# just an idea



## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

I was laying awake in bed the other night (I often do). Anyway I was wondering if anybody has ever made a car chassis with 2 guide pins or flags. One in front & one in thae back. I thought about this for a bit & came to realize it would not work because it would bind in the corner & just deslot or stall.

Then I thought about it more & thought what if the rear guide was in a arching slot so that is able to slide in the arc as the car is turning? Seems like it might work I dunno. But I would have to think if a dummy like me thought of this surely some company has & it did not work.

Also while thinking of this I came up with another idea. This one being that the track itself has a slot that runs up & down like usual but underneath the surface of the track it has a slot that runs even with the track surface. Then the guide pin on the chassis itself looks like the one that actually hooks into the chassis but it hooks into the track itself. With holes built into the straights so you can take the car on & off the track. You could also use a regular guide flag or pin for more of a challenge. It just be a double ended guide.

Combine these ideas & you would have cars that do not fly off the track or spin out. But they will slide because there would be very little use magnets. I was just thinking about this because kids would benefit from this type of system because they can run it around the track & drift or slide around the corners w/o the car falling off the track. But to get faster they will have to keep the car straight. By letting off in the corners.

Man this seemed shorter in my head. Just things I think that may help keep the hobby more appealing to kids & parents alike.


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## tasman (Feb 17, 2007)

I remember some T-jets had a red plastic pin that screwed in the back post.


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## clydeomite (May 5, 2004)

Waaaaaay Back in the stone age of slot cars. Cox made a "T" guide for commercial tracks that would help keep the car slotted. Waaaay back then we needed all the help we could get with Rocks for tires and Waaay tooo much power. Of course I am talking 1/24th scale & 1/32nd scale But yes it has been " Experimented" and worked to a degree. Until better tire compounds became available. Beside that is the purpose of slot cars to develop " eye hand coordination" :thumbsup:. More Geritol pleez....
Clyde-0-Mite


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## sjracer (May 25, 2008)

The Tyco wheelie cars had two


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

Fostbitten,
TYCO made a set with a t slot in track & car had a c shape pin front & back. There was a place in the track that you put the car on & off at.
The new Tyco/Mattel Harry potters come with front & back guide pins.
SJJ


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## beast1624 (Mar 28, 2009)

Didn't the US-1 trucking vehicles and the old Aurora semi's have front and rear guide pins?


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

See I knew somebody came up with these ideas. But did they do both at the same time?

I have another idea about combining video games & slot cars. But I might hold on to that one. I want to have a Skywaitress someday.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

FOSTBITTEN said:


> See I knew somebody came up with these ideas. But did they do both at the same time?
> 
> I have another idea about combining video games & slot cars. But I might hold on to that one. I want to have a Skywaitress someday.


not 2 worry, build a better mouse-trap, & people w/ beat a path 2 u'r door
Frostbitten ;-)

experiment, experiment, experiment....
just keep plenty of band-aids & u'r health/med Ins. paid up ;-)

Bubba 123 :wave:


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

The early Aurora cars had an optional back guide pin. If you look at the old steering wheel controllers, they had a reverse switch so you could back your car up. The US-1 trucks and the Aurora semi trucks had lots of pins, as do the racing rigs. Those sets (Big Ryder among others) and the US-1 sets had reverse switches too, allowing you to back the trucks up to loading docks, etc.


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

Yeah I remember those trucks. But my Idea is more like a "floating" pin it would just pivot along the track on the chassi itself. Like push-block for a table saw, the ones where you can adjust the angle from 90 degrees to pos.& neg. 45 degrees. 

I think this should allow for a more controlled drift/slide without spinning out or deslotting. It could hide in that space between the body & chassis. Or it could even be made into the body itself.


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Artin HO cars had inverted "T" shaped pins. You could change it out for the "expert pin", which was a standard straight pin. They also had the provision for a rear pin of either type.

The Tyco Extreme chassis had a plastic guide that hooked over the "slot". Probably something like a monorail.

Others have mentioned the Aurora red rear pin and multiple pins on the rigs.

