# The 100 ohm CS Controller



## SwamperGene

Figured I'd give it a thread of it's own.

ok...we got pics of the Radio Shack 100 ohm resistor conversion. Once I had the resistors in hand, the whole job took about 15-20 minutes.

First, the packaging. If you go to Radio Shack, this is what you're lookin' for:











Then get out one of these:










Start tapping away...once you break the outer ceramic coating, you can pick at the rest with your fingers. Hey...what's that in there???










That would be a wirewound resistor. It's a hair smaller than an original, but the length of the business face is the same. Time to grab the set controller...pretty much any Aurora/AFX, "Baby" Russkit, Tyco, Tomy, or LifeLike one will work. I grabbed a LL, and after twisting it around a little to loosen things up it popped apart fairly easy.










The OEM resistors are just crimped in place, using a small screwdriver to pry up on the "tubes" will make it fall right out.










I start by soldering the loose end on first. Slide the resistor's wire through the end of the "tube", lining it up so the exposed resistor wire is starting at the inboard (open) end of the tube, then solder the wire to the back of the tube.










Slide the other end into the frame-mounted tube and line everything up as if it were going together, then solder that end:










And yer done! Since the resistor diameter is a hair smaller, I usually bend the wiper a hair so there's more pressure on the resistor. Then, I lightly sand the resistor face with a fine emery board, moving in the direction the wires are wound, not against them. If you got lucky, the controller will just snap back together good as new...if not a few drops of CA will get 'er back together for you.

Now the test, when the wiper first hits the resistor...what do we get????











One thing you can do while inside is "upgrade" any OEM wire connections and/or crimps. Set controllers will usually show a small resistance at full throttle due to the poor factory connections.

Next one, I think I'm gonna add a brake wire.


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## Joe65SkylarkGS

Amazing Stuff Gene. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Couldn't ask for a better demonstration.:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## Joe65SkylarkGS

You now what?? I think I have a few of those in my old RC box from the battery dischargers!! The old ni cad batteries required total voltage drop before recharging!! Ni CAd is sooo out dated now!!! They were simply a resistor. Not sure of the ohm's but it lookls exactly like the shack resistor!!!


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## SwamperGene

What's funny is I built one of these for a guy years ago, and using it in a T-Jet race he beat a lot of guys with moderate to high $$$ triggers.


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## XracerHO

Amazing stuff & thanks for the sharing, Gene!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Keep the ideas coming!! ..RL


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## Joe65SkylarkGS

SwamperGene said:


> What's funny is I built one of these for a guy years ago, and using it in a T-Jet race he beat a lot of guys with moderate to high $$$ triggers.




Now thats freaking hysterical!!:lol:


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## Bill Hall

Hahahahahaha! The hammer...

.... secret weapon of many slot veterans. Nuthin' has really changed much since we were ten.

Great tute Gene!


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## slotnewbie69

cool!mebbe i'll try it!


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## bobwoodly

Bill Hall said:


> Hahahahahaha! The hammer...
> 
> .... secret weapon of many slot veterans. Nuthin' has really changed much since we were ten.
> 
> Great tute Gene!


Thank God dremmels were not invented in the 1960's or I'd be down two fingers and one eye....


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## resinmonger

bobwoodly said:


> Thank God dremmels were not invented in the 1960's or I'd be down two fingers and one eye....


Yeah but you'd have a cool nickname like _stubby_ or _hawkeye_... :freak:


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## outlander5

Joe65SkylarkGS said:


> You now what?? I think I have a few of those in my old RC box from the battery dischargers!! The old ni cad batteries required total voltage drop before recharging!! Ni CAd is sooo out dated now!!! They were simply a resistor. Not sure of the ohm's but it lookls exactly like the shack resistor!!!


back in the '80s we used to run .8 and 1 ohm resistors, the fast guys would sometimes run .6 ohm. i haven't run slot cars for years(went to r/c) the post just caught my eye.


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## NTxSlotCars

What a cool build Gene!


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## TK Solver

Great thread. Very fun. Thanks Gene and thanks for the laughs from the hilarious responses. Stubby... LOL!


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## demether

Really interesting, to make tjet controllers the cheap way ! thanks !


