Looking through my collection I found I have too many unfinished projects and too many unprepared "shelf queens" so I picked up one of my old favorites from the shelf, the Fly 911S.

Porsche 911's of the late 60's and early 70's have always been one of my all time favorite cars, and even though the FLY model is starting to get a bit dated, it still is IMO the best looking early 911 slotcar out there. I have around 30 of them and they made several versions including the 911S, 911R, 911RS "ducktail", 934 and 911 RS SC (rally version). FLY released their 911's in a standard version with high detail, full interiors and a chassis with a sidewinder mounted behind the rear axle to simulate the rear mounted motor location in the real cars. The other version FLY made was the "Rally/Racing" version with a inline spring suspended pod, long can motors, lightweight interior and low detail body. The Rally/Racing version's are very capable slotcars with "slot.it performance", the early releases had some gear issues and unconventional axles/wheels, but this was sorted out in later releases. The chassis and bodies are interchangeable between the standard and Rally/Racing versions.

The car I picked off my shelf had been there for a while, and it's a standard version of the FLY 911S with one of the IMO better looking liveries, the "Toad Hall Racing" that finished 13th at Le Mans in 1972



The "standard" FLY 911's can be a bit of a hit or miss, some rune nice straight from he box while others are virtually undrivable due to bad gear mesh and rubbing/binding wheels. The chassis is also a bit temperamental due to the motor mounted relatively high in the chassis and behind the rear axle. But with a little preparation they become nice running slotcars even without magnets, they won't scare any Slot.it cars off the track, but they are fun and smooth once sorted.



My approach to this car was not to prepare it for racing, just to make it a nice running slotcar that is fun to turn laps with, and the preparation this car needed was basically to shim the rear axle, true all wheels and tires and adding a little weight in the front. I also replaced the guide flag with a deeper one from MB Slot, since that makes the front ride a bit lower, and I also used thin and soft SCX PRO braids to make sure the guide gets as deep into the slot as possible on my Carrera track.



The stock tires are a bit tough to true, but I have a RSM2 truing machine (similar to the Tire Razor) and after truing them with a drop of oil as coolant, the stock rubber sticks surprisingly well on the Carrera track, despite the age of the tires on this car. The car runs good now but when pushed, there is still a bit too much lateral play in the front axle, so I will add a couple set-screws to make it adjustable, and then I'll just enjoy it as it is



A nice rendezvous with one of the slotcars that made me a FLY addict some years ago

Tore

SCX Classic Rally Proxy series 2011
Pre-registration

The SCX Classic Rally Proxy Series 2011 (SCX CRP11) is a slotcar proxy series for SCX rally slotcars from the current "Classics" range and older SCX slotcars listed in the eligible car list (see rules below). The eligible slotcars represent popular rally cars from the 60's to the 90's.

The entered slotcars will be shipped out to a wide variety of rally inspired slotcar tracks in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia where they will compete against each other. Events are scheduled every 2nd weekend, starting mid January 2011, A detailed scheduled will be published within 1st November 2010. Race reports will be published in the forum section of scxworldwide.com and other slotcar forums.

SCX CRP11 is not an official racing series organized by SCX, but a private non-profit initiative organized by a committee of slotcars enthusiast. SCX and www.scxworldwide.com is supporting the series.

To read to full version of the rules please click here

Deadlines:
Registration: 1^st November 2010
Entry fee payment: 1^st November 2010
Ship-out date: 1^st December 2010

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED

I finally have most of the basic scenery in place, so now it's to to start on the fun part, detailing

Here are some pics of the track before the real detailing and touch-up start.

The workshop:




"The barn" (not finished)



The "raiders"



The narrow gauge supply rail



The beemer in a nice drift



More pics in the gallery, and hopefully a lot of progress will be posted soon.

What is Slotcar Proxy Racing?

Proxy racing typically involves building a car, then mailing it to another location where it will be matched against other similar cars in a race.

How Proxy Racing Works

Cars are usually built to a specific set of rules, then mailed to a central location for Tech Inspection. The cars are then run in a series of races by guest drivers, with points allocated according to finishing position. All points gathered go toward a grand total for the race series. Slot car proxy races are often accompanied by a Concours d'Elegance, a contest where entrants compete for the best looking car.

Slot car proxy racing enables car builders from different parts of a country, or even the world, to compete on an even basis, without the expense of actually being there. This form of racing is becoming ever more popular with race series being held in America, Europe and Australia.

