I was hoping to attend this session, since it’s much better to discuss such things in person, but I haven’t been able to secure a ‘leave of absence’ for that time. I was also looking forward to trying out a few new cars that had not been on a track. I do have a few recommendations I would like to make.
Hot Rod class: I agree fully with the recommendation from Racer68. I‘ve had the same concerns for a while now, and had posted a comment along those lines.
The current rule set is: ( “Scratch32 Rules & Guidelines – v4.0 – July, 2018” )
HR – Hot Rod Class – ‘Open’ Inline BWMS050
HR1. Eligible Models: Any model with or without fenders; *[The currently updated practice: cut off year is 1948; see post – #17528.]
HR2. Any inline chassis;
HR3. Motor – ‘Low Power’ BWMS050;
HR4. Wheels – maximum 14mm in diameter with a maximum width of 6mm. Inserts or wheel
detail must be period appropriate;
HR5. DArt SC0120 tires are highly recommended but not mandatory;
HR6. Maximum width of front and rear rolling assemblies (track) is 50.8mm but bodies/fenders
may be wider; and
HR7. Every car requires at least one racing number which may be painted or otherwise fixed on
the windshield.
“A hot rod is a 1948 and earlier American car that has been radically modified for high horsepower, high acceleration and high speed.” ( The reason that 1948 is the cut-off year is that it was the last year that models had protruding fenders. 1949 introduced integrated fenders, ‘streamlined’ bodies. ) [This cut off year is the current updated practice; post – #17528.]
Keeping in line with the principle that ‘the cars are the stars’ and wining or losing a little toy car race is of no great significance, it’s more important to have a proper scale representation of the cars, than to have them balanced for competition purposes. After all, we are not running a trophy series in our races. Also, being “radically modified”, the degree of modification varies, so the Hot Rod class does not lend itself well to close standardized competition unless you eliminate the key characteristic of ‘radically modified’. It’s better to look to GrpC or LMP or 70’s GP for a standardized class that is evenly matched.
Certainly there is a group of Hot Rods that are more or less ‘jalopies’ with rear wheels of the original 1930’s stock sizes. But it makes little sense to restrict all Hot Rods to rear wheels of 6mm width, essentially the same as the 5.5mm width of the pre-war GP’s. The typical Hot Rod is more highly customized and may have widened fenders, very large rear tires in diameter and in width, resulting in a very wide spur for the car. On the other hand, there would be nothing stopping anyone who wants to represent the sub-group of Hot Rods that ran on the narrow 1930’s stock tires. But even with those tires, I’ve noticed some problems in properly mounting the body to the chassis on some of our models, due to the overall width constraint.
That covers my ideas on tire size. In terms of motor configuration, why are we stuck in inline? For a properly seated body, you have to cut away more than half of the bench seat to accommodate the inline motor. Why not allow the drivetrain geometry to be whatever best suits the body and motor, and possibly allows for the use of a full interior? As long as a Slow Motor is in use, if the body can accommodate a sidewinder, why not allow it?
In terms of overall width, the 50.8mm is too narrow to allow for a proper representation of a “radically modified” car. Even looking at our current entries, it’s evident that some have had problems mounting the body low enough to the chassis and tires, because of this width constraint. (I can provide examples, but this post is already too long!) Since most Hot Rods have a very wide rear stance, I suggest that we allow the same tire width and overall width as we do in the 70’s GP class.
Therefore, my recommendation for the Hot Rod rule set is: ( keeping in mind, “radically modified” ! )
HR1. Any modified or customized American car model from 1948 or earlier, with or without fenders, in paint or in primer. [ This cut off year is the current updated practice; post – #17528 ]
HR2. Any motor configuration.
HR3. Slow motor.
HR4. Choice of wheel sizes (rim and tire) is open. (or, we can use the width restrictions from 70GP)
HR5. Maximum overall width of rolling assemblies is 68.5mm, but bodies/fenders may be wider.
