Cars Direct is a 4.5-ohm motor, which is quicker although I've found it lacking in torque. What the BDR really needs is someone building motor cans with a range of armatures to appeal to club racers and drag racers. BSRT used to offer some, but I don't see any around now. Perhaps the release of the BDR will rekindle production in this area of the HO motor market?

Apart from a quick look at the BDR chassis - which I was very impressed by - I haven't yet run the car... my HO test track is still buried under proxy drag racing debris. I have a couple of weeks to put that straight and see what the Bulldog is like in action. I will report back.

Overall, I like the look of the chassis very much - it is clearly aimed as a good-value updated and improved Turbo chassis, rather than an out-and-out racing chassis like the SG+ clones. Having said that, the original Turbos and SRTs have a rich heritage of racing here in the UK - especially at Chesterfield HO Racing Club and at the legendary Derby HO Le Mans 24 hours. The Turbo set-up remains perfect for a one-make or hand-out race format and the BDR has that ready-made niche to fall straight in to. With more motor options, I expect the BDR will be an interesting competitor for the Vipers at club level. And I have always found the Turbo a perfect home track car. I am really glad the Turbo platform is about to get a new lease of life on both sides of the pond - and down in Australia and NZ too, where the Turbo always sold well and Barry is looking for a distributor.

Chassis will ship from the 1st of October and here's what is available:

BDR7886 Bulldog Racing Rolling Chassis £15.99
BDR7809 Bare Chassis with Magnet Retainer Clip £4.00
BDR7809S Bare Chassis with Magnet Retainer Clip & Neo Magnet Holder £5.20
BDR7809SP Bare Chassis, Magnet Clip, Neo Magnet Holder & Fitted Guide Pin £5.95
BDR7818 Magnet Retaining Clip £1.00
BDR7889 Neo Magnet Holder £1.60
BDR7801 Steel Guide Pin £1.00
BDR7804 Pickup Shoe Hangers (pair) £0.75

There is more information on the Slot Cars Direct website: slotcarsdirect.com/bulldog-ho-racing-chassis

The Bulldog BDR will be distributed in North America by Harden Creek Slot Cars.

It would have been the Revival this weekend so Goodwood are streaming a greatest hits selection over three days, started yesterday and continuing from 10AM today. Timetable Link

                              Can someone please tell me what kind of slot car this is? The only thing wrote on the bottom is Made In Hong Kong

Some folks already know me for my previous track builds and my now-retired resin casting business.

This is the 5th iteration of the Palmer Divide Raceway - aptly named as I once lived on the geographical area known as the Palmer Divide in Colorado. The current version's design is an homage to Riverside International Raceway (RIR), but borrows elements from Colorado in general and the now-defunct Continental Divide Raceway once located in Castle Rock, Colorado.

Having recently moved the track from Colorado to Florida, it has taken quite some time to get the track back on it's legs.  The new slot car space is not in the house as it always has had a basement to reside in, but instead is now in a detached garage.  Therein lies the initial problem: said garage began as a dirty, bug-infested, and sweltering hot space.  After much work that involved installing a ceiling, lighting, insulation, and air-conditioning, it is habitable and a nice space.

   

   

The track is currently bolted back together and has just had the first coat of Bondo applied to the track gaps and the holes from setting the sections back together.   I've used a car without a pinion gear to "drive" the track whilst getting the joints properly leveled.  I've also removed all of the original copper tape in order to prep for laying new tape without all of the new section breaks from transporting the track during the move.

   

I'll be completing the joint work over the next week or so, re-taping it, and beginning the wiring.

More to come!

I bought this kit at a flea market. I never heard of the car before I bought it. This is the 1964 version. Jackie Stewart drove a similar one in the 1965 LeMans.

   

   

   

3/4" inch square aluminum tubing is being used for the chassis. The sanding disk was used to square the end.

   

   

A drawing is made for proper hole locations. The tubing is marked and scribed. Then drilled and reamed for bearings.

   

   

   

The top of the chassis was cut away with a bandsaw. Then assembled.

   

   

   

   

The body had severe mold lines throughout. Even though I liked the colour, it had to be painted.

   

   

Sir Jackie Stewart is ready to race.

   

   

   

   

Custom aluminum chassis with Sloting Plus roller bearings. BWNC1 motor with 10x23 gears. Slot It wheels, inserts, guide, and braid. D'Art tires. Professor Motor axles and wire.