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## Bill Hall

bobwoodly said:


> Thank God dremmels were not invented in the 1960's or I'd be down two fingers and one eye....


Then we could call you "Lucky".


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## noddaz

*Nice write up...*

I made one of these on an AFX controller several years ago after I had read about it somewhere.
But upon assembly I had found that I had wired the resistor at the wrong end.
So when the trigger was fully depressed the controller was off. Let go of the trigger gave me wide open throttle. That was interesting to play with for a while.
I fixed it, but I have wondered if I could actually race with a controller like that.
But back to your regularly scheduled program.
Scott


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## BruceSi

Doesn't Parma make HO slot car controllers?
You know what would be really trick?
A 1/18th scale, Tekin B-1 Programable Electronic Speed control set up so the finger control sends the right signals to the slot track for controling the car.
With some special set up, the controller could be made to work for any scale car, 
1/24th, 1/32nd, 1/43rd, and HO.

This Esc can be set up a number of ways via PC interface or using the buttons.

Bruce


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## Tsooko

Hey Bruce
Scorpius has a controller like that. You plug in a dongle to your drivers' station and it is wireless so you can walk around the track and race from any place you want. 
Gene where were you when I burnt up my stock AFX controllers?
Has any one tried the JB weld trick with these resisters ?
Seems they would benefit from that.

Cheers Ted


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## hartracerman

Can we hear more about the wireless? Anyone chime in...


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## Tsooko

Go here.

http://www.scorpiuswireless.com/

cheers Ted


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## jeetermeat

*brakes on CS controller*

Did you ever try brakes?
I am building one of these for my son so it fits his hand better.
would love to add brakes but not sure how


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## Hornet

It's do-able,i've added brakes to stock Tyco/Tomy controllers.
You need to cut and seperate the bottom band of the resistor from the rest of the resistor,then you add a second small band just ahead of the orginal band that you've just cut,this new second band now becomes your power point pick-up,basically the power wire that was on the orginal bottom band now gets moved to this new band,and the orginal bottom band gets a red wire added to it.Just make sure the 2 bands don't contact each other,and you have to make the new band sit tight enough to the resistor so that the trigger can slide across it with-out interuption.
If you can find a picture of a Parma resistor,look at it close,you'll notice the bottom end of their resistors have 2 bands,one that's a power point pick-up,and the band behind that one is the brake band,that's what you're trying to duplicate:wave:

I see young Banta comenting on brakes and whether the tracks wired for them,over on SCI.Lets get things straight guys,the brake circuit goes directly back to the negative post of the power supply.So if you hit a track not wired for brakes,carry your own jumper wire,and clip onto the tracks negative side of the power supply.Whether it's batteries or power supply,it still has to have a negative side to things,just find that negative post and clip your red/brake wire to it and you've got brakes.This applies whether the tracks positive polarity or negative polarity.Even if your using Wall Warts,they usually have one wire striped and the other is plain,usually the plain/unstriped wire coming out of the wall wart is the negative,not always,but usually.
If your hooking up an electronic controller that's positive or negative sensitive,you'll have to check whether the tracks wired positive or negative polarity after you've jumpered across to the negative post and before hooking up your "e" controller.If you're using a resistor based controller,it doesn't matter whether the tracks negative or positive polarity
Brake wiring simplified for you guys,just remember the brakes go directly to the negative side of things.If you're adding a track direction switch,this makes worrying about where it goes alot easier.If you isolate and wire the brakes directly to the negative side of your power supply,the track direction switch will always be in the right spot,as the only 2 wires you have to worry about are the ones going to the rails.The switch will always be ahead of the brake hook-up,if the switch goes to the rails,and the brake wire goes directly to the power supply


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## SwamperGene

lol rick good call on the track thing.

Can't say I've seen a Tomy/Tyco with "bands", the one in this post uses crimped barrels as you can see below.

It should be real simple...drill a hole high up on the little raised "slide", right below where the wiper rests. Poke the wire through the hole, bringing the stripped portion back over the slide then twist it nice and tight. Probably a million ways to do this you just need to accomplish two things....

