HRW Autograss Mini Proxy

[TuscoTodd]

SWEET! I might actually be able to get my car to the track to see if it actually will run decently enough to not be a pain to drive... I am a bit concerned that the Carrera Go! tires aren't going to provide a lot of grip - but it should make for a fun "drift" car for those that are running them! :)
So consider me good for an extra week! (plus that saves me from having to possibly overnight mine to Dave on Saturday!)
:D

[TuscoTodd]

Now for tonight's update!!!!
I now have a functional chassis!
WhooooHoooo!!!!
Everything "seems" to act as it should, gear mesh is nice and smooth, the tires spin in the correct direction to support the "turn right" racing and guide engagement appears to be good. :)

No idea what anyone else's car weighs - but mine is a TANK!!! For grins - I threw mine on the scale (chassis with body sitting on it) and she is currently at - 78.3 grams! I still have to add interior, roll bar, and body mount(s), etc, which I am betting will have her pushing 100 grams when everything is said and done!

But the good news is, with my highway gears (2.60 to 1) and heavy weight, and non-sticky factory Carrera Go rubber, handling should be fairly predictable. :D

Here are a couple progress shots...
From the top:

(yeah - I probably WAY over built it - but had visions of how violent the wrecks get with my Scalextric Mini get - and didn't want her turning into a pretzel after the first minor off)

From the bottom:


With the body just sitting on it:

(please ignore the fish eyes in the paint - I was rushing to get some kind of color on it before shipping it out this week and didn't have time to wait on a primer coat, etc)

Next up - is body mount(s), fabbing a grill, wind screen(?) and interior. Hopefully with having the extra week, I will be able to sneak away to the local track to confirm that it will be a smooth, easy driving machine.

On a side note... As a first time participant in one of these proxies - this has been a hoot! I found that it wasn't as easy as I thought it was going to be - but have to say seeing the wheels spinning tonight was pretty darn satisfying after having to scrap the first chassis attempt (after numerous - hmmmm - if I do this - maybe... type boondoggles)
To that end, I think I may add a chassis jig to my wish list now, as having one of those, would have made it a WHOLE lot easier to keep things flat/straight/square/parallel - and hopefully, this won't be the last of these proxies! :D

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Okay, I'll get the whole project back out of the cabinet Nov 30th, when things settle down here. Excellent!

Thanks, folks.

[TuscoTodd]

Have we come up with more than two tracks for these little beasts to run on? The lead off posting just mentions the two?

If not, I would still like to offer up running them at my local commercial track (I think that post got blown away along with the posts about gear ratios etc in the "reset" action)
I can provide additional details if there is interest.

If there are other tracks lined up already though, I'd love to see the details!

[TuscoTodd]

The track I was referring to is the UK Black flat track at Mark's Model World in Canton.
It is a painted/epoxy type surface with magnabraid and is 144' long.
This track would be a notable departure from the other two tracks in the list as it is considerably longer and is not a "turn right only" track - so not sure if that rules it out or not?

Here is a shot of the track:


The track can also be seen from an "in car camera" perspective in the following video:


Let me know your thoughts (if it is not a good fit - no issue - just wanted to throw it out there as another possibility)
:)

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I thought Autograss was oval only?

[Wolseley Hornet]

Looks interesting. I guess those guys will get a bit of a shock when they can actually see the cars when they are moving!

Extended date noted and very welcome - I'm doing twice-daily "sniff test" to check if paint's ready for re-coating. Maybe there's hope yet.

Yes Autograss is oval-only. Well that's glorifying it a bit. It's actually going round and round in a field.I think each heat is 5 laps, and from a standing start.

However, if there aren't enough people with ovals willing to host races, then needs must (. . .etc.).


David.

[TuscoTodd]

waaytoomuchintothis - with there only being two "host tracks" thus far, I was just trying to add a potential third - again if the group doesn't want to run this track due to it being a radical departure in spirit, etc - I definitely won't be offended - it just seemed to be a shame that, as of right now, we will only get to see these little mini's battling it out on two tracks...

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I agree it would be a shame to have only two tracks, but we have been building cars specifically for right handed ovals, not road courses. The date would have to be shoved back a month to rebuild all the chassis. I don't know if my best car will even begin to turn left without flopping over.

[TuscoTodd]

Understood and no issue on my end...
My car, being a late "scramble" build is not biased either way, so I didn't even give that possibility a thought.
Based on that - I am guessing the road course probably isn't going to be a good fit here.
Hopefully we can find a couple more people with flat ovals that may be interesting in putting the field through it's paces!
:)

[Austin]

My truck will be there in 3 days

[Retro Racer 44]

Boohoo!

Too bad, I just joined this site and found this Mini Proxy too late to enter. I have a great little Mini that seems to be in the spirit of this proxy, but it has a Slot.it pod with orange can motor.

I hope they do this again, and I will enter for sure, even if it requires a whole new build.

[Wolseley Hornet]

At last! Sneak preview of the racing Hornet.





We're away this weekend, so on Monday I have to try to find a guaranteed 4-day parcel service !


David.

[Austin]

It's looking pretty nice over there. Looks like a fast track, What will run be running for volts ?

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Well, its going to take more skills than I have to make the front wheel drive work. The leverage is all wrong for traction, although it looks cool as hell to see those little bitty front wheels spin. The trouble is, all they do is spin, even when I add more weight than I ever put in a slot car. If I can come up with an alternative, I'll express it to you.