Video from the Danish event of the SCX Classic Rally Proxy 2009



To sum up a typical proxy series

• Your read the rules and choose a car to enter
• Register and pay the entry fee
• Follow the build progress and other discussions on the forums
• Build and tune and test your car
• Ship it to the organizer
• The car passes technical inspection
• Race at a track
• shipped to next track and raced
• shipped to next track and raced
• etc..
• After the series is finished the car is returned to you

How to participate

There are many different proxy series and most series have their own "themes" like Modern GT/LMP, Classic GT/Prototype, Touring cars, Historic F1, modern F1, WRC rally, classic rally, etc... and most of the proxy series are organized through slotcar forums, so the first place to look is in the racing/event sections of the forums.

When you have found a series you like, there are a few things to check first. Make sure that the series still is open for entries, and that there are available spots on the entry list. Then make sure there is at least 3-4 weeks or preferably 2-3 months until the car has to be shipped out. You need the time to find the right car, order the right parts, and spend a lot of time testing and fine tuning your car. Sending out a badly prepared car is not much fun, either for you or the hosts that is stuck with racing a bad car. Keep in mind that your car will be out racing for several months and maybe even a whole year before it returns to you, so make sure you did your best before sending it out. If your car still run bad then that's OK because you know you gave it your best effort and you are on a learning curve, but if you send out a bad car because you where sloppy and didn't give it your best shot, then I can promise you that your car will end up at the bottom of the field, and you will feel bad about it until it returns.

Underside of a SCX Lancia Delta S4 that participate in the SCX CRP 2009



Ok, you found the series, now go and find it's rules and read it through a couple times to get a rough picture of what is allowed and not. Print out the rules and keep them on your bedside table or in the bathroom shelf or wherever you prefer to pick up something to read occasionally, because you are going to have to go back and re-read the rules several times during the build period.

Together with the rules you will usually also find a list of eligible cars and motors, if you are fairly new to setting up race cars I would recommend to look for a car that has as much of the parts you need as it comes in RTR form. As an example if you are participating in a modern GT or LMP class the SCX PRO Audi R8 and PRO Porsche 911 are excellent to start with, since they come with a competitive chassis, lightweight bodies, strong motors, true aluminum wheels and precision gears and axles, etc..

Poster from the first event in the SCX Classic Rally Proxy 2009



So what's next? well, you found your series, picked a car and registered, so now it's up to you to make the best of it, and research is a big part of the tuning process, read through the proxy threads on the forums, ask questions about tires, truing, weight distribution,etc... and the "vet's" will help you out, because proxy racing is as much about connecting with other like minded people as it is playing with slotcars, and we are all "big boys" just like you, so don't hesitate to ask a question or start a new thread to get help, because now you are a proxy builder!

Have fun

The first SCX Classic Rally Proxy has started!

After weeks of preparation I am happy to announce the start of a new proxy series.

This series is a one make series for analogue SCX cars only, and traction magnets are not allowed.

The focus are on the rally style cars from the SCX Classics range and older SCX rally cars from the same era. Small fun and popular cars that handles great with a little tuning.

The goal of this series is to be fun and inspiring for both new and old slotcar tuners. Two of the classes are close to "box-stock" and will offer a low-cost entrance to those curious about tuning for competition, and also a great challenge for the experienced "no-mag" tuners since you are not allowed to "buy yourself a victory" by replacing everything with the hottest tuning parts. The last class is for those who wants to take the cars all the way, and offer almost unlimited tuning of 4WD cars.

On the sign up web page you will find all the information you need, even for those who still wonder what a proxy race (rally) is.

You can find the sign up page here: http://scx.proxyracing.com (or click on the poster above).

Notice that those new to proxy racing (rallying) can sign up with "rookie status" to get guidance and tuning help, so if you think this might be fun don't hesitate to sign up, I will take good care of you

There are 4 months ahead until the shipping deadline so while you are tuning and testing I will take a closer look at some of the cars and show a few tips and tricks. I will also gather some history, information and videos about some of the cars to get you into the right "rally mood" while tuning your car(s).

This is an international proxy, so it is open to entrants from all over the world, and your cars will also gather their own story as they travel across the continents to compete.

If you have any questions about the proxy series or the sign up page, please ask them here in this thread.

Cheers
356speedster
SCX CRP Organizer