Part 1

My car racing began in the early 1960’s (gee that really makes me sound old) with slot cars. By the early 1970’s the slot car tracks began to disappear quickly. As I packed them up over the years they occasionally would come back out when some friends suggested [...]]]> Bill’s Nostalgia Corner

Part 1

My car racing began in the early 1960’s (gee that really makes me sound old) with slot cars. By the early 1970’s the slot car tracks began to disappear quickly. As I packed them up over the years they occasionally would come back out when some friends suggested there was a track still around. I mention slot cars because of something later in the early R/C days (the Resistor).

After graduating from college, moving, and buying my first Datsun 240Z, I met my roommate of 6 years. He got me interested in motorcycles (dirt bikes).  My front tooth is still cracked from one of my many afternoon rides in the sand dunes behind the apartments. Again what does this have to do with R/C cars, you’ll see. Actually as a member of FTR (Florida Trail Riders) I’ve gone to many places very near to where I’ve also raced R/C cars. Almost every trip to an R/C race reminds me of my FTR days. Also, one of the guys that became the FTR president or maybe he was on the board of directors also became our region director and later the ROAR president Eric Grudger.

Anyway, back to my R/C parts of this article. I got my second Datsun, a 280ZX, and became friends with my brother’s twin roommates at his house. They were into the R/C cars. Every time I’d talk with them they would try to get me to go to the indoor basketball court they raced on every month. I wasn’t too interested, as I was still pretty heavy into motorcycle racing. It was also at this time I met my ex-wife, the motorcycle racing was a little too dangerous for her. Besides, most of my friends had been hurt worse than I ever had. My only injuries were a concussion on Thanksgiving Day, a broken toe, and a broken collarbone. It also helped that the last bike I got was a joke- Bultaco Frontier 350. It wasn’t any fun racing an enduro and having to carry extra gas to make the gas stop. Besides it was really dangerous. It was either running out of gas or the motor would seize up. It was during this time I took a trip to the hobby shop where one of the twins worked.

I got a Focke Wolfe 190 plane. The following week I got a call about the Leisure Car and Associated, mentioned in my other articles. That Airplane box sat underneath my table for many years. I almost started to build it several times. I ended up selling it back to the same hobby shop years later. Anyway, I choose a 1/12th  Leisure car with an electronic speed controller. It also had the best charger available, it was digital with a timer. This was in late July, 1979. I took the car to my bothers house, so he could install something that did not come with the car, a dif. That was an option part (can you imagine driving a 1/12th car with a straight axle) and it was invented by Schumacher. So it was time to try it out. My friend drove it out in the street and gave me the controls after warning me about the water puddle. Within a minute I found the water puddle in the street and pop went the speed controller. Now I had a choice to make as my friend was going into the Army the next month. I had no clue of how to fix the car. Now remember earlier I mentioned slot cars, here is the connection. While I sent the speed controller back to Leisure to fix it, he installed the other way to get the power to the motor. It was a servo with a wiper arm resistor. The tricks to the wiper arm were just like slot cars with the different ohm resisters and they were big. Later Parma came out with the lightweight resisters which was the thing to have. They also had different ohms for quicker response. Got to go lighter- sound familiar?

Now when we got a radio hit it was either one of two bad things; the arm would go to wide open, or if you were lucky it would stop quickly. After your car had stopped (hopefully off the resistor- otherwise it was wide open) then you had to try to touch the hot resister and get the wiper arm back on the resister. Boy what fun! Radio wise there was the Futaba Brown box. Just trying to get the wiper throw correct along with the steering servo was a chore. Delta came out with this little knob thing resistor, that if you looked at it hard it would move. But it was the thing that everyone had to have.  There was also something on the side of the radio for a throttle stop. At a state race you could always hear someone complaining about someone messing with the knob on their radio all the time. That is a story for a later time.

How about motors in the beginning. You know those Mabuchi 540 sealed things that comes in a Tamiya kit. That was it, no changing brushes. They were sealed cans and it was against the rules to open them up. If you did it was not to be used again in a race. Now the modified motors did have a removable endbell, but you still could not do anything about brushes. There were no varieties of compounds to use. Some of the tricks of the trade with those motors were known by some. You could advance the timing of the motor (it was illegal). After it was done you would probably dump before the end of the 8 minutes or break the windings. The other trick was to water dip the motors to break in the brushes. This was done by dipping the motors in ice cold water while running it for 5-10 seconds one way and then 5 second the other. Pull the motor out get all the water out spray with motor cleaner and oil. Now the other trick was if you were friends with the right guys they had a magnet zapper. The guys in Tampa and Miami had one. They were all homemade.

