# Tycopro brass pan cars



## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

As a kid, I grew up racing at home using AF/X track and the local hobby shop's Aurora tub track with a mix of AF/X cars and a handful of T-Jets and Tuff-Ones that sold for a whopping $1.75. The hobby shop in my hometown didn't push Tyco's cars - I don't recall seeing their stuff in the display case with all the Aurora cars. I'd only seen them in Christmas catalogs from stores like Penney's. 

I still haven't bought any Tyco cars, but I'm curious about the brass pan Tycopro series (the #66 Chapparal especially). Which type of chassis/pickup combination works the best as far as longevity/replacing contacts? Is maintenance a problem as far as locating parts? How does the handling compare to AF/X cars (mag and non-mag)?


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## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

The Tyco brass pans would typically drive away from our AFX non magnatraction cars. Not as much in handling but with good straightaway speed. Ours had the copper brushes for pickups which I always thought
were the car's weak spot. Son afterwards, the cars came with the little button pickups which were better.

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


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## tonesua (Jul 1, 2006)

Love the Tyco Pros. They are a challenge to drive, but that is the fun. They tend to work well with the blue aurora russkit 80 ohm controllers. They benefit from racing on a non-sectional track. They use the same tire diam. as the Afx, so it's easy to get them hooked up for sillycones.


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

i have half a dozen or so running Tycopros. they are an odd beast. very cool to drive in a retro-nostalgia sort of way. way faster than Tjets, but you gotta get those contacts adjusted juuuuust right and then slow way down in the corners...

--rick


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

Replacement parts are a bit of a pain. I make my own wipers but most of the parts come from junk donors. I don't know anyone making replica parts and you can't swap in AW parts either. Love/hate relationship - love them in the straight, hate them in the corners.


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

We're floor racing on Aurora lock and joiners - 12" curves with a couple banked 9" curves for variety with about a max of 8' of straight for a sprint. Lack of easily obtained parts like pickups/finicky tuning makes it sound like Tycopros might not be the best of choices for my 11 year old and his buddies (and me sometimes) for casual racing. That Chapparal Tyco made sure is pretty, though...


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## tabcomary (Jun 2, 2010)

What material and thickness do you use to make replacement wipers?


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

howlin' hoosier said:


> We're floor racing on Aurora lock and joiners - 12" curves with a couple banked 9" curves for variety with about a max of 8' of straight for a sprint. Lack of easily obtained parts like pickups/finicky tuning makes it sound like Tycopros might not be the best of choices for my 11 year old and his buddies (and me sometimes) for casual racing. That Chapparal Tyco made sure is pretty, though...


HP7 chassis would be better for your purposes, I think... and the Chapparal might even fit. Can anyone confirm/deny that?

--rick


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

The wiper material is Phosphorus Bronze and you want .007" or thinner if you can find it. The TycoPro Chaparral (2D or 2E) will fit the HP-7 chassis, but the tires and rims stick out farther. A little trimming of the tabs behind the traction magnet will allow the rear rims to be pushed in closer and tuck up more under those older bodies. You may need to bend the toe-end of the pick up shoes a bit also to clear the inside of the lower sitting bodies.


-Paul


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

tabcomary said:


> What material and thickness do you use to make replacement wipers?


Phosphorus Bronze but what I have is a bit thicker than original maybe .008? I got it from Bruce Stull @ Scale Shops which looks to have pulled up stakes.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Too delicate then....too delicate now*



howlin' hoosier said:


> We're floor racing on Aurora lock and joiners - 12" curves with a couple banked 9" curves for variety with about a max of 8' of straight for a sprint. Lack of easily obtained parts like pickups/finicky tuning makes it sound like Tycopros might not be the best of choices for my 11 year old and his buddies (and me sometimes) for casual racing. That Chapparal Tyco made sure is pretty, though...


Yeah agreed and definately... really not for kids.

In it's day bout 7/10 ths of a perfect slotcar. Great power, low CG and some really nifty ideas.

Where they came up woefully short was the delicate pick up system, the chassis made from plastic explosive or was it explosive plastic?...and those spindly front outriggers with the sloppy wheel mounting. 

Not gonna wax fondly about the good ole days, when yer Tyco-pro was fubarred it was always a bad day. The foils were as delicate as a moths wings and the button system wasnt more than two cheap pogo sticks scaled to 1/64. Both were fairly gumball so like Rick said... good luck adjusting either. 

The braid conversion works good but has two draw backs. The first is that it requires some modeling/fabrication skills...and the second is that running on sectional track that hasnt had the rail joints massaged/leveled can mutilate a new set of braids in no time.

If your really that interested, take some time and study the Riggen HO cars and follow the archival links around. You can see how to make some changes. There is also a great tutorial for upfixen' der Tyco Pro if I'm not mistaken.


