[bwaminispeed]

Yessir,let's hear it for old Train Motors,acres of heavey Brass Plate and Plexiglass Pin Guide Blocks.

These are all the things of my early(well,pretty much all my days[And there have been many])days of slot car racing,this is the way we used to build carsfrom about 1962 onwards through the early mid and into the late sixties.

 

[alfetta]

Al
They worked then. present day cars work now. All things develop. One way or another. Lovely bit of workmanship. Thanks for sharing.
Alfetta

 

[Guest]

I am really interested to see how this pin car turns out looking very good so far.

Jeff.

 

[McLaren]

Looks great!

The brass plate and plexiglass makes it look really clean and smart.

One question: With the pin guide, can it not spin round in the slot? I've never seen an actual pin, they are usually like a small blade...

McLaren

 

[bwaminispeed]

QUOTE They worked then.
Yes,and they work just as well now too.
QUOTE present day cars work now.
Er,I don't remember anybody saying they didn't.

Just a different way of doing things,pins have some advantages,as do regular guide setups.I use both.
QUOTE With the pin guide, can it not spin round in the slot?
Yes.

But,in reality,it rarely happens,usually only if you go into the corner a bit to hot.One advantage,is that they rarely come out of the slot,so you do way less damage to the car if overdriven,it just turns sideways and stops,and,no,if you have the braid set up properly,it doesn't get all frazled up when it does this.

 

[jhardy33]

Looks great Al. Keeps me working on mine.

Jay

 

[Fergy]

Al, that was the style of car when I first got seriously involved in 1/32. That thing brings back a lot of memories. I never actually built one then but I now appreciate what they were doing. Great stuff!

 

[GRAH1]

Great work as usual Al ,But in all the 40 odd yrs Ive been building slots Ive never been able to get a pin to work as well as a blade ,perhaps its down to lack of confidence on my part when Im driving them but I know the blade has saved me many times when on the ragged edge .I still build one every now and then just to see if I can get it to work cos its certainly quicker to marshall and theres no chance of a broken wire

 

[Guest]

Al,
what came though my door today but a 63/64 brass chassis Lotus 19 pin guide car. The car has a Pittman motor, early brass MRRC wheels and tyres and gears, a fibreglass body and has a ballraced back axle.

The most interesting thing is that the chassis is a design I have not seen before.

Jeff

 

[ProfFate]

Hi

I have a several 1962 and 3 vintage Gene Wallingford chasiss. Only one is currenlty intact and running. I have also made a couple copies using a motor tool rather than a milling machine(at the time I was a school kid and had not SEEN a milling machine!)

The pin works fine.

One interesting note is that Dobson, Wallingford and others had a small "industry" turning out these chassis. There were variants. There were machined "plate" chassis as you see. They came as a "kit" that you assembled/soldered together. AND they cost the horrendous sum of $20. When a 16d was $2.50!

There were also 62 vintage chassis that were CAST out of Zink or Brass and sold. Most of these fit the earlier DC60 motors.

I would have more of them running, but motors are aproblem. My first generation DC196s(not A, not

, vanished a LONG time ago. I have a couple "work alike" Strombecker Scuttlers. And, I havent all the other bits.

In the day, I had trouble owning all the bits for ONE car at a time. And as I did something new, the parts would migrate from chassis to chassis, car to car!

Fate

 

[bwaminispeed]

QUOTE In the day, I had trouble owning all the bits for ONE car at a time. And as I did something new, the parts would migrate from chassis to chassis, car to car!
Yes,this is exactly why virtually none of my early stuff remains,it kept morphing into newer and better cars.Plus,throughout the sixties,it just kept growing and growing,and I guess we figured,that like model trains,it would always be here.

Man,were we wrong.

 

[Coopdevil]

QUOTE (McLaren @ 9 Nov 2004, 22:42)One question: With the pin guide, can it not spin round in the slot? I've never seen an actual pin, they are usually like a small blade...
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I found with the TSRF that the pin was awful to drive with at first, then after a bit when you adjusted it stopped being an issue. I suppose they're just a matter of getting used to them. Plenty of weight to cut down on tail sliding helps as well as then the car is more planted and less likely to fishtail around. With the braids short enough to avoid shorting (talking TSRF here still but I suppose the principle holds true for the others) it's surprising how far the car will slide and remain 'catchable'.

All the HO cars I have have pins and even those I have de-magged remain tail slidey.

Coop

 

[GRAH1]

Al can you post a top view of the chassis and tell us the overall weight of the car, It may be I have just built my pin cars too light in the past

 

[BEEJAY7]

Graham

QUOTE Al can you post a top view of the chassis and tell us the overall weight of the car, It may be I have just built my pin cars too light in the past

You've just made Chris Brigg's day!.

Regards

Alan

 

[GRAH1]

chris builds his cars with material from a black hole .

I once saw 2 strong men get a hernia just lifting one of his cars on to the track

 

[howmet tx]

Here's a real lightweight-

Getting pretty race-dirty now. It's pretty long in the tooth- or short in the gear teeth. Please accept apologies for misguided attempt at hand-lettering, and we'll draw a veil over that little magnet, won't we? I'm past that stage now... But I'll have you know I worked long and hard with putty and files to get the nose the right shape.

 

[mesac#8]

Add me to the list of Lotus 19 fans. Seems the only body worth working with is the old Strombecker. Which car are you planning to do with this one, Al?
On the pin guide, I have been building some under 50's GP cars, in order to "lose" the guide for appearance' sake. Not only do the cars look better, they seem to run very well on plastic or wood tracks here. The biggest problem seems to be training the turn marshalls. I've had several guys pick up the cars, and stare at the bottom, then look at you agape and claim "the guide is gone"!
Guess the best thing is not to deslot. I see no performance disadvantage vs. the blade guide. The pin depth can be critical on plastic tracks like Scaly with openings in the slot bottom! I have not tried a pin on tracks with switch points, or crossovers. I have some doubts there.
Has anyone tried using thin phosphor-bronze strips in place of the braid to eliminate the braid getting screwed up? dan

 

[Guest]

Like the wipers on a rail car? as these should work.

Jeff.

 

[GRAH1]

cartronix magnetic guides had bronze wipers ,didnt seem to good I replaced mine with a standard set up