# Round 2/Aurora Magna-Traction Sprinters.



## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

For about 22 years now I've been racing the old M/T cars on 4 and 6 lane oval tracks with my buddies with various sprint car bodies. We started off with scratch build hard bodies, then in 1987 I began vacuforming bodies from bucks I made based on the M/T chassis. These bodies need no modifications to the chassis. My latest molds (shown) were made in 1988. 










The cars come in three styles; Outlaw, Midget and Super Modified. We have raced them with and without wings built up from plastic sheeting. For the last few years, we've been going without the wings for the most part. The cars actually look really good, like I said, no chassis modification is needed.










In the last almost 20 years I've made maybe 300 or so of these bodies from .010 lexan with a home build vacuformer for the guys I race with, giving most of them away, selling a few for a buck along the way. Between the four of us still racing, we have 8 cars each and everyone starts with a new body each racing season....you can do the math. 

Most of our cars are falling apart. A lot of our BSRT armatures have worn out, we can still find parts at garage sales, on Craigslist and sometimes online, but the other day I was on the Tower Hobbies site and came across the Round 2 X-Traction cars, and almost fell out of my chair. Finally, a source for new running chassis for the new sprint car season. So, for 2007 my club is not only going to go back to the wings but also have a Late Model class too. I'm going to be finally updating my 20 year old molds, and was wondering if anyone knows or has the ability to commercially produce vacuformed bodies for these cars. I'd love to see more of the type of racing we do in other parts of the country.

Our first event is Daytona weekend, the Supers will be hitting the 1/2 mile in Clovis, California for our version of the Copper Classic. I'll be sure to post pictures of the cars and the event.

Great website, I hope that I can become a regular contributor.


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

Welcome to the website :wave:

I like the way the sprints look.

There are some good resin casters on here. Good luck with your racing.

Here's a link to some of Roger's stuff:
http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=168533

'doba


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

Hi Pete and welcome.

Do you have a hobby store in your area that can order from Wizzard or R.E.H.? You could order them from Wizzard yourself. I think they sell them. But your hobby store would have to order them from R.E.H. if you went that route. 

MADD is one maker of these lexan bodies. I hope this helps, Randy.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Randy,

I have a Hobbytown USA locally, and they really don't carry much HO stuff. They do have a great selection of 1/32nd scale since that's what they race in the store. I have been dealing with Gary Beedle and Scale Auto for about 20 years, but BSRT quit making motor parts about 10 years ago. I can still get gold and silver plated shoes, zapped magnets, etc, but most of the first generation of "Mean Green" arms have worn out. About 3 years ago I had a dental plating company redo my best two arms with platiinum hoping that it would last longer...it doesn't. Other online retail sources would be nice too, I rely on Tower and Scale Auto quite a bit.

I like the MADD bodies, but in the past we've raced the Parma Outlaw Firebird. We may do that again or I'll build a buck for a generic outlaw car and we'll race that. The Firebird is pretty dated, but looks close to what's still being raced on the WoO circuit, and that's what we'll be after with our Late Model Division. I've found some good updated pics of sprinters, it seems like a pretty easy update for my body buck, I'll tackle that after Christmas.

We have 4 tracks, mine is a 4 lane A/FX track, with flat wide sweeping corners (15" radius outside, 12" radius inside). Lane 3 is almost 18' so it's judged as a quarter mile scale. We have a 6 lane that is about 22' per lap, and two other 4 lanes, at 28' and 31' per lap. We've tried racing other type of cars like 440X2's but, as funny as it sounds, they're "too fast". Our problem now is the one lap counter and lap timer we all used has pretty much died, and we can't find another good one for less than $150. It timed up to 6 lanes to one thousandth of a second, and would count to 99 laps. If anyone knows of a kit, schematic or an alternative, let me know, we need to replace it before February.

I've been looking around a while, a lot of the guys here are pretty advanced, some are more advanced than we are. I like the resin idea but I'd wonder about the weight. Vacuformed bodies weigh next to nothing, and that could be good or bad. Extra weight could help with traction.


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

pete how much for 1outlaw body and 1 midget body?


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

hey buddy i have a vaccum former $0.50 a body ill do it for im in pennsylvania


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Dunk, I appreciate your offer, but I can do them here for about $0.17 each in .010 lexan. I buy 1' square sheets of .015 lexan for $1 each and once drawn they come out to be a uniform .010. I built my vacuformer about the same time I did the molds (1987) and while time consuming it still works great. I can do about 2 per minute, not exactly mass produced but enough for a small cottage industry like mine. I'll be drawing down bodies again after the first of the year, when I do I'll let you know. I don't want to go retail, I'm retired and I don't want to work that hard again, but I'd consider selling my bucks...if the price was right.  