What I have wanted to experiment with are different shaped/sized guide pins for use with plastic track. Small, thin pins can get snagged in track joints. There are many alternate designs I have contemplated which I think would smooth out cars on plastic track without changing the handling characteristics.

Joe


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

I like that Grand CS that is one I have not thought of. And you are right it would be something that may help alot with the pin sticking in the gaps of the track. What about like a nylon peg that would be just a little bit smaller than the slot itself. Then there would less moving around in the slot itself. Because if a thin pin is on the left side of the slot & then the car gets to a left turn it would more than likely slam into the right side of the of the slot. With a pin that has less movement in the slot itself would have to help in the same scenario I listed above.

I have been thinking about why p/u shoes face forward. I would like to see if having them reversed would help with bent shoes. They just mount the way mount now except in reverse. Larger scale cars use braids that mount to the front & drag along the rails. But now that I think about this idea it may not work because it may adversly affect the cars handling. Being that the shoe dragging the track is closer to the middle of the car. 

Again if I thought of this somebody else has probably thought this too in the last 50 years.


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

didn't Tyco Pro and another Tyco use wiper brass shoes that were attached in front?
and on a pivoting plate that incorporated the guide pin/tab?

also realize that 1/24 cars do not allow the front wheels contact with the track.
the guide flag/pickup braid assembly supports the front of the car and steers it.
in drag cars, the guide flag is glued in place to avoid "steering"!


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## Grandcheapskate (Jan 5, 2006)

Tyco Pros do have wipers for pickups. I've only had a few and did not like them - but I may be in the minority. They may also have had the guide/wipers on a pivoting head.

The Tyco HP-2 had a pivoting guide blade like an AFX.

The design of an improved guide pin for plastic track would need to be able to ride out track joints smoother than conventional pins. I opened a thread a couple years ago on blades vs. pins. You may want to look through it...

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=205053

Bottom line is I believe an improved pin has to be larger, have the ability to self-center and absorb some of the shock of banging around at the track joint. Do any of these things and I'm guessing you smooth out the ride.

You can spend time trying to get plastic track smooth or do something to the car to make it less sensitive to plastic track's shortcomings. If you could do something to the car that is simple and non-destructive, that seems the way to go.

Thanks...Joe


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

I like that those look great! Can you still order them? It looks like there has not been a lot of anything going on with his site for a while.

I also saw video on youtube that showed a routed track that you cannot de-slot on. Only the turns have the upside down "T" slot on them. Now that is a better idea than my idea of having spots on the track where you can put the cars on or take them off. Because the staights are just like regular tack. So to make a plastic track like this would just make sense to me. With two different pins sold with the cars. And then pins to fit other car types for sale.

Here again I am sure ideas like this have already been shot down.http:// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftu9rhV2e1E&feature=youtube_gdata_player


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

The cheap Mattel Tyco's have a small rear hole that'll accept a piece of piano wire easily,for a dual guide-pin set-up if you want to experiment.
The cars will corner better


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

No on mentioned the Aurora trikes had a "t" guide system. My box is sealed, yes a sealed 1971 Aurora Trike Set, but from what i can tell it has this system.


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

Joe65SkylarkGS said:


> No on mentioned the Aurora trikes had a "t" guide system. My box is sealed, yes a sealed 1971 Aurora Trike Set, but from what i can tell it has this system.


Trikes? Like the motorcycles that have been converted into 3 wheels with fat rear tires & a different motor. I would to see pics of this set that sounds really cool!


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## 70ss (Aug 22, 2005)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aurora-Whee...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


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## FOSTBITTEN (Aug 1, 2013)

70ss said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aurora-Whee...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


Those are really cool, I like that idea too.


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## tjetcar (Jul 7, 2009)

my trikes have a pin, molded in the drop arm. AMT made a set that the guide fit inside the grove, the car could spin out, U turn and not come out. But the cost of production almost bankrupted the company. Hard to find parts for the cars too.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS (Feb 15, 2010)

70ss said:


> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aurora-Whee...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557


Wow thats some coin. I had a 600 offer for my set last year.


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