Good to see ya here Bill and I do know who you are Thanks for the honesty, thats what this forum and website is about. I dont like to put the politics on the site part so much because I like to keep it about the cars, but this forum is a perfect place to express these types of things and discussions. I really appreciate it when you original 1/4 scale guys come here and post. Nothing is like hearing it first hand.
Do you have an oppinion on how the cars designed today stand up compared to the scale cars built of yesteryear. Do you think the manufacturers going away from a scale car had anything to do with the decline?
The real difference that has been made in 1/4 scale in my opinion TIRES so far as the raceability. I still have a PRC with a skellinger rear end and it performes as good as the new cars with the new tires. John Rea had a great idea in the RACO car in modular design the car raced well but i feel that the PRC and WCM were more advanced for their time. Some of the most enjoyable races i watched were John Rea and Lance Love racing each other. I have owned every 1/4 scale car that has been manufactured except for the Gram Cracker. The last cars i raced were the kr1 and lightning for my likeing the lightning was the best. I have been on the track with my old PRC and new lightnings and wcm and the prc was still competive with the skellenger rear end vs. the independent suspension. Tires made all the difference. I would still be racing if the politicks hadn't in my opinion screwed up 1/4 scale. National events used to bring 135 to 140 dricers the last one i raced had 37 entries and at least 8 of them were drivers racing 2 classes includeing me. The site looks Great Mike and i hope it will further promote 1/4 scale because QSAC and QSAC West sure are not!!!!!!!!!!! thanks for the forum Bill Pihl
Bill, do you have any Ideas about what it would take to start a new sanctioning body? I would love to know what it would really take. If you have a few people willing to put up prizes and other things for the races what else really cost. I would love to run some big races but I dont have the temper or patience to deal with the "seasoned veterans" like you referred to. I race the new cat 5's which is a very nice car. But I wish I could run my old car. I have a PRC car with skellenger as well. I have been restoring the chassis. When I got it the chassis had been cut on the right side door area and the bumpers were gone. I am thinking of puting the foam bumpers on the front and back like the newer cars so that when I do drive it I can drive a little harder than I would if it had the tubular bumpers.
BTW: Do you have any pics of the car without the body so I could see if there is anything else I am missing on my chassis.
Thanks........
Well we have taken another hit in the Midwest, the Indy RC Dragway has closed. I don't have details why, but we will still be racing at the Celina RC Dragway in Celina Ohio. Check-out Hank Cork's wild altered on the front page of Celina RC Dragway web site www.geocities.com/celinarcdragracing
Mike Moore
Pro-Max Performance
China manages to make a 1/5 hpi buggy copy(incl 23cc engine) for less than $350 they must be because they are selling them on ebay for 399. Anyone with a feel for adventure should box up some some old cars WCM Sprint, GN, Dragster etc & SKELLENGER fly to Guandong province and find a factory there to build them. These guys can and do make anything . Im pretty sure they could build some decent knock offs and make a profit at the same time. The demand is there for large rc cars just not at $1200 + prices and lack of scale looks and tech
i think its a possibility. It would just take a very large investment. To do such a thing would cost 100's of thousands. Sure you could offer cheap cars, but its the initial investment. Now, i am suprised this has not been done with the conley engine. For sure I thought something would come out of there like that.
I worked in the hobby industry for over a decade. I watched firsthand the "rise" of the Taiwan / China RC manufacturing trend, initially aided by US manufacturers outsourcing production to them to take advantage of the cheap labor.
One thing I saw as consistent: The Chinese manufacturers are not particularly good at innovation, but they are exceptionally proficient at copying an existing product... HOWEVER...
They're not stupid. They won't clone something without there being a VERY solid sales history (like a T-Maxx or a Baja) behind it. They know how many units they produce for the US companies, once they see a few thousand of something shipping per month, THAT'S when the "Clone Wars" start.
Simply put, unless someone just wants to throw a couple hundred thousand at this and HOPE they can discover a reasonably-sized market for 1/4 scale cars or components, and be willing to sit on them if they DON'T sell... it just ain't gonna happen.
i just wish someone would build a nice scale sprint car again with torsion bars, scale dimesions and bodies i really loved these cars when i was 12 now that i can afford one they no longer exist and none of the present day 1/4 sprints come close.
anyhow i managed to get a dynamics sprint but have alot of stuff to find/make for it
will be making it into a non winged usac style dirt machine.
will be posting some pics soon.
Clint,
Not sure if I posted this car here. Certainly put it on the QSAC site.
It's the best example of a 1/4 scale sprintcar ever built in Australia. The man responsible is Mark Davis of Queensland. He has gone to extraordinary lengths to get this car as scale as possible. It even has 1/4 scale dzus fasteners holding the body panels...it's a work of art. It's a four bar car with a Skellenger front and rear. Australian made chassis. Body panels made by himself. We told him to put it under a glass case and not race it....lol
yep have seen it before this is the kind of scale quality im talking about although a car like this would prbably cost $5000+ from a manufacturer if they ever built it. awsome though, i want one!!!!!
Thanks for the honesty, thats what this forum and website is about. I dont like to put the politics on the site part so much because I like to keep it about the cars, but this forum is a perfect place to express these types of things and discussions. I really appreciate it when you original 1/4 scale guys come here and post. Nothing is like hearing it first hand. 
and none of the present day 1/4 sprints come close. 