My humble apologies to the Rover fans for the incorrect inserts. I'll change them when I find something better. Thank you very kindly for looking.

Presumably commemorating Ferrari's 1000th F1 race/entry.  Which slot-car manufacturer will be filling up with red  paint first ?

Some wags are saying that potentially this will be only red car to lead the race this weekend - LOL.

Leo

NSR have caused quite a stir in the past 24 hours with the announcement on social media of a new-for-2021 Porsche 917/10 Spyder Can-Am model. The factory released this image of a stereolithographic prototype...

   

The 917/10 certainly fits the bill for an NSR car. It's low and compact... but that big rear wing doesn't exactly put weight where you want it. I am sure the final product will be wafer thin and light as a feather. NSR also added two pictures of 917/10 racing cars - the iconic Penske pair from the 1972 Can-Am (a perfect twin-pack) and the yellow Bosch 917/10 that was entered in the 1973 European Interserie by Willy Kauhsen...

       

The Can-Am and Interserie Porsche 917/10 Spyders will certainly give NSR plenty of liveries to choose from - as Fly demonstrated with their version. Compared with the sublime 917K, I've always regarded the 917/10 Spyder as a bit of an ugly brute - an Arnold Schwarzenegger compared to a Steve McQueen, maybe?

   

Despite its rugged good looks, the 917/10 is a hugely significant car. The very open Can-Am rule set allowed Porsche (and Penske) to develop one of the most powerful and dominant racing cars of all time. The turbocharged 917/10K broke the stranglehold of McLaren on the Can-Am series - and the 1973 917/30 effectively broke Can-Am.

Porsche made its debut in Can-Am at Watkins Glen during 1969 - Jo Siffert, Tony Dean and Brian Redman finding their 908/2s woefully under-powered compared to the McLarens. Dean continued to race his 908/2 for the rest of the season, but Porsche shipped over the a prototype 917 PA "Porsche-Audi" for Siffert to race at Mid-Ohio...

       

The 917 PA was essentially the 1969 917 coupé under new open-top bodywork, running with the same Flat-12 normally-aspirated engine that gave up 120 horsepower to the McLarens. Siffert found the car heavy and unpredictable - and the mechanics had nightmares over the complexity of the car. However, it proved reliable, with two retirements in eight races and finishing fourth in the championship. Porsche took a break from Can-Am in 1970, concentrating on their battle with Ferrari in the World Sportcar Championship. Tony Dean continued with his 908/2 and scored Porsche's first Can-Am win at a hot and attritional race at Road Atlanta. Seven 917k coupés were entered at the Watkins Glen Can-Am round (the day after the FIA 6 hour race), finishing second, third and fourth behind Denny Hulme's McLaren M8D.

The start of 1971 was low-key - Vasek Polak entering the 917 PA for Milt Minter and a 908/2 for Dick Barbour. Tony Dean plugged on with his 908/2. However, serious work was underway in Stuttgart to produce a lighter space-frame chassis to attempt a genuine assault on the Can-Am, now the 917k could no longer race in the World Championship of Makes. The new 917/10 made its debut at Watkins Glen - Jo Siffert driving the STP-sponsored car to third place behind the McLarens of Revson and Hulme...

   

Despite the 5000cc Flat-12 engine still yielding over 100bhp to the McLarens, Siffert was able to compete to be 'best of the rest' and ended up fourth in points - finishing all his six races in the top five, with three podiums.

The all-out assault began in 1972. Roger Penske had been approached by Porsche at Le Mans in '71. By the autumn, a contract had been signed for Penske to enter and develop a factory-backed 917/10 in 1972. Penske driver Mark Donohue was not overly-impressed by his first experiences of the car and stayed in Stuttgart for three weeks of forensic testing and development. Penske had persuaded Porsche to give his team exclusive use of the latest updates and a new turbocharged engine for the entire 1972 season. Porsche customers such as Vasek Polak and Peter Gregg in Can-Am - and Willy Kauhsen in Interserie - would start the season with an older version of the bodywork and would be stuck with the normally-aspirated Flat-12 until 1973...

       

Without the turbo, the Penske car was still off the pace. When the new turbocharged engine arrived, the team couldn't get it to work. Donohue ended up flying to Germany, where the fuel-injection was found to be faulty. Bosch redesigned the system and the issue was fixed - Donohue breaking the Porsche test track record by over two seconds. The Porsche 917/10K was ready for the 1972 Can-Am. Donohue took pole at Mosport and finished second - despite a lengthy pit stop. Before the next race, a huge crash in testing destroyed the car and put Donohue in hospital and out of action with a severely mangled leg.

