Hi There, I just got the bug to search
and see if anything was on the web regarding Slot Cars that ran in the
60's at the Rod & Custom races. My name is Manuel Maldonado and I built
cars for many racers at that time. Chuck Blayney had me build him an altered,
won first time out, Then Gary Gabelich wanted a top fuel car, won first
time out, now these guy's where racing have years head start on me being
around slot car's. Bob Braverman and Gene Hustings where the king's. Chuck
and I even went to the race's up in the Bay Area on a Greyhound bus, neither
had a driver's license. Set low E T and runner up, always ran good up there,
San Jose and San Mateo, Oakland. One race had low E T and got to the final
and dropped a chunk of weight in the final and wheel stood and I lost, the
guy's running the show asked if I thought I could go faster and I told them
yes, so they announced that I would make a single for a track record. The
crowed gathered, it was a car show, so there was a big crowd, well this thing
gets about 50 feet and blow's both rear tires throwing the car in the air
screaming! You could hear a collective OOOOOH from the crow. Sold a car to
one guy up there that told me if I could build him a car he could go under
1:20 with a Pittman Motor (he had lots of them) everyone was using the Ram
7 poll now, he would be able to win races. First run right out of the box
it went 1:18. The other car I sold up there the guy never paid and when I
asked for it back it was in peices and you could see the lead from the pencil
tracing the parts! I quit building cars for people right then. I did go into
Gene Hustings and Bob Braverman's home track and beat them both, then I got
drafted and served in Viet Nam as a gunner on a Huey. When I came back the
sport was gone. This article came out well I was in Aberdeen proving grounds
in the service. I still have this car! They had a slot car exhibit at the
Peterson Museum a few months back, all road race stuff, no dragsters when
I showed them my car I got run around to all the guys putting on the exhibit
and a few collectors wanting to buy the car! They stopped at $50,000.00 I
loved those days Rod and Custom had a race at a different track each month
and it was a dog fight, had top time more than once, bragging right's was
always worth a lot in drag racing. Manuel
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Vintage electric drag cars from the
1960s by Ron Scholz
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The Orange
Gas Coupe used a 12 volt (2 ohm) armature. The best time was 1.23.
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My brother and I raced primarily in Northern California during the 60's.
We made one trip to southern California to race at a Rod and Custom Meet
at J+J Raceways. This was reported in one of their articles.
We did very poorly. The only bright spot my brother took the Super
Stock Class. This was not reported in the article. Gene Husting said
because of it being a Rod and Custom meet he could only report what the
class rules were allowed to run. He awarded my brother a new set of
Weldun Gears.
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The Fuel Dragster
with the holes in the body was a Fuel Roadster. It had the 9 volt(one
ohm) armature in it. The best time was 1.097.
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The blue Fuel Dragster has a 6 volt
(1/2 ohm) armature. The best time was 0.975. This slot car was modified
to run on todays tracks (16 volts) by using a 3volt armature and a rare earth
magnet it turned a best of 0.96. It needed tuning. It would
hop the first 15 feet using the braking glue on the tires. I needed
to change the gearing. Was using 2:1. The Unlimited ran a best
of 1.08.
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The attached photos are the Magwinders I currently have from that period.
Three of the four are powered by Ram 850's and 857's. Ram 850's used the
thicker field laminations. 857's used the thinner ones. The
larger one is a government surplus motor that I modified for slot car use.
I rewound the armature and used a ram commutator.
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Hello:
I happened on your site today, and saw the list of people you are looking
for. I too would like to locate Denny Lynn. (I noticed that you
listed him as Danny, but for the record, his name is Denny.)
It just so happens that I was one of the boys who traveled from the S.F.
Bay Area to race at J & J in 1965. It was covered in the December
1965 issue of Rod and Custom, which indicated that it was an "encore" meet,
to the earlier meet held that year in March. I won the trip to SoCal
with my Stock Sports Car Cobra/Bobcat. I turned a 1.48 (and won my
class and Little Eliminator) at one of Costa's car shows where
the Arcers had their track set up. I've still got that car in its original
configuration. (Not sure if it was Sonoma show, but that is what I seem
to recall, and I've got the article stashed somewhere. I've also still
got the Rod & Custom Magazine article.) My motor was a stock BobCat
(Mitsubishi,) but when they tested it on the ohm meter during "tech," it
was a teeny bit under whatever the limit was for that class, so they wouldn't
let me run it. That is why I am pictured in the magazine running Denny
Lynn's gas dragster. (I think it was in the gas class.) He brought more than
one car to the meet, and either they would only let him run one class, or
he was just being nice to me since I had been D.Q.'d. It was pretty
embarrassing because I got hole shot by Ray Yates, who, as the magazine
article was quick to point out, was not known for being very fast on the
light. If I recall correctly, the car ran pretty well, and it might
have been good enough to win the race if I could have given it a chance off
the line!
If you're interested, I could probably scan the articles and e-mail them
to you....not because I am in them.... but for the historical record.
If you have any luck locating Denny Lynn, I'd sure appreciate it if you
give him my e-mail, or give me his. I flew hang gliders with Denny's
brother Jim Lynn (who drove a AA Fuel dragster for Ted Gotelli
for a while) back in the early 70s, and would love to locate him too.
Thanks, Bob Whitaker
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We are looking
for any of these 1960s electric drag slot cars racers , if you know of
any please contact bracket500@live.com
John Foster, we think he might be in Redman WA
Chuck Blayney
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Wayne Cartmell
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Bob Cartwright
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Irv Cox
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John Cukras
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Riley Davis
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Don Dieckman
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Jed Donahue
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Bud Durbin
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Gary Gabelich
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Jim Gallagher
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Gene Husting
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Joe Merrill
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Bob Murdock
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Bob Nord
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Rodney Owens
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Jim Rhoden
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Ray Yates
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Harry Costa
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Dave Betger
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Jim Handy
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Denny Lynn
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Jim Bernasocconi
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Rukua Bros.
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Tom Meyers
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