BigDaddy

Looks great Ken !!! However, big blocks arent used in Late Models. Too heavy. Small Blocks, bored out to upwards of 430 ci are common for Open Late Models. Weekly-rules style Late Models will max out at around 364 ci. 406, 415, 418....etc. are just a few of the common displacements in the Open rules. But, they're all Small Blocks, be it Chevrolet, Ford, or Mopar. Now, back in the 70's, Late Models were using Big Blocks, because they were stump pullers, and the tracks were always heavy, and muddy in those days. A track like that, back then, would blow the bottom end out of a Small Block !! As you know, tracks nowadays, are all dry slick. Of course, this is YOUR model, so really, you could have a SuperCharged Hemi Detroit Diesel in there if ya wanted to !!!

I agree completely with both Wayne and Mike. They are awesome wheels, for sure. I may not have explained what I was attempting to say correctly the first time. I have a tendency to do that !!! I was going from my experience in slot car drag racing and being forced to use the ProTracks as they come from the factory. The rears, with the foam rubber, are just too short of a diameter to really replicate a true drag slick. At 1 3/16", they are short compared to a GoodYear, or Hoosier, in scale. The fronts, with the puny O-ring they come with, at 3/4", just appear way too small in the wheel well of a model car body. In slot car drag racing, this is called "hardbody racing", since there is also Lexan bodies being used. But, those Lexan bodies are terrible for detail compared to a styrene model body. If you're building a static model, then you wouldnt use the foam rubber anyway, and strip it off. Same with the front O-ring. You'd just use a Front Runner, or a BIG O-ring anyway. I guess I was really not thinking about a static model when I chimed in before !! In slot drag racing, the front tires dont even touch the track, anyway. Im sure that's the reason for the puny O-ring. Micro Nitro can make some extremely nice wheels, maybe nicer than ProTrack. And you wouldnt have to mess with stripping off foam rubber. Same money. Plus the ProTracks have that mounting hub on the backside that you'd have to hide somehow. Not sure how you guys have worked around that. Ive never used ProTracks on a static model, so Im lost on that one. There are a couple other slot car drag car manufacturers out there, that make really nice wheels. JDS, who has just recently become a member here, and WRP. Both can be found at www.bracket500.com. Check either of them out, also.

Dale.......Pro Track's only come in 3/4" for front wheels. This includes the O-ring in the diameter. These are the slot drag wheels. The regular slot car wheels are either only 1/2" or 5/8". They do make a 1 1/16" front, but it has a foam tire. Still the same 5/8" rim. All Pro-Tracks are available anodized in Red, Blue, Black, Gold, and Purple. Or raw aluminum, un-anodized. It's my experience, with slot car drag racing, that under a model car body, the fronts and rears appear a bit small. Almost as if the wheel wells are way too large. Some racers have found much larger wall-thickness O-rings for tires, but I have yet to find them. Check their site for photos and sizes............ http://protrackcorp.com/cnc.htm

