Low Budget Race Team

[dreinecke]

Good looking Oldsmobile!

[Ralphthe3rd]

Not my best work, then again, it wasn't for a paying customer, it was for myself. And I'd also like to preface this by saying, that White is the hardest of ALL the T-Jet colors to Blend-In "goop" repaired bodywork. Also, the '63 Galaxie Rear wheelwells are one of the toughest to Free Sculpt repair, as they should be "Donor" panel grafted instead, just like a a 1:1 car. Btw- you'll also note I left off the lip that is supposed to on the top edge of the well. Anyway, I'm sad to say, that after repairing wells on 3 of my own white cars for practice, I will now refuse repair work on any customers White t-Jet.

[hoganracing]

Hey Ralph,

I think it looks pretty good, especially considering what it looked like in the "before" picture.

Patrick

[Ralphthe3rd]

Here is a Sneak Peak of an upcoming Drag Car build for a local 1:1 Drag Racer. This resin Body comes from an unknown source, but it roughly replicates the Studebaker Champion Drag Car (Full Metal Jacket) seen in the 4th photo...

[Ralphthe3rd]

Finished up an old Tuff Ones Chappy today. Did a stem to stern overhaul, replaced a worn out arm with a NOS 6ohm Mean Green, swapped magnets over to NOS Super II's, changed the gearing from a 14T cluster gear to the standard 9T & swapped in a new Crown, added Wizzard brushes, popped some PVT silicones on front and rear, and added a Vintage AJ's Brass pan for better handling with the same look/ride height as the OEM Tuffy had. She handles really well, and scoots faster than a Fray car which is limited to a 16ohm arm.

[Ralphthe3rd]

FYI- the homemade brass pan I just finished, is one that someone else started and gave up on. If you see boo-boos...it wasn't my mistakes. Also, the Resin Late model is a car I've just started working on, the body fits either T-Jet or Magna Traction/X-Traction chassis.

BTW- I did at least 50% of the final finish work to this brass pan, using justa drill and hand files. The originator first butchered the brass with a Dremel, and some of the really bad mistakes I filled in with Solder. I know now, that I can totally make a better copy from scratch myself with just those simple hand tools.

[dreinecke]

Love the Chappy!

Nice work cleaning up the brass pan. Are those still available?

[Ralphthe3rd]

[Ralphthe3rd]

Hey guys, how do you like this lil Beauty that I recently acquired....nice piece of brASS -eh ? :D


PS- thanks Patrick :handgestures-thumbup:

[Ralphthe3rd]

Last week, we finished up some long overdue body work resto's. The White Mako Shark needed a missing right front windshield post replaced and the left one straightened. The Yellow Ferrari needed rear wheelwell repairs, and the Lime Green Charger also needed wheelwell repairs....

[Ralphthe3rd]

A Couple for the Archives.... some lost/rare pix from the early '70s ;) of Jungle Jim and Jungle Pam doin' their thing at L.O.G. Speedway Park. :auto-driving:


JJ & Pam( the back-up girl) returning to the staging line, after his burnout. (BTW- it say "1971 Champion" on that black Hauler ;) )

[dreinecke]

Nice updates Ralph! I'm pretty dang impressed with your wheel well repairs as always. Love the JJ and JP pics!

[Ralphthe3rd]

(Off and ON Topic)....My Uncle Arthur Died yesterday(he was 84).
I'd like to relate a story to you, about an old fond memory of my Cousins(Uncle Arts kids). Uncle Art & Aunt Carolyn(his first wife) had four kids: Ray, Cliff, Cathy and Allison. Ali was a year younger than me, Cathy a year older, Cliff a year older than her, and Ray was a year older than Cliff. The Rosson clan was mainly in Connecticut, as that's where they settled after they immigrated from England in the 1870's. We always visited my Grand parents, and other relatives, every major Holiday, and especially Christmas. Of course as a kid, X-Mas was my Favorite Holiday, because of the gifts, and getting to see my Cousins, which I only saw a few times a year(FYI- I grew up in N.J.). Anyway, one X-mas in the early 1960's- probably around '64 ? We stopped over my Uncle's house in Bethany Ct, and I went looking for my older Boy cousins- Ray and Cliff. I was told they were in their bedroom playing. When I entered their room, I found them sitting on the floor racing these tiny little cars, on this black track, with a slot down each lane, and it was all set-up as a very large road course. THIS, was my first sight of Aurora Model Motoring H.O. Slot Cars ! Suffice to say, I spent the next hour or so, racing Slot Cars for the very first time....and from that moment, the first seed was planted. So here I am, 50 years later, playing with Aurora H.O. slotcars, many of which are 50 years old. And for those who don't know my current hobby, I collect, restore and RACE these old slot Cars, as well as Newer ones. It all started back there, at Uncle Art's house....50 years ago.

[Ralphthe3rd]

Finished up this Wild Ones Cougar over the weekend. It was in for windshield post repairs from being stepped on in it's life time. Otherwise, this body and original chassis were in pristine condition, right down to the OEM Skinny Spongee rear tires ! Luckily, the posts were just cracked, and not missing. But had to do very delicate work to restore the vent window posts which were fubar'd too !


Another easy job that was recently finished and sent out. It came in as an empty body shell, and the body needed split screw posts repaired, as well as fitting a new chassis with the proper wheels for this original Sand Van. Well, the "girls" sure look happy about the end result :)


Finished up this A/FX Specialty last week, it had a missing front bumper/grill....which took me awhile to locate a nice replacement(oem- not repro). And the chassis also has a damaged crown gear, and was missing the screw that holds the tail end of the chassis together tightly. When I replaced the crown gear, I also added a shim to tighten up the mesh, so this 4 Gear would run smoothly for a long time.


And lastly, this Nomad was finished-almost, but is getting ready to be shipped out as- is. It came in missing front and rear bumpers, but I was only able to locate a suitable Front Bumper, and after a month waiting for a Rear to turn up, we decided the customer should get the car back to enjoy, while the search continues for a suitable OEM Rear bumper. Oh, and it's Magna-traction chassis was completely overhauled while it was in the shop as well, it's a real fast and smooth runner now :handgestures-thumbup:

[dge467]

Nice work Ralph! Great looking cars, and the blond looks like Suzanne Somers!