# Converting Ideal TCR to pinned slot car, advice please



## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

I've been fiddling with this idea for a while, and finally picked up an old Ideal slotless to start with. 

The ideal's appeal to me because they offer mid 70s stock car bodies, and I just loooove lagunas. The TCRs are so cheap and it looks like a simple conversion to slotted, glue the steering and add a pin. 

Anyway I'm wondering if anyone can offer the pros and cons of different slot pins I could drill this car for. What kinds are good for thick bosses versus thin bosses.

Also wondering the pros and cons of pin location, I've got a fair amount of freedom to move it fore & aft. What kind of handling characteristics will result?

thanks!


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## jensen b (Nov 3, 2009)

440s-4ever said:


> I've been fiddling with this idea for a while, and finally picked up an old Ideal slotless to start with.
> 
> The ideal's appeal to me because they offer mid 70s stock car bodies, and I just loooove lagunas. The TCRs are so cheap and it looks like a simple conversion to slotted, glue the steering and add a pin.
> 
> ...


Do you want to convert the car or the chassis?

If its the chassis I have no idea

If its the car fabricate the motor mounts and clip your favoured chassis in (Tyco I believe)


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Fergot I even had this...this might help*










Not exactly what you had in mind.

Kinda depends on what your after, but a key slot retainer like an AFX was my choice and proved itself to be workable and offered other some options. 

Remove the tie rod carefully. Find your center and drill a pilot hole. I chose to be forward to allow full oversteer...the stock shoes with the paddle style contact patch are part of the idea. You can move the pin pretty much where ever you want along the centerline (within reason)...but I wanted the tail to be free and loose. 

Cut an entrance slot for the guide. Keep it tight! Then open the hole up incremmentally until the guide drops in nicely. You'll have to choose if your gonna keep the steering or not. A metallic pin of the non reversable style will snap right in because they are kinda thin on top. Then just drop the tie rod in and secure it any way you chose... or leave the tie rod out and secure the king pins individually. 

I went with the flag guide and kept the steering. The hole in the key slot must be relieved to allow free pivot. The tierod's under side must be thinned AS WELL AS the head of the flag to allow clearance so everything moves freely. The steering pins were installed by pre-drilling the guide a hair undersize and then pressing them in.

This car doesnt get run much...but not because it's crappy! It's WAAAAAY over kill for my short track. I removed the diff final drive and poked a standard G-plus in...I needed the brakes! She'll bark the tires and pound into the turns beautifully with the independent wheels and front steering. Kinda eery at first.

All in all, one of my favorite chassis perversions. It was simple. It took very little time. Cost next to nuthin'... and best of all makes me laugh like a little boy every time I pull the trigger....I'm gonna run it today! Thanx 440!


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Nice idea Bill, thank for posting that!

Does anyone know the boss thicknesses of different guide pins, or a link to a chart?


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

That looks like a Tyco TCR, is it not, Bill?

On the Ideal chassis, I would model the location of the pin comparable to the Tyco
440x2 Pan chassis, or HP7 chassis in the long wheel base positions. Tyco moved the axles 
forward for the LWB and the pin set more towards the middle of the wheelbase. 
I believe there are some rivets in the Ideal chassis close to Tycos location.
Having the pin behind the front wheels seems to settle the car down a bit.
Piano wire inserted into the rivet may make a good guide pin.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

For the Tyco TCR chassis I converted to slotted, I used #18 wire nails for the guide pin. Mine are 5/8" long, so they needed to be cut to size with a Dremel. The best way I found to do this was to find a piece of wood which was the exact thickness for the length of pin I needed. I put the pin in the wood and cut off whatever was sticking out. I made a whole lot of them; once you get set up, it takes no time at all to cut the nails.

Joe


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

The ideal chassis are different but which handling characteristic would you prefer on a non-magnet car????

Option A, fixed steering and a pin slightly behind the axle.

Option B, completely free steering with a pin in front of the axle. 

The catch with leaving steering intact is ideal uses a springy centering mechanism on the steering. The springy thing's got to go in order for a pin to be placed there.

I'll add the front tires are hard plastic like a hot wheels, not rubber covered like most slots


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Hey 440,
These are, by far, my favorite slotless chassis.
Slip on silicons really liven them up, and the free rolling action ensures they are always on track.
The steering mechanism up front doesn't actually "work". What keeps these cars in one lane
or another is the polarity of power, which drives either the left or the right rear wheels.
That means, on a slotted track, if you spin the car around it will continue to drive forward.

I looked at one of these chassis tonight. I still say your best bet is a pin in that center rivet.
The rivet location is about 5/16 behind what the pin location is on a LWB Tyco, but, 
the rear of the chassis is so heavy with those steel wheels, it just might work better in that position.
If you place the pin too far forward, the rear facing shoes will slide off the rails in the turns.

So I guess I would say, Option C:

I've been wanting to do something like this, but I never got a round tuit.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Are you talking about the rivet that holds the shoe strip in place? That sucker really is mid-car. 

So that oddball differential out back will make this function like a tyco U turn chassis when guide pinned? Cool!

It appears there's 2 kinds of MK1 TCRs, those with silicones, and those with the tires rotted off.

The rear shoes initially concerned me but I'm thinking they'll be somewhat of a failsafe if driven properly. Car slides too much and it loses power, forward motion then pulls it back to center where it can throttle up.


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## rbrunne1 (Sep 22, 2007)

See the pictorial from Slot Car Central (TCR's start half-way down the page)

http://slotcarcentral.com/drupal-5/slotless-to-slotted


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Interesting stuff R1. Looks like an easy conversion for the Tyco TCR.
I didn't see any info on the Ideal TCR.


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## 1scalevolvo (Feb 5, 2004)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Interesting stuff R1. Looks like an easy conversion for the Tyco TCR.
> I didn't see any info on the Ideal TCR.


 "I didn't see any info on the Ideal TCR " You are not missing anything !!

I find it easier just to adapt The Ideal TCR Body to the TYCO 440 X-2 WIDE chassis. I use a junk Tyco 440 Wide Chassis as a "Jig " to fabricate the body mounts with plastruct & they click on to the chassis like a factory Fit.They also look like they were made to run on the TYCO chassis .
The Ideal TCR chassis was not even a good slotless chassis let alone a slotted conversion.
The TYCO TCR chassis is from the only Slotless system that was worth a $#!+ & that is why it makes a decent conversion.Please LMK if you need any more information .

 Neal:dude:


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

I don't want to remount the bodies, it's more of a what-if question I'd like to answer for myself. If it's fun to drive or exceptionally easy to drive then definitely making a few more. 

What kind of glue would you guys use for something like a pin thru the rivet? I have a kazillion types of trim nails and will go that route. Gorilla glue?


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I would tap a trim nail snugly into the rivet, and then cut to fit with a dremel.
Kinda like a pressed in thing.


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## cwbam (Feb 8, 2010)

1scalevolvo do you have any photos of the conversions and body mounts?


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Well, now I've done it. Literally. Inserted a brad thru the center rivet hole and trimmed to length as a pin. Since the rear tires are rotted off I've kinda pushed it around a little and like nxt says, it functions like a U turn slot. Sure looks like a viable slot car!

Once the holiday shopping eases up I'll buy some tires and keep you guys posted


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