[guinnesspeanut]

I recently bought a pair of vintage Aurora scale model trucks. Both of them are sooo close to fitting over a Tjet/AFX chassis, that I began looking for other models too. There are loads of small models listed in auctions, like Lindberg, Revel Snap Fit, and countless others. I don't want to damage the models I got, but will get photos up shortly of them next to rulers and the chassis that'd fit them. Between Aurora, Tyco, LifeLike, and Auto World, there are plenty of options out there to bring currently unavailable year/make/model vehicles to the slotted community, and the slotless too. . I found this little gem and think it's right on the money.. 3 3/16 X 1 1/4 X 7/8 inches high. Should fit a Tjet or slim Tyco easily.. A bit of creative rigging on the underside of the body, adding either screw posts or some carefully applied hot glue to keep the AFX chassis centered and, wwaallaa, a slotcar is born.. If anyone out there has a model car they easily fit on to an HO chassis, please share. There's also quite a few decently detailed plastic cars out there that'd be prime candidates for slotcarism.. Nowhere near enough Caddy's runnin around the tracks these days.

 

[SouthLyonBen]

As A recovering US-1 Fanatic I was always trying to find "not goofy and European" truck cabs in 1/72 and HO scale in the model section of the bay but they'd usually get too pricey where it didn't seem cost effective. I'm guessing you'd need to look more towards 1/72 cars because truck 1/87 cars I see at the Hobby shop in the train dept are even smaller than TJs. But stuff like big cars (Caddy's your Lincoln) and Trucks I think you can possibly do

 

[slotcarman12078]

For trucks as in big rigs, HO scale 1:87 is almost a direct match to the AFX/AW semis.The main headaches with them are... Mixes of die cast and plastic, a T jet with truck wheels tends to raise the 5th wheel too high, and finding ways to attach a chassis to them. The trailer selection is pretty cool if you shop around.


Lindberg has numerous models that line up with either T Jet/AFX LWB chassis, or are close enough to get away with it. That Lincoln, the Eldorado, Mustang, and I think there's a couple more will work with a divorced front axle. The Lindy tow truck is another that either needs to be shortened, or divorced to work. I'm not sure about other chassis platforms since I don't have experience with them, but I'll venture a guess the 1.7 Mega G will line up with all those longer WB bodies.

 

[alpink]

yep those Mini Lindys are between 1/87 and 1/64 scales and translate easily to a slot car chassis. I would bet that some folks have been fitting those bodies to HO slot car chassis for something in the realm of 50 years give or take.

 

[slotcarman12078]

My first lindy was purchased in the mid 70's, a, 60's chevy van, and was stretched onto an AFX chassis in the late 80's. They are one of the higher priced models now, with the monte carlo being the most pricey.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Really? I know they're kinda tough to find, but i didn't know the Monte Carlo was any more so than the rest. I actually have a Lindy '70 Monte Carlo, but some previous owner appears to have sectioned it to fit a Tjet wheelbase...

I think I picked up a Chevy van at Carlisle a couple years ago. Hmmm, maybe it's time for me to go dig in that box and see what all Lindys I actually have...

--rick

 

[SouthLyonBen]

For trucks as in big rigs, HO scale 1:87 is almost a direct match to the AFX/AW semis.The main headaches with them are... Mixes of die cast and plastic, a T jet with truck wheels tends to raise the 5th wheel too high, and finding ways to attach a chassis to them. The trailer selection is pretty cool if you shop around.

My main problems were 1)usually that HO Semis are sorta long and lean compared to the stubby versions made specifically for slot chassis. I held a Herpa Freightliner COE Cab up to the chrome piece of a Aurora Peterbilt if you take the cab and sleeper off and it looks pretty do-able The US-1 bulldog of a chassis is too wide and short for a lot of HO cab to not look a little weird, which is why I was checking out 1/72 cabs cuz 1/64 are way to big. 2) Other than Matchbox/Hotwheels stuff the US-1 and Aurora cabs are usually cheaper. I know nobody really asked but as a slot car semi nut I jumped at the opportunity to be slightly on topic And also you're right that the 5th wheels on A slot rig are usually too high for most trailers that weren't built for slots and the Aurora and Tyco trailers are actually quite a bit shorter than a scale 53' trailer

 

[Tazman6069]

The Austin would be a good one to get IF you get the Lincoln.:thumbsup:

 

[guinnesspeanut]

1/72 Military models??

Has anyone gone looking at 1/72 or even 1/76 military trucks? I know there are loads of them, and even a good amount of trailers. granted, most trailers are low & flat, but if you have a base, it shouldn't be too difficult to bend some styrene around.. After WWII, surplus auctions gave returning GIs affordable trucks to start their businesses. BIG difference between our military's 1939 vehicle fleet and the 1945 fleet. There's a guy selling 1/64 resin truck cabs on ebay now. Nice amount of detail. Way too big for the WB of a Tjet, but definitely a good project for a Super III or a 4 Gear.. I'll get those Aurora photos up today..

 

[slotcarman12078]

The issue with trucks once you go larger than 1:87 is they get wider. Too large of a scale and you exceed the lane limitations of HO sectional track. I'm not sure how wide a 1:76 or 1:72 truck is.

 

[Bill Hall]

XracerHO, Ray does some very cool military model and truck conversions.

Additionally, there was a guy who did scads of conversions back in the day and listed them on the Pay Bay. He may still be around.

