[OXO cube]

hi guys        
got a few old scally junior F1 cars off fleabay 
thought i would have a bash at refurbishing them 
namely a Lotus C67 , Porsche C86 and a BRM C72 ( so far )
all have cleaned up well 
motors although not the strongest all run well enough after a little TLC 
the tyres as would be expected on such old cars need replacing especially the rears if i wanted any kind of grip 
any suggestions for tyres ? 
   
but my main issue is the front wheel steering assemblies 
the wheels are extremely loose on the axles and wobble around like crazy 
is there a fix ? or is it just age ? would new assemblies be the answer ?
i have found lots of info on these cars and have used this info to get them to where they are now 
but have found little with regard to the steering assemblies 
any help / info would be gratefully received 

Kev

[CMOTD]

For tyres go to RS Slot Racing. LINK

As far as I can remember the front steering wobbled from new and I have never owned any that didn't, most people who do them up use a solid front axle. Best of luck getting them to perform well, they were rubbish entry level cars back in the day and they are still rubbish although some people think they are cute.

[OXO cube]

thanks for the info CMOTD
how would one install a solid front axle ?
you are on the ball with these cars , they are far from the best 
but as you say , i do find them very 'cute' , and will form a fun niche part of my collection

Kev

[CMOTD]

how would one install a solid front axle ?

With some difficulty! It really needs a revised front end as can be seen from post #48 HERE on SFI from Graham.

I suppose the question is whether you want to turn it into a proper racer or are happy to run it as is with all its faults and charms. If the former then you might as well throw everything away apart from the body and start from scratch. If the latter then the wobbly front wheels won't make a lot of difference to the overall performance as the rest of it is so poor. The motor is terrible and the carbon brushes are unique and unobtainable as spares.

[JMay]

Kev, 
      I can supply a 3dp front axle holder to take a solid axle which will clip into the original Scalex junior body as below, and will take an NSR blade guide. 

   

   

   

Have a look at my JS Chassis thread under Traders and if you need any more information then use the Forum IM system.

Cheers
            John.

[OXO cube]

thankyou John 

i design and 3dp my own chassis , guides , body posts etc 
but i must admit your idea never even occurred to me 
will give it a go myself , but if i fail will contact you deffo 
would be nice to get these cars running atleast somewhere near decent 
will keep you posted 

Kev

[Bazzer]

For tyres go to RS Slot Racing. LINK

As far as I can remember the front steering wobbled from new and I have never owned any that didn't, most people who do them up use a solid front axle. Best of luck getting them to perform well, they were rubbish entry level cars back in the day and they are still rubbish although some people think they are cute.

Juniors were a poor car by modern standards but so was a Ford Cortina Mk2 (or any other heap of 1960's tin) however the Juniors provided great fun if raced against one another.

I have just thrown my Junior BRM on a simple track that I have laid and I still think they are good fun cars.

To answer the OP question about the front wheel wobble, as stated else where they were always pretty loose and most of the slack on my Juniors is actually between the axle and the wheel, I would think a fix is quite possible on this.

[CMOTD]

If you want to know just how bad these things were then have a look at the last post in this thread: LINK

[Bazzer]

Very interesting account of production being completely out of control and was then rained into a good product.

I love the Scalextric Juniors.

[PatB]

I've somehow managed to acquire half a dozen FJs of various flavours, which I need to do something with. Most of them have wobbly front wheels, apart from a BRM whose wheels are so tight on their stubs that they barely turn. 

I also only have 2, maybe 3, viable motors, so a chassis that can use a modern motor and gears is a very attractive prospect. 

Current plan is to restore 2 or 3 cars as original as possible for sale, and turn the rest into fun little hybrids for my own entertainment by means of more modern parts.