Hardbody How-To With Brian Meharry (Part 1)

Since the Car Model magazine building articles of the early 1970's, there have been few illustrated step by step guides that walk the reader through the process of building a slot car in plain and easy to understand English.

This series of building articles attempts to do just that, with photos and instructions by master builder and national driving champion Brian Meharry.

The "build" is a so called "hardbody" car, the type run on figure 8 and oval 1:1 and slot car racetracks around the country. As far as I know, there has never been a step by step tutorial published for building this type of slot car.

Let's check in with Brian as he starts the build...

The first thing to do is gather the parts that are needed to build the race car:

The body I'm using here is a late '90's Monogram NASCAR Ford Thunderbird. Tires are by ProTrack; 27mm in the rear, and the ProTrack solid rubber .950" x .250" x 3/32" "Jail Door" retro fronts (stock number 528). This car will be powered by the new Fast Ones Demon Motor, but you could use any of the FK sized motors such as the Trinity Evil 9 or TSR Falcon 7.

I chose the BRP threaded retro axle in the front to achieve independent rotating fronts without soldering. The gearing will be for Mid-America's Chris Dadds' "Lazy 8", and for that track I recommend 30 tooth crown with an 8 tooth angled steel pinion for better gear mesh. Add to this your favorite guide flag- in this case I will be using the Parma guide that normally comes with the FCR ready to runs since these guides are harder to break than others on the market.

All these parts should readily available at your local raceway.

After making sure the chassis is flat (in this case we are using the Precision Racing FCR jig to make sure the car is built flat and true), use a Sharpie to mark the area that will be cut out to raise the bushings. This cutout is needed to set the correct ride height.

Cut away the marked opening with a Dremel cut off disk or a nibbler. File the edges and make sure that the bushing fits smoothly into the opening. Be careful not to cut away too much material.

I still sometimes build chassis on graph paper, and use .032 and .063 brass plate under the chassis to get the right clearance, but here I'm using a jig, jig wheels, and spacers under the guide tongue to get the correct bushing height.

Next the bushings are soldered in place. I used Parma 3/32" offset bushings in the front, and 1/8" centered bushings in the rear. 1/8" bushings are offered offset as well if you want build in more adjust-ability to the wheelbase.

For this car, I'm trying these Bud Bartos retro threaded front axles. the axles are sold with lock nuts to hold on the wheels. Usually I just solder brass collars on the end of the axle, but I thought these were neat because I can drill a hole through my wheel inserts, place the nut on the outside of my wheel inserts and can remove the tires easily if there is a problem under green flag conditions.

Here's the assembled roller. The hard part of this build is now complete. I trued and cut my rear tires down to 1" diameter, and rounded the inside and outside edges on the hard fronts.

Pre-cut metal and plastic axle spacers work fine, but I like to use set screw collars on the axle to maintain spacing and gear mesh when the racing gets rough. Du-Bro makes wheel collars in various sizes including the 3/32" and 1/8" collars shown here. If you can't find them, any well stocked hobby shop with R/C parts should have them or can order them.

Here's the front end set up, with a better view of the threaded axle. I chose to use the set screw collars again. It makes it easy to adjust side play for different track conditions.

Two hours into the build now- about half done. It's a good time to check the body for fit, turns out with this body I didn't even have to trim the wheel wells. If I do cut out the wheel wells, I use Parma lane stickers as a template before I get nuts with the Dremel grinding wheel.....

That's it for now, more to come.

Stay Tuned to Slot Car News for Part Two of Brian's hardbody How-to. 

Racers also check out the Mid-America Hardbody Racing Series page on Facebook for race dates and more information.

Allentown slot show-Nov 3rd

The Great Lehigh Valley Slot Car Show
Merchants Square Mall
1901 S 12th st
Allentown Pa 18103

http://www.valleygoto.com show and vendor info..


All Scales HO-1/32-1/24
November 3rd 2012

Saturday 10am to 3pm

New, Used and Vintage Slot Cars, Parts and more.

Aurora, Carrera,Revell, Autoworld, TJets,Slot.It,Ninco Customs and more.

Dealers from 4 states.Interest has been growing and we have new vendors already booked. Dont miss out..


