Rebuilding The Scaleauto Porsche

[HomeRacingWorld]

[btaylor]

Very Good article Harry! Reminds me of a few recent builds as far as the parts list goes. :D

[HomeRacingWorld]

When you posted your "Money Pit" topic I could not help but smile. I was knee deep into this when you did it.

Thanks Bob.

[btaylor]

Maybe we have started a new class we can add. GT/LMP...."MP"! Should cover a multitude of cars.
Bob

[waaytoomuchintothis]

What a lot of work! Thanks, Harry!

[ourwayband]

I second that,Thanks Harry!

Rusty

[WB2]

I was working on a 1/24 Carrera Cheetah today that's been a piece of garbage since I bought it. Bent axles, wobbly wheels, pinched wires, and on and on. I came up to search out replacement items when I caught this post.
Great article. But think about it. You plunked $50+ down for a piece of garbage car. I doubt if it even ran well as a magnet racer. And then you added over 50% of the original cost for new parts (not even counting the PG tires).
How long can you, or any hobbyist, justify spending money for a car that runs terribly out of the box? Yes, you can throw $$ and time at it, but what about the fellow that just wants to buy a nifty looking car to run around the track? He'll figure he just blew more money than he wants to tell his wife about for something that doesn't perform well.
It's time the manufacturers step up to bat on quality control issues and stop hiding behind the "it takes tuning" banner.
Perhaps it's time for me to step back to the days when I'd only buy a Slot It car. They always worked out of the box.

David Weidler

[scatman]

Best ever!!! I see big things by using You Tube. Thanks Harry.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Appreciate the comments.

Well David, I am not disputing anything. It would be great if they all ran perfectly. But they don't and they never will. Brands like SRC, Flyslot and this model, which is really just an SRC...they have not changed the way they make things since they began. People have voiced this same sentiment for years, but it seems no matter what we still buy them. We buy them knowing we need to work on them.

The reason I do is not all the models come like this. And other times it's because I cannot get the car in question from anyone else. In the first review the car had some rubbing issues but it was a quick fix. Runs fine, very little investment. I also enjoy the tuning. The money invested? Well to me it's worth it from time to time. It's my hobby. I want the car to run the way I want it to and if that means a trip to the slot car jewelry store, so be it.

But a lot of us DO NOT buy them anymore. I don't. Very few of SRC/Flylsot arrive here. Especially compared to the amount of Carrera, Slot.it, and Racer I buy.

I am sure you noticed that brands like SRC, Flyslot, etc are not the prominent players in this hobby any longer. Fly used to be THE brand at one time. But no longer. The reason is because we DO have models like Slot.it, Racer, NSR, and actual Scaleauto. Brands that deliver higher quality and as time as gone on, the selections have exploded. Because of them, among other reasons...brands like Fly ceased to exist. Then reborn into Flyslot. SRC is nothing more than a Fly car under a different name. Same quality, same approach.

I am happy you took what you read the way you did. I want people to know models such as this have the issues they do at times and what it takes to fix/tune them. If it stops a person from getting one? So be it. But just in case you do, hopefully it helps.

Thanks again.

[waaytoomuchintothis]

Come to think of it, with that title, Google is going to pop that title up as result every time someone goes to the internet in desperation to see what to do with the wobbly wheels, bent axles, strange gears, etc. on this car they just bought. We should make a note of our membership total today, and clock how many new members come in from the advice and how-to. Kinda makes me wish ScaleAuto was more popular!

[dr fabio]

Nice how to article. Out of interest why didn't you just rotate the spur and pinion around 180 degrees instead of using a spacer? It didn't matter in this case I suppose but if space is tight it saves you room so that you can fit large rims on.

[Florida_Slotter]

Harry,

Very good write up. I have as well as many others have been down this very same road. Depending on the brand of slot car you buy, you have a choice to face - either accept it the way it comes to you, or make it into a quality type of slot car. Yes it does take a bit of money from time to time. However I think it is worth it, as this is simply another niche in this hobby - taking a car that has a body you like and making it run like it should.

While I really don't like to admit it, there are many cars in my stable that cost more to make into the little jewels like they are then I could ever sell them for. But I don't like to build and sell cars. They are my slot cars and I just enjoy a slot car that runs smoothly and quietly.

One of the question that many newcomers ask when starting out in this hobby is, "What brand slot car do you recommend?" My first response is usually Slot.It. Yep, it does cost a bit more, but in the long run, they will probably spend less and enjoy it more than many of the other slot cars they could start out with. Once they buy a slot car, then it's time for them to learn how to drive it properly. But if they start out with a slot car that does not run smoothly, how can they ever become better drivers?

Keep up these super articles.

[HomeRacingWorld]

Thanks for the comments guys. Rob, I hope we can help new folks. That's one big reason we are here :)

Fabio, the reason I did was because trying to fit anything wider would result in heavily sanding/cutting the interior, OR shimming the body up. I try to minimize showing people how to sand areas. I did not like showing the motor or guide mount, but had no choice. I just had to choose a technique, so I went with what I thought the easiest.

But yes, you could go wider and work with it just as well if you wanted to.

[btaylor]

Marty, As a person just getting back into slots after a good many years, I have found that technology had passed me by. I have amassed quite a collection in the last year or so, and in that are every brand conceivable. As much as I do Love the Slot it cars, I would have to argue that from a beginners standpoint, a Carrera car would be more suited to learning to drive, and also to kind of ease into the slotting world without breaking the bank. Only one of my Carrera cars has needed any attention outside of tire truing and brush maintenance right out of the box, and it was a shipping issue more than a production problem. The Article Harry wrote certainly represents what a reasonably handy person with average hand tools could preform, and I like that, as many of the guys that race with me are not yet "addicted" enough to purchase all the needed tools and equipment to do custom builds or complete makeovers. I have made his article a must read for the guys asking me this and that about their new cars that are not quite right.
I have always been of the start small and work your way up way of thinking, I guess my point here is that with a home track (that's why we are here) Learning to drive a superfast slot it car that needs no work on it, would not perpetuate the Hobby as much as a little tweaking on a reasonably priced car that works as good as a newbie would need it to, Then as your interest grew, and skills improved, you could work up to a higher priced car than has tune ability like a slot it. Of course that is unless they hang out on HRW and get all pumped up on building anything from Jalopy's to LMP cars, and everything in between! :lol: Then its just Game on, and they will learn at a very rapid rate!
Just my 2 cent rant guys!
Bob

[studioRS]

Thank you for the super detailed review and upgrades! WOW, knocked it out of the park. Your review makes me want to buy this and just do all the mods! Lotta Porsche love here going on… Nice Boss.

Cheers, Thompson