My 1/4 scale speedway cars.....

[kmeaders@q.com]

Wlcome Bob. You are my kind of guy with those cars. I've never seen a 1/4 scale sprint in person or ever been to an RC race but I've been around the fullsize ones forever. The older midget and sprint are beautiful.

[bobjeffreson]

Ken,
Thanks for those kind words. I've been around sprintcars/super modifieds for 40 years here in Australia. Since I started racing 1/4 scale sprintcars 13 years ago, I've had a whole lot of fun. The size of these cars makes them about as realistic as the full size cars. They slide through the corners, throw dirt many metres off the right rear and all the things you would expect from a sprintcar. We set them up exactly the same, with coil overs and or bars, run stagger on the rear, move the wings around for varying track conditions.
I was very lucky with the old sprintcar and midget. They had been on my wish list for years and then I managed to acquire both of them within a year in 2009/10. The #8 has been started once since was built in 1980. I shall never run it as it is too rare.
The#34 midget [body and wheels/tyres] was imported in Australia by an RC colleague of mine in 1990. I lost track of it till last year. It was made into a 4 wheel drive and steer car. I'm currently putting it into the same specs as the maufacturer produces.
Have to make the parts myself as they are no longer available as spare parts, only as a complete car.
Here are some photos of the rebuild....
As I purchased it....


Stripped down with the GMP Offy motor in place, for positioning.....


Restored seat and aluminum dash.....


Hand built radiator....




Dogbox...


Steering box.....

[bobjeffreson]

This is the car that Mr Jan Gilmer of Minesotta USA produces.....and I intend to replicate as close as possible.

[Rick]

This looks like fun stuff Bob. I've got a couple of questions for you. First, can you suggest any websites where we can see these cars run? Secondly, I grew up with a guy named Grant King who built 1:1 cars back in the 50's, 60's and 70's both here in Victoria BC Canada and in Indy where he got into Indy cars. I'm curious to know if any of his old cars ended up in Australia.

Welcome to our site and show us more of your stuff, especially restoration techniques. We like it!

[kmeaders@q.com]

Rick; Some of my buddies used to take their cars to Australia and race during the winter (here). They would sell them, while there, because the locals could get around the tariff laws that country has on imports. So a lot of race driver/owners did that and I'm sure that several of Grant Kings racers ended up there in the seventies and early eighties for sure. Bob There were some Aussies where I raced, like Gary Rush and Gary Patterson was from my area and he spent a few winters over there for sure. Those cars, you have are amazing. Keep posting that stuff.

[bobjeffreson]

Rick,
What Ken said is correct. Back in the day, Aussies would also import 2nd hand cars from Edmunds, CAE etc, so I'm sure we have King cars here. New cars were just way too expensive then.....unlike now where the Aussie dollar buys US$1:05...I LUV IT!!!. Luckily I'm coming back to America in August to see the Knoxville Nationals and Beleville midgets.
Didn't I build a Grant King model as a kid? I'm sure I did.

Ken,
Well Rushie turned out to be our greatest ever sprintcar driver. A bit like S Kinser, with a win rate far above anyone else..then or now. Rush won the Australian Sprintcar Title 10 times and more A Mains than anyone. As a matter of fact I watched the Gary Rush owned sprinter win the A Main in Sydney last night.
Gary Paterson came down here many times and was a superstar on Australian tracks. He was the total entertainment package!

To see what we Aussie 1/4 scale speedway racers are about, go to.....
Luddenham Quarter Scale Speedway

[Rick]

Bob

There are several small scale models of Grant King racers. In regards to the Edmunds cars, are you familiar with his web site? I think its www.donemundsautoresearch.com. I was at a tether car show in California a few years back and Don was there with some of his models, including one with a working engine. Its a site worth visiting.

Thanks for the web site info.

[bobjeffreson]

Rick,
Yes mate, know that site well. The other 1/4 scale car on my wish list is an Edmunds midget. They just never appear For Sale. They are the best of the best.