ECHORR Race and Race on Schoolhouse rd track.

ECHORR to Host SS Race in Show on portable Track.
Indy Car Race to be held on Valley Rail Trains/Schoolhouse Road Track.
http://www.echorr.com Racing Info.

SPONSORS..
Valley Rail Train and Hobbies Trophies,Prizes
http://www.mostslotcars.com


TABLES AVAILABLE $25.00 AT DOOR.7AM FIRST COME BASIS **TABLES ONLY $20.00
PRE-PAID**

Admission $5.00

Early Buyers 8.30am $10.00

Racing free with paid admission.

Trophies ,Door Prizes,

Vendor Tables $20.00 in advance.

*** New - H.O. Pro Series Super Tires™ ***

Super Tires™ is proud to announce an exciting new line of high-performance H.O. racing tires.  The new H.O. Pro Series Super Tires™ are the result of 6 months of extensive development and testing on a wide range of tracks and cars.  H.O. Pro Series Super Tires™ are great for:

• Fray Style racing series
• T-Jets
• Auto World Cars
• Johnny Lightning Cars
• Tuff-1 Series

Available in three (3) different compounds and eight (8) different sizes (refer to table below), H.O. Pro Series Super Tires™ provide H.O. racers with a wide range of options and flexibility when setting up and tuning cars.

H.O. Pro Series Super Tires™ are available immediately from Slot Car Corner and other select authorized Super Tires™ distributors.  Dealer inquiries are welcome.

Special Thanks
Super Tires™ would like to extend a special "thank you" to Joel & Warren Lux (Springville, NY), Richard ("Dr. D") Dumas (E. Haven, CT) and Paul Kniffen (Cortland, NY) for their contributions and support to make these tires possible!

ISRA World Championship 2012 - Malmö Sweden

October 6-13 2012, the International Scale Racing Association "World Championship" races were run in Malmö, which is located in southernmost Sweden.

The ISRA Worlds races were run on the beautiful and challenging Malmö Slotracing Club flat track nicknamed "The Roller Coaster" as shown below:

ISRA's crown jewel and premiere racing class, "Eurosport /24", which is the international slot racing equivalent of the Can-Am, was run last as the climax of a hard fought week of racing. The ES /24 technical regulations encourage chassis design creativity and motors are for all intents and purposes, unlimited.

87 drivers representing most of Europe, Asia and the Americas contested the ES /24 races at the 2012 "Worlds". The ES /24 event was held over a two day period with tech inspection, qualifying and quarter final races being held on Friday the 12th.

In qualifying, 6th world ranked Ravis Jansons of Latvia was the ES /24 TQ with a scorching time of 3.980 seconds upsetting 1st ranked Vladimir Horky of the Czech Republic who qualified second with a 3.999. Jansons and Horky were the only qualifiers in the 3's.

When the Saturday final event was run and all of the laps were counted, 11th ranked Matti Fyhr of Finland was the winner, Second was 9th ranked Paul Garwronski of the USA, third was 260th ranked Jaroslav Recek of the Czech Republic. Top seeded Jansons suffered motor problems very early in the final and was never able to recover, finishing 8th (over 300 laps down from the winner).

 

Full ES /24 competitor rankings and statistics can be viewed at: isra2012.com/es24slut.html.

More information about ISRA and the 2013 World Championships which will be held in Kiev, Ukraine can be found at www.isra-slot.com.

Thank you to Harri Kangasmaki of Team Finland for the use of the photos in this report.

"Da Sano VI" Day Three Coverage

IRRA Can-Am A Main results:

37 Entries

TQ - Matt Bruce: 4.486 Seconds

1) Matt Bruce - 296 laps, best lap of 4.584 secs
2) Ron Hershman - 292, 4.692
3) "Sano" Dave Fiedler - 290, 4.736 (move up from B)
4) Ralph Thorne - 290, 4.772 (move up from B)
5) Howie Ursaner - 283, 4.780
6) Tom Harrington - 282, 4.782
7) Dave Geehring - 278, 4.812
8) Jay Kisling - 163, 4.662

L to R -2nd Hershman, 1st Bruce, 3rd Fiedler
Dave Fiedler also won Concours

Inside Matt Bruce's Winning Car

The top 3 IRRA Can-Am Cars

The Sano VI was hosted by:
Chicagoland Raceway
2255 Maple Ave
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Information: (708) 203-8003
www.chicagolandraceway.us/

For more information on the IRRA please visit: www.irraslotracing.com/

Sincere thanks to Greg Wells of Slotblog! for his invaluable help with race timing and scoring. Thanks to Joe "Noose" Neumeister of the IRRA for his help with technical inspection. 

