Cox 1/24 Dino Ferrari
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Well, we could afford these things in the States, at least on birthdays and Christmas, but I got a Cox Lotus 40 and they were not at all competitive at the time! Still beautiful models, very desirable, etc., but... (maybe not more than any other commercial model in fact).
Nice car Chris and your photography is fine!
Don
Nice car Chris and your photography is fine!
Don
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560 Posts
Very nice. Better looking than the early Carrera big stuff, of which I am a fan (before anyone jumps on me.)
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See what I mean. (Poor Photo but you get the idea)
Photos are fine. Got any more like it?
See what I mean. (Poor Photo but you get the idea)
Photos are fine. Got any more like it?
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570 Posts
Gorgeous car, and a very nice build Chris ... that interior looks GREAT.
Cox cars were expensive at the time over here in Australia too, that's why my first 24th was a Tamiya.
Cheers, Michael
Cox cars were expensive at the time over here in Australia too, that's why my first 24th was a Tamiya.
Cheers, Michael
Yes, I remember seeing the prices overseas at the time and wondering how anybody ever afforded that??? I've also seen the prices in France for US slot cars in the 60s and they were perhaps even higher! A lot of guys wearing ties were running those cars..
Of course the English stuff imported into the States was also more expensive, but that was mostly in the early days of the sport.
By the way, I did run one of the Cox Dinos at the vintage race in Dunkerque (now the Flanders race) about 4 years ago, and it ran very nicely on their 6 lane Carrera track. A bit down on power compared to the top three cars, but I think I finished 4th overall, if I remember correctly. Good handling and easy to drive... wonder how it would have done with a bit hotter motor? One problem with the Cox cars is adding weight on there for this kind of racing...
Don
Of course the English stuff imported into the States was also more expensive, but that was mostly in the early days of the sport.
By the way, I did run one of the Cox Dinos at the vintage race in Dunkerque (now the Flanders race) about 4 years ago, and it ran very nicely on their 6 lane Carrera track. A bit down on power compared to the top three cars, but I think I finished 4th overall, if I remember correctly. Good handling and easy to drive... wonder how it would have done with a bit hotter motor? One problem with the Cox cars is adding weight on there for this kind of racing...
Don
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Everything from the USA was twice the US price in France. A Cox Dino kit at $9.95 was FF 190.00, a huge sum at the time. I wanted a 2D kit desperately but there was no way I could spring it...
There were virtually no Tamiya kits in France by the time the whole mess collapsed.
The Cox cars might not have been the fastest or best, but they always ran beautifully and were of the best quality of any kit produced in the 1960s.
Can't say the same for many others, and for some of the current offerings...
There were virtually no Tamiya kits in France by the time the whole mess collapsed.
The Cox cars might not have been the fastest or best, but they always ran beautifully and were of the best quality of any kit produced in the 1960s.
Can't say the same for many others, and for some of the current offerings...
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500 Posts
Ah, that pretty red Dino Ferrari brings back a lot of memories..
I guess I had an earlier version (?) A blue coupe with an in-line motor. It certainly wasn't the fastest car on the track, but it was a lovely model. I think I paid about $10 for the car back in 1967 or 1968.. my memory is a bit fuzzy when it comes those details.
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I guess I had an earlier version (?) A blue coupe with an in-line motor. It certainly wasn't the fastest car on the track, but it was a lovely model. I think I paid about $10 for the car back in 1967 or 1968.. my memory is a bit fuzzy when it comes those details.
Yes all the US made cars were twice the price in Canada, even the magazines had their prices crossed out and higher prices written on the cover. We did have a few advantages, that being that the British stuff was abundant and fairly priced and both Eldon and Strombecker had factories in Canada which kept their prices down. I believe some Scalextric cars were also being assembled in Canada since the 16d motors with 9t pinions and typical Scalextric lead wires with push in connectors turned up years later as surplus, or they may have been just extra stock.