Yeah, there is some unsprung weight there. However not much more than a Sprint Car. Hubs, axle tubes and larger birdcages, of course. The weight of a Sprint Car gives it that power to weight ratio advantage. Late Models can be as light as around 2200 lbs, whereas a Sprint Car has gotten down to about 1250 ? Forgive me, as the we only have one Sprint track around these parts, and they're 360 cars. So, Im not so much up on the specs as I am for Late Models. Our Late Models here, are weekly rules cars with 360 ci limit, on a 4 bbl 850 carb. They also have a 8500 chip rule. We also have a "Limited Late Model" which started out as a iron motor on a Holley 4412 2 bbl carb flowing 500 cfm. But, they have graduated to the GM 602 and GM 604 crate engines, running Holley 4 bbls. On a big 4/10ths mile, like I-80 Speedway where I work, it's kinda like watching paint dry !! But, there are also tour Late Models that swing thru here, and they're open cars. Big inch motors on big carbs, no chip rule, and they're at the 2200 lb range. Those cars put on a good show as they're practically wide open all the way around. When the ASCS cars come to town, they ARE wide open all the way around. And they flat haul the mail !!! Brian Brown practically owns the place as he's won every race he's ever entered there, but one !! We've had some non-wing shows as well, the big 410 cars. THAT is some crazy stuff there !!! Dave Darland, Levi Jones, Robert Ballou, Cory Kruseman, et al......put on probably the best Sprint show that was ever at that track. Slide jobs, wheel stands, etc etc. Interesting story.........when I used to work the pits as the "pit reporter".....we had a TNT non-wing show. Damian Gardner, former winner at the Chili Bowl, was running his car that nite. He had a fuel pump come apart and his car caught fire. Although, none of us knew it till he came to a stop on the front stretch right in front of me ! Only then did a few of us see the methanol fumes that were burning his legs. Which are sure not easy to see !! He climbed out of the car and bailed over the top of the cage with his legs on fire. I guess I just reacted and jumped down off the front stretch wall, and did the best I could to put the fire out. I think I fell off that wall, more so than jumped, but it was an adrenaline thing and I wasnt going to watch that kid burn in front of me and the entire grandstand. I did the best I could to beat down the flames, but it just wasnt going out. I burnt the hair off of my arms and backs of my hands, and scared the living you know what outta me !! It felt like an eternity for the fire crew to get there, and finally, Jack Dover's dad, Marc, jumped off the wall, and used his shirt to help snuff the fire. We got it out, and then, did we realize the car was still burning !!!! If that thing had gone up, all three of us wouldve been french fries right there. The car was only 10 feet from us. Keep in mind that rest of the field handnt yet come to a stop for the red flag. So, we're down on the track with a bunch of cars whizzin' by us at full tilt !!! Finally, they got the field stopped, and the fire crew got there to assess his injuries. THEN, the race director, who's a former racer and a good friend of mine, took me aside and asked to see my hands. In all that action and confusion, I was so amped up on adrenaline, that I didnt even think about that. I was still in a bit of shock and just stared at him and put my hands up, and he said "turn them over". I thought, "oh geeeezzzz, my hands are hamburger right now". I turned them over and he just said "good, you're ok". I looked down and they were a little red, and a little blackened, but no damage !!! Gardner had some 1st degree burns on his feet and lower legs, but he walked away and they took him to the hospital for treatment and he was racing a few days later. That was a scary deal, for sure !!! Hope I never have to see that kinda thing again, but if I do, I hope I can react the same way. Just couldnt let that kid burn up like that. Didnt mean to hijack the thread !! We now return you to regular scheduled programming................

Hey Ken........yeah, it's kinda strange that a Sprint Car or Midget is so "simple" compared to a Late Model. One must wonder, why ??!! Why couldnt the Late Model be that simple !! As far as the shifter, yes, it is a simple two handle shifter that literally sticks up thru the tunnel. Since the Late Model isnt an "open cockpit" type of car such as a Cup car, or a simple Hobby Stock.......the "wall" dividing the rest of the "passenger" area is used as a sort of fire wall. And there is a simple "shelf" or tunnel built into that wall. The shifter assembly passes up thru this "shelf" and the driver will shift just like a normal car. However, the transmission is completely different than a standard transmission in a street car. The clutch in a dirt late model works just the opposite !! Rather than let the clutch out to move the car forward....in a late model, you press the clutch in to get the car to move forward. Start out in first gear, push the clutch in, hold it in as you pull away. Get up some speed, and rpm, then just yank it back into 2nd or High gear and left off the clutch. And you're racin !! It's an internal clutch transmission and only 2 speeds forward. Reverse is the same way as pulling away in first gear. Push the clutch in, and you go backwards. The shifter rods look very much like, say a Muncie 4 speed. Two simple aluminum tubes with rod ends/heim joints, that attach to the shift levers on the transmission. You will probably have to scratchbuild a Bert or Brinn transmission as they look very different than a Muncie or Powerglide. Same type of bellhousing as a Muncie, but the trans itself is very different. I'll attach some photos here that I was able to find............. In the photo above, you can see the shifters on the right side, sticking out of the "tunnel". Straight ahead is the clutch/brake pedal assembly, with the master cylinders above. The bracket sticking straight out above the pedals is the steering shaft mount. A rod end/heim joint will be used here to pass the steering shaft thru and mount the quick change steering wheel to. This photo is taken from the back of the cockpit. Where the seat would normally mount. This photo shows a Brinn transmission. The two levers at the side of the trans is the shift levers, that the shifter assembly shown below will attach to. The shifter handles is what is shown above, on the right side of the photo. These are made of aluminum, and most of the time anodized, either purple, gold, red and sometimes black. Hopefully, this helps !! The transmission simply bolts to the bellhousing and "hangs off" the back of the motor. There is sometimes a mounting point under the tailhousing of the trans. Alot of time time, there is no mount so the trans can flex with the chassis. The cockpit is the only part that is separated from the underside of the car. Otherwise, the rear end, trans and all the suspension as well as the drive shaft are only encased, by the body panels. They sort of just sit there in the open....so to speak, but under the body. There are no belly pans on these cars. The only panel under the car is sometimes a 1/4 inch thick aluminum sheet under the driver compartment. To keep things coming thru the floor of the cockpit. Otherwise, it's open to the elements under there. Also, a Late Model doesnt use that rear end disengaging shifter that a Sprint Car uses. Since it uses a transmission. The rear end is always engaged to the trans. Placing the trans in neutral, obviously, allows it to be started standing still. No push trucks in late model racing !!!! Keep up the good work !!!

