Thursday August 23, 2007

Over the years there have been so many slot cars released it is literally impossible for me to keep up with all of them. And in the middle of this new release frenzy, some models seem to arrive with little or no fanfare. Usually it is because they are not really new to our hobby, they are just the same models we have seen before but with all new paint.

However, some of these hot rods truly deserve a second look. New enthusiasts join our hobby at a record pace and sharing with them some of our past favorites that are still available today is part of the fun for us. One series of cars that has really had an impact on our home racing are the Trans-Am models by Scalextric.

When these models were first released  the popularity of them was incredible to say the least. Finally we had our beloved Trans-Am series with Ford versus Chevy and our little basement transformed overnight. We collected every single one of them and even acquired several blank models to paint ourselves. They are fun, fast and the hours we have spent racing and enjoying them are countless.

Then it seemed to fade away. It almost appeared as if this great series was to fall to the wayside and be forgotten. But it did not. In the last year I noticed new paint schemes popping up in both Chevrolet and Ford models, yet with all the newer cars arriving I simply passed on them. Shame on me. When we first looked at the Boss 302 in December of 2002 it was a winner then, and it is a winner now.

When this model of the Mustang was pre-viewed it caught my eye immediately. It had been far too long since a new Mustang or Camaro has graced our home track, so this beautiful black and gold pony car would find its way here for a long overdue second look at one of the most popular series in our hobby.

Seeing the car in the pre-release photos is one thing, holding it in your hands is another. When this car arrived safe and sound from HobbyGods I was very impressed. The overall fit and finish was just what I expected from Scalextric with a nearly perfect application of both paint and clear coat.

This model is based on the car driven by Gary Matthews but it has since been restored and is currently running in the Historic Trans-Am Series driven by Michael Martin. It does appear as if Scalextric missed adding the car number on the hood, but other than this the model is close enough for my scale taste. The interior is the same which means we have the older driver in place. He has never been looked at as being very attractive, but he is present which is good enough for me. This driver does not stop me from racing this model on the track, and that is the important thing. Since Scalextric has changed driver figures for many of its later releases, it seems it has been addressed to appease the more scale enthusiast.

Aside from this new paint, the rest of this Pony has not changed and that is just fine by me. Wheels and tires are well done and still have the medium to soft compound tires that we have really liked on our home tracks, both plastic and wood.

Looking underneath we see the same chassis as before with 4 screws holding the body in place. Inside the standard Mabuchi motor is still present outfitted with a 11 tooth pinion that turns the 36 tooth spur gear. There is also the bar magnet that provides more than enough magnetic traction and with all the different placement options, you can tune this car easily to your liking.

Out Of The Box

This model performed very well right out of the box. All we needed to do was adjust the braid and away we went. The bar magnet as mentioned provides us with more than enough traction, in fact too much for my driving taste. However, all of us have our own personal preferences when it comes to magnets. The important part is that it functions as intended, and does it very well. Newcomers to the hobby who pick this car up and just drop it on the track should have a ball. Our lap times averaged 3.5 seconds on our Artin road course using PARMA 25 ohm controllers. Braking and acceleration were distinct but room for error is minimal.

Tuning Methods

There are many tuning methods you can use to make this car even more fun depending on your driving style. Adding more magnet and changing to silicone tires are just a couple that seemed popular for many racers. IndyGrips makes a tire part #IG1009 but it is a very close fit. We like to stay with the original tires as they do grip well and allow for great control.

First we sand them and then clean them. We make sure they are as round and true as possible while sanding and then roll them across tape for the final cleaning. This works very well and the increased grip it provides is more than acceptable for us.

On magnets: When we race with the magnet, we move it to the mid-position of the car.  Why?  Because we like our models to have a little more slide to them so it allows us time to correct a spin out. The model has too much snap roll effect for my style with the magnet in the original or rear most setting.

For our non-magnet racing on our wood track we do nothing but keep the tires clean. We leave the magnet in for a little weight and leave the car as is. This has provided us with some fantastic racing over the years and so far we see no reason to start changing our simple approach. Lap times on our wood track without magnets or added weight still revealed a fine model with averages of 3.7 seconds. Remember, this is in box stock form so there is room to tune this model to meet your non-magnet needs. We see the box stock performance as a great example of a promising platform to build upon. Some models out of the box are no where near as smooth as this car, so it deserves praise for what it can do at the start.

However, given that this model and series has been with us for quite some time, there are many after-market parts made for them. BWA Slot Cars makes excellent aluminum wheels if you desire to change them. Supertires makes a great tire along with Ortmann. Slot-it has axles and gears along with upgraded motors to speed things up if you need it. Even Scalextric has expanded their own line of parts to include motors, gears, axles, wheels and tires.

In The End...

To sum things up, this car is simply a winner all the way around. It has decent scale detail and it performs nicely even in box stock form. Scalextric has produced a great series with models like this along with the Camaro and I think any enthusiast should have at least one in their collection.

- Harry

As always feel free to contact me about this article or just the hobby in general at harry@homeracingworld.com, or better yet drop into our Message Forum and share your thoughts with other enthusiasts!

Thanks Go To HobbyGods.Com For Providing Us With This Model!