Now, as a side bar, one of the funniest tricks played on everyone at a big race (not at the time). It was the 1983 Bolink Spring Championships in Atlanta. Bolink water dipped every one of the motors and did not tell anyone until the end of the race on Sunday. So everyone messed up their motors by water dipping them again – including me. All during that weekend everyone was complaining about their motors.   Heck after everyone removed most of the brush compound and there was no adjustment for the brush tension– Oh well that’s racing.

So this is a general idea of what we did in the beginning. I’ll go into more specifics about charging- gears a motor ahead of it’s time and batteries on the next segment.

Part 2

I’ll start out in part two talking about batteries, motors, chargers/charging, and gears. First we’ll start out with batteries. Back in the beginning, there was no such thing as a matched pack of batteries. All the cars all used stick battery packs.  The first things we would hear through [...]]]> Bill’s Nostalgia Corner

Part 2

I’ll start out in part two talking about batteries, motors, chargers/charging, and gears. First we’ll start out with batteries. Back in the beginning, there was no such thing as a matched pack of batteries. All the cars all used stick battery packs.
 The first things we would hear through the grape-vine was the date codes of the battery packs. Certain months were better than others.  Also the Sanyo was the best pack out there. Sure there were other brands out there but for many-many years Sanyo was the batteries to have. We’re talking about are 1200sc’s.
 The 1983 Race sponsored by Bolink “The Spring Championship Race” in Atlanta came around. Yes the same race with the water dipped motors I mentioned in the first article. GE had a new battery they were coming out with. This was going to be their big push. But it never materialized. Sanyo(1200’s) were still the battery to have.
 You have to realize that there were only two types of r/c cars 1/8th gas and 1/12th electric. In 1/12th we always ran 8 minutes with the  6-7 minute mark was always the critical mark as if you were off – you dumped(Game Over). Here’s where the charging our batteries comes in. This was very interesting in the beginning. I blew up so many packs and I had plenty of company during the early years. Let’s see there was the standard Associated Charger with a 15 minute timer. We all know the batteries don’t charge in 15 minutes but that was the majority of chargers being sold at the time. Then there was Leisure and they were the only company to include a digital meter on their charger with the 15 minute timer.

