Carrera B-Nova Guide Conversion - Home Racin World & The Slot Car Garage

12/07/2012

Some slot car enthusiasts can be very picky when it comes to tuning and I am guilty of being one of them. Of course a lot of this has to do with racing on a wood track where even the slightest change can make a big difference in performance. But the guide? Can it be that important? Of course it can.

A sloppy fitting guide leads to the car rocking up front when it shouldn't and can make your car move side to side in the corners. Not only does it take away from the handling of your car, but sometimes leads to a bad connection between the guide and the track.

Another good reason to change these out is the ability to set the correct guide height. Many times the stock models come with the guide either too far down, or too far up. Using this system will allow you to set the guide height where you need it rather quickly and easily.

Finally, some of the guide systems out there have a rather unreliable electrical connection. Changing over to a more traditional hard wired system is more my style and when I am finished, I know there will be a solid power connection.

The Carrera Classic NASCARS are great cars, but the guide is rather loose fitting. It is also set too high in the chassis causing the front wheels to support too much weight up front.

The B-Nova system has been around for quite awhile, but like many toys out there I am just now starting to work with them. So, if all of this is old news to you I fully understand. However, new racers are joining us everyday so maybe this will help them out.

I ordered the Carrera/SCX kit from Slot Car Corner #GM-002 The price is right and you get enough to do two models. More than fair in my book.

Time to remove the old guide system. Remove the two screws and remove the guide blade from the bottom.

I found you need to lightly sand the area shown for the shim ring to fit properly. Simply sand this area until the ring fits smoothly in place. Once it is set then you simply glue in place.

Once you have glued the ring in place, you will need to sand the inside of it slightly. Just enough for the guide holder to fit snugly, yet you can move it up and down to adjust it.

Now we install the guide with braid. You can use any brand guide you like, but I like the Sloting Plus when they are available.

I install the front axle assembly and set the guide height where I like it to be. Once it is where I like it, I glue the assembly in place. I used hobby grade CA (Super Glue).

I suggest ordering guide shims to fine tune your models. Slot Car Corner has some very nice ones here.

And that is it. Now you have a solid and smooth guide system for your new hot rod.

- Harry

You can always CONTACT ME about this article or the hobby in general.

Quick links to parts from Slot Car Corner: Carrera/SCX kit from Slot Car Corner #GM-002

Looking to do this for your older Carrera NASCARS? CLICK HERE!

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