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 Posted - May 16 2018 : 11:33:54 PM
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All five Tyco Vehicles work, to my astonishment. The semi truck goes best, as its speed
is relatively sedate, while the cars go like greased lightening. I do need a few new
tires, the ones I have are mostly dry and brittle. Any easy and cheap fixes or where
does one get Tyco tires? I see they came in a variety of widths and sizes.
Will post some video once I get it more together.
Please see photo below. Chassis is off the VW LOVE bus. The front wheels are
attached by means of bilateral spindles, not an axle. The motor works splendidly,
but the chassis won't track well at all. It appears the weight is being carried
exclusively on the track wipers, and the front wheels dangle in the air. The
front tires are like narrow bike tires compared to the rear slicks.
Tried putting a little weight on it, but this does not help. The chassis fishtails badly
and has a tendency to fly off the curves when it does obtain purchase. Is this
something that would be corrected by new rear tires? The old ones appear
quite dry.
 
Edited by - Chops124 on May 17 2018 12:28:40 AM
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Posted - May 18 2018 : 12:11:46 AM
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Lifted front wheels off the track are common to these early cars - they were just not designed to be prototypical 4-wheels-on-the-track. The fishtailing can be cured to some degree with new tires. Once they're dried out, there's no traction. They'll just fritter around and spin, causing the car to be unstable. You'll just have to search for appropriate tires, you can get either foam, or a stickier gel type that gives some really good traction.
I wouldn't get that VW chassis too far from the body, many of these vehicles had specialized slot chassis's for each body, they're not necessarily interchangeable. Keeping the original parts together for a rarity like thet Bus ( I've never even seen one before ) would be a good idea.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - May 18 2018 : 12:21:14 AM
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I remember using fine grit sandpaper to roughen up the rear tires to provide better traction. The downside is that sooner or later you'll run out of tire.
A trip to the dollar store may prove useful. Recall those Goody's bands for traction tires? Maybe one of those soft pencil grip thingies in the school supplies section could be cut down to serve as a tire, or if thin enough, a cover to an existing bald tire. Just a thought.
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Posted - May 18 2018 : 10:59:05 AM
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| As Jerry said, it sounds like the tires are done. Five or so years back I was able to purchase a package of new tires online that fit the TycoPro brass pan cars. I don't remember where I found them, but the company I purchased them from was still producing them at the time. A quick google search turned up nothing, but there are several companies which are still making tires for the Tyco 440 chassis, maybe try emailing them and see if they have any for the TycoPro.
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Posted - May 21 2018 : 2:40:50 PM
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I am most grateful for this useful information- again stuff I never
knew. Thank you for the tips! Yes, the chassis are just a tiny
bit different from each other. One wonders if this was to
push Tyco buyers to buy more different Tyco vehicles
as opposed to swapping around shells?
I'd really like to keep the VW intact, and now I know
that the wheels suspended just off the track face
was designed, not because of some other factor.
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Posted - May 22 2018 : 07:57:24 AM
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You can get replacement silicone tyres from the 'Bay or Google FranktheRacer or Supertires for alternatives. The last two will guide you to the right size if you need help and using silicone you'll have tyres for life.
I have cars still running on 30yr old silicone tyres that don't appear to have worn, let alone lost their grip.
The most noticable difference in the chassis would be the wheelbase (distance between front and rear wheels.) There were two, a long and short wheelbase. All SWB bodies of that era 'should' fit the SWB chassis, etc.
There were also Mk1 and Mk2 chassis, one with sprung 'button' pickups, the other with wiper blades.
Another variation is the under-chassis pan to add weight low down. That can be brass or black wrinkle painted .
Doug
Edited by - Top Down on May 22 2018 08:06:03 AM
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