Glad I could help Ken !! Your build is shaping up nicely !! That larger scale is definitely good to get all the details in there. On your 5th Coil/Torque Arm set up...........looks dead on ! However, the torque arm and the 5th coil really only control "axle wrap". They can also help to apply dynamic weight transfer back to the rear axle to aid in planting the rear end. Under acceleration, the rear end will start to wrap or twist along the axle line, and could pull the drive shaft right out of the back of the transmission. A torque arm is there to help with that. Along with that shock or spring rod, which is why it's called a "5th coil", there is sometimes a length of chain between the frame bar directly above the torque arm, and the arm itself. That change keeps the arm from over extending that 5th coil. Alot of the cars will use lengths of chain or stout cables attached to the rear axle, and the frame directly above the axle to keep the axle from over extending the shocks. That would also do what's called "over index the birdcages". Meaning the birdcage would twist so far around the axle, that it would bind up to the point of no longer moving thru it's arc. On an "underslung chassis" which is a chassis with framework under the axle, there is no need for chains or lengths of cable. However, on a chassis with no underslung framework, such as MasterSbilt, you will need to have lengths of chain or cable. Rear steer is controlled by the 4 link set up. Depending on how the car is set up, the links on the left rear will literally pull the left rear tire forward by a few inches to lessen the wheel base on the left side of the car. Creating stagger, so to speak. With a shorter wheel base on the left side, the car will naturally want to track to the left. Or steer to the left. Each chassis manufacturer has it's own baseline set ups for their cars, and then they will fine tune from there. The 4 links are rarely, if ever parallel. Under hard acceleration, such as coming off the corner, the car can be seen all "hiked up", and that left rear is jacked way up in the air. You can see the left rear tire practically rubbing on the back of the cockpit. This is the rear steer at work. When the car is all hiked up, it's called "up on the bars". When entering the corner, the driver will set the car by hitting the brake quickly, or letting off the gas. You can see the car drop down to normal ride height, and the driver will begin driving thru the corner. Once he gets back on the gas, the car will start to raise up on that left rear as the weight is transferred over to the right side of the car. It's called "side bite". Then the driver mashes the gas hard off the corner and the car is all the way up on the bars. This is where the lengths of cable or chain keep the rear end from going too far. At this point, the bars will be nearly vertical as the chassis lifts from the power being transferred. Again, the 5th Coil helps with this. All of these things work together, in unison to get the most traction as possible, thus making the car as fast as possible. The birdcages, are the aluminum blocks that the shocks, and the 4 links are attached to. They rotate around the axle so the axle can move thru it's suspension arc. The literally "float" on the axle. They dont move side to side, but will rotate around the axle. They are just mounts for the shocks and 4 links. Another item to add to your build is the "J-bar". This acts like a panhard rod on the rear end. It's called a "J-bar" because it's shaped like a "J". The curve, wraps around the pinion of the rear end, where the drive shaft mounts its u-joint. The other end, the straight end, will mount at a point on the chassis on the left side of the car. This "J-bar" will be parallel with the rear axle. However, the "J-bar" itself is never parallel with the ground. Just like a panhard rod...or in Nascar circles, a "track bar".........it controls the roll center of the rear end. It's mounted to a plate that mounts to the pinion on the rear end center section. It will have a few holes for adjustment in it. Whereas the frame mount of the J-bar will have several vertical holes for adjustment. Wow........I rambled on and on !!! Sorry for the "suspension lessons", but these cars have become very technilogically advanced, and it kind of facinates me on how it all works together. At any rate, I will be following along with your build as it has captured my interest !!!! Great work so far, keep it up !!!!

