Toads or princesses, interesting vintage scratchbuilts. Options

[Edo]

Today and the following weeks, we’re offering you, gentlemen, glimpses of interesting cars who were built by anonymous builders and which never made it to model magazines or, for that matter, never were close to glory and recognition.

We’re beginning to show this beautiful (Zerex ?) Oldsmobile with a few nice details:









Motor is a Dynamic 26D, guide looks like a Classic:







Then we have a Harvey Aluminium Special:



Motor is an orange edb Igarashi Hemi Super X88, Cox Quick Change guide, Riggen rears:







Is’nt this pick-up arm stop cute:



What do you think guys? Toads or princesses?

Much more to come…

[howmet tx]

Well I like toads. You can lick 'em.

Princesses? Trouble, if you ask me.

But those bolides is just bellissimo! I want to repop that Zerex prestissimo.
Hey- how easy is it to write poetry in Italian?

Welcome back Kingie!

[GRAH1]

Is’nt this pick-up arm stop cute:

The use of the cupboard door hinge for the drop arm is also intresting !

[dgersh]

Ditto Edo! (how's that for Italian poetry?).

I love this kind of car myself, and am always happy to see examples of the scratchbuilders' art. Definitely not toads (no ball bearings on toads...), but not quite princesses either - court jester?

What I like on the Zerex is the combination of scale and thingie, very typical of the period - small wheels, outside the wheel wells, but the guy still put on a roll bar and mesh, not to mention the driver up against the windshield.

More, more, we're still not satisfied... (sang Tom Lehrer...)
Don

[vfr750]

Toads are cute too.

Cheers

John

[alfetta]

Well as they look just like some of my cars from the 60's I have to say 'Toads'
Peter

[dgersh]

Edo, hope you don't mind if I make a contribution or two, along the same lines... starting with one from the previous generation, before cans ruled the world. I assume yours are ca 1967; this is probably 1965, very much like the Tyco-65X car in the first Rod & Custom road race published in 1966...

Don





And since it was next to it, a couple home-made attempts at a suspension chassis, from about the same time as yours... (sorry about the dark photos...)





A brass and piano wire creation from England, with a Dynamic 26D, that runs rather well!



And a definite toad, or series of toads, all with Chong 16D rewinds, that may have actually worked well at the time, but came to me in this condition, so still more or less unrestored....

[Edo]

Edo, hope you don't mind if I make a contribution or two, along the same lines...

Off course not, dear Don! On the contrary, looove your toads!

AND you got me started with this vintage obsession, back in September 2004, when I visited you in Paris and you gave me a brass Pactra chassis!

Anyway,

I wish those who built these cars could see now our attempt to honor them and trying to keep that Spirit alive!

Moving right along, today we have a cute little critter which has a few peculiar solutions:



Motor mount is a Dynamic 502 for Wilson&Globe's (SS81/91):



Front axle carrier is very nicely cut out from a sheet of brass:



But the motor is unidentified. It’s not a Globe SS91 and it warms up pretty much, unlike my SS91s I have, which always run cool.

It's quite fast though and does have more brakes than the 91.

It might not be a Wilson either, although I’ve never seen one in the flesh, so I cannot say for sure:



Motor pod has been reinforced with two alu squares glued with epoxy:



Wheels are also unidentified:



On the rears, Allen screws do not enter perpendicularly to the axle but at an angle:



Ball bearing fronts are kind of funny:



Also, body mounting is very special, with rectangular alu squares taped to the body :



Could that be that the body would be set by pressure (if it was supposed to be working then, it's not working now)?



Is’nt this car funny and deliciously naïve?

More, much more to come…

[dgersh]

I remember that one Edo! I think I was bidding on it too...

In fact, it looks like a Globe motor that was modified per one of the period articles, with cooling holes and Atlas brushes... I think it was a Ben Millspaugh article, so probably in Car Model, but will check that in the index...

Great find in any case, and definitely a fine example of the toad/princess paradigm....

ciao
Don

[merkit the grof]

Well I think they are all princesses.

Thanks Edo for starting the thread, I too scour Ebay and swapmeets for unusual cars built with no pretentions.
However, I do like the ruff stuff at least as much as the nicer pieces.


So, here is a proper toad:



Poorly soldered, yet containing a lot of clever ideas: pivoting (and removable) front end, a drop arm, and a rear steer motor mount!



Joel

[dgersh]

Bingo Joel! Not sure what you mean by a rear steer motor mount tho.... doesn't look unusual from what I can see. And I think you showed me this one in person once, but I don't remember the rear end....

Don

[merkit the grof]

Don, if you look carefully, you can see the motor pod is is retained by a pin. The 2 tubes are a loose fit into each other, therefore the rear pod is free to move sideways just like a modern rear steer chassis.


Thinking about it, I might try and use it to see if it actually works.


Joel

[Edo]

Wow Joel,

that one looks like a Middle Age war machine! Quite impressive!

Here another delightful ugly duck thing(ie):









Note rear vertical brass tube for body mount:



Her dirty secret it's this Mura motor which makes Her fly:



Indeed,

every car you see in this thread works and this one in particular, you're not going to believe, it's really a speeding bullet and quite a pleasure to drive around my track.

More, more more to come !

PS Hey guys, don't be shy show yours!

[howmet tx]

Excellent!
But please- some of us grind our fingers to the bone to make sweetly polished jewels for your maj., and are punished with unfeeling wrath for leaving an occasional burr which might catch a thread of your exquisitely tailored robes. And this is 'a pleasure to drive'?
I think I shall start to make real authentic retro contraptions in future with carefully applied cack, dry joints and rust if this is the trend to come...

Would you like a repop of that fancy bodywork?

But I jest. These things are precious. Lovely! And Joel's Rear-Steer is a classic bit of bedroom engineering (double entendres not intended.. if you will believe that).

[dgersh]

Amen! And Joel, the more I think of it, the more I think that rear steer, floppy front chassi would be perfect for your latest quirky French car at the next Bordo meeting...

I almost forgot I had a couple real toads in my portfolio. The first, kind of period appropriate, a Pittman DC195 in a Large Tube soldered (sort of - I may have cleaned this up after getting it) chassis and a lovely Strombecker Scarab body:


But then there was this one, from the same seller, a very 1967 cut down body, Dynamic handling I think - but a similarly soldered chassis with home-made steering and a not very lively Pittman motor - built to an allowance type budget I guess...



And then, simplicity itself: why make things any more complicated than they have to be? (sorry for the dark pix again)


Don