# Ran some of my original T-jets today



## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

I bought a new Life like slot car set yesterday and I decided to put my black '69 Torino and '68 Charger T-jets on the track and give them a spin.I cleaned the pick-up shoes with an eraser and lightly oiled the gears.They both ran well but it takes a lot more skill to race them as opposed to my AFX Magnatraction,G-plus,Tyco HP-7 and Magnum 440 cars.I could tell that the motors have more power than can be utilized due to the thin T-jet tires.Amazing how 40 plus year old slot cars can just take off with just a little maintence!


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## Marty (Oct 20, 1999)

Original T-Jets are the BEST!

Have fun!

Marty
Marysville, OH


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

They run surprisingly fast but they do tend to slid out a lot.Still Aurora got it right back in the day!


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

Your not kidding Paul. Really had em right. Thats why they have such a HUGE following!!!!

Seriously!! Some guys around here get annoyed at the fact that they can't sell anything BuT T-Jets!!!lmao!!!!


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

The Torino is much faster than the Charger!It funny that sometimes one car will jump into the other lane so both cars run in the same lane .Wild!That almost never happens with the magnet-equipped cars.


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## jph49 (Nov 20, 2003)

You might try sanding the original t-jet tires just a bit. It will get the gloss off and expose some "fresh" rubber. I recently ran some of my cars with the skinny orginal tires and was surprised at how well they hooked up.

Patrick


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

I'll give that a try.Does Autoworld sell T-jet tires?A new set of pick-up shoes may be handy also!


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

philo426 said:


> I'll give that a try.Does Autoworld sell T-jet tires?A new set of pick-up shoes may be handy also!


I would replace them with new silly skinny's or you can get some newer JL or AW skinny's and true em up with some emery cloth or a fine piece of sand paper. But remember to keep the paper perfectly flat to get em even and then kinda roll the edges so they don't hop off the rails in turns.

There are a ton of guys selling repro tires, skinny or fat.


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes i checked Autoworld and they do sell a kit with pick-up shoes and tires!


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

philo426 said:


> Yes i checked Autoworld and they do sell a kit with pick-up shoes and tires!


Philo,

I think the Autoworld Pit Kit will have the wide "Tuff Ones" style rear tires that won't fit original skinny tired T-jets. You might want to check out Weird Jack's Rocket Science lookalike replacements for T-jet tires. They are silicone, and have a bit of extra width, so they improve the handling. 

Have fun with your T-jets. (It's hard not to).

Cheers, :wave:
--- D


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Not only will they have the ucky boot rubber tire in the Tuffy size...the pick ups that are included will require a slight re-bend just before the shoe hook to better emulate the geometry of the original t-jet shoe.

As for running cars...it's still the best part of the hobby for me. Periodically I'll select a group of cars and run them around, maybe tinker or tune a bit, and enjoy the hell out of it.

It's the part that keeps me coming back after all these years.


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## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

Funny thing about running the old originals, they seemed to have run better back in the day. Guess it was my youthfulness and lack of today's technology to know any better. Heck, we used to run those banked turns with those skiiny hard a** tires and had a blast. I wonder now how they ever made it around those loops. :freak: Never had a set to try, but I guess that explains why so many of those old original bodies had the scars on the roof.  rr


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

roadrner said:


> Heck, we used to run those banked turns with those skiiny hard a** tires and had a blast. I wonder now how they ever made it around those loops. :freak:


A nice long straightaway leading in, helped a lot. It wasn't always enough, but it helped a lot.  If you lifted a bit early in anticipation of the next curve, you'd see your '67 Galaxie slow a bit, and the tail would begin to droop and you weren't going to get it back. If you were lucky, you _might_ make it round crabwise, but more likely, you'd watch it slide or roll down into the gutter. It was like a slo-mo version of Arte Johnson's tricycle on Laugh-In. (Sorry, youngsters, but, shockingly, I can't find a clip on the web.). 