( 70GP has Rr tire = 16mmW, Fr tire = 9.5mmW, overall W = 68.5mm )
HR6. Every car requires at least one racing number which may be painted or otherwise fixed on the windshield.
Another set of complications arise with the introduction of the other related classes in the Feb 2, 2021 post, #17528 :
“Hot Rod” sub classes: Street Rod (SR), Rat Rod (RR), Street Machines (SM), and Gassers (GAS).
“ Street Rods (SR) – (aka Hot Rod) – Any modified or customized car or truck model from 1948 or earlier with or without fenders in paint or in primer ” .
However, it would be incorrect to have ‘Gassers’ (such as the ’57 Chevrolet example in the post) as a sub category of Hot Rod. A ‘Gasser’ is not a Hot Rod, since it is not 1948 or prior; in other words, since it doesn’t have a body style originally with projecting fenders.
We could have the classes as:
Hot Rod (HR) – Any 1948 and earlier American car that has been radically modified . (no trucks)
Rat Rod (RR) – Any 1948 and earlier American model Car or Truck with a deliberately worn-down, unfinished appearance, typically lacking paint, showing rust, and made from cheap or cast-off parts.
Street Machine (SM) – Any modified or customized car or truck model from 1949 or later in paint or in primer. ( 1949 or later models already had integrated fenders, and are not a sub class of Hot Rod )
Gassers (GAS) – A vintage drag car that was popularized in the ’50s and ’60s (up to 1968) . . . . . . ( again, cars of the ‘50’s and 60’s are not Hot Rods and therefore can’t be a subclass of Hot Rods )
However, my recommendation is to separate ‘Street Machine’ and ‘Gasser’ from the Hot Rod class, since they are not Hot Rods.
Rat Rod may be a redundant category, since except for the truck option, it can be subsumed into the Hot Rod category. Are we going to find enough 32’nd scale trucks to form a group to race, and how many people want to race a vintage truck in the first place! The models already registered under the Hot Rod class are a mix of custom Hot Rods and Rat Rods.
My suggestion is to drop ‘Gassers’ from the list, since they are dragsters that will not handle well on a road course, and it doesn’t make sense to run a dragster there in any case.
* To accommodate those who may be concerned about wheel and tire sizes leading to performance advantages, I suggest that we can have HR and HR+, as we do in many other classes. The HR rules can the same as in the “v4.0 – July, 2018” rules, and the HR+ rules are those I listed above, HR-1 to HR-6, with the unrestricted motor configuration, wheel size, and 68.5mm rolling assembly width. That will allow for a proper representation of the most popular and most typical form of Hot Rod.
Pre-War GP class:
Rear wheel dimensions on a 1930 MG or Swallow Sidecars (Jaguar) model are quite different from a 1939 Auto Union, in diameter, width, and shape. The early tires had a rounded cross-section, later ones had a flatter wider surface contact. If we are making an allowance beyond the rules, for “slightly larger ‘Dunlop Racing’ rear tires” on the AU type-D, does the same principle not apply to the dimensions of tires on other models, in order to allow for a more accurate scale representation? After all these cars had a wide range of rim and tire sizes and shapes over the ten year period. Considering the use of the Slow Motor, a small difference in wheel sizes should not produce a difference in performance, but if it does, it will reflect that of the real cars.
Also, what is the reason for the max width of the rolling assemblies in the two sub-classes: PGP, set at 54 mm and the PGP+, at 50.8 mm? Are AU Type C and D in PGP+ ?
Boulevard Cruisers class:
Somehow the name ‘American Thunder’ appeared in its place! I don’t think that name captures the original intent of the class. The Boulevard Cruisers are not cars that are modified for thunderous speed, and they don’t run in thunder alley. They are basically stock cars in cruise use. So I think we should keep the original name. I also hope that we are keeping the originally intended fairly open specifications, with respect to wheels, motors, and drive train configuration.
I hope this review will produce a draft set of rules that will go out to all members for final comment, since members that have not yet been part of the discussion and may be assuming no changes, may have differing opinions on the resulting draft. Good luck to all, in working through the review. Felix.