A few years ago I built this Brabham BT44: https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2016/04/28/bits-box-car-scalextric-brabham-bt44/ and I didn’t have anything that would run against it as the Mabuchi motor in that is much faster than the Johnson motor that’s in all my other 1970s Formula 1 cars.
Then I found this unusual BT44 body shell on eBay:
Its catalogue number was C782 and it’s a Brabham BT44 that Kwik Fit commissioned for their silver jubilee in 1996. It was released for that year only.
Kwik Fit are a mechanics chain here in the U.K who do tyres, servicing, exhausts and MOTs, which is a yearly inspection that all cars have to go through.
There’s very little information about the car online. I did manage to find this pic of what it should look like complete, from Kent F1 Slot http://kentf1slot.com/manufacturer/scalextric/nggallery/page/8
I managed to find a person who 3d prints the wings and air boxes for these, so I ordered a set in yellow.
For all the mechanical bits, I was trawling through all the usual retailers and found it more cost effective to buy a car to swap the mechanicals into this shell.
I found this Kötzting Systems car with the white wheels I need for £9.99 posted on eBay.
The tyres were obviously perished and the braids (electrical pick ups) that were on it had seen better days. But it was complete and ready to be swapped into my car.
Job done!
Most Scalextric cars from the 1970s and early 1980s mostly came in two different sizes of tyre. One small and one large. The Formula 1 cars used the small tyre at the front and the large tyre at the rear. There are lots of people online reproducing these tyres. Same with the braids. It’s amazing how much of a difference these simple things make to the way the cars drive.
I’m pleased I’ve now got another racing pair!
I know this project has been a little bit simpler than some of the builds I do on here such as the Edwardian cars like the Beast of Turin (https://motorsportformentalhealth.com/2024/02/18/george-turner-models-fiat-s76-the-beast-of-turin/), I still want this blog to be accessible to people new to the hobby of slot car racing.
Hopefully these simpler projects encourage people to have a go at restoring some old cars or getting their set going that’s been sat in the loft for 20 odd years.
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By Richard Francis
Job well done. Congrats.
Thank you 😊