And if you were very unlucky, your gleefully vindictive wife's yellow T-bird on the inside lane would have dropped back a car length or two, just so she could T-bone you on the way down. :freak:

-- D


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

Dslot said:


> A nice long straightaway leading in, helped a lot. It wasn't always enough, but it helped a lot.  If you lifted a bit early in anticipation of the next curve, you'd see your '67 Galaxie slow a bit, and the tail would begin to droop and you weren't going to get it back. If you were lucky, you _might_ make it round crabwise, but more likely, you'd watch it slide or roll down into the gutter. It was like a slo-mo version of Arte Johnson's tricycle on Laugh-In. (Sorry, youngsters, but, shockingly, I can't find a clip on the web.).
> 
> And if you were very unlucky, your gleefully vindictive wife's yellow T-bird on the inside lane would have dropped back a car length or two, just so she could T-bone you on the way down. :freak:
> 
> -- D


hahahahahaha!actually had my gal on the track the other night and she kind of got it...kind of...lol!made me laugh D!
:wave:


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes because lets face it:THe modern cars hold the track so well it is possible to floor it all the way around and the cars won't fall off or slide out.The older T-jets seem to perform more realistically and will slide out and come out of the slot if you aren't careful.Makes for a more fun and challenging racing experience even if the speeds are not as high.


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

yep.i take the traction mags out of all my 1/32 cars for this same reason.makes it more fun IMHO


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

philo426 said:


> Yes because lets face it:THe modern cars hold the track so well it is possible to floor it all the way around and the cars won't fall off or slide out.The older T-jets seem to perform more realistically and will slide out and come out of the slot if you aren't careful.Makes for a more fun and challenging racing experience even if the speeds are not as high.


shameless plug,
try Mittens @ parklane Hobbies..
&
Bud's HO
4 parts...

Bubba


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

OK!I'll keep it in mind!


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## foxkilo (Mar 27, 2008)

To make it even more real you have to run converted tjets with diecast tops.
They are a bit slower but make up for it by an even more realistic slide and roll into the ditch. A spectacular sight to behold. It is like out of the bend in slo-mo.

Mario


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Dslot said:


> (snip)
> 
> And if you were very unlucky, your gleefully vindictive wife's yellow T-bird on the inside lane would have dropped back a car length or two, just so she could T-bone you on the way down. :freak:
> 
> -- D


HAHAHAHAHHAHAHA this made me LOL, especially since I have a yellow T-bird convertible that I got with the driver's head missing, so I replaced it with a woman's head from a model railroad figure. Now I play the Beach Boys' "Fun, Fun, Fun" every time I run it. 

Also, I need to set up a track with a bank. 

--rick


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

Yes I hope to find a High-bank curve set!Life like makes conversion track for both TYco and AFX so I have options!


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

philo426 said:


> Yes I hope to find a High-bank curve set!Life like makes conversion track for both TYco and AFX so I have options!


Lifelike makes banked curves, so you don't need to use a conversion track. Lifelike 12" banked curves are available in packages of four. You should be able to find them on a few websites, including Walthers. Just be aware that the Lifelike 12" bank has a wall between the lanes to prevent the car in the high lane from coming down. It also has a built in outside wall.

Lifelike also made a 9" banked curve, but to my knowledge it only came in a few sets. I believe the Disney Test Track set may have them. You'll have a hard time finding these.

Joe


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## philo426 (Mar 4, 2009)

Thanks!


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## A/FX Nut (May 28, 2004)

Bill Hall said:


> Not only will they have the ucky boot rubber tire in the Tuffy size...the pick ups that are included will require a slight re-bend just before the shoe hook to better emulate the geometry of the original t-jet shoe.
> 
> As for running cars...it's still the best part of the hobby for me. Periodically I'll select a group of cars and run them around, maybe tinker or tune a bit, and enjoy the hell out of it.
> 
> It's the part that keeps me coming back after all these years.



I know where Bill is coming from. I'll go downstairs to run about half a dozen Thunderjets. But two hours later and about 20 to 30 cars sitting on the infield of my track, I can't quit.

The Original Aurora Thunderjets have become my favorite. When I buy one from Bob's Hobby Shop or the antique mall, I feel I'm rescuing it.

Randy.


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