Otherwise with the Associated and everyone else, you had to get a volt meter to read the voltage. The volt meters weren’t cheap like they are today. I’ve still got my $80.00 Fluke digital volt meter I used and it still works. Now you ask why the batteries would blow up. There was no cut-off for the chargers just timers. They just kept charging until the timer cut it off. So you had to watch the volt meter and when it starting going in reverse you unplugged and you’re ready to go. Now the other version was the one that came in every Associated kit- “the charge cord” you would hook it up to your car battery. This was supposed to give you the best charge possible. You did this by feel of the battery. When it got very warm it was done. Or if it got too warm; “boom.”
There were no generators back then. Everyone charged off your car battery. The smart guys got the marine deep cycle battery and charger and used it to charge your batteries. There was always someone that charged too much off their car battery and needed a jump to go home after the races.
Even the early days going to the big races carrying those heavy marine batteries up in the hotel room was fun. Then bringing them back down in the morning got old quick. But again generators were not around for many years. Having a room on the first floor was always a priority. The excuses we gave to get a first floor room. Especially if you were the one that had to go up the stairs lugging that big battery. You also had to put something down on the ground for the battery to sit on. Otherwise the battery would drain quicker- so we were told.
Now the chargers did improve to no more timers and they were the “delta” peak system (Kevin Ortin – Delta/Tekin). You could always tell the new guys as the hobby shops would sell the timer chargers and tell everyone they would charge in 15 minutes. You could see the new racers show up at their first race to dump in 4-5 minutes and wonder why. This was the cheapest form of chargers and that’s what it took to get the new racers out there. We would then show them what they needed to do and went from there.
Now we come to the motors. The original motors were the sealed Mabuchi 540 motors for stock and the adjustable timing modifieds.  I’ve still got my original first motor. There were no changing brushes. Maybe a different end bell for the mod’s but that was it. You could bend the metal brush holder on the mod’s. In stock, if you cranked the timing it was illegal and if was easy to bust the wires. Now it was done, but you took the chance of ruining a motor at a big race and getting caught.
Now during my first year Leisure (the company I raced for) had an electric airplane motor with removable brushes and springs. This is where my good friend and team captain came in (Rocky Hagan). Both he and Roland of Leisure came up with the idea of using this motor. The only problem was we could not get replacement brushes. Talk about fast there was nothing out there that could touch it. But it was not ROAR legal and I could only run my motor in practice or after the days racing. Now the second motors they sent me were not like the original- it was slower. Again it wasn’t Roar legal either. It would be several years later with the Kyosho Lemans(240) motors before we would have removable brushes.
Was there such a thing as getting your com cut- NO. When the com was worn out that was it. Com cutters came into being after the Lemans motors were available. The few out there were hard to find and rather expensive when they first came out. On of the first that I can remember was the Twister Lathe by Mike Walker.
It was also during this time the motor guys were just getting started. They would rebuild your motors (cut the coms and put in new brushes and springs). Everyone in Florida knows Paul Wynn but it was his dad Jerry Wynn that was the man at our Florida races “Redline Modifieds”. If you needed your motor worked on he was the man.
 Another one of the tricks for the Mabuchi’s motors was a magnet zapper. If you were lucky to be friends with the few guys that had a magnet zapper that was the thing to do to our motors. These were mostly home made.
After the Lemans type of motors came out someone made a magnet zapper commercially (which I bought). We were supposed to be able to advance the timing by adjusting the magnet strength off center. It did ruin the motors we tried it on. This was a waste of money .
Now for gearing and your big choices. There weren’t any to speak of. Everyone ran 32 pitch gears. Stock had a 48 spur and mod ran 46 (if you had a good trigger finger). There was no such thing as 48 pitch or 64 pitch gears in the beginning. It would have been a big improvement if they were out but they weren’t. Now you remember I mentioned the first cars came out without a diff that was an option. It did not take anyone long to put the option in there car.
Now it was Delta that came out with the Delta diff.  It also came with a 48 pitch and later the 64 pitch gears. This was great on some surfaces. It was a Spur gear with three small gears (Gear diff) – something like the Japanese diffs you see in a lot of there cars even today. That’s not a good description but it’s the best I can give you. Now when delta came out it also took a special axle. Again the race in Atlanta was the first big race we tried it out at. There was a big problem, they were just a tad to long and would not fit in the tech box. We did manage to get them to work sort of and they passed tech. They made new axles after the race and that fixed the problem.
Now it was during this time the 48 and 64 pitched gears came out. Most of the people chose the 48 pitch. The 64 pitched gears seemed to strip easier. At least they did for me. Now as a recap we were “still” running 1200 Sanyo batteries. Before I forget at many of the big races back then you would always see the Sanyo rep at the races. They were the king of the hill of batteries.
The next part will be the next generation of batteries- Sanyo and other battery companies (1400scr’s and 1700’s). Track prep for local and big races. Track side pits and lap counting. I hope you’re having fun reading about my racing experiences.

Some time ago (5 years) I did the history of our series. Since I was the last of the old timers to run continuous in one or more races since 1982 . I guess it was up to me [...]]]> FSEARA History
Written by Bill Fraden, updated 1/25/2007
additional references:  Eddie Herrmann, Rocky Hagan.

Some time ago (5 years) I did the history of our series. Since I was the last of the old timers to run continuous in one or more races since 1982 . I guess it was up to me to compose this history of the series.

Some of my thoughts go back to the first state meeting in 1981 for the 1982 season,. that I went to. It was brutal and as I left the meeting I was wondering what I got myself into. I’ve got many memories of the friends and racers from the past. Some of my memories are back in 1983 in the first Jacksonville state race at the Orange Park Kennel club. Eddie Herrmann and I were competing in the 1/12th “C” main. Eddie was a A main driver and had a bad day qualifying. Me on the other had been having bad luck for the past several months, but the “C” main was okay. Eddie had some problems at the start of the race and I was in 1st. At the 7 minute mark I saw Eddie he was staring to gain ground. Down the front straightway I went and then I happened. Someone crashed and the turn marshall went to get the car. Only the turn marshall had a cast on his broken leg (no rule at this time about this). I didn’t see him until it was to late. My car was finished! The turn marshall was sorry but that didn’t help me. I didn’t speak to anyone for about a hour. Mike Alexander was the turn marshal and he tried to apologize. To this day I’ve got the body from that crash, hanging on the wall in my garage.By the way Eddie won.

