Chrisguyw Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 It seems like I am building a lot of Lola T70 kits at the moment,....this one from AMT. This kit came out in 1965, and despite it being powered by a "chunky" 36D it was one of the better performing/handling kits of the time. largely because of its fairly heavy brass chassis. They made a complete slot car kit, and a static model kit......mine is the Static kit, but I do have an original chassis/motor, and all the other bits.This is the original Static kit box......I unfortunately, did not buy it for $1.12. ............the kit came with the slot car body mounts, slot car interior, and all the other bits to make this into a slot version. The body is of the very early T70 Spyder, and is very well molded, but, still needs a bit of work and a good clean up/prep. The chassis while quite good out of the box, really benefits from a few mods.,..............the guide tongue used a single nut bolt to attach it to the main chassis plate, and by sliding the guide tongue back/forth it was wheelbase adjustable, so it was universal for all the AMT releases in the series. (Lola T70, McLaren Elva, Chaparral, and the Hussein).Unfortunately, only bolting the guide tongue made it prone to slipping, and also not sitting perfectly square, so soldering it in was a big improvement, and this has been done. There is also a piano wire gusset soldered under the step in the front of the guide mount, which helps considerably in strengthening this area.The chassis was also prone to bending under/behind the motor. so some .047 wire has been soldered lengthwise to the chassis plate along the bottom of the motor........this helps.Both the front and rear axle uprights were somewhat flimsy, and tended to bend, which invariably bound up the axles, so a wire brace was made for the rear uprights, and a front axle tube was made from 2 diameters of brass tubing which hold 3/16 x 1/8 sintered bushings,...................better performance, and, much more durable.......priceless The motor is an original AMT 36D but has been fairly heavily reworked, by John H.......Arco 33 magnets, shims, bushings replaced, better quality comm, bulletproofed endbell, brushes, springs, and a rewound/balanced 55/30 wind armature ( a good step up from stock but, not crazy) I have had some really nice cast aluminum T70 wheels (5/40 fronts, set screw rear) sitting around for ages,..........they will look great on the car . CheersChris WalkerPS Will post updates..............and probably should have put this in "Vintage 1/24",......so if anyone wants to move it over,...please go ahead. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco01 Posted May 16, 2020 Report Share Posted May 16, 2020 I love the T-70, Chris.... I have the Flyslot later version - great body - chassis was almost useless.. now lives with an almost entire Slot-It assembly on what is left of the plastic chassis... and - that was "reset' to get it perfectly flat ... the "hot water bath" trick.... Those wheels - stunning... by golly, they will look amazing on this model..... another one of your brilliant builds in the making.... One question, those gear wheels?.... are they scratchbuilder jig wheels? or have you just fitted four sidewinder gear wheels to get the wheel height for chassis building? My jig is a long way off getting to me yet... takes weeks to come down here from the US.... don't know why, stuff from Canada (Paul Gage) came in just on a week.... There is a huge backload of parcels around the world at present... I'm quite happy to wait, just a little anxious to finally get my jig here so that I can start work... I now have the 0.55 wire.. and heaps of brass strip in varying sizes... ready to go with my build... Looking forward to this build - hope you post regular updates.... please... frats, Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisguyw Posted May 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 3 hours ago, rosco01 said: One question, those gear wheels?.... are they scratchbuilder jig wheels? or have you just fitted four sidewinder gear wheels to get the wheel height for chassis building? Rosco Hi Ross, I gather you are not really a "vintage" slot car guy. .................the jig wheels I used are Cox 1/8 bore 48P spur gears..........there were literally several million of these made, from 30 to 48 teeth,.....not to mention the many millions of Cox Crowns produced. Stay Safe Chris Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco01 Posted May 17, 2020 Report Share Posted May 17, 2020 Pretty much summed me up Chris... I don't know much of Cox... but remember a friend had a black Cheetah when I was about 15 (50 years ago) and it had a "Cox" motor in it... the thing went like stink, but it had pre-load issues between the pinion and crown... I wasn't allowed to "look" at it - because I then found out it wasn't his.. but another "friend" who had loaned it to him.... since then, I've been keen to get a black cheetah... I bought three different colored Carrera ones (which run great, but have terrible tyres) and later an MRRC black one... it was a shocker of a car... but the body is great.... another one I did a lot of work on the chassis and fitted Slot-It running gear... that is a great car now... My history is basically all Scalextric... it wasn't until my return to slot cars about 4 or so years back, that I became aware that there are now so many different brands on offer.... and some of them are simply remarkable... Slot-It being my best OOB... Carrera have exquisite detail and are almost bullet proof for OOB running... but are not "performance" .... So - no, not fully conversant with vintage Cox slot cars..... but, I do fully appreciate why you are using the different sized crowns for wheel height when scratch building chassis... I have taken note of this.... thanks for expanding. frats, Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisguyw Posted May 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 Hi Rosco,.......Here is a Black one !!..........1/32 Cox Cheetah, a few chassis/motor mods, and it runs very very well !! Should have wiped off my greasy fingerprint before I took the shot Stay Safe Chris Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisguyw Posted May 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 I have posted this small update as it involves the most nerve wracking part about building an AMT kit...