George Follmer was recruited to drive the older test car at Road Atlanta, fitted with the 5000cc Turbo engine. It was quite a challenge - Follmer stepping up from Trans-Am and coming to terms with 900 horsepower and turbo lag at a circuit he'd never raced at. He qualified second and comfortably won the race - the first for the 917/10. Follmer picked up two more wins at Mid-Ohio and Road America, before having to make do with fifth at Watkins Glen after engine issues. Remarkably, Donohue was back for Donnybrooke - just ten weeks after his accident. There was a new chassis from Germany and Penske would run two cars for the rest of the season. The Penske Porsches qualified first and second, but had a disastrous end to the race - Donohue leading until a tyre blow-out caused him to crash heavily, then Follmer dropping to fourth after running out of fuel on the final lap.

Follmer won two and Donohue one of the final three races of the season - Porsche had replaced the 'Bruce and Denny Show' of old with their own 'George and Mark Show'. McLaren's winning streak of five consecutive Can-Am championship was broken - Follmer finished champion with double the points of second place Hulme. Donohue was fourth.

   

Although the turbocharged 917/10K became available to the other Porsche teams for 1973, Penske now had the Sunoco-sponsored 917/30 'Porsche Panzer'. Added to an extensively modified chassis was a new 5.4 litre engine with twin turbos and delivering 1,200 bhp (and a 1,500 bhp 1970s-style 'party mode'). Donohue drove the single Penske 917/30 and annihilated the rest of the field. Can-Am were forced to act and the restrictions they introduced for 1974 - together with the fall-out from the fuel crisis - killed off the series after just four races.

   

The Porsche 917/10 was a common sight in 1973 in Can-Am and the European Interserie - which is great news for potential slot car releases. Donohue's nearest rivals in 1973 were the the 1972 Penske 917/10K cars that has been sold to Bobby Rinzler and were raced in Royal Crown Cola colours by George Follmer and Charlie Kemp - each picked up one race win when Donohue's 917/30 faltered. A young Jody Scheckter drove the Vasek Polak 917/10K - with Brian Redman in a second 917/10K for the final two races - and Hurley Haywood drove the Brumos turbo car. A couple of the German Interserie entrants showed up for the Can-Am races at Watkins Glen and Road America. The Brumos car was the only 917/10 that raced in the shortened 1974 Can-Am season, although 917/10Ks continued in the Interserie through 1974 and 1975.


The Porsche 917/10 can still be seen in historic racing - usually in period liveries - and here's a video of a couple of laps around Laguna Seca in 2018...




I hope you turned up the sound!

Although the Fly 917/10 models were fine (as was the Carrera 917/30) - the thought of a full-blown NSR racing monster sits well with me. NSR should do Can-Am - the ethos of both the series and the company have a lot in common. The NSR Porsche 917/10 will join the Thunderslot Lola T70 MkII and McLaren M6A/B, plus the Slot.it Chaparral 2E and McLaren M8D as high-performance Can-Am slot cars - all but the Chaparral having been Can-Am championship winners. That's getting a good Can-Am-only Classic Sportscar grid.

After all this delay we finally got racing.And then again everything went wrong.Going to Nick I got trapped in a traffic jam due to an accident,was stuck there for more than 1 hour.As  a result we could race only 2 lanes ,will do the rest tuesday.Then my cameras battery run out of power and I had not my charger,result only 4 photos.On top of everything else I left the memory stick withthe files  on Nick's laptop,he will email me them during the day.So here is an appetizer




 
We had 3 casualties,#20 and #15 the pinion slipped after 4 and 7 laps respectively,#27 (Nick'scar ) slipped through his hand and ended up on the floor,broken post.We could not repair them in place but will do today and run the missed lanes on tuesday.
The car that stands  out is #21 fast ,stable in a class of its own.The Lancia  was lacking grip.The yellow Jag and the open top Porsche were sliding sideways under braking resulting to a costly(time wise) deslot on straight line under the bridge.
Watch this space

Greetings to everyone from one small, humble, home in Toronto, Canada.

Toronto is a small fishing village of about 6.2 million people. I'm the 4th igloo on the left.

I like to scratch build 1/32 cars. My preference is to use aluminum for chassis material.

I race at a small private club, on various wood tracks in the Toronto area.