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## tabcomary (Jun 2, 2010)

*Tyco Skins*

I may just solder on a little 0.005 copper sheet. Just enough to keep them running.

Thanks!!!

ps here is our victim. 







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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

Bill hit it head on about those front wheel (spindles???) axles. AJ's used to make a replacement pan that you removed the fragile front wheel holders and the pan had axle bushings built in and came with a solid front axle and aluminum wheel replacements. I have a couple of those on some of the chassis that survived the cannibal racing days of my youth. I'll dig one up and post a pic.

-Paul


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## tabcomary (Jun 2, 2010)

Tyco Pro was more of a curiosity for me. I only had one. It got very little track time, so it still looks pretty good. I have picked-up a few in package-deals. One has the brass buttons. The other two have the copper wipers. One of those is the Chapparal mentioned earlier, but it is missing several parts, and needs some TLC to get back in action.


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## Ralphthe3rd (Feb 24, 2011)

Back in the day, when I was a Kid, I was there to buy the first NEw TycoPro's to come out, and had previously owned tyco S and Aurora T-Jets. Well, suffice to say, everything that everyone else has stated- was true, great in a straight line, but forget the curves ! And when the foils needed tweaking, well I wasn't a tuner at that age, so I quickly traded my one and only tycoPro off, and got one of the New A/FX (pre-magna), and was a very happy little boy and eventually picked up a 2nd A/FX and a few Tuffies. But then I stepped away from slotcars at age 15, and got into 1:1 cars and bikes, and was racing the real deals by age 17.


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

LOL,anybody catch the fact it's for his 11 yr old and his buddies.
Read his first post,he wants something relatively reliable and low maintence

Instead of sending him to Riggen or somewhere else that the cars cost a pile of money,and are not low maintence,why not line him up with the latest offerings from Tyco ,the cheap 4 dollar chassis,they run pretty decent,and parts are easy to get.

Cars are disposable when you are 11,and tinkering isn't usually in the cards yet at that age.:thumbsup:

Remember when you were 11 years old guys,i know that's going back to when god was knee high to a grasshopper for some of you,lol:wave:

But at 11 it's all about speed,so the brass pan stuff should stay put away till they are at least 30,lol


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Post 17


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Hornet said:


> LOL,anybody catch the fact it's for his 11 yr old and his buddies.
> Read his first post,he wants something relatively reliable and low maintence
> 
> Instead of sending him to Riggen or somewhere else that the cars cost a pile of money,and are not low maintence,why not line him up with the latest offerings from Tyco ,the cheap 4 dollar chassis,they run pretty decent,and parts are easy to get.
> ...


I'll fll in some details - my son's really careful with his toys, and he's been really good with his slotcars. He likes putting together cars from parts piles we come up with, both T-Jets and AF/X. Not having messed with any Tyco cars when I was racing, and seeing a few bodies on the early Tycpros that looked pretty good I thought I'd see if they were a viable choice. As for his buddies - they can barely run T-Jets without losing control, so I would have reserved the Tyco's for family only. Sounds like the lack of replacement parts and finicky racing on curves makes me less interested - how do the older Tyco S series cars run/handle, and are parts out there to keep them running?


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## bobwoodly (Aug 25, 2008)

howlin' hoosier said:


> - how do the older Tyco S series cars run/handle, and are parts out there to keep them running?


No secondary supply for Tyco S parts. I'd stay away from old stuff like Tyco S, Atlas, Marx, Lionel. etc. Go with the newer Tyco's, Aurora, AW where parts are plentiful. You can always stick those TycoPro bodies on Tyco Curvehugger chassis which are cheap but have pickups that tend to get grooves. Many of those Tyco bodies are cheap on eBay and you can always cobble then onto an AFX chassis with some modification. There are a crapload of newer Tyco (post Curvehugger) chassis that you can get relatively cheap that are quick and have magnets to help hold them on the track.

Here is a great resource for different chassis pics http://modelmotorist.com/web-content/idchass.jsp


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Maybe have a look at the new Auto World Tjet, Xtraction cars. They have added traction magnets. The kids will be able to keep them on the track better! Plus if you shop around you can find them for a good price.


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## pshoe64 (Jun 10, 2008)

pshoe64 said:


> Bill hit it head on about those front wheel (spindles???) axles. AJ's used to make a replacement pan that you removed the fragile front wheel holders and the pan had axle bushings built in and came with a solid front axle and aluminum wheel replacements. I have a couple of those on some of the chassis that survived the cannibal racing days of my youth. I'll dig one up and post a pic.
> 
> -Paul


Haven't had the chance to dig through the basement to find a sample of the AJs pan, but I did find pictures from an old how-to. It will give you the idea of what it looks like.