Great project !!! Im very close to Dirt Late Models. I work around them every day, actually. My real job is designing and printing graphics for race cars. Ive done probably over 1000 Late Models as far as graphics go. So, Ive got plenty of experience around the bodies of these cars. I used to crew on a few cars as well, and your chassis is near exact. My side jobs include being the track announcer at two dirt tracks in my area, so I guess you could say that dirt racing is a serious time consuming "hobby" for me !!! One suggestion.......actually a couple.........for accurate body measurements, as there are rules for each sanctioning body, go to imca.com and look up their Dirt Late Model rules, or any of the sanctioning groups sites (MLRA, UMP, MARS, Lucas Oil, WoW, SUPR, etc etc.) and it will give you 1:1 measurements that you can scale down. Your spoiler is too high, as 99% of all sanctioning groups mandate an 8 inch spoiler. The front of the nosepiece should be 50 inches from the center of the front spindles. Also, these cars run wide-5 hubs, such as Wilwood. Tires are generally Hoosier, with a few sprinklings of McCreary, or American Racer. LM40's is the usual tire for open type racing, D55 is the weekly rules tire. 15 inch wheel. Winters, Franklin, or Tiger quickchange rear ends. Not like Sprint rear ends, with a live axle, but Late Models use axle tubes. Tires will all be the same width, across the tread, but slight stagger in diameter, of course. Left rear will be the smallest. BIG inch aluminum motors, with a BIG carb. Bert or Brinn 2 speed transmissions. These are internal clutch transmissions. Dry sump oil systems with the pump ran off the back of the motor. Rack and pinion steering. Generally 4 bar rear suspension, with a "J-bar" or biscuit rod used for a track bar or panhard bar. Also, the rear suspension uses a torque arm with a "5th coil", to control wrap-up of the rear axle. Shocks nowadays, are the canister type such as Bilstein. Shocks are a HUGE tuning aid on these cars now. A good set of shocks will run a racer around $5000 alone. Bodies, are an art form on these cars anymore. Each builder has his own tricks and styles. While they have to conform to dimensions, each builder puts different bends and creases in different spots, and has different ways to stretch the envelope. .040 aluminum is the body material. Roofs are either fiberglass, or aluminum. Rear spoiler is clear or smoked Lexan generally, sometimes made of aluminum. Nosepiece is a stock appearing plastic nose. With headlight decals. Front "fenders" are also plastic. As I mentioned, there are several sanctioning bodies that have rules posted to get your dimensions. Several chassis manufacturers, as well as parts manufacturers have plenty of photos for reference. Rocket Chassis, MasterSbilt, Rayburn, Pierce, Warrior, GRT, et al are the popular chassis. Plenty of photos out on the net for reference. Forget finding photos of a Bloomquist chassis. That guy is a fruit cake. Performance Bodies is a GREAT site for photos of bodies and parts. At any rate, just some info on the "guts" of these cars. Next to ol skool drag racing, Dirt Late Models are my cup of tea !!! Shaping up to be a GREAT build !!! Looking forward to more !!

Just a couple of my cars that used your chassis and/or body................. Roland Leong's Hawaiian ......with the 3010 Cal Charger body on my own stainless chassis. Tommy Ivo with your Slingshot chassis and another 3010 Cal Charger body This one was sort of my favorite.......3010 Cal Charger body cut down to a shorty, on a piano wire custom chassis. Ive got 3 more that Im finishing up now. A Slingshot chassis with a 3010 body done up as the Jade Grenade. A Slingshot chassis with a 3010 body done up as Ramchargers. And a custom stainless chassis done up as Swamp Rat 13 with a cut down 3010 body. Pictures will be up when they're finished. I also see you're using those 1320 diecast Hemi's also !!!! Those things make GREAT slot engines !!!