(at least for me),.....gluing the body mount runners !!........ While I do have a fairly good method. and have done quite a few, it is still by far the most finnicky part of the build......getting them level, and in the right vertical position so the bottom of the interior does not hit the honkin great 36D, yet getting the body in a representative (an even) ride height............I am always hugely relieved when this works out, and, am happy to say it worked out this time.......funny how such a small thing can bring so much joy . I also mounted/trued the tires and got the axles spaced and cut to length,..........the rest will be a breeze !! Stay Safe Chris Walker Quote MultiQuote Edit Report Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco01 Posted May 18, 2020 Report Share Posted May 18, 2020 (edited) That motor is indeed huge, Chris..... were they the "go to" motor of the day... I remember the one in the friend of my friend's Cheetah being huge compared to our little Scalextric ones.... it was a thumpin' motor - it "leapt" when the go trigger was pushed... Thanks for the pix of your black Cheetah... it looks slightly metallic... couldn't see your fingerprint.. far too much shine on the model... Ride height - yes, and to leave enough for an interior.. had much the same issue with building the little T-53 Cooper... not much of the driver left with him sitting almost armpit high in motor.... Those wheels! you have to be happy with those.....? they look amazing. frats, Rosco Edited May 18, 2020 by rosco01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeGas Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 (edited) Chris, 2xQ's if you don't mind, Do you prefer runners or posts, I liked your idea in another post that uses 2x posts & damping each side to set body sway? Second question, where the hell did you get those wheels, they look absolutely awesome, I like the idea of the threaded front wheels, just need threaded axle. Edit Third question, are they 3mm axle size? Edited May 19, 2020 by ZeGas Quote Cheers Grant . Home Track..........Corvette C1 Build..........McLaren M1A Build..........Maserati 300S Build..........Allard J2 Build..........50's Diner..........Iso Griffo A3C 3D Printed Adjustable Chassis..........3D Print Projects If life gives you lemons, take them, free s#!t is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisguyw Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 1 hour ago, ZeGas said: Chris, 2xQ's if you don't mind, Do you prefer runners or posts, I liked your idea in another post that uses 2x posts & damping each side to set body sway? Second question, where the hell did you get those wheels, they look absolutely awesome, I like the idea of the threaded front wheels, just need threaded axle. Edit Third question, are they 3mm axle size? I prefer using body posts,...much easier to align/adjust the height !!........The AMT kits used runners, and I wanted to keep the kit somewhat original,.....but, they are a bugger to align......not recommended The Wheels are from Russkit, ...these are their cast Lola T70 wheels (sold separately)....55 years old, and Gorgeous !!............ The axles are 1/8th. Virtually 100% of the Vintage cars (pre 1970 ish) used 1/8th axles, and at that point 3/32 axles became more common. Nothing made by the North American companies used/use 3mm axles, and in fact 3mm axles are very recent in the age of slot cars (predominantly in 1/24 Euro "meccano" type cars). Stay Safe Chris Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeGas Posted May 19, 2020 Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 Thanks Chris, Shame the attention to detail in wheel construction is not available today, all inserts as far as I can find. Were they ali cast and turned do you know? Quote Cheers Grant . Home Track..........Corvette C1 Build..........McLaren M1A Build..........Maserati 300S Build..........Allard J2 Build..........50's Diner..........Iso Griffo A3C 3D Printed Adjustable Chassis..........3D Print Projects If life gives you lemons, take them, free s#!t is cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrisguyw Posted May 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2020 10 hours ago, ZeGas said: Thanks Chris, Shame the attention to detail in wheel construction is not available today, all inserts as far as I can find. Were they ali cast and turned do you know? Well, it certainly could be...........but market size and the resulting costs of wheels like these make them cost prohibitive.....turned alu. wheels with resin/nylon inserts are substancially less costly to make. Sloting Plus, Staffs, and a few others do make a few variations of 5 Spoke.BBS etc. wheels, but nothing completely car specific. In the 60's.........Russkit, Ulrich, and Cox, all made car specific 1 piece wheels, with Cox likely the most well known of them all. Each model that Cox produced (both 1/32 and 1/24) had its own cast magnesium wheel specific(and accurate) for that car. In addition, they also sold these wheels as aftermarket wheels, in different widths, and for either 5/40 threded, "taperlok", or freewheeling axles. Bear in mind that Cox produced/sold several MILLIONS of Slot cars in the 60's, not the 750/1500 production runs seen today...... Here are a few examples of Cox cast Magnesium wheels.............being magnesium, they did oxidize, and being 50+ years old, some of these have........they can be brought bak to new condition, with bead blasting, then a clear coat applied. Cheers Chris Walker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KensRedZed Posted September 12, 2020 Report Share Posted September 12, 2020 (edited) Chris. The body, chassis, and wheels all look amazing so far! I will keep my sun glasses close by, and ready to wear for when it's painted and completed. We already know from experience that we need to protect our eyes from the shine and glare sparkling off your cars. Edited September 12, 2020 by KensRedZed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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