-Paul


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## Pat Dennis (Jan 7, 2009)

I hate to counterdict you, but TycoPro wipers were Beryllium Copper - .0025”thick. Beryllium copper was chosen for two major reasons – first being excellent electrical conductivity, secondly, the modulus of elasticity (spring back) and finally, it’s inherit lubricity (high wear resistance and low drag). Many materials and thicknesses were tested before finalizing for production. I am looking at a 25+ foot roll of origianl material on my desk as I write this


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

*One foot*

Pat,
Thanks for the facts.
I could use a foot, would last me a life time? 

HOWL,
Thats the way i was at his age love to tinker, "still do ,Love all the Brass cars". Every Brand can be made faster & handle better depends what you want to put in it. Glad to see he is having fun now instead ,at my age.

SJJ


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Pat - thanks for popping in! In your opinion, what's the most reliable of the various iterations of the TycoPro chassis (wipers/brass button pickups)?


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## Pat Dennis (Jan 7, 2009)

Bill Hall said:


> Yeah agreed and definately... really not for kids.
> 
> In it's day bout 7/10 ths of a perfect slotcar. Great power, low CG and some really nifty ideas.
> 
> ...


Regarding the chassis material for the TycoPro, it was molded in acetyl (Delrin). This material is quite resilient, but sensitive to being cleaned with solvents – causing it to nearly shatter. I have recently found that original manufacturing process of having the pan staking tabs bent in opposing directions (used on the Series 1) that, after nearly 30+ years, has caused chassis to crack at the center body location slots. If we had bent them toward each other, this would have caused compression on the chassis, as opposed to extension (stretching). Ah, hindsight is so accurate.


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## Pat Dennis (Jan 7, 2009)

howlin' hoosier said:


> Pat - thanks for popping in! In your opinion, what's the most reliable of the various iterations of the TycoPro chassis (wipers/brass button pickups)?


The "button" style is most reliable and corner marshal friendly, but the Series 1 BeCU wipers are the most electrically eficient and faster.

Pat


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Pat Dennis said:


> The "button" style is most reliable and corner marshal friendly, but the Series 1 BeCU wipers are the most electrically eficient and faster.
> 
> Pat


Seems like Beryllium Copper finger were used by Gilbert for the reverse units in their American Flyer line of model trains -sturdy with good life as long as they didn't get overheated by a prolonged short.


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Thought I'd update - we now have a couple button pickup style red Ferrari 512s, and a wiper type McClaren in butterscotch. I need to learn the fine art of getting the wipers adjusted so the car loses some front end hop. Our floor layout doesn't have a super long straight, so the Tycos may be somewhat mismatched for our racing, but it's nice to have a few Pros in the fleet.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Go to the Riggen HO site.

You'll find an short article about a small shim/jig that Pat Dennis made so that wipers were uniformly adjusted at the factory....check it!


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Bill Hall said:


> Go to the Riggen HO site.
> 
> You'll find an short article about a small shim/jig that Pat Dennis made so that wipers were uniformly adjusted at the factory....check it!


Thanks - good man Pat D. tipped me to the same article at the Riggen site - I'll see about making one of those jigs up. Given the short length of straights we have, I'm afraid we won't get the full benefit of the Tyco cars on our T-Jet floor track. Still need to find a few of those pretty Chapparal bodies for our fleet.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

howlin' hoosier said:


> Thanks - good man Pat D. tipped me to the same article at the Riggen site - I'll see about making one of those jigs up. Given the short length of straights we have, I'm afraid we won't get the full benefit of the Tyco cars on our T-Jet floor track. Still need to find a few of those pretty Chapparal bodies for our fleet.


It should be noted that the Tyco Pro front tire actually had some height to them. This height allows the "foils" to work correctly within the operative range they were designed for. This window is quite small. Simply to illustrate, take a look at the hanger window of pancake cars. To ballpark it, toss out the top and bottom 5th of that window and the 3/5ths in between is the sweet spot. 

Worn, dry, shrunken, mis-shaped Tyco front skins wreak havoc on handling because they have a direct effect on the sweet spot. O-rings are the popular replacement; but they are not an automatic fix. Care must be taken to size them with enough profile to get the nose out of the dirt. 

A good running foiled car, or any slot car for that matter, should skim along smoothly like a boat on plane when it's properly set up. A Tyco-Pro with good setup and a decent motor should take off immediately, like it was fired from a Wrist Rocket; and then skim along until it runs out of motor or gearing.

Learning to find that sweetspot can be frustrating and it is VERY important to note that snaggles in your track rails and guide slot can make you think your not there.


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## howlin' hoosier (Oct 22, 2006)

Here's a link to Pat's TycoPro pickup/wiper adjustment tool: http://www.riggenho.com/wiperadjust.htm


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## cbwho (Dec 14, 2021)

Using tiny o-rings on the top side of the pogo stick buttons reduces the hop and makes the drive in the corners very well.










Drifting:


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