The Slotcar Outhouse

A 'no bull' site for 1:32 slot car racing. Home of the 'Slotcar Legends'

Revell Ford Galaxie 500

Post Reply
wixwacing
Marshal!!!
Posts: 1871
Joined: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:22 am

Revell Ford Galaxie 500

Post by wixwacing »

Revell '65 Ford Galaxie
“Ned Jarrett”


Image


by Phil Wicks

NASCAR is an institution as far as motor sport goes in the USA. Since the inception of the oval race track men have pitted their machines against each other in an attempt to reach ever greater speeds in the process. Regulation has been fair and often with rules disqualifying various car aspects in an attempt to level the playing field. It would be interesting to know exactly how much importance was attached to these events as far as the factories were concerned. Unlike some international events of the day there didn't seem to be much overt factory participation and sponsoring was at a minimum level and most of the contestants were private entries. But that didn't stop some of the most famous names in American motorsport taking part and indeed some rose to fame in this all time classic motor racing series.

It is interesting to note that Ned Jarrett’s winnings for 1965 totaled almost $78,000, A princely sum in those days but a drop in the ocean when you compare it to Jimmie Johnson's $8.9 million in 2006!!! None the less, a worthy second championship win for a driver who was to retire the following year to take up selling real estate.



Image



Revell/Monogram have faithfully reproduced this great car and I can't see there being many complaints about detail and finish. Unlike Europe, it was traditional for 'stock' cars to run with full bumpers and chrome work and the model does look a little front and rear heavy because of it. The model is finished in a nice metallic blue and the white decals set it off. Interior detail is nice and although not as glitzy as some models twice its price, I think it has captured the feel of the .


Image


The roll cage around the driver has been enlarged to depict the padding on the and some simple but nice touches include an extinguisher and shift lever, items now commonplace in almost every modern slotcar. The dash itself has been left black and although this is quite functional it would have been nice to see more detail in this area.



Image



The external detail includes trunk and hood pins and a convincing fuel filler cap but to me the best detail, even in their plain-ness, are the wheels. A set of well modeled plain old steel disc wheels with the hub centres and wheel nuts picked out in silver. A nice change from the massive wheel selection on modern models.


Image





Tyres are good too, plain but good, and although some are saying they are the wrong size, I prefer not to get that anal about them. After all, if you wanted too, you could find a whole lot worse with it and other models. Lastly for the outside, at one hundred and sixty two millimeters, this must be almost the longest model I own, behind a model I made in my youth of the sixties Russian ZIL. It barely scrapes into the standard Revell box.


Image



Underneath is good news mostly with a sturdy chassis sporting no less than two traction magnets. The rear one is spaced very low to the track just in front of the motor and the front is mounted considerably higher behind the front axle. Between them they hold this monster quite firmly to the track without unduly stressing the motor. The first two negatives would be that 1. The guide is too sloppy and too high above the slot. Secondly, the Revell braids have still not been improved!! The braids have a commendable metal sleeve over the guide end. This ensures good braid security in the guide but unfortunately, whoever designed the guide could not have designed the braid!! Why?? With the sleeve pushed hard home into the guide until it comes up against the stop, there is still a good 1.0 to 1.5 mm of sleeve sticking out of the guide! The consequence is that the guide spend most of its time running on this hard edge making the rest of the braid almost superfluous, until such time that the braid wears through right at the front! Luckily I have a good cure for this which I will detail later in an 'upgrade' section. Lastly, the chassis is held in by four screws and inside the model the chassis posts and screw holes are recessed together.




Image



With the body off you could just about hold a barn dance in the vacant space. First thing to strike you is the motor, mounted 'on edge' comparatively. Only Revell would know the reason for this but on a model this size it isn't going to make that much difference. The bar magnets look familiar at first but they are in actual fact a little longer and narrower than the Scaley ones. They don't have quite the same strength either.



Image



With the chassis being a sort of 'channel' section there is a degree of inherent rigidity and it is apparent that mounting the motor up this way gives more strength to the area of the motor mounts. Unlike other contemporary models, there is little flex or danger of breaking across this point. The motor carries the normal Revell RI protection.



Image


Towards the front there is a large screw down bracket which locates the front axle. With screws removed the axle is free to float back and forth in this spot. The bracket, along with a couple of smaller oblong plates governs the position of the front axle and by reversing the smaller plates a longer or shorter wheelbase is achieved. I suspect this is a universal chassis to fit the '63 Galaxy too.



Image


There is plenty of opportunity to fine tune the chassis on this model and I will detail some of the mods I have made after its first track test.

First and foremost was attention to the guide. I had run this model on a local four lane board track and it was obvious this leviathan was having difficulties in tight corners. Its sheer mass ensured the guide had no chance in achieving its design function and corners that some models would whisk around caused this model to understeer deslot in a manner reminiscent of a slow motion train wreck! it was asking too much for the little dear to yank that mass about when only half in the slot!