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QUOTE (dgersh @ 11 Sep 2012, 16:33) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>That would be a later version Mark, the "Dinoracha", with the IFC or La Cucuracha type chassis, as opposed to the magnesium sidewinder chassis shown above.
Don
Ah...
So, which car was/is faster (I never had a magnesium sidewinder chassis)? I do remember that my Dino got whomped by a guy with Russkit Porsche kit! My, er racing excprience was very limited... the track in my little town only stayed open about 6 months before it failed!
Don
Ah...
So, which car was/is faster (I never had a magnesium sidewinder chassis)? I do remember that my Dino got whomped by a guy with Russkit Porsche kit! My, er racing excprience was very limited... the track in my little town only stayed open about 6 months before it failed!
QUOTE (Bigskybanker @ 12 Sep 2012, 21:30) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Ah...
So, which car was/is faster (I never had a magnesium sidewinder chassis)? I do remember that my Dino got whomped by a guy with Russkit Porsche kit! My, er racing excprience was very limited... the track in my little town only stayed open about 6 months before it failed!
The IFC or "Cuc" chassis was definitely the better handling of the 2, ... the relatively light, low 16d in an inline configuration in the IFC chassis allowed the use of much smaller dia. wheels/tires than possible with the huge 36d motors, in a sidewinder configuration, found in most of the "Mag" chassis, so the IFC chassis clearly won the cg. war.
Having said that, I much prefer the look of the Mag chassis cars and their "scale " wheels........some of the Cox wheels were really impressive looking!
The Russkit "Carrera" cars (Porsche, Lotus, Mclaren, are most common) generally showed their heels to the Cox IFC cars .........a light, low cg. sidewinder chassis using a 16d motor, and a lightweight butyrate body, made this car a really good RTR in its day.......It would obviously not stay with a "good" scratchbuild, but you had to be a reasonable builder to beat it.
A couple of pics. of a Russkit "Carrera" McLaren below.
It has since been fitted with a J. Havlicek modified Russkit "23" and is a very quick and great handlig car.
Cheers
Chris Walker
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So, which car was/is faster (I never had a magnesium sidewinder chassis)? I do remember that my Dino got whomped by a guy with Russkit Porsche kit! My, er racing excprience was very limited... the track in my little town only stayed open about 6 months before it failed!
The IFC or "Cuc" chassis was definitely the better handling of the 2, ... the relatively light, low 16d in an inline configuration in the IFC chassis allowed the use of much smaller dia. wheels/tires than possible with the huge 36d motors, in a sidewinder configuration, found in most of the "Mag" chassis, so the IFC chassis clearly won the cg. war.
Having said that, I much prefer the look of the Mag chassis cars and their "scale " wheels........some of the Cox wheels were really impressive looking!
The Russkit "Carrera" cars (Porsche, Lotus, Mclaren, are most common) generally showed their heels to the Cox IFC cars .........a light, low cg. sidewinder chassis using a 16d motor, and a lightweight butyrate body, made this car a really good RTR in its day.......It would obviously not stay with a "good" scratchbuild, but you had to be a reasonable builder to beat it.
A couple of pics. of a Russkit "Carrera" McLaren below.
It has since been fitted with a J. Havlicek modified Russkit "23" and is a very quick and great handlig car.
Cheers
Chris Walker
Except that the mag chassis Dino has a 16D - the only one like this that Cox made in a kit (they also had a 16D mag chassis as an aftermarket item), so they're pretty decent handling cars, better than the 36D models.
I had both at the time, but with no success, since I had no idea how to tune either the Cox or Russkit chassis when I was 14! (probably still don't, come to think of it...)
Since then I've seen a lot of both in vintage meets and the Russkit definitely seems to have the advantage, although I've seen a couple of the Cox cars go very well too - generally with the adjustable gear ratio chassis (like on the 2D), because most of our tracks really need a higher numerical gear ratio ...
Chris, how does your Dino stack up against a Russkit with a stock 23?