1. Have the wiper come to rest on a wire (which will be the brake wire).

2. Make sure the wire doesn't touch the resistor or the metal frame.

Anyway, here's an artist conception.


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## Hornet

LOL,i believe in the KISS principle Gene:thumbsup:
Also slightly lazy,hokay maybe a bit more then slightly,:wave:

Hey that's a good idea for a brake circuit.
I see another idea popped up using a seperate style lug idea,that one also sounds good.
It's been awhile since i put brakes into a Tyco/Tomy controller,brings back memories of being a bucks down kid,working with what you got:wave:


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## neorules

Back to the Question Noddaz had-- I would think that the backwards controller set-up would be valuable for drag racing. I told some drag racers this idea about 20 years ago-- I wonder if they ever tried it?


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## Hornet

I always thought a toggle switch would be the ideal drag racing controller:thumbsup::wave:


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## A/FX Nut

I have an Aurora controller with brake and an Aurora Controller Plus. I'm going to install the 100 ohm resisitor in both. 

I've read in the A/FX Handbook Volume 2 that the range for the Controller Plus is from 8.3 Ohms to 30.9 Ohms. 

I want to run the AW / JL Thunderjet Tuff Ones and have one 125 Ohm controller for it. I always seem to loan it out to an inexperienced racer when they are at my track.

Randy.


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## SwamperGene

The controller I made for this article works _really_ well with JL/AW cars...very smooth :thumbsup:


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## A/FX Nut

That's a relief to hear. I'm hoping for the same result. I want one with a brake. Then I can hook a brake box to it and dial down some of the brake if I need to, but still have just enough.

All my brake box is a plastic box with a 25 Ohm resistor in it. You can hook it to the track's brake lead and hook the controller to the brake box. Works real good for the Life-Like T-Chassis.

Thanks Gene.

Randy.


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## A/FX Nut

Well, I modified the Aurora Russkit Controller with Brake. Installed the 100 Ohm Radio Shack resistor, put it back together, tried it out and was impressed with how the JL/AW Thundejet Tuff Ones work.

The next one will be the Aurora Controller Plus. Right now it's only good for Super Stock cars. It's too sensitive for anything else. The handbook states it's range is from 8.3 to 30.9 Ohms. 

Thanks for the thread Gene.

Randy.


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## LeeRoy98

OK, got a bunch of Tyco and AFX controllers that have bit the dust while being used with the portable track. And now I have several of the resistors from RS, all cleaned up and ready to go...
But how in the world do you get into one of them?? I don't really want to hack them open but I haven't been able to find a weak spot in the seam to start cracking them open!! 
HELP!! I feel silly!!

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com


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## A/FX Nut

*Aurora Russkit Controller Plus Modification Complete!*

LeeRoy98,

If you could take a Dremel or other rotorary tool with a cut off disk, cut into the seam at one place and get a flat tip screw driver in there and gently pry until it comes apart.

Alot of the Russkit controllers have scews holding them together.

I made the modification to an Aurora Russkit Controller Plus last night. It came apart easy. 
I replaced both resistors in the controller. It took about an hour for me to complete. It works much better than it's original as built configuration. The Radio Shack resistors are about 1/3rd smaller in diameter than the original Russkit ones and 1/8th to 1/4th an inch shorter. 

It was a fun Saturday evening project. 

Earlier in the day I went to Radio Shack to see if they had 150 Ohm wire wound resistors but they did not.

Thanks again to Gene for this thread.

Randy.


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## tonesua

*Resistors found at Fry's electronics*

I was snooping around the local Fry's electronics, and happened upon the resistors encased in ceramic. Sure enough, the 10 watt 100 ohm ones are there, for 99 cents a piece. Theyhave 150 ohm ones as well with higher wattage, but I don't think that is appropriate for our controllers. I haven't measured their lengths against the Russkit or AFX resistors (I gotta buy them first and wanted to check this thread for the wattage). Do you have Fry's on the east coast? Perhaps you can buy them online at Frys.com. i haven't looked.


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## NTxSlotCars

We have Fry's here in Tx. Thanks for the info!


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## Boosted-Z71

I just built 2 of these from some russkit controllers that I had and they already had the brake wire. What a nice controller for hardly any money. The resistor & wiper are smooth as silk, really easy to use, a mod well worth the effort. 

