Something about this group of ponycars inspired me to take a bunch of pictures. They're fun vintage beater runners with original Aurora chassis. I think when I saw them as a group, I kinda visualized a Car and Driver comparison test from the late '60s... "We test the Mustang against its new competition!" or something like that.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/ponycar02.jpg

This Mustang body was actually bought at a show with no bumpers or roof... the bumpers are JL and the roof is off a trashed Speedline car. The wheelwells have all been hacked, but at least whoever did it made them round and pretty much even. The rear screwpost has been cut too short--there's a screw in it, but it's just keeping the back of the body lined up... the body is sitting on the gearplate clamp. The chassis is a real original Aurora Tuffy chassis.

Look closely at the Camaro: it's not an Aurora. It's actually an Eldon Matchkit push car, rescued from an antique store and a layer of cruddy brown paint. (Gotta love Spic-N-Span!) The screwposts were all wrong for a Tjet chassis, so I had to make up new ones. It annoyed me that I couldn't get the windows out; whoever built it glued them in real good. That's one of the giveaways that it's not Aurora--it has closed side windows. It's also molded in this cool metallic blue... I dipped it in Future after getting the cruddy paint off it. The chassis is stock Aurora Thunderjet with JLTO wheels.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/ponycar03.jpg

The Cougar was part of a collection I bought; I've left it exactly as I found it except to replace the narrow Tjet front wheels with JLTO fronts and to replace the missing rear bumper with one I found at a show. It has a stock Tjet chassis with a 12T hop-up gear and a threaded rear axle with aluminum wheels and permanently mounted silicones which are a little hard, but they look so cool I can't bring myself to take them off. The wheelwells have been cut a little to clear the wheels, but again, it's not a bad job.

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/ponycar12.jpg

The Firebird body was bought from Bob Beers himself at one of his shows. It was missing windows and bumpers and had window post issues, but the wheelwells and screwposts were perfect. Front bumper is original Aurora, bought at the same show. Windows and rear bumper are scavenged off a JL car. I put the chassis together from what I believe to be original Tuffy parts... Mean Green arm, 14T gearing, original Tuffy rims; but I'm not sure about the chassis itself. The electricals seem to be silverish as opposed to Tjet copper ones, but it's a solid rivet chassis... did they make solid rivet Tuffys? (Side note: I always resisted paying the extra bucks to get into shows early, but for this one show I had to because we had something else to do later in the day, and it was worth every penny. I got a great deal from Bob on this car and a blue Cougar in similar shape. I know they wouldn't have been there half an hour later.)

Sorry they're nothing rare or collectible or particularly unusual, but I saw the mongrel beater theme there and I had to run with it...

--rick

Rick,
Doesn't matter where or what additions you've made, they still look great and need to be run on a lock and joiner track! :) rr

The Pony show looks good to me Rick! Thanks for sharing it with us.


Dave

If you would not have told me about the wheel wells I would not have noticed.

they all look good to me.

Rick,
... need to be run on a lock and joiner track! :) rr

i agree! click clack click clack...

these are the kind of cars I break out the old tan Aurora thumb plungers for... :D

--rick

Rick, I simply love these oratories that you are so prone to write. It is obvious that the love you have for these little wheeled wonders and the hobby in general is something special. Your delight is evident in all you share with us and it is always a pleasure to get a peek inside your slots case and brain case! :thumbsup:

Oh yeah, this grouping of cars are really neat too!!

Nice little set of cars --rick. You seem to have an eye for for the little details.
And you also have fun with the cars...
But lock & joiner track? I think not.....:lol:
Go ahead & tell them --rick...

Scott

okay, okay... I DO have a couple big boxes of vintage L & J around here, but I never actually set up more than a little oval with it. My permanent layout is old Atlas and Lionel track from the '60s. It's actually smoother and has better electrical connections than L & J. It looks very similar to L & J, but it has little clips that hold the track sections together at the rails... the clips are very similar to the ones that hold HO train track together. It also has lines painted down the center like L & J... Atlas has white lines, Lionel has yellow. So it's vintage track, and it does go click-clack like Aurora, but it's a little different... :D

--rick

I just enjoy looking at pics of any old slots-


Thanks for sharing...


Cheers..

Ah those cars and colors reminds me of the original Sterling Moss ThunderJet set my uncle used to let me play with when I was a little kid in the 60's. We used to take it all out of the box, race and then put it all away carefully. Eventually my uncle put it on a green piece of plywood. We started with the steering wheel controllers and ended up with thumb controllers a couple of Christmas's later. It was so cool. No matter what toys I got at my grandmothers, that track was what I always looked forward to at Christmas. My dad would take me to "Bargain Town' (now Toys-R-Us) to buy new cars to race on my uncles track and I would be so excited.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz clickety click, clickety click. All you need is the smell of Red Oil and cigars burning. (..grandpa)

:dude: :p

As you perfectly said, it looks like an old Car & Driver or Road and Track test pictures in reduction...I love it

Hey- easy on the Lock and Joiner track. Not as smooth as today's varieties, but still a blast. Yes, some joints have eased there way out of perfect, but hay, didn't the Celtics have little secrets about their home court?
Jim

Ah those cars and colors reminds me of the original Sterling Moss ThunderJet set my uncle used to let me play with when I was a little kid in the 60's. We used to take it all out of the box, race and then put it all away carefully. Eventually my uncle put it on a green piece of plywood. We started with the steering wheel controllers and ended up with thumb controllers a couple of Christmas's later. It was so cool. No matter what toys I got at my grandmothers, that track was what I always looked forward to at Christmas. My dad would take me to "Bargain Town' (now Toys-R-Us) to buy new cars to race on my uncles track and I would be so excited.

Bzzzzzzzzzzz clickety click, clickety click. All you need is the smell of Red Oil and cigars burning. (..grandpa)

:dude: :p

And maybe these pics... :D

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/smoss01.jpg

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/smoss02.jpg

--rick

Hey- easy on the Lock and Joiner track. Not as smooth as today's varieties, but still a blast. Yes, some joints have eased there way out of perfect, but hay, didn't the Celtics have little secrets about their home court?
Jim

I have no problem with L & J... that's why I keep those boxes of it around. Someday when I get around to it, I actually want to adapt in a couple specialty track sections like the cobblestone one or a banked curve...

--rick

That last bunch of cars are exactly what was in my uncles tjet track set that I used to play with during holiday visits (some different colors though). Same deal..take it out of the box, play with it, put it back in the box before we left. Ironically, and lucky for me, I wound up with that set and still put lots of laps on those cars. Ran out of red oil however. Growing up is so over rated. :wave:

And maybe these pics... :D

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/smoss01.jpg

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/rwurtz/images/smoss02.jpg

--rick
Oh man that's it! Except I think the set had a tan Mustang conv't instead of the T-Bird. (?) I remember the first car I got of my own for racing on my uncles track was the Ford Galaxy 500.