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Just wondered if anyone had ever put a slot chassis under a Hess race car. You know, the collectible ones they sell at Hess gas stations and some other places. Some of them - particularly the 1988, 1991 and 2009 cars, look like they are 1/32. I know the 1991 car is some kind of Lamborghini. I just got a 1988 car at the thrift store tonight with the intention of turning it into a slot car, although I frankly have no idea what kind of car it is. The 2009 car looks nice from the pics I have seen and would make a nice looking slot car. Anybody ever thought about this?

brad g

Yep! we are always looking at car bodies at garage sales, thrift stores & new retailers to turn from a dust collector shelf queen into a haul arse slot car, I say go for it & make it work & show us pics. when its ready to hit the track.

Pics coming soon. The Hess 1988 racer turns out to be 1/40 scale, as far as I can tell. The tires and wheels were unsuited to slotracing, so now it has Monogram axles & wheels. Still using the original chassis. Just awaiting a pinion gear in the mail.

Meanwhile, the 2009 racer is a nice car. It has five lights mounted in different locations, and I wanted to keep them all, so that dictated keeping the outer portion of the original chassis. Once I get pics up you'll see most of the chassis of a Fly Riley fastened under/in the original chassis. Did that to get an engine mounting, rear axle mounts and a guide and mount. Kept the original wheels and tires because it was not clear if I could find anything else the right size. Also awaiting a pinion gear and then it's done. When the pinions come I'll take some pics and post them.

Oh, and I also discovered that Servco and Wilco also sold the same 1988 and 1991 racers in their own liveries, in 1989 and 1992. So if one was so inclined, one could kitbash slot cars with three different liveries to race against each other. The Hess cars are green and white, the Wilco cars are blue and white, and the Servco cars are red and white. And they come with matching car haulers, of course. FYI, the 1991/2 car, which looks like a Lamborghini, is a little smaller than the 1988/9 car, so I suspect it may actually be 1/43. Unfortunately Servco and Wilco did not duplicate the 2009 racer, which would have been excellent had they done so.