One question, if you added a circuit board mount pot in the brake circuit so you could adjust the brake effect a bit it would be awesome controller, can anyone tell me what ohm pot I should look for?

I like these just about as much as some of my other high priced controllers for T-jets.

To the original poster who did this mod first you did a great job with this.

Boosted-Z71


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## Hornet

100 ohm is quite often the norm.
That's what's in a Difalco:thumbsup:


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## Boosted-Z71

I have been playing with the adjustable brake option for this controller, it just has too much brake for a T-jet for me, I have tried several resistor values & pots with no luck I also tried to use a diode as in the diode brake switch setup, but the voltage & current coming from the T-jet under breaking is so low that 1 diode (1004) cuts the brakes out totally, just like you disconnected them. Anyone have any other suggestions?

Boosted


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## Boosted-Z71

I got the diode brake setup to work, I now have 10 different brake adjustment settings & the ability to turn the brake off from the controller. The tough part was getting the rotary switch & diodes to fit into the larger Ruskitt case, but it worked out well. This addition with the 100 ohm resistor mod makes a Very nice T-jet controller for cheap. I will post a picture up later of the diode brake installed, I am going to experiment with another type of diode on the 2nd controller. I want to see if I can change the braking characteristics even more. The 2 hour initial test went really well, I can vary the braking effort from nothing, to actually sliding/locking the rear wheels, with 9 noticeable levels of braking in between on all the T-jets I tried. I ran some bone stock, fray, up to some custom wound low ohm road course motor setups. I ran about 20 different T-jets testing each 15 laps or so. It worked great on all the cars I want to try these on AFX's as well, but expect similar results. For me one of the benefits is you get that cool zip-zip sound that I miss with the electronic controllers. I will add some pics later today. 

Boosted


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## Joe65SkylarkGS

Boosted-Z71 said:


> I got the diode brake setup to work, I now have 10 different brake adjustment settings & the ability to turn the brake off from the controller. The tough part was getting the rotary switch & diodes to fit into the larger Ruskitt case, but it worked out well. This addition with the 100 ohm resistor mod makes a Very nice T-jet controller for cheap. I will post a picture up later of the diode brake installed, I am going to experiment with another type of diode on the 2nd controller. I want to see if I can change the braking characteristics even more. The 2 hour initial test went really well, I can vary the braking effort from nothing, to actually sliding/locking the rear wheels, with 9 noticeable levels of braking in between on all the T-jets I tried. I ran some bone stock, fray, up to some custom wound low ohm road course motor setups. I ran about 20 different T-jets testing each 15 laps or so. It worked great on all the cars I want to try these on AFX's as well, but expect similar results. For me one of the benefits is you get that cool zip-zip sound that I miss with the electronic controllers. I will add some pics later today.
> 
> Boosted


You are out of control dude!!!!! Can't wait to see how you put this together. Pics please :wave:


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## Boosted-Z71

Joe I thought I was doing this mod for control :thumbsup:

Anyway here are a couple shots of the 1st assembled controller, using the general 1N4002 Diodes, As you can see it is a tight package & there is a small disc of clear plastic lexan between the switch & the resistor mount to keep everything from shorting out. The other pic is of another 12 position switch for the 2nd controller to be modded, with Shottky BAT85 diodes. The first controller works great, but I am trying different diodes in the 2nd controller to see if I can further enhance the sensitivity of the braking by changing diodes, The BAT85's have a lower forward voltage pass rate than the 1N4002's (less than half). Dont get me wrong the 1st controller is 100X better than the original brake configuration, I am just experimenting. As you can see due to the switch size this is a very tight package to add to the larger AFX handles I had to trim a bit of the resistor mount on both ends to get it all to fit back in the case. I will be looking for a smaller switch package as well in the future, but the switches were expensive around here & I got these cheap from e-bay. All together in the 1st controller with upgrading the wire to silicone, diodes, switch & knob I don't have $10 in it & this is a great mod. I will try to get some vids & post of how effective the brake adjustment is later, The control is just as good or better than my electronic Professor Motor controllers 

Boosted


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## Hornet

edit.