Hey Joe........I race at Irvington Model Speedway in Omaha. Alongside Gary Gerding. We're just getting the drag racing going again after a LONG layoff. They've got a Baby King and an oval set up along side the 1/8th mile strip. They moved the whole deal to a building in Irvington, which is on the Northwest outskirts of Omaha. Pretty neat little set-up. If you're ever over this direction.......stop in........they're racing on Wednesday nites, and Sundays. As for parts for modeling......that I will undoubtedly use on slot cars........definitely wheels, drag engine pulleys, injector stacks, BODIES...... also......photoetched front dragster wheels, Borani or Halibrand spokes. Depending on how deep you're diving in......we can always use resin parts. But, again......entirely on how deep you're willing to dive into the modeling side. Awesome !! Looking forward to the new dragster and the new bodies !!! thanks !!!

There he is !!! Mr. Cardoza makes it to the forum !!! Joe Cardoza is a sort of God in the Slot Drag world !! He produces some very nice chassis, and styrene bodies. Top notch racing products, that are as cool as they are fast. In fact, I think all of the bodies above are his creations. I use his Slingshot dragster chassis for my FED builds, as well as the body he pulls that fits it. I like the way he's cut off the front of the body on the FED he has above, I do that same thing on mine. I went further and cut off the tail section to create a "short" shorty body to make a Swamp Rat 13. Joe.....some of the modelers here will most definitely be interested in your stainless tubing for the scratchbuilding they do. Especially for radius rods and steering/drag links. It's always very nice when I look at the slot drag manufacturers and know that some are modelers as well as slot racers !!! Welcome Joe !!! Still hopin you form some new FED bodies !!! That California Charger body works great, but I'd dig a non-tail section body !!

Hey Chris..........great work so far on the frame re-work. You're close in age with me, and unfortunately, my hands shake so badly anymore, Im not sure I could accomplish that much tedious re-work !! Great job ! The details are what it's all about. I commend you on the attention to the minute'est of details. Im much the same way, very detail oriented. Your entire build is a great testament to your skill and attention to those details. I had one question........regarding your front wheels and axle..........since those front SuperTrick/Centerline type wheels have indentations to represent lug nuts.........were you going to scratch some hubs for those as you did on the rear ?? Were the real front wheels spindle mounts ? Being such a little guy at the time this car ran, I dont know for sure. Im just not old enuff to know if spindle mounts went back that far on Funny Cars. Only reason I ask, is that since you have dove so deeply into details, I was curious as to whether you were going to build some hubs for the front axle ?? Again......Im blown away by your attention to the real deep detail !! Keep on Truckin' !!!!

Check out www.bracket500.com All the info as well as links to the major chassis manufacturers, and such. The really outrageous fast cars will be under 1 second, but there is much more fun in bracket racing. Any motor and chassis setup will be fast at any time, because of the index. Nowadays, their into cobalt magnet motors, and they are the fast cars. But, any ol' 16D is great for bracket racing. That website will give you plenty of info and links to more. Hope that helps.

Last few.............promise............. LA Hooker Mustang funny car. Revell kit body, Slixx decals. Stainless chassis again. Didnt get the stance right on this one either. Mostly because drag slot tires are smaller than model kit tires and getting the right stance to the body makes the odd size tires amplified as they dont fill up the wheel wells. These tires are all 1 3/16 diameter by 1/2 inch wide. Model tires are at least 1 1/2 inches dia. and wider. Just a shot of a typical chassis set up. Stainless steel tubing, .082 main rails. .072 wheelie bar braces. Front axle plate is stainless, as is the rear motor bracket/axle carrier. Wheelie bars are stainless bars, with aluminum wheels and o-ring tires. All soldered together with acid flux and regular solder. Silver solder can also be used. Generally, a race ready car will weigh 100 grams. They'll run a scale 1/4 in a few seconds or better, depending on motor setup. The fun for me is in the building. I dont even car if I win, or even run the cars. Just building is plenty fun for me. Well.......that's it. These are the only models I have photos of. I prefer to use actual model car bodies, either styrene or resin, as opposed to the lexan slot bodies. Nothing beats the actual look of a drag car. Alot of that is lost in the lexan bodies. Thanks for looking.........have a great rest of the weekend everyone !!!

