The latest and maybe greatest...

Jobe Wednesday, 5/11/2011

Jump to last page

Thought I'd share some of my latest mild customs and modifieds...

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Datsun Bluebird, stripped bare rolling on FTE's

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Christmas edition Ranchero, rolling on 5 spokes...looks so much better.

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
69 chevelle in primer, want to do some detail painting on this one

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Back to the Future, even faster on FTE's

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Ice Cream truck, with new fade paint job and FTE's. Too top heavy down the track though.

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Couple of Ferrari's I painted for a friend and racing regular of mine who had a baby boy.

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Wheel swaps on a couple of Ferrari's...looks pretty sweet!

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
This is my first modified, the Ambulance, now wearing new faded paint job and more weight.
One of the kids this weekend dropped it in the gravel after testing it on the 50' track.
Back to stripping it and repaint, and adding more weight...this is going to Nashville!

Diecast Cars, Hot Wheels, Matchbox
Tonights work. Car on the right is stock, left is modified...can you tell?
One of the things I picked up from Jason this weekend...find a car with solid windows, paint them black, remove the interior and fill it with weight! The BMW was one I had that fit the bill. Stripped the interior and filled with with nickles and clay. My most expensive mod yet...it has 25 cents in it!


Discussion

Page 1 of 2

Question for you, I see that a few of the cars that have the FTE wheels, you can see the axle sticking out and beyond the wheel (Delorian, Van, and Ice Cream Truck). Do you see this slowing your cars down on the track? I did a mod once by just changing the wheels and I had this and it seemed like at times the car would get "loose" on the track and would scrub off the speed by going side to side at times.

View member profile
Jobe 5/11/11

Not that I've noticed. I think you want a little play between the chassis and the end of the axle. If there is too much play then yes I think you might have a point. I would be more concerned about the chassis not being wide enough and the wheels coming inboard and the body rubbing on the side of the track. I do try to center the axle best I can before I glue the axles onto the chassis...but it's no exact science.

View member profile
redlinederby 5/11/11
Site manager

I need to finish my Super Van for Nashville...I have the FTEs on. I need to find a nice weight and then toss on some paint. It's not going to be a great looking car. I started with a Bluebird too but the extra space in the van posed a new challenge for me so I went with that...I'll probably regret when I get smashed on the 50-footer.

I've been putting extra weight (in pennies) in the back of my van but it doesn't seem to roll any better than a stock Super Van. Anyone have any thoughts on where to put weight to get a good balance? I know back/rear is best in terms of straight up physics but what have you guys found in real life?

View member profile
Jobe 5/11/11

Brian

When I first built it, I had two chunks of wheel weights glued to the inside roof. That was it and it was creaming everything I had. The benefit of the 50' track is that they have longer to gain speed, just a big push off the gate like our tracks...it makes a huge difference. I've modified my track to allow me to set it up as a big slope to do some testing

And ditch the pennies and step up to nickles!

View member profile
JDC442 5/11/11

View member profile
JDC442 5/11/11

Once again Jobe, you've outdid yourself. The Zamac 510 with FTEs looks super sharp. I received the Ranchero for Christmas, and wasn't a fan of the stock wheels either. The metallic orange paint with the fade looks fantastic. I hope my first custom I'm planning to send to Nashville doesn't get laughed off the table when it's compared to the competition.

Aw damn..... I'm gonna have to watch out for those 25 cent racers, lol.

I love the scratches on the van, it adds character!

View member profile
redlinederby 5/12/11
Site manager

Yeah, Jobe, don't be such a collector! Dents and dings are part of the fun

Brian

When I first built it, I had two chunks of wheel weights glued to the inside roof. That was it and it was creaming everything I had. The benefit of the 50' track is that they have longer to gain speed, just a big push off the gate like our tracks...it makes a huge difference. I've modified my track to allow me to set it up as a big slope to do some testing

And ditch the pennies and step up to nickles!

But you also have more room to slow down on the straightaway with the weight dragging you down. I modded up a Matchbox armored truck with Vega FTE wheels and lots of weight in the back/middle area of the truck. I have entered this 3 times in my 48 foot league track against normal FTE cars and it kicks a$$ on the downhill portion and is always in the lead, but once it gets to the straight away most FTE cars just blow it by. I can only think that this track doesn't have enough of a slope to keep the speed high enough to compensate for the weight/drag that it produces on a long straight away. But, this is the only attempt that I have done. I may try it out on Jason's track when he comes to Iowa to see how it does on that track.

But you also have more room to slow down on the straightaway with the weight dragging you down. I modded up a Matchbox armored truck with Vega FTE wheels and lots of weight in the back/middle area of the truck. I have entered this 3 times in my 48 foot league track against normal FTE cars and it kicks a$$ on the downhill portion and is always in the lead, but once it gets to the straight away most FTE cars just blow it by. I can only think that this track doesn't have enough of a slope to keep the speed high enough to compensate for the weight/drag that it produces on a long straight away. But, this is the only attempt that I have done. I may try it out on Jason's track when he comes to Iowa to see how it does on that track.

Check to see if anything is rubbing the wheels. I had a car that performed similarly and it turned out one wheel would drag a little once the full weight was on it. If you flipped it upside down, you'd never know there was any contact.

Also, make sure your axles are fixed to the base. That will usually do the trick.

View member profile
redlinederby 5/12/11
Site manager

I just need to design a car that can shift its weight from back-to-front as it goes down the hill into the straightaway. I'm gonna get right on that. Hmmmm...

View member profile
Jobe 5/12/11

Make sure you suspend the chassis when you glue the axles on as well...so the wheels/axles hang down while the glue is drying. This will help keep the wheels from rubbing on the body under weight. I have a couple of small wooden blocks I set mine one, even the top of a model paint bottle works too.


to join the conversation or sign-up now