One of the most impressive performances I've seen in vintage was a couple years ago at Wellingborough, when Brad brought a basically stock Russkit McLaren from the States, and finished a close second to John Secchi, who had a very hot Dyanmic-scratch chassis with a 26D. Carefully trued Ortmann tires and the thing ran like blazes! In fact, Russkit Carrera based cars have pretty much become the car of choice in a lot of our vintage events...
Don
I had both at the time, but with no success, since I had no idea how to tune either the Cox or Russkit chassis when I was 14! (probably still don't, come to think of it...)
Since then I've seen a lot of both in vintage meets and the Russkit definitely seems to have the advantage, although I've seen a couple of the Cox cars go very well too - generally with the adjustable gear ratio chassis (like on the 2D), because most of our tracks really need a higher numerical gear ratio ...
Chris, how does your Dino stack up against a Russkit with a stock 23?
One of the most impressive performances I've seen in vintage was a couple years ago at Wellingborough, when Brad brought a basically stock Russkit McLaren from the States, and finished a close second to John Secchi, who had a very hot Dyanmic-scratch chassis with a 26D. Carefully trued Ortmann tires and the thing ran like blazes! In fact, Russkit Carrera based cars have pretty much become the car of choice in a lot of our vintage events...
Don
QUOTE (dgersh @ 13 Sep 2012, 05:05) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Chris, how does your Dino stack up against a Russkit with a stock 23?
Don
Don, In stock form, the Russkit Carrera is a better handling car than the 16d sidewinder Cox. I really like driving my Dino, it is smooth and quite quick, but must be driven with respect.......the Russkit on the other hand can be driven much more aggressively, and as such makes for a better "race" car.
The wide chassis pan on the Russkit allows for the easy addition of weight, its has a longer guide lead and far less vertical drop arm movement vs the Cox, and very importantly, it runs a butyrate body, advantages that the Cox just can't overcome.
As a kid, I worked part time at a local raceway and remember dreaming and scheming to buy a Team Modified Cox Cheetah.......my dreams finally came true.......only to be crushed when my friends put their Carreras' on the track. As previously stated, you had to be an above average builder to put somthing together that would leave the Russkit behind.
I have a couple of modified Cox cars with brass chassis pans, 1/8 x 3/16 sintered bronze axle bushings, "frozen" drop arms, and Havileck rewinds........they are a huge improvement!!,......but obviously somewhat outside the spirit of vintage racing, and, still not a match for a similarly modified Russkit.
PS I would really like to make it to Bordeaux one year, I talked to Brad about it a couple of years back, and I have run into Bruce Adamson at a local raceway a couple of times on his returns to Toronto.
Cheers
Chris Walker
Don
Don, In stock form, the Russkit Carrera is a better handling car than the 16d sidewinder Cox. I really like driving my Dino, it is smooth and quite quick, but must be driven with respect.......the Russkit on the other hand can be driven much more aggressively, and as such makes for a better "race" car.
The wide chassis pan on the Russkit allows for the easy addition of weight, its has a longer guide lead and far less vertical drop arm movement vs the Cox, and very importantly, it runs a butyrate body, advantages that the Cox just can't overcome.
As a kid, I worked part time at a local raceway and remember dreaming and scheming to buy a Team Modified Cox Cheetah.......my dreams finally came true.......only to be crushed when my friends put their Carreras' on the track. As previously stated, you had to be an above average builder to put somthing together that would leave the Russkit behind.
I have a couple of modified Cox cars with brass chassis pans, 1/8 x 3/16 sintered bronze axle bushings, "frozen" drop arms, and Havileck rewinds........they are a huge improvement!!,......but obviously somewhat outside the spirit of vintage racing, and, still not a match for a similarly modified Russkit.
PS I would really like to make it to Bordeaux one year, I talked to Brad about it a couple of years back, and I have run into Bruce Adamson at a local raceway a couple of times on his returns to Toronto.
Cheers
Chris Walker
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