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## Boosted-Z71

That was my original thought as well, I tried a 100 ohm pot, 50 & 25 ohm pots all the way down to individual resistors of very low resistance <1 ohm, when installed all of them immediately totally killed the braking effect for a T-jet, the brakes acted like they were not connected at all, same as a full coast. As for the diodes, yes you are correct about them being connected in series & losing one losses all, however in approx 10+ hours of use so far on both controllers they have worked great with no signs of diode failure at all. I instructed my high process testing crew (kids) to constantly adjust the braking function as they raced. The diodes are overrated compared to the output of the t-jet motor coming back on the brake circuit. The Shottky diodes were much easier to install due to the package size, and you must use a heat sink to draw the heat away from the diode body during soldering, I had several that overheated during install so I went back to the 1N4002's as I could not tell any difference between the shottky & the 4002 diodes in terms of adjust ability. 

It really does work well, you can dial it in, everything from coast to skidding the wheels under braking.

Boosted


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## Grandcheapskate

I just picked up the 100 ohm resistors today to use in an Aurora Russkit. However, I can't seem to remove the old resistors. In order to remove them, they must be uncrimped from their holder, but I can't get that metal to bend back. Any help?

Thanks...Joe


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## Boosted-Z71

Joe I am trying to remember but I dont think getting the old resistors off was any problem. If they are riveted on you may have to carefully drill the rivet out. I am sorry but I just dont recall having any issues with swapping resistors. This really is a good controller mod and I have not had any issues running T-jets with these.

Boosted


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## Grandcheapskate

Here's the problem I am having - I should really take a picture to show what I am trying to describe. Just a reminder, these are Aurora Russkits.

I have removed the resistor in one controller and (semi) installed the 100 Ohm resistor and it tested okay. However, the way the resistor is fastened in the controller does not fill me with confidence that it will stay in place.

There are two clamps which hold in the resistor, one at each end. The clamps are bent around the end of the resistor (as in Gene's opening pictures). In order to remove the resistor, you need to unbend the clamps and slide the resistor out.

The problem is twofold. The first is how to unbend the clamp without having the whole clamp come off the metal frame. The second issue is if the clamp comes off the metal frame, how do you get it back on.

As I tried to unbend the clamps, the entire clamp came off the metal frame. These are neither screwed or riveted to the metal frame - the metal frame is slightly stamped over the clamp (like the underside of track rail). The top of the metal frame is very thin and the bottom of the clamp is round. So you have this wide clamp sitting atop a thin frame, with only a slight stamp-over holding it on. Once it comes off, it's not going back on too well.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to look at how someting is designed because it makes you wonder how it stays together in the first place.

So want I need at this point is to figure a way to reattach the resistor clamps to the metal frame so that it is secure. And I have no idea how to do that short of getting something attached to the metal frame which allows me to screw down the clamps.

Thanks...Joe


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## tonesua

Where did you find the switches.my searches on eBay and divinely don't find the one you mention.


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## Boosted-Z71

Look for 8 to 12 position rotary switch 

Here is one but not sure on the size, that is the tough part finding one that will fit in the controller

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12pcs-Pole-...978?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5ae707839a

Boosted


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## tonesua

Thanks .


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## oddrods

I see the diode brake set up but does anyone have a link to a ready made adjustable brake switch that could be added to an econo controller?

Thanks,
Rob
Mongrel Racing


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## JD493

Loving this 1! Please add the brake wire! I'm starting to get it now 

Sorry for not putting this w/ my other post, I'm still learning


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## JD493

AWESOME info and work guys.
Could someone point me towards instructions for building brake boxes please?
If anyone has info on making a variable voltage controller for a drivers station like box, not controller mounted one, I'd GREATLY appreciate that info too. 
I'm racing with Grandsons that must push every button, so 1 centrally located switching/driving station is a must. I'm using 1 bench top power supply and I need 4 dials for voltage control of 4 lanes individually.
LOL I'm not asking too much from a "kids toy" am I?
For a great bunch of smart guys... I find it humorous that 1/64 cars unite us all! Life is such a trip, and I'm just getting to the good stuff...I hope.
Have a great weekend everyone! JD


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