The only difference between the Outlaw and The Midget is that the Outlaw is smooth sided, the Midget has a header on one side and a flat oval shaped intake cover on the other. It's also marginally shorter. I'm updating the Outlaw with a hood scoop that can be made functional and maybe headers on both sides. I may update the tails of both to look more like nerf bars. Gimme til the end of the year and I'll post the shots of the updates.


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

is there anyway i can buy lexan from you here in pennsylvania lexan is expensive at hobby town $3.59 for 3, 9 by 12inch sheets of .015 lexan i'd sooner pay $1.00 and get 1foot


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Here's the two views of both the Outlaw and Midget as they look now. Remember, these bucks are almost 20 years old. 



















As crude as they look, the bodies they produce look pretty good.


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

Those look awesome....if you could spare 6 minutes...I'd take a dozen...


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

If I can remember the lexan Sprint Car bodies we used for our TOMY SUPER G+ class I'll let you know. 

Some of us used the same bodies for our Poly Magna Traction class but, without the wing. 

We use Racetimer 96' on my Tomy 4' X 16' four lane oval. 15" and 12" radius curves. Just a hair over 33 feet per lap. Randy.


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

My track is built onto a 4 X 8 lunchroom table, easy to transport, legs already installed. Fold it up, lean it against the shop wall when we're done. All of the electrical is run through the bottom and each lane has it's own controller terminal at trackside. The good thing is I can expand my layout to 6 lanes by adding 2 more lanes inside the current setup. 

Randy, they may have been the old Stanton Sprinters, I think Parma used to make them, or Scale Auto. There were I believe 3 different styles of commercially available from Scale Auto back "in the day". None of them fit the A/FX cars very well so I came up with my own. I haven't mentioned the sports car that's in the first picture, I did a couple of those too. The great thing about my vacuformer is I could draw from diecast cars too, so I could do a Fusion off of my 1/64th Matt Kenseth collection stuff...which is a great reason to order that IROC Firebird now!!!


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Pete....

Welcome to the board. :wave: 

I built a vac forming machine out of a pvc floor drain.For lexan,I use lexan lids that I get into the restaurant for take out orders.It works pretty well.

I have used diecast car bodies in the past as bucks.But now I am thinking about making a buck of some type of generic type F1 car for my magnet cars.

I was thinking of making a mold with modeling clay by pressing a diecast car into it,and then filling it with plaster of paris to make the buc.

How do you go about making one????? Im really impressed with the bodies you've made.

Hey,its nice to hear that you have kept at it for 22 years now.I think that there are a lot more guys out there that do it the way you guys do.
It just goes to show you,in the world of HO slot car racing,the sun does not rise and set on what the guys in organized racing are doing.

Mike


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Mike, 22 years is a long time and really since '87 our tech hasn't changed much. But for me that was 2 wives, 4 kids and 2 dogs ago. We originally had 8 guys racing, one died in Desert Storm, two are in jail, and one just sort of drifted away. The 4 of us remaining are all mid-40's and either retired or semi retired from our jobs. This is our hobby. 

The sprinter bucks were hand made using sheet styrene that was .015 thick, gap filling super glue and green putty. They took about a week each, and have held up well to being continually heated by the lexan, they have never warped. I've made other bucks like you're talking, the relief method. Plaster works OK, but consider a resin like for fiberglass, it lasts longer, and only gets stronger when heated. Remember that any detailing you do, like the rock shields on the right side of my cars, needs to be exaggerated for the details to show up well. 

I'm lucky in that I have a great plastics shop locally, Precision Plastics in Clovis is where I get my supplies, but K&S Brass also makes a material called Buturol <sp> I believe. It's a clear plastic that has a lower melting point than Lexan, is still pretty tough and all polycarbonate paints work with it very well. I used it for a long time with good effect, some of my own older cars have those bodies on them. 

My vacuformer is a pretty simple device based on the old Mattel model design. It's an air box with a hole to hook up a hose to my old vacuum, and a rack that holds the plastic sheet. 










Made from 1/8" leaxn itself, the box is 4" high, 6" wide and about 4" deep. The deck is drilled every 1/2" to provide the vacuum. I have a small raised area to set the buck on, usually secured by two-sided tape or clay. I use a toaster oven to heat my sheets, I put the rack (not shown) with the plastic clamped to it with metal butterfly clamps in and watch for it to begin to sag, about 10 seconds or so, then quickly remove it, and place it over my mold. The vacuum is already running so it's less than a second and it's done. I keep it on the mold for about 5-10 seconds to cool, pop it out and reload. I have two of the racks, one is being loaded while I'm using the other one. I'm teaching my 16 year old nephew how to do it so I can just turn him loose when it comes time to do bodies again.

