Hi Dan, Good to see you experimenting :clap: .............trying new things is a great way to learn, improves your skills, and most importantly,.. is fun !!
As you know, a front drive slot car(for a variety of reasons) will not ultimately run with a rear drive configuration, but, they can be made to run very well,....and as long as everyone is running the same configuration, ultimate speed is irrelevant.
Lots of guys in the BSCRA (British Slot Car Racing Association) have built front drive cars (the BSCRA has had many front drive classes over the years), and the following pics. are of a couple of the more successful builds (according to the race reports in some of the older British slot magazines)
Cheers
Chris Walker
Both of these chassis are anglewinder configurations.......the main reason being (and the reason the anglewinder configuration came into being ) is that the anglewinder allows the use of a small dia. pinion/spur which permits a high numeric gear ratio, while equally importantly, allowing smaller dia. wheels/tires.
Secondly, note that both chassis utilize rear tires that would offer good rear end grip (both of these cars use sponge, and these would have had added grip through castor oil/oil of wintergreen etc.)..............while treated sponge tires are not the "norm" for the type of racing most of us do, it is nonetheless important for a front drive chassis to have plenty of rear grip. I have done maybe a half dozen front drivers over the years, and the best ones all had good rear grip.

