Light, medium and heavy steel 1/32 slot car builds

[@jimcunningham534]

The 101 UOP car is a lightened JK chassis that has been sold out for 15 years. the others are scratch built from K&S stock. I could be convince to build more... Which ones are you interested in?

[@nturner82]

Hi Jim! I'm not after a completed build, more interested in trying to build a chassis or four myself. Not sure I'll have much luck sourcing bits down here in Aus though. Any recommendations on where to find more info? Cheers!

[@jimcunningham534]

@@nturner82 K&S products are avaiable in most local hobby shops. If not there, try them direct: ksmetals.com/collections/all-products-1

[@gilbertlessard4380]

Hi from Canada. Nice video. One little correction: Having owned a a bunch of 1/32nd scale slot cars since 1964 I am quite certain that your UOP Shadow is really in IMSA Intrepid by Parma. UOP Shadows ran in CanAm I believe, and were open cockpit cars. The chassis is very nice. I had Parma International 32 chassis as well as Ernie Mossetti. Sold my DIY routed track just before COVID hit. I miss it.

[@jimcunningham534]

Hey Gilbert! Thanks for the comment. Yes, you correctly identified the Intrepid and you are right about the Shadow running in CanAm although they also ran formula cars. That body was originally painted as an alternate for a car with a more scale Can-Am Shadow body. At the time, this one was used in races where carnage was probable to prevent damaging the more detailed one. The body then passed on to this chassis which despite having a milder motor than is allowed in its class is competitive because its lightweight and good slot car aerodynamics make it quick and very easy to drive. It is a favorite car to lend to newcomers. I would miss not having a track too! May I build one for you?

[@ratfink6670]

Hi Jim. Your cars look and perform fantastic! I'm an old slot car racer from the 1960-70. I was in to scratch building back then and enjoyed it. My slot car track (Revell Raceway) closed and found a shop in mid-1980's. They ended up closing. Electric Dreams moved in to my neighborhood a few years ago, but I finally stopped in last year when they built a track. They mainly run/race RTR cars. I thought of buying some to run in their race classes such as Group C, Group 5, and Trans Am. But I want to build a scratch built car and the Chrevron bodied iso-inline car looks like it might be fun to build. I noticed you don't have any pans or plummer/bat wings. I was thinking of adding plummer rails with hinged bat wings. What do you think? Should I solder the plummer hinges to the front of the guide flag assembly? Or should I solder it to the front axle iso-plate? Your comments will be most appreciated. Also, should the front wheels/tires make contact with the track surface or should there be a gap of .002 or so and let the weight of the tire/wheel and body to rest on the guide flag and main motor assembly? Thanks!

[@jimcunningham534]

Hey Ratfink66 Thanks for your questions. As can be seen in the track test of these three chassis, the Chevron is the slowest. This is largely because of the smaller, heavier body. The car was built for a client who is only interested in magnet racing. Most of his competitors use plastic chassis cars with a ton of extra magnets. I build steel chassis cars for him, that actually use less magnet but still handle better and do not overheat their motors. Generally, I feel that if building for magnet racing, lighter is better I actually built these cars heavier than others for the client. the magnets attach with their own strength and so are easily removed. I encouraged my client to the cars with magnets removed hoping to lure him away from that dark side. The lightweight and heavy designs are especially good magnet-free. The quickest car is the light vacuum wedge body with the foam tires, but it might not be welcome among scale-appearing cars. Foam tires are pretty helpless on dry dusty tracks. My track has a VERY light application of spray glue giving it a slightly waxy feel that prevents dust from collecting on tire surfaces. All tires type work well and foam is especially good on that surface. Another advantage that the light car has is the very light weight of the foam tires. Adding pans to the Chevron design would improve its magnet-free performance and likely reduce its magnet performance. Recently, I have had good success with several bat-pan with attached split axle designs. I set the ride height so the front wheel just roll as is generally required in scale classes. It has been a while since is built any plumber designs. They seem an unnecessary complication to me.

[@TheSlotSpot]

Great looking cars!!

[@jimcunningham534]

I think so too!

[@rhysthomas209]

Hi Jim fantastic information regards rhys watsonia Victoria Australia

[@jimcunningham534]

Hello there!

[@nturner82]

Hi from Australia, Jim! Are these chassis you've built from scratch, or are the kits available from somewhere? Cheers, Ollie

[@jimcunningham534]

The UOP car is a lightened version of a JK chassis discontinued about 10 years ago. It was replaced by a stamped steel version still available as either a bare chassis or RTR. The others are scratch built mostly from K&S materials.