Thank you to the lunch sponsors: Lake Barrington Speedway, Pro Slot, Ltd. and Tom Thumb Hobbies. Thank you to Speed Zone (NJ) for treating the racers to Pizza on Saturday Night. And last but certainly not least thank you to Jackie Swiss for tending to the gastronomic needs of the attendees with her home baked treats.

"Da Sano VI" Day Two Coverage

The Sano VI Saturday 10/6/2012 Race Results are:

GTC-FK King A Main results:

1) Dave Geehring - 275 laps, best lap of 4.818 secs
2) Chris Barnes - 270, 5.033
3) Greg Van Peenen - 270, 4.900
4) Brian Cox - 270, 4.992
5) Greg Gorski - 262, 5.136
6) Rick Stagen - 258, 4.964
7) Erick Balicki - 253, 5.056
8) Dennis Clark - 252, 5.067

GTC-FK Concours Winner was Jack Beers.

GTC-PD King A Main results: 

Cars before the start

The race begins!

1) Ron Hershman - 295 laps, best lap of 4.620 secs
2) Howie Ursaner - 288, 4.720
3) Matt Bruce - 286, 4.698
4) Mike Swiss - 283, 4.813
5) Dave Fiedler - 283, 4.751
6) Ralph Thorne - 282, 4.764
7) Mike Iles - 280, 4.759
8) Wes Pikunis - 271, 4.828

GTC- PD Concours winner was Joe "Noose" Neumeister

IRRA F1 A Main results: 

IRRA F1 Race Winner- Howie Ursaner

1) Howard "Howie" Ursaner - 289 laps, best lap of 4.738 secs
2) Ron Hershman - 287, 4.794
3) Matt Bruce - 285, 4.723
4) Mike Swiss - 285, 4.780
5) Ralph Thorne - 283, 4.794
6) Mike Iles - 282, 4.755
7) Terry Watson - 279, 4.801
8) Wes Pikunis - 120, 4.801

Howie Ursaner ran a "perfect" race. His car did not come out of the slot once during any of the 8 heats of this race. We are not sure if this has ever been done before at this level of slot car racing.

F1 Concours winner was Jack Beers

"Da Sano VI" Day One Coverage

The Sixth Annual meeting of 1/24 Retro Slot Car racers is being held this weekend at Chicagoland Raceway in Downers Grove, IL.

The Friday 10/5/2012 Race Results are:

JK Spec class A Main results:

Above: Brian Cox' winning JK Spec chassis.

1) Brian Cox - 269 laps, best time of 4.883 secs.
2) Rick Stagen - 268, 4.849
3) Dave Geehring - 267, 4.916
4) Eric Balicki - 267, 5.025
5) Chris Barnes - 265, 4.926
6) John Austin - 265, 4.951
7) Greg VanPeenen - 252, 4.867
8) Larry Kelley - 225, 5.055

JK Super Spec class A Main results:

1) Wes Pikunis - 293 laps, best lap of 4.701 secs
2) Mike Iles - 284, 4.680
3) Matt Bruce - 283, 4.863
4) Ron Hershman - 281, 4.712
5) John Miller - 279, 4.849
6) Kevin VanPelt - 273, 4.811
7) Dave Fiedler - 269, 4.804
8) Howie Ursaner - 82, 4.901

F1 class Flat Track A-Main results:

1) Dave Fielder - 251 laps, best lap of 5.320 secs in yellow
2) Howie Ursaner - 246, 5.429 in blue
3) Ray Price - 245, 5.429 in blue
4) Chuck Gambo - 244, 5.430 in blue
5) Jay Guard - 243, 5.374 in orange
6) Matt Bruce - 241, 5.390 in orange
7) Bernie Schatz - 234, 5.500 in green
8) Graham Climpson - 228, 5.492 in purple