More...........slot cars still............... McCulloch Revellution Demon funny car. Revell kit body, and decals. Built on another stainless chassis. Can ya tell I like the old skool drag cars ??? Another of my favorites, that I NEVER shouldve sold. Warlock dragster. JDS styrene body cut down to a shorty. Slixx decals, all built on a steel piano wire dragster chassis. MAS photoetched front wheels. I would just sit and stare at this car for an hour at a time. The Two Much dragster kit has one of nicest, and easiest to detail Hemi dragster engines Ive ever seen. And there are two in each kit !!!! I only changed the blower hats. I miss this car. Warpath Sommerset funny car. Comp Resin body, Slixx decals. Made my own rear wing and spill plates, but otherwise, just like the real car. Stainless slot chassis again. Great casting. Jungle Jim 63 Corvette ProMod. Fictional, but a fun one !! Unknown brand resin body, Slixx decals. Stainless chassis again.

More .........all slot cars............. Roland Leong's Hawaiian Monza. Revell body, Slixx decals. built on a stainless slot chassis. Mongoose Barracuda funny car. Polar Lights body, Slixx decals. Red mylar back window, built on a stainless slot chassis. The wheels arent correct, for the time period, but the gold looked good, and they were the only slot drag tires I had at the time !! Mongoose 57 Chevy funny car. Revell kit body, and decals. Pretty big body actually. It's 1/24th scale for sure !! Bulit on a stainless chassis. The silver paint I used for the bumpers was attacked by the clear, thus we have some wacked out silver bumpers !!! Mopar Challenger ProMod. Reliable resin body, Slixx decals, with some of Sean Svendsens grill and tailpanel decals. Built on a stainless slot chassis. One of my favorite cars, and the first drag slot car I built myself. First ever resin body I built also. Shouldnt have sold it. The Green Elephant Vega funny car. Comp Resin body, Slixx decals. Built on a stainless chassis. Didnt get the stance right on this one either.

More.............still all slot cars............ Fighting Irish Camaro funny car. Unknown brand resin body, Slixx decals, all built on stainless drag slot chassis. Didnt get the stance quite right with this one. Also, this body wasnt the correct model of Camaro for the Fightin' Irish car, but I used what I had, because Im a Notre Dame fan, and that's how it is !! Jukebox 57 Ford ProMod. Kit body and kit decals. Nothin special, just a drag slot car. Decals get REAL bad with age also. Had to buy two kits to get one decent sheet of decals. I think this was built on a lazer cut stainless chassis, if I remember right. Christine 58 Plymouth ProMod. Kit body and kit decals. I bought this one already built, and it didnt have the correct scoop. It was just needing a bit of clean-up and a new induction system, so I added a Comp Resin blower hat and blower. Built on a piano wire slot chassis. Nothin special here either. Fuel Coupe dragster. This was a neat little car that I bought already built. Unknown brand resin body with a piano wire slot chassis. Big injected 409 motor between the rails. The thing had WAY too much motor, and would bounce down the track. Fun little car though. Unknown decals, but cool for the theme. Prudhomme Army Monza. Kit body, kit decals. Built on a stainless drag slot chassis. Never got to run this one. One of my favorites though.

Here's some more..................still all slot cars. Another one of Andrew's bodies. Cad-attack resin 59 Caddy funny car. Another great casting built on a stainless slot chassis. One of my favorites of all time. Roland Leong's Prudhomme driven Hawaiian FED. JDS styrene body with Slixx decals built on a stainless slot chassis. MAS photoetched front spoke wheels. Never shouldve sold this one. Another all-time favorite. John Milner's blown Chevy powered FED. Styrene body, homemade decals(to fit this body), MAS photoetched front wheels, all built on a piano wire homebuilt dragster chassis. Never shouldve sold this one either. TV Tommy Ivo FED dragster. JDS styrene body, Slixx decals that dont actually match the body, all built on a JDS Slingshot drag slot chassis. MAS p/e front wheels again.

