# Vibrator/TJET/AFX



## Hoganflagle (Sep 21, 2019)

Hi;

Doing catch up. Having gone through my father's box of stuff I have discovered several Vibrator chassis. I have now discovered that the majority of car shells in the collection must be to the vibrator cars as the TJet front wheels don't fit correctly on the shells. I rec'd two AFX cars today and noticed that some visual improvements are the bodies snap on and the guide post is attached and rotates. 

I won't be attempting to revive the vibrator cars. Am I correct in assuming that the TJets and AFX run on same track/power/controllers? Also side by side would the AFX run faster than TJets? Trying to get a feel on how much effort to put into the TJets over using AFX cars.

Opinions?


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

stock AFX will generally be faster and handle better than most T-Jets.
they run on the same track and can use the same power supplies and controllers.

notice the T-Jet chassis has a set of three axle holes in the front and that axle can be moved to accommodate different wheel length bodies.

I know very little about vibrators. they originally ran on AC current but can run on DC.
the T-Jets and AFX and all modern slot cars run on DC.

the decision whether to run either is completely personal and there are many opinions.
you maybe should investigate Auto World slot cars, they have a dot traction magnet installed that helps with handling and have replicas of both the T-jets and AFX along with Specialty (4-gear top plate) chassis.

you are starting on an interesting journey that has many twists and turns.

soon, there will be others that have good opinions and different experiences posting.

keep asking your questions.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

The vibrator cars were originally Playcraft Highways cars that were introduced in 1959, they were designed by Derek Brand and were actually in 1:76th scale. There were only two Playcraft Highways sets, an oval and a figure 8. Aurora sold the sets under the Model Motoring name starting in 1960. HO slot cars were not popular in England and Playcraft Highways soon disappeared. The Thunderjet cars were introduced in 1963 and the A/FX cars came out in 1971, Derek Brand designed the Thunderjet and had a hand in the A/FX design as well. 1972 was the last year for the Thunderjet cars. Aurora came out with the AFX Magnatraction cars at the end of 1974, they had tall motor magnets to give them a measure of magnetic downforce and were Aurora's last pancake type car. The Johnny Lightning/Auto World X-Traction car is a close copy of the Aurora Magnatraction.


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## twolff (May 11, 2007)

I recall reading that the origins of the Vibrator cars were for use with HO model railroading. But, don't ask me cite a source. It has been a while. I've never run one and would likely sell or trade any that came into my possession. I'm not a collector and own the cars/chassis I do because I like them or like the way they run.

The chassis that becomes your favorite depends on weather or not you race with other people or just run @ home for fun. All of them handle somewhat differently and require different tuning methods. 

My favorite is a well tuned TycoPro with the button pickups and Weird Jack's tires on the rear. The inconsistency of the pickups and the way the tires wear in (and back out) give a feel for how a full scale car's performance would vary over a long run. Not a good car for competitive racing, but a blast to run killing an evening with a few beers or a scotch or two. It also drives like a bigger scale slot car.

Next would be the first version of the AFX chassis (non-magnatraction) with Weird Jack's tires and a BRE Datsun 510 body that rattles on the chassis.


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## Hoganflagle (Sep 21, 2019)

twolff said:


> . Not a good car for competitive racing, but a blast to run killing an evening with a few beers or a scotch or two.


One of the few times where it is ok to drink and drive.:smile2:


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

The early cars were intended to be part of an HO train layout, note the term "Highways". The track sections use highway markings. It took Aurora a while to come out with actual racing cars like the Ferrari GTO. I'll bet that it did not take people very long to discover that you could race the cars. I first saw the vibrator cars in a local store that had a toy department in the basement.


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