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SlotNotes 2
by Jim Allen, Sept. 26, 2004
I receive all kinds of slot car information by e-mail
and by our Contact Page,
and some of it is clogging up my Inbox... but don't let that stop you!
I will be putting together some of your collected information in these Slot Notes,
which I will post from time to time.
Actually, the first collection of smaller bits of reader input
was Bits and Pieces,
from May 2004, so I will title this Slot Notes 2.
I do want to thank everyone for the constant mailbox onslaught,
uhm, contributions, and keep up the good work, documenting
the history of slot car scratchbuilding. --tjallen
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The best combination of parts
Here is an update of the Bits and Pieces article
Bob Emott Down Under Back Then,
by Bruce Bowden. Bob Emott had stopped by Bruce's house,
as he passed through New Zealand with the US Navy, in 1966.
Bruce had written "I still have (by chance) his
thoughts on what was the best combination of parts,
which he wrote down for me at the time." Now,
Bruce has scanned these notes from Bob Emott, and here they are!
Bruce, we are all jealous! How many of us ordinary kids wished
we could have a casual chat with Bob Emott about slot cars, in 1966?
Thanks Bruce, for sharing your unique insight into the parts a real slot car legend would
recommend to a teen enthusiast, if we had just been there in your shoes to ask.
(Actually, there may be many more people who as young kids had similar experiences,
because Bob Emott was widely known as one of the nicest guys around.)
[See larger image, 80K.]
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Billy Boy Super Jet
I sold a motor on ebay, before I realized what it was,
called a Billy Boy Super Jet. Even now, I still don't know what it is!
I've been told:
- Not sure, but I believe it's a Cobra motor.
- It's a modified French unit, now called a Patriot motor. (-a joke, right?)
- It looks like an early Mura product, complete with opposed spring posts and
armature shaft out both ends of the motor. The price is clue to its age,
maybe about three decades old. Possibly its marketer's nationality is American,
south of the Mason-Dixon line? [but Mura is in California, hmmm.] The fact that there's no
pinion gear or lead wires might also be a clue.
Any other ideas out there?
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A Different Four Wheel Drive:
The Cavusoglu Drivetrain
I don't usually show non-soldered chassis on this site,
but Bulent Cavusoglu's Nissan Fairlady conversion has such an unusual drive train configuration
that I must bend the rules a little and show it here in Slot Notes.
Bulent Cavusoglu writes:
"This is a shaft driven 4wd Nissan Fairlady
which was converted from metal static Kinsmart product. I built this chassis
without any complex changes. For the shaft, I used a brass wire which
is very stiff."
Thanks, Mr. Cavusoglu! --Jim Allen, 9-07-2004
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My Comments on the Cavusoglu Drivetrain
by Jim Allen, 9-08-2004
I remember an old slot car magazine article which purported to list
every possible configuration and drive train available to the slot car builder.
I thought at the time that some possibilities had been omitted, and I drew several more
configurations in my gradeschool notebooks. But Bulent Cavusoglu's arrangement (above)
is one that I never conceived. Simple and brilliant. I daresay some of our 1/24 scratchbuilders
may want to experiment with the concept.
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Above: Steve Okeefe's Chassis Drawing software makes it easy to test ideas, sizes and fit,
so I drew a quick sketch a Cavusoglu drivetrain in 1/24 scale. What I discovered
should have been predictable: there is a very tight fit between the driveshaft and the side of the motor.
This tight fit is reminiscent of the tight fit between a sidewinder motor and its rear axle.
Perhaps the answer is the same, too - an anglewinder! (See my drawing, below.)
-- Jim Allen, 9-10-2004
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Below: I sent Steve Okeefe a preview shot of Mr. Cavusoglu's drivetrain design, and believe it or not, Steve revealed
that he, too, was already working on a similar idea! Just proves that great minds run in the same groove (or is that a rut?)
Steve is planning an Indy Turbine Car, which we may see here someday... Thanks, Steve.
-- Jim Allen, 9-12-2004
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