I'd like to show off the ones I have photos of. These are all slot car drag cars, so forgive me. Im still a model car builder first, as I have been since I was 5 when I built my first model, a Prudhomme rear engine car that I brush painted and stuck my fingers to. There's not a tremendous amount of detail in these, as they're slot cars, but I wanted them to at least look correct, by choosing the best wheel for the type of car it is. They were all bracket cars, as they never really fit into any slot drag class. And....unfortunately, for me, they all have new homes now. Some of them never hit the slot drag strip. Without further adieu......... Schumacher US Army T/F. Slixx decals on a Revell kit body with a stainless steel slot chassis Bernstein 25th Anniversary Budweiser T/F. Revell kit body and decals. Built on a stainless steel slot chassis. The drag hemi's in both were robbed from well detailed die casts. Executioner Dodge Challenger. Fictious paint scheme with half Slixx decals and half homemade. Unknown brand styrene body built on a stainless steel slot chassis. Andrew will recognize this one. Modelmartin resin duece funny car body with his decals, built on a stainless steel slot chassis. Colored mylar windows. GREAT casting, by the way. Styrene 66 or 67 Mustang ProMod/Top Sportsman. Slixx decals. Built on a stainless slot chassis.

I used that same tutorial from StraightlineModeler.com. It works pretty good actually. I had seen another tutorial on a different site, but even they suggested the straightline tutorial. The only difference being that I carved my own wheel "hoops" out of .063 styrene. Just use a circle template and cut out with curved tip scissors. Cutting as close to my template line as possible gave me a round enough shape to start with. Then I drilled a hole in the very center of each circle I cut. Taking two circles at a time, I chucked them up in a dremel with a regular dremel arbor/mandrel. The kind that the cutoff wheels are held onto, with a screw. I spun them at a medium speed with a sanding stick to true them up to each other. That way, I had two "hoops" that were the same diameter. Since it takes two "hoops" to make one wheel. I also ground a rounded groove between the two hoops for the o-ring "tire" to sit in, using a round mini-file. Then I enlarged the center hole that I drilled and slowly augured it out with a dremel sanding drum, to the right inside diameter that I wanted. Going slowly here on a medium speed is important. Otherwise, the dremel will just melt the plastic or zoom it right out of your fingers into la la land. After getting 4 hoops, I had the wheel halves, and could go on with lacing them with the styrene spokes. I also tried .013 beading wire, which works good, but you have to use superglue to attach them. I found that the styrene .010 rod works better and Tenax wont glue my fingers together ! Following the tutorial for making the hubs and lacing the wheels, I ended up with a nice set of scale motorcycle type wheels for my FED's. The only reason I made my own hoops, to get the diameter I wanted. Ive always thought the kit wheels were too small of a diameter. I ended up with 7/8ths inch outside diameter wheels. It takes a bigger o-ring, but found them at Ace Hardware for .79 each. Sprayed with Alclad, they cut the mustard just fine. Just my experience and method of doing it. Not perfect yet, but I was happy that I had something more prototypical than what comes in the kits. Unfortunately, it's rather an involved process and takes time. If you used the kit hoops, as the tutorial does, it may not take as long.

Dont believe Ive ever seen a Jeff Gordon DuPont Ford Taurus !!!! That's pretty cool !!! Dig the Wheaties Earnhardt build !!

Also gonna throw my support for Steve. I live in Omaha, not too far from him, and Ive talked to him in person multiple times, and bought and sold kits with him. GREAT guy. Superbly knowledgable and truly dedicated to the model car hobby. Ive made him a new sign for his show booth, and feel like Ive made a friend for life in the model car world. Cant go wrong with Steve and Eddie. Both really good guys.

WOW. All I can really muster right now ! Ive read this thread over the last couple days after going thru Chris' FED build, and I have to say WOW. One has to be very dedicated to a project such as this, and the excitement of seeing it to completion will make one go thru all the steps to get it there. Considering, he couldve re-roofed his house, paved his driveway, and rebuilt a small block chevy in the amount of hours he's put into this so far !!! However, that time invested will definitely pay off in spades !!! I have to say this is the most amazing build Ive ever seen. The attention to detail and the craftsmanship is second to none. It doesnt take much to impress me, but this has overwhelmed me. You were right Chris !! Top notch build. Very inspiring, to say the least !!