Can-Am class Flat Track A Main results:

1) Kevin VanPelt - 256 laps best lap of 5.270 sec in yellow
(Kevin won by 21 inches over second place!)
2) Dave Fiedler - 256 laps 5.220 in yellow
3) Matt Bruce - 254, 5.329 in blue
4) Mike Swiss - 253, 5.160 in orange
5) Chuck Gambo - 253, 5.210 in yellow
6) Jay Guard - 247, 5.270 in yellow
7) Howie Ursaner - 244, 5.270 in blue
8) Bernie Schatz - 236, 5.440 in blue

Can-Am Flat Track podium: (L to R)
Dave Fiedler, Kevin Van Pelt, Matt Bruce

The Sano VI is Presented by:
Chicagoland Raceway
2255 Maple Ave
Downers Grove, IL 60515
Information: (708) 203-8003
www.chicagolandraceway.us/

Sano VI action continues through Sunday with live webcast at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/sano-6-from-chicagoland-raceway

Slotlandia photos

http://assoslotalpin.canalblog.com/archives/2012/10/01/25225648.html

Photos from Slotlandia 2012.

IRRL 2012-2013 Racing Season Begins

The 2nd season of the newly formed Illinois Retro Racing League began at Chicagoland Raceway September 22nd, 2012 on the 155' King track.

Both F1 and Can-Am retro races were held. Here are the results:

F1 A-Main Results
19 Entries - Howie Ursaner TQ 4.626

1 – 283 Ron Hershman
2 – 279 Kevin Van Pelt
3 – 274 Dave Gehring
4 – 272 Howie Ursaner
5 – 272 Dave Fiedler
6 – 256 Jack Beers
7 – 240 Mike Swiss (move up)
8 – 066 Greg Gorski (move up)

F1 Podium Drivers (L-R)
Dave Gehring, Ron Hershman, Kevin Van Pelt

F1 Podium Cars

Can-Am A-Main Results
17 Entries - Howie Ursaner TQ 4.382

1 – 291 Ron Hershman
2 – 288 Mike Swiss
3 – 286 Kevin Van Pelt
4 – 286 Howie Ursaner
5 – 280 Ray Price (move up)
6 – 278 Dave Fiedler
7 – 275 John Austin
8 – 273 Rick Stagen (move up)

Can-Am Podium Drivers (L-R)
Kevin Van Pelt, Ron Hershman, Mike Swiss

Can-Am Podium Cars.

Next IRRL series race is Oct. 27 - Lake Barrington Speedway, Barrington, IL. Contact the Raceway for details.

Photos courtesy of Mike Swiss at Chicagoland Raceway.

More photos here: IRRL 2012 Race 1 Gallery

http://www.porsche.com/all/motorsport/pccd/livestream.htm
Watch the Porsche Cup Germany at this link now live!

Pedersen wins 9th National Title at Buena Park "Nats"

Congratulations to Paul "BEUF" Pedersen the 2012 USRA Pro Group 7 National Champion!

Although Petr Krcil of the Czech Republic was the top pro qualifier among the 30 entries with a lap of 1.434 seconds, Beuf ran a virtually flawless 40 minute main to take the win.

This is BEUF's 4th Pro G7 Victory in a row and 9th overall Nats Pro G7 Victory with 1229 Laps! The race was held on the 155' Blue King track at Buena Park Raceway, Buena Park, CA on August 11th 2012.

BEUF dedicated this race & the win to the loving memory of his late Mom, Veta Darling Pedersen.

A bit worn out after an intense week of preparation and racing, the national champion thanked his wife Sherri and his daughters for their support.

Beuf's race and concours winning car was painted by Gil Rivera in Beuf's usual patriotic scheme.

Thanks to Bill Skinner and Stupidfast Racing for their sponsorship of the Pro G7 race. Stupidfast Thunder Rubber was the overwhelming choice of the Pro G7 entries.

At the annual USRA membership meeting, Mid-America Raceway and Hobbies was chosen  to host the 2013 Division I National Championship races. 