I’ve seen all the good and bad changes in our hobby. The from the old wiper arm with a resistor to the present speedcontoller. The old mabuchi 540 motors to the present motors. The water dipping , the cranking the armatures is not new, they have been doing this for years.

The rise and fall of the 1/12th and 1/10th pan cars class ( our roots).The beginning of the off-road cars (the first associated off road car).Some great yearly races – The Red Lobster Classic (Melbourne),Winter Nationals (Orlando), Spring Championships (Atlanta, Ga. ). The introduction of the AMB lap counting system (Red Lobster). When it first came out you had two push buttons on a cord. You punched the button every time the car went past the line. Before this you stopped at the end of the time and the boards were marked. It would be the time and the board count. This was done by either marking on paper on a hand mechanical counter. With the improved AMB system (brought in by Bolink) now we only have to turn marshall after we race.

The first state race was held at Arnie’s Hobby Shop on 56th street in Temple Terrace Fla (Tampa).

How about the reason for Sugar water – not coke syurp. How we used to put it on the tracks, with mops and brooms, then the 5 gallon sprayers. When there wasn’t a blower and we had to sweep the tracks clean. The stuff we put on the tires – All-Pro.

Some of the other things that happened at the state races. Jacksonville for many years when they hosted races in April – bad choice( April showers). For several years we were known as the rain out race. It would either rain on Saturday or Sunday (mostly Sundays). Some other rain outs were in Miami- it rained so hard the parking lot was under a foot of water and the track was floating away.

There was Winter Haven and the Hardee’s (started raining and we had 100 racers inside the Hardee’s).In Orlando it rained and stopped so we started racing and then it got dark(no lights). Then it started raining again in my main(when I was leading).

Some of the names from the past : Rocket Ron Benash, Diamond Jim Fuller, Chris Doseck, Bobby Horan, Andy Dobson, Kim Davis, Art Carbonnel ( Delta and Vicfor), Mike Burdette, ARCAR from Atlanta, Denny Smith, Steve Whitney, Steve Krutsinger, Larry McLendon, Mike Fromer, Jay Blackwood, Redline Motors -Jerry Wynn and Paul, Team Pit Stop- Steve Miniea, (the late)Bruce Wilson(Autographics), Eric Grudger, Hugh Ebner, Jeff Davis, Ward Brower, Dwane Johansen, Rocky Hagan(Team Leisure)Dan Roeder, Frankie Puppello (Mr. Concours),The Alabama Gang ,(the late) Bill French Ed Miller, Lance Reynolds (1st Nationals held in Florida- Orlando),Dan Oleski, Allen Lane, Joe Conte, Lance Elbertson, Scott Schike,Pete Peterson, Kevin Hubbard, Mike McBride Sr & Jr, Mike Klenworth, Fred Hanstine, Robert Ham, Tim O’Sullivan Sr. & Jr., Ed Edinburg, Gary and Randy Wells, Greg Barker ,John Bobe and Benny Tucen just a few names from the past. These people helped put Florida on the map and made the series strong.

Anyway back to the Series, it began in 1980 and is on the 21st year (2001).The series it self has had many changes since the beginning and has been innovative in what we’ve raced each year. Some of the founding fathers of our series are: Eddie Herrmann, Dan Roeder, John Purcells, Dave Willits, Glen Lewis, Dennis Bouchard, Rocky Hagan and Fankie Puppello.

If I’ve made a mistake , I’m just going on the info I’ve gotten. In the beginning there was only 1/12th scale( with wiper arms on resistor for speedcontrollers). We worked around the1/8th scale gas car series since many of them raced in there series. We were sort of the off-season racing for the gas cars. The 1/10th scale class didn’t come around until 1987.This class was first introduced by Bolink at the Winterchamps with a TOJ body along with a Parma 1/18th scale car. The first two years we raced 5 or 6 one day events on Sundays. We tried a brief experiment in 1982 that almost ended the series. The state was divided into regions and you had to qualify in your region to go to the state race. There were 16 spots in each region. Miami gave 5 of there spots to Team Bolink and Roy Kelly from Atlanta won the race.