Dig the Two Lane Blacktop double-nickle !!! James Taylor and Dennis Wilson wouldve been proud !!! Warren Oates, wouldve been pi$$ed !!!

Yes, actually using regular ol' rosin core solder. But, I use an Acid Flux. Brush it on the joint, and tin the tip of iron and let the solder flow off the iron when touching it to the joint. The Acid Flux is made my "Lucky Bob's" and works great for the slot car stuff. it has a brush attached to the cap, just like a nail polish bottle cap. The flux is there to provide the solder a place to "bite" the steel. Without the flux, very hard to get the solder to flow onto the stainless. Soldering brass with the same stuff works great also. Rosin flux works, but not like this acid stuff !! But, you MUST neutralize the acid after soldering the chassis. Washing it down in hot soapy water, then light scrubbing with an old tooth brush in baking soda/water does the trick. Otherwise, the acid flux residue will start to corrode the metal. On brass, it will literally turn it green over nite !! Soldering steel piano wire chassis is the same way. It will rust, AND corrode inside of a day, unless the acid residue is neutralized. I'll post some photos of the bare stainless chassis, un-painted, soon. Ive had a project for a friend going lately of a 1938 Willys Pro-Mod slot drag car. Ive had that in the building stage for over a year, and since the resin body is a ONE OF A KIND, I have been very leary of working on it !! The FED is in the final build stage, and awaiting running gear and a body along with a scale 392 Hemi. Ive got a few other cars that Ive built over the last few years, and subsequently sold off, and I will post those as well. Also, forgot to mention to you that JDS Racing also sells stainless tubing. He has the same diameters, but also has .065 tubing. 12 inch lengths. Joe Cardoza is the owner of JDS. Slot car drag racing specific companies, but with an eye for the realism of drag cars. Not just the flat, lexan bodied land rockets. www.bracket500.com/jds These sites are specific to slot car drag racing, but I find invaluable, due to the gallery of slot car builds that is associated with the main site. Inspiring is the bare minimum for words to describe it ! Some of these guys really show their model building roots, with the amount of detailing they put into a slot car !!!!

Chris........I'll have to check out that thread with the Funny Car ! Yeah, the RB motion stuff is just awesome. My shaky, fat fingers have a tuff time once in a while..........but going slow and deliberate gets me where I want to go !!! Im also a bit of a slot car drag racer/builder. I get all my stainless tubing from WRP - Wilde Racing Products. Paul Wilde is like us.....a drag racing fruitcake !! Check his website....www.bracket500.com/wrp. Mostly commonly, the slot cars use .050, .072, and .082 stainless tubing. He also has his stuff on eBay, under the seller name "WRP-1". He sells his tubing in 12 inch lengths, but if you pay the shipping, Im sure he'll sell you 36 inch sticks. The good thing about the tubing Paul sells is that the .050 will slide into the .072, and the .072 will slide inside the .082. For slot car drag racing, it's a nice touch. But, for model building, it's not all that necessary. There are other sellers on eBay that sell Paul's products, and they have his tubing as well. "amerpak" is one who Ive bought Pauls tubing from. On the other hand, someone in another thread mentioned smallparts.com. I perused that site and found stainless tubing there, as well. In a MULTITUDE of diameters, lengths, and wall thicknesses !!! Either way, you'll find what you need. Im currently in the middle of an all stainless steel FED slot car drag car. .082 main rails, with .072 upright braces, with .050 triangulated bracing. Soldered together, at 1/24th scale, minus all the running gear, motor, wiring, guide flag, and styrene body/scale Hemi....it weighs 30 grams. The trick is fishmouthing all the tubing ends to create good joints. .050 doesnt fishmouth well !!!! Not in my banana-fingered hands !!!!! hahahaha The neat thing about slot car drag racing is that I can still build models, but watch them hurl down the scale strip at silly speeds !!! All the hard core slot geeks who race cars that barely resemble even a funny car, have no clue how I get a very accurate looking slot car drag car. I just tell them ....."cuz Im a model builder first, slot racer second." Again, great work on this one. This has inspired me to scratch build a frame or two for a static model of an FED. Keep em comin' !!!!