When I use a diecast I'll mount the car with modeling clay, and make sure the area under the car is well filled in. I have an '04 Taurus, '05 Monte Carlo and an '05 Charger buck made with the relief method already, using casting resin for the permanent buck. I may do my Oulaw Late Model the same way, just alter an existing buck for our new car. 

Vacuforming is really a simple process, and while we don't have the outstanding detailing the resin guys get they are lighter. Still....those old stockers make my mouth water...

BTW, this was the winner of the 2006 CCRA (now CRMA) series, this body is actually from 1991 and hasn't been replaced.


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## vaBcHRog (Feb 19, 2003)

Pete McKay said:


> Randy,
> 
> I have a Hobbytown USA locally, and they really don't carry much HO stuff. They do have a great selection of 1/32nd scale since that's what they race in the store. I have been dealing with Gary Beedle and Scale Auto for about 20 years, but BSRT quit making motor parts about 10 years ago. I can still get gold and silver plated shoes, zapped magnets, etc, but most of the first generation of "Mean Green" arms have worn out. About 3 years ago I had a dental plating company redo my best two arms with platiinum hoping that it would last longer...it doesn't. Other online retail sources would be nice too, I rely on Tower and Scale Auto quite a bit.



Pete try Jag Hobbies he has all the parts for M/T, RTHO has mean green arms and some other goodies and on the board is JCJ oer Slot Car Johnnies he has any part you wanty including the all the good looking original AFX wheels.

Roger Corrie


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Excellent!!! I should have a pretty good order put together by mid January. We're having our Christmas party tomorrow, the guys will love this site.


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

i have over 300 holes on my vaccum former


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

LOL!! I don't think I have enough vacuformer to have 300 holes in it. Mines pretty small, one body at a time, and Okie built to boot. I counted 60 1/16" holes in mine.


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

how do you heat your plastic rate now im using a map-gas torch


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

Toaster oven set on broil. I have a special black light that I watch for the plastic to begin to sag in the part that holds the plastic sheet. It's pretty much trial and error at first, I'll ruin 4 or 5 squares of lexan before I get the timing down.


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## Mike(^RacerX^) (Mar 15, 2003)

Pete thanks for the info man.I appreciate it.

With my Rube Goldberg PVC floor drain vac former,I clamp the piece in under the lexan lid.Then I have it hooked to an Orek hand vac.You know,the one that that bald dude picks up a bowling ball with on TV in the ad.

Then I hit it with a 1500 watt blow dryer on high.I can regulate the heat pretty well that way.Ive had good results.But,like I said,I just want to do a buck or two of a generic F1 type car.

Again,thanks for the info.I may try it out tomorrow,depending on how far I get on this casting my own tires out of silicone project I am working on.

Mike


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## Dunk2011 (May 21, 2006)

Toaster oven set on broil. I have a special black light that I watch for the plastic to begin to sag in the part that holds the plastic sheet. It's pretty much trial and error at first, I'll ruin 4 or 5 squares of lexan before I get the timing down.


i used to just get the toaster oven 500 degrees 5 seconds lexan cooled by the time it hit the table so dad showed me how to work the torch perfect everytime with that (might not be a good idea for a plastic former) mines wood


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

I'm getting ready to throw my Late Model buck, I've been looking at the McAllister Late Models, I like the Terra Hautre version. Time to break out the gap filling super glue and zip kicker...


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## Pete McKay (Dec 20, 2006)

The Late Model buck is done, but unfortunately production of the vacuformed bodies has been delayed for a couple of reasons.

Here's a few of the development pictures for the buck:

The basic car shape was hammered out using .015 sheet styrene and gap filling super glue, width was limited to just under 1 1/4" so it wouldn't vacuform out wider than 1 5/16". I looked at a few different types of cars and they all shared the similar curve shown here.










After sanding and smoothing I began adding the detaling, like the roof pillars, side and rear windows and the rear wing. The raised relief will allow representation of the windows on the finished body.



















More sanding was done and shaping of the roof panels and wheel locators. After these pics were made the first of 3 coats of gloss gold primer was applied, sanded and reapplied. The gloss gold shows all the rough imperfections that need to be sanded and filled. After all of those imperfections are fixed a semi gloss black primer is applied and again wet sanded with 400, then 600 grit sandpaper. When completed I'll shoot it with a thin coat of Emron clear for strength against repeated heating.

The unfortunate delay in producing this body is because the heater element in my toaster oven burned out making Thanksgiving rolls. Nobody told me, so now I have to buy another one shortly after New Years. The other delay is that both my plastics sources are also out of stock, again, until after New Years. 

I may yet do some more work to the body, as it is now it's a generic Monte Carlo/Mustang roof line, I would love to have it be a Ford Fusion, but they are what they are, an abstract representation of any car at best. If I were to remove the top pillars it could be anything, and that's something I'm also considering before I begin the molding process.


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