I recently purchased a small group of T-Jets. They are all used & most have
closed rivet chassis. One car was new in original box, a red Rasant slot car of a European type body style. The body is made of metal, not plastic. The wheels are also metal & the outer part is finished to represent a full hub cap.
The body isn't fastened to chassis w/ screws. It disengages from chassis by a clip mechanism protruding from front of car. By squeezing the front tabs, the body is released from front & comes off rear in a similar fashion to that of Aurora. The chassis is black plastic w/ Rasant on underside rear.
Motor is a round can type & gearing appears similar to early Tyco. Metal
weights are secured to top side of chassis, front & rear w/ brass screws.
My overall impression is that possibly the manufacturer was a later entry
to early slot cars of that era. Performance as to speed does not appear to be
a priority as compared to design & quality of components. I would appreciate
all pertaining info such as country of manufacture, production lifespan, body
styles & value of the piece. Thanks to all! :)

Some pictures and info`s on Claus Heupels Page, but it`s only in germany:rolleyes:

http://www.aus-dem-rahmen-gefallen.de/slotcars/page27.htm

and another site

http://www.slotcar.info/documents/hersteller/hersteller.html

Satellite 1, Thanks for the info of the sites. :thumbsup: Not suprising that the manufacturer is German. Based on quality of construction, Rasant could have been the Mercedes Benz of slot cars. The model I have is the 2 door pictured in 2nd & 3rd frames of 1st site. The Ford 17M is shown in blue & white, mine is red. Now, if I were only able to read in German! :confused:

Hey Dom!! I tried this once before with decent results.. I just don't remember exactly how I did it. If you can find those pages via google, there is a translation option and when the site pulls up it takes seconds to translate the entire site. Hope this helps!!! Joe

Ok!! Got it!! Click on one of the links. Copy all of it except the http.// part. Then do a search for google (unless you have google for a search engine) On the right click on language tools. A page should show up and if you scroll down there should be a box to translate web site site.. Paste the web addy in and you're good to go!! Joe

Thanks Joe, printed, in English! I've got plenty to learn in the world of 'puters.
May I ask how your layout is coming w/ regards to the landscaping aspect?

Thanks Joe, printed, in English! I've got plenty to learn in the world of 'puters.
May I ask how your layout is coming w/ regards to the landscaping aspect?

you must use the buttons(top down menue) for actual language(german) and translate language(english), after this push the button for translation

Weeeeeell..... It's kinda ground to a stop... The TM has been topsy turvy about whether or not we're moving so until she makes up her mind I didn't see the sense in doing any more details. I also have a lighting issue with the photo sensors for the crossing gates/ automated RR Xing not getting enough light to function the way I like to run the stuff.. in the dark. That issue really knocked the wind out of my sails.. I'm tinkering with the corrective measures for that dilemma, and waiting for the TM to make a solid decision.. If we stay, I am also contemplating redoing the slot car track to smooth out how it runs, and redo the borders which I also screwed up by not going wide enough for the cars to slide through the turns. As it is, in a couple spots the cars are hitting the plaster cloth and deslotting. The trains will probably stay put, and I'll redo the raised portion of the slots at least. I really wish I found Hobbytalk 5 months earlier, and it would have been done right the first time... It'll get there.. someday!!

UtherJoe

The ESTERLA looks like a Euro copy of Marx.. has the exact same design and markings on the chassis. I'd like to get one of those Tempos though... they seem pretty unqiue.

I have a few Rasants, they can be found fairly cheap on ebay. They're not speed burners, but they move fast enough to be interesting. They have VERY heavy bodies though, more heavy than your standard American made die cast car.

I see Rasants all the time at the slot car show in Parsippany, I think they sell for 25-35 dollars.
I know tubtrack has them.

I like the way they are made. :) Broken/cracked/repaired screw & window posts as well as cut wheel wells are much less of a problem. ;) I will look
for them at the L.I. & Parsippany shows. :thumbsup:

Satellite 1, Thanks for the info of the sites. :thumbsup: Not suprising that the manufacturer is German. Based on quality of construction, Rasant could have been the Mercedes Benz of slot cars. The model I have is the 2 door pictured in 2nd & 3rd frames of 1st site. The Ford 17M is shown in blue & white, mine is red. Now, if I were only able to read in German! :confused:


I got the impression that the Rasant sets were designed with more of a modeller's layout, in mind, rather than for racing. (Not unlike Playcraft, some Faller and the early Aurora Vibrator sets.) This might explain the choice of a pick-up system, that travels within the track, and the diecast-metal bodies. They're neat cars, though. My 1964 set has the same graphics on the box top, as the painting shown on the reference page linked here. Pretty cool-looking, I think. I had already posted that set box-top in "My Photo Album", if you want to take a peek. I will try to find a few other photos.

The (real) Ford Taunus was exported and sold in the US from port cities in the Pacific NW during the very early 1960's. I don't think it was commonly found in many eastern States.