They will be held August 24-31 2013 in Downers Grove, IL which is a western suburb of Chicago. Check Mid-America's facebook page for the latest details about this event.

Racer (RCR 63B) 512S #20 Sebring 12hrs. 1979 - J. Ickx / P. Schetty

My local slot shop Mini Grid recently received a shipment of Racer cars. Included in their shipment was Racer's Ferrari 512S. This release has allowed me to add another car from the legendary 1970 Sebring 12 hour race to my collection. It's Racer's Ickx / Schetty Ferrari 512S. Truly, a work of art in slot car form:

Judging from historical photos taken back in the day, Racer has nailed it aside from the lack of prancing horse emblem on their model's nose.

My guess is that this detail was omitted due to licensing issues. An easy enough fix with the appropriate decal...another mod added to my slot car to-do list, so I'll get around to is some day.Racer has done a nice job on the interior and Mr. Ickx' helmet:

Some nice detail on the rear of this model:

Here are shots that compare the Racer 512S (left) to its Fly counterpart (right):

Underneath lurks a Slot.it drivetrain - what we've come to expect in a Racer. This guarantees the car will run as good as it looks. My example exhibited a bit of tire rub, but with the adjustable nature of the Slot.it drivetrain this is easily fixable.

I now have three cars in my Sebring 1970 collection: Andretti's custom liveried Fly 512S, the Revson / McQueen Fly Porsche 908 Flunder, and the Ickx / Schetty Racer 512S:

All I need now is some track time. I'm looking forward to getting this beauty on the track to see how it stacks up against its race mates.

Spa 24 Hour live stream link

http://tv.audi.com/#/01
Watch the Spa 24 Hour race at this link.

New Gold Sloting Plus wheels

Available from Professor Motor Dealers in North America
Same wheels are available in silver finish (3 sizes)
These wheels fit standard Slot.it, NSR, Indy Grips and many Super Tires as well as Sloting plus tires.

Precision Slotcar FCR Set-Up Blocks

Precision Slotcar is now offering a companion to their National Championsip Chassis Fixture (previously reviewed May 22).


The part number 1401 "FCR Set-Up Wheel Blocks" helps the builder to set the clearance to .032" as specified by the NCS.

Select the tire size, with the blocks on the axle and the bushings in place, grind or file out the axle uprights until the chassis sits flat on the PSC chassis fixture. The clearance is set .010" higher than tire size so you can practice, break in the tires and still make tech.

The design of PSC's setup blocks is different from those offered by other companies- offering 4 sizes per block. This is accomplished by the use of a precision-drilled offset axle hole in the block.

To Order, visit Precision Slotcar's online ordering system at www.pslotcar.com or Mid-America Raceway and Hobbies in Downers Grove, IL who is a stocking dealer for Precision Slotcar products.

LeMans live link!

http://live.lemans-tv.com/
Watch LeMans live at this link.

Not One, Not Two, But Three New Super Tires!!!

Super Tires is proud to announce three (3) additional Dan O'Grady "R" Series tires featuring rounded outer sidewalls which will replace 3 existing Super Tires.  The 1402R, 1403R and 1404R replace the 1402, 1403 and 1404 Super Tires respectively.  These popular tires fit many Eurosport-style 15x8, 16.5x8 and 17x8mm wheels from a variety of manufacturers.  Initially available in the silicone ("Classic") compound (part #'s 1402RC, 1403RC and 1404RC), they will also be offered in a urethane ("Yellow Dog") compound in the not-too-distant future.   Outer diameters (o.d.) on 15x8mm wheels are as follows:  1402R (.748"/19.00mm), 1403R (.777"/19.74mm) and 1404R (.805"/20.45mm).  The new tires are available immediately from your favorite Super Tires dealer (or directly from Slot Car Corner or Slot Car Corner Canada).

1402RC shown on Slot.it Toyota 88C - mounted on stock 16.5x8mm wheels 

1403RC shown on Slot.it Chaparral - mounted on stock 15x8mm wheels 

1404RC shown on Monogram Classic Stock Car - mounted on 15x8mm C.B. Design Classic Steel Wheels