Scaley Dodge Challenger and Mercury Cougar

[Modlerbob]

Just curious, I have both of these slot cars and try as I might I have never been able to get either one to run good enough to compete with any of the Camaros or Mustangs. It mystifies me as to why this is. Maybe I have a built in bias against these cars and I unconsciously fail in some way to tune them properly. But I really like the Challenger and would like to race it IF I could get it quick enough to race side by side with the Camaros.

[bigman]

[arroldn]

Bob,
I ran both Scaley Camero and the #77 Challenger in the HRW TransAm proxy in 2016 & 2017. Now while they had different 18K motors, Pioneer and H&R, they both ran similar times on my track in my standard 20 lap qualifier. So I don't think the weight of the car matters. Got better times with the Camero on SuperTires vs Paul Gauge. In the 2016 Series Retro Racer was able to take a #77 Challenger to 6th place out of 21 cars. Steve Williams even took a SCX Cuda to 2nd place that year. My Challenger finished 9th behind my Camero in 8th.

They will run competitively against the Camero. However Cameros seem to dominate the field. 7 of 17 cars were Cameros that year.

Arrold

[David C]

These are big bulky bodies; I doubt they are exact scale 1:43, Cougar has height added that almost look like side skirts-when both are parked next to the Camaros they look like 1:40tth scale-large!

[dreinecke]

[Dodgefarmer]

As both the Cougar and Challenger seem to come with a scaley installed off road kit, the COG is somewhat higher than in the Mustang and Camaro. It wasn't until I replaced the interior with a lightweight tray that I started to see results in my 1st place finishing Challenger in the ill fated 2018 T/A proxy.

Randy

[arroldn]

Randy,
Just from the TransAm results the last two years I would say all TA bodies are competitive. Now last year we had our first Scaley Javelin. It finished 31st out of 33 02 cars. Surprise because I have seen ZCarFan cars in other proxies do quite well. I doubt it was the body since it is lighter than the other Scaley bodies. Inline orientation? Maybe!!!! But the Cuda is also an inline car and has proven it can perform well. I'm sure with time others may try that platform. As a Mopar guy I will continue to push the envelope to get my Challenger, Cuda, and maybe even the Javelin to the top.

I agree Randy that the Challenger and Cougar sit higher than the Mustangs and Cameros. Pictures for prospective. I forgot to add the Javelin. The Cuda,Challenger and Camero are about 10mm wider than the Mustang and Cougar. The Cougars front end is just to high in the air.

Just took a look at 2016 Mike ZCarFan ran a Javelin (resin) that year as well. He must be an old AMC man.

I know that the pink Challenger is stock height. The Cuda I am not sure about. But the rest of the cars are stock.

Arrold

[ConrodJo]

[Modlerbob]

Based on what I'm reading I doubt that I will be able to get either car to the winner's circle here in our race series. With the exception of tires all of our cars must be 100% stock.

[arroldn]

Is this a Scaley only series? If so the Camero would be the car to beat. Now I did have a Mustang that was a beast when we ran it at Bullitt when I first started going up there and they were running 1/32 scale cars on the Blue King. All 1/24 scale now.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

[CrockettNZ]

in my opinion you would be hard pressed to get the Cougar competitive with the Camaro's
they are kind of the lemon in the pack in terms of performance but do look fantastic though
the Challenger has a better chance if you find that magic sweet set up
every class of car has it's go to car that anyone that is competitive will to straight to and in this class it is the camaro
shame really as it would be good to get a better mix on the track

the top cars in the American muscle car class that we race here in my club are all scalextric Camaro's

this is my 70 Camaro that I race





chassis weight is 79.5g's body weight is 17.5g's so total weight is 97g's
I could get the body a tiny bit lighter but felt it doesn't really need it

25k Nsr with NSR 12/34 gearing using the 17.5 mm spur
rear axle is slot it reduced center dia sitting in pro race ball bearing bushes
rear axle is braced to the motor with steel wire
rear wheels are slot it magnesium F1 hubs that have been lightened and fitted with NSR F1 ultragrips
stock front axle in the stock mountings the front wheels are the stock plastic rims that have been lightened as well
stock tyres that have filed/coned and coated with superglue
guide is ninco pro-race and slot it soft braid slot it lead wire

you will notice that I have left the valances on the chassis
I have done this to keep the body as light as possible as this is much much more beneficial to handling than cutting them off and gluing them to the body
the interior is a light weight flat type lexan with a stock plastic head for detail
and lexan windows

this is one very fast car and is a real hand full on the smaller tight tracks but is untouchable on the big wide tracks
doesn't stop me from winning all the time with it on either size track


I know this prob doesn't help with your build as you need to keep it pretty stock
but does show how far you can go with these cars and when you do they are one hell of a monster
it was keeping up with a very well tuned slot it Porsche GT1 until I de-slotted it

[Dangermouse]

I have been playing with a Mercury Cougar trying to get it to drive a little better. So far I have lowered the front about 1mm and sanded the chassis for some body float. I also cut the valances off and glued them to the body. It runs better on my non mag track but we usually race Trans Am on a magnet track so will need to wait until the weekend to test it out on that track.

What baffles me the most is why Scalextric changed the chassis from the type used in the Camaro/Mustang - they had a successful pair of cars there - we don't do a lot of mods - mostly allow tyre change and some body float and the Mustang/Camaro are competitive. I have worked on a Javelin and have it going well but it needs some care in handling seems to want to tip more than the other two. The Cougar chassis is a dog's breakfast - the car looks like it is on the launch pad to blast across the canyon the guide area is just wrong and there is evidence of over engineering it seems. Bob I doubt the Cougar will ever be truly competitive - you may get some joy if you run with magnets and are allowed to put a stronger magnet in it as I believe the stock one is not as powerful as the magnet in the Camaro/Mustang. If you run non mag then perhaps the Cougar/Challenger needs a bit more weight than a Camaro/Mustang

cheers
David

[Dodgefarmer]

I fully agree with you Arrold, any body can be made competitive. We also have a T/A class in our club similar to Bob's with the only allowed mods being tire, guide, and body float. With the same predictable results, if you want to be in the hunt you run a Camaro. :(

Randy

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I didn't mention how I got the Cougar to run well, because it involved making it a different car underneath, like Crockett's Camaro. Since that is completely useless info for Bob, I left it out. But the essence of it for the Cougar is a balanced brass chassis with a speedy motor and nice gears. Not a "stock RTR" kind of competitor.