It should be considered that no matter what the conversion project is, the static model designers are not constrained with minor details like ....uh....CHASSIS FITMENT.

Historically, even when they were still trying to keep up the illusion of scale accuracy, many styling liberties were taken in order to get the package together. In production work tab A has to fit slot B every time, other wise it becomes piecework.

The move to 1/64 allowed designers to loosen their belts a bit. It was somewhat of a necessity. The world went HO racing so the manfacturers had to conform to the market. Eventually bodies had to conform to the new hi-po power-plants and they subsequently pushed everything right up to the ragged edge of the original HO lane spacing as JoeD points out.

You'll note that trucks faded from favor during that period, and when they did come back they had lost something IMHO.

The bottom line for all of this, is that the power plant was scaled up instead down, the track spacing never changed, and styling became more impressionistic if not toy-ish. In the end, production costs demand a certain level of conformity so that one size fits all.

For an indirect model comparison, scrutinize the new AW rails. Gorgeous styling, with nifty artwork ahead of gear plate, and behind the plate....you have to throw a tarp over it because of all that monkey motion out back. It would appear that I'm "Joe qoute-ing" today, but he's spot on with his comment regarding the fifth wheel and or any twin screw designs. The point being that the same hindrances apply and interfere with powering up any design.

Generally its hit or miss on conversions. In all but a few cases corners will be cut and some cursing is required. Each one that reaches fruition is a tiny piece of art unique to itself. It's what makes them so special.

 

[guinnesspeanut]

A few people have made remarks about the width of the vehicles.. As I continue my quest, I'd really like to know what the maximum widths are for HO slot chassis.. Can anyone share? I have a stack of models I bought at an estate sale 10 years ago. I wasn't into building them, so they sat. Now that I may have a use for them, I'd like to be sure I don't exceed any width limitations.

 

[slotcarman12078]

Standard sectional track is 3" wide. Tomy and Aurora track has 1 3/8" spacing between the slots. 1 1/4" width is too wide for that track, if two trucks are being run together. 1 1/8" would be the maximum to have passing clearance. Mind you there will be interference at the curves even at that width.

My TYCO US1 trucks sit at about 1 1/4" wide, measured at the front wheels. If I put 2 US1 trucks on Tomy track, the tires barely clear each other. On TYCO track, the lanes are slightly farther apart which makes more clearance between lanes, but puts the wheels closer to the edge of the track. I wouldn't recommend anything wider than 1 1/4" wide. Granted, if you have a routed track with bigger lane spacing, 1:76, 1:72 and 1:64 are viable candidates. I don't think anything wider than 1 1/4" for a sectional runner is feasible.

 

[guinnesspeanut]

1 1/8 inch maximum width can't be right.. I just measured a new G+ F1 Indy car and the wheels are a hair wider than 1 1/4... I'm no expert, but I saw a commercial last week for a new car. The driver was on a street Indy type race. That car was huge in comparison to the Indy cars. So the G+ F1 is probably 1/64ish. I measured an M2 truck too, which I know is extremely close to 1/64, if not dead on. The double axle rear end is the same as the G+ Indy. That means basically any 1/76, 1/72, and even 1/64 scale model is fair game as far as width goes. If M2 ever decides to make a plastic line, everyone's going to be cutting them up to fit chassis under. The JL plastics are a real tight fit for tjets, but JL's version of 1/64 is a bit small. I've checked a few of the wheelbase distances with factory specs and a digital caliper, and every one I measured was smaller than 1/64.. My camera keeps dying, but I'll get those photos up of the 2 Aurora trucks they released as models but never slots. The gas tanks need to be repositioned, but the axles line right up, and a tjet chassis will fit with only very minor changes. Revell reissued the White truck & trailer kit. It's around $25 I think. Just wanted to let you know that 1/72 truck models are still on the table for HO slot conversions...

 

[guinnesspeanut]

NEW, never released Aurora HO TRUCK BODY

Here's the first set of photos of the Aurora White Milk Tanker Model Kit. Aside from the 2 fuel tanks, it's a perfect fit for an AFX chassis. The front tires of the chassis are in the middle position. Why Aurora never used this as a slotcar, I'll never know. Finding these is near impossible, BUT, the good news is, Revell has made a reissue kit with the truck and trailer. I think there's enough room under the trailer for the fifth wheel too.[/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH] . Sorry, I didn't have the trailer handy to rephotograph next to a ruler. I did however, put one of the original kit tires in the fourth photo, so you can see how high the rig originally sat. I'll try to add the other truck later today.

 

[alpink]

must have

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1970s-The-L...117?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d04c57c7d

bid early, bid often

 

[slotcarman12078]

dang.. .talk about inflation.. I remember those being .59 cents!!

 

[guinnesspeanut]

Found Another..

Here's a neat conversion.. Not from a model kit, but close enough..
http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-1955-PONTIAC-STAR-CHIEF-AFX-STYLE-H-O-SLOT-CAR-ON-AUTOWORD-4-GEAR-CHASSIS-/170908038141?pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item27cae9b3fd

Wonder how many of these will fit an HO chassis? I bought boxes of them, I think 4 complete sets. Turns out diecast collectors don't really care for them. Time to dig them out and see what else I can slot...

 

[Black Oxxpurple]

Link does not work....

 

[slotcarman12078]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-1955...70908038141?pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item27cae9b3fd=