[Rick]

Bob

Google Rod Sabatini tether car show in Fresno California. He puts on a yearly tether car show and some of your American racers attend, including Don Edmonds. I attended a few years ago and Don had a lot of his stuff there and I think he may have had some stuff for sale. He's very friendly and loves to chat. I also know that in the past he's shared copies of his chassis plans with guys like us who just want to build models.

Sabatini has a very interesting collection of 1:1 race cars that includes several midgets and some old sprint cars. In addition, he has a HUGE collection of tether cars and if I remember correctly, he also has a collection of cars similar to yours. He's also got a very large collection of scale gas engines, mainly for tether cars. I think his show is this time of year so some of your American raceing pals might be aware of it.

Chris Garcia, who is a member of this site attends the show every year and can tell you more in regards to contacting Edmonds and Sabatini. Chris is "Woodythx138" on this site if you want to PM him.

I know thether cars might be a little off topic for you, but some of these guys play in multiple venues, including yours.

[bobjeffreson]

Rick,
Now here's a funny thing. The club I belong to in Sydney is called the "Sydney Society of Model Engineers". It was founded in 1906 and has been at its present location since 1972. Now right beside the 1/4 scale dirt track speedway you will find the world rated tether car track. Last year in October we held the Tether Car World Championships. Competitors came from all over the world to run at our track. We also held the world champs in 1998. I see tether cars running every time I attend the Model Park. Have to be honest though...they don't do a lot for me, however I can appreciate the engineering that goes into a 10cc motor that runs a car at 200mph plus. Hey... at that speed they are just a BLURR to the spectators.
BTW..... Our Model Park is considered to be the longest continually operating Model Society in the world. It officially started in 1906, however there is anecdotal evidence that suggests it may have started in 1904.
Check us out here......

Sydney Society of Model Engineers

[kmeaders@q.com]

Bob: I find this 1/4 scale stuff extremely interesting. I found a track about 100 miles from me so I will be checking that out. G.P. The Great was the Total Entertainment package for sure. I once saw Gary Rush win at West Capital without a wing running against all wing cars. Only then (( late 70s) and on a 1/4 mile could that ever be done, but he did it. If you would post some suspension pictures of the torsion bars set ups you use. I've never seen that done to scale(that are really functional). Where do you get a tire selection and gears from? I doubt I'm alone here wanting to see more. Thanks, Ken

[bobjeffreson]

Ken,
My sprintcar has torsion bar rear and coil-over front. I'll take a photo of the rear so you can see how we do it. My rear suspension can be altered to a degree of 1 gram difference on either side. Now that's fine tuning. All my other cars for the last 13 years were all 4 bar cars and I can assure you that they as adjustable as a full size car. Most guys down here use K&S sprung steel piano wire. Works a treat and is cheap. A small flat or hole is drilled into the wire and a bolt through the Aluminum stop allows the adjustment.

The wheels and tyres come from the premier 1/4 scale supplier, Todd Bishop out of Springdale Arkansas USA. I've been buying off him since 1998.
Here's a link to his site...btw the photo on the header is from our track.

Tires, Wheels, Accessories for Quarter Scale R/C Racing! BishopRacingProducts.com

Mate you will have to go and check out some 1/4 scale sprintcars or any Q scale car for that matter. I know your initial reaction will the same as everyone that walks into my shop and sees them for the 1st time...something along the lines of .."holy sh*#t that's huge". Remember these cars are approx 39 inches long and probably 28 inches to the top of the wing.

[kmeaders@q.com]

Oh man, I just got into model cars but this sport looks like the ticket. I will want to build one and race it, I know. I've got 3 1/2 acres to practice on. Thanks Bob!

[bobjeffreson]

Ken,
Just thought you should see how these cars wreck. My sprinter is the one involved in the middle of this incident....tagged from behind,taking off and getting punched while I'm in the air.Car was OK ..only needed some new bolt on gear. They wreck just like the full-size cars....LOL