Wheel Removel Worries ..............

[GoldGuy]

I broke a few Scalextric wheels trying to remove them. What's the trick?? Muscle power? Heat? A dirty big hammer?

I am replacing them, but I always like spare stuff.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Most times you will break them, we all do. The axles are knurled and when you twist to release them, you almost always crack those hubs.

And even if you do not, the only "spare" part worth saving is the insert part. It can rarely be glued back on flush/true after removal. Not even on new axles like a Slot.it because the plastic inside the hub has been ground away and will not really fit right on the new axle.

[GoldGuy]

Thanks. Yes, the Scalextric cars are not meant for those who like to tinker. My old ancient Ninco cars made in Spain are better in every respect.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Something changed around 2009 with Scaley wheels. I used to pop them off clean and straight with no trouble using a miniature spreader (opposite of a clamp), with home made forks on each end. I used it to straighten wobbly wheel sets, too. Worked great all the time. People used to bring axles to my house to have the wheels taken off. Then, something changed and it was much harder to get them off. The axles and the wheels look the same, but the difference is amazing. I seldom try anymore.

[busterfla]

I usually pop off the fronts after marking each wheel for alignment purposes.Then twisting one wheel against the other until one gives and clicks. Just one click and back and forth to loosen and then begin to pull them outward. Never twist it all the way around. Just realign and press back together.

Buster

[HomeRacingWorld]

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Yes, the crown gear on the rear axle. Totally different article. My little gadget was fine until they changed. Now the rear axle takes more bother to get it done than its worth. I save the rears until I really need a new crown gear.

[GoldGuy]

[HomeRacingWorld]

Never said it was better, just commenting. No need get all worked up, we are just having a discussion. Was not my intention to insult you.

In my opinion, most all plastic wheels sets and accompanying axle sets with press on gears are disposable. Some are easier to reuse or repair, but that doesn’t make the entire brand of a car better or worse than another...well in just my opinion.

Then again, I suppose most any part on my cars are disposable as I am good at breaking even the finest aftermarket gear :)

I have published a couple articles on wheel repairs such as Fly. Using styrene tubing (or brass) you can repair the cracks on some wheels and get a lot of miles out of them before having to rebuild.

[GoldGuy]

Back in the 60's, racing 1/24 at the local commercial tracks, we mostly built our own cars, everything was metal and after market parts were big business. It was all about keeping up with the latest and trying to find out how many turns the other guys were winding their motors with. It was extreme tinkering! Well, except if you owned a Russkit.

I've never had a problem finding parts for Ninco now that we have the 'net'. It's not so much the price of the part for me, but the exchange rated and shipping costs are a killer.

So, I've gone back to building my own as that's a fun part of the hobby too. I was parting out some well used Scalextric cars for wheels, axles, bits and pieces when I ran into the wheel problem.

Oh well, I did mention the internet. Got a bunch of Slot it plastic push on wheel on the way from the Professor.

Cheers: Frank

[Fathead59]

Ok , I do hope someone can help me . And if this isn't the right forum for this question tell me which one I should be in . I was able get a few die cast metal cars off of eBay . I am thinking about making them all into slot cars . If this is a foolish idea I will understand , but if it has been done before I would like as much info I can get . The cars I got are a complete set from the Fast and Furious movies . So any and all info I can get will be helpful .

[Fathead59]

I checked out the wheel base and there are some of the cars I have do carry the same wheel base .