As mentioned earlier, the guide sits about 1.5 mm out of the slot, mostly as a mismatch in chassis and axle dimensions but also because the braid end sleeves don’t go right home into the guide, causing the model to ride on the edge of the sleeve. Not wanting to change the guide I decided that firstly the braids had to be altered. This was achieved by carefully prizing open the sleeve until the braid was removed easily from it. Next, holding the sleeve firmly with a pair of pliers I used a cut off disc in the dremel to cut about 1.0 mm off the open end of the sleeve. The braid was reinserted and the sleeve crimped firmly together again. The braids were put back in the guide and the wires re inserted in the top. Now the guide was able to sit flush on the braids all the way along.



Image



Next it was necessary to stop the guide moving up in its mount. Using the same wad punch pliers I use to make axle shims, I punched out some plastic 'washers' from some 0.5mm plastic card. These were slipped over the guide pin until, with the chassis sitting on the test slot, the front wheels just made good contact with the test slot block. This achieved a good stance for the chassis and guide but the amount of shims inserted took the lip which stops the guide popping out, just down into the tube, which would negate its retainer properties. The simplest solution was to get a 6.0mm drill bit and by hand, carefully countersink the top of the guide mounting hole. This allowed the guide top to expand into the countersunk area and stop the guide popping out. With both these modes carried out I turned my attention next to the body mounting posts. These interlock and this would minimize the effect of running the body a little loose to help chassis flex. In the past I have simply cut the lips off the chassis posts but in this case I simply countersunk the post holes with a sharp modelers knife. This allowed the body a degree of float once the screws were baked off. I also enlarge the chassis post holes with a modelers round file to minimize the screw threads picking up on the sides of the holes one loose.

The body was mounted back on the chassis and as the model already has a working clearance between it and the chassis, there was no need to do anymore trimming to free up body movement. On this model I have backed the screws off about one turn. This gives the body a reasonable degree of float which is still apparent when the model is sitting on a magnetic track section. I have used several different methods of keeping the screws in in the past. The one I am currently using is to put a drop of enamel paint down the screw thread holes and tighten into it. When the paint dries it affords a degree of reusable 'bight' for the screws. Enough to stop them dropping out!

Totally happy with the level of preparation, the model was placed in the race box for its next outing. This was to be the humungous Scaley Sport circuit f the SEQSCC in inner SW Brisbane. A couple (and more) good straights plus a bit of technical in the 'car park' would test this one in a variety of situations. So on race night,.... off we went!!



Image



Surprise, Surprise. What I expected to be a cumbersome model turned out to quite a pleasant experience. The model, in spite of its size and weight, is well geared to cope, even on a plastic track. It pulls away smartly with minimal drag and can soon reach terminal speed on a medium sized straight. The gears are a little noisy but a touch of the ‘Tamiya Fine’ will reduce that. The magnets are well placed too. A good deal of downforce from the rear magnet which is closer to the rails than you think. The front magnet is a lot higher up and exerts a degree of downforce equivalent, at a guess, to about twenty grams of lead. Enough to keep the guide on the job in fast corners. On the back straight of Graceville the model reached terminal speed before half way. It was a good speed too. Faster than the regular ‘S’ cans and probably on a par with a Fly Evo motor. Brakes were fair but not confidence inspiring and general behaviour was good. When eventually pushed to a deslot it was a roll over type which demonstrated it still has a high C of G. But none the less, four of these in a contest would be the best fun!

Later on the following week the Legends were racing at Al’s Paceway and after an evening’s good competition, I got the old girl out for some board track experience. Once again, a better drive than I was expecting. Well mannered and ready to do some hard work. The tyres were even hooking up well on the painted surface. Better than I expected. Some realistic drifting through the sweepers and plenty of direction for the tight corners. Again, another great experience. Don’t get me wrong. This model won’t be the next contestant in a serious sortie but unlike some bad mannered and faster cars, It is a good predictable drive and a respectable turn of speed.

Statistics



Wheelbase					93.0 m.m.
Front axle width				56.5 m.m.
Rear axle width        				56.5 m.m.
Guide to rear axle				101.0 m.m.
Overall weight        				98.0 grams
Rear axle load        				65.0 grams
Front axle/guide load	        		33.0 grams
Front / rear weight dist			66% / 33%
Body weight					42.0 grams
Spur gear					11z plastic
Contrate					37z alloy/nylon
Final drive ratio 				3.36:1
Rear wheel diameter				20.3 m.m.
Progress					18.98 m.m. per motor rev.
Rear tyre tread width		        	7.6 m.m.
Guide length (median)        			18.7 m.m.
Guide depth					6.7 m.m.
Guide thickness (median)			1.60 m.m.
Motor						Mabuchi type ‘S’
So that is it. A special model that has endeared itself to me and another one for the race box to be run socially and tinkered with until the day comes that it can contest a race in its own right. If you have been hankering after one of these and were a bit unsure, provided you are prepared to remedy the guide problem, rush out and buy it!
Image

When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
chuckjoyce
Spectator
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Dec 25, 2010 10:11 pm

Re: Revell Ford Galaxie 500

Post by chuckjoyce »

I for one really like the Revell Nascars.. as I just turned 70 years old I grew up watching these cars race. To date I have 12 of these cars with 4 more (4892) coming in the mail.. out of the box all of them sound like a "bucket of rocks" going around my track. The information that I have gotton from this site has been invaluable... Thanks!!
Post Reply
cron