In those days it was not unusual for we enthusiasts to yearn for what was considered the ultimate slot-car kit - that made by the L.M.Cox Manufacturing Company, of Santa Ana, California.
Their kits were beautifully engineered and went like the clappers straight out of the box - nicely balanced and handling sweetly.
But what made Cox kits unique was their cast magnesium ("mag") chassis and wheels and it was these components, and the general overall quality of the kits, which went a long way towards making Cox slot-cars the most expensive of all.
I can't remember the exact price that we paid for these in Australia back then but it certainly took several month's pay for me to save up what little disposable income I had in order to buy a Cox kit.
Over the past four decades Cox kits and slot-car components have reached amazing values, with collectors (probably old slot-car enthusiasts!) paying ridiculous sums.
Only very recently an unassembled, complete NOS (new, old stock) kit sold for an astounding $3,000+ on Ebay. This is for something which, back in 1966, most likely retailed at around $25.
A couple of years ago I had a desire to buy and restore one of the slot-car models (a Monogram 1/24 Lotus 38) which I bought and ran back around 1966/67 and I picked it up on Ebay for about $150. Following rebuilding, re-painting and adding new decals, that model has more than likely doubled in value. NOS kits, unassembled, are going for many times that amount.
More recently I decided to bid on a Cox 1/24 Chaparral kit, issued in 1966.
It was not an NOS kit, but came with all it's bit 'n' pieces, had never been assembled and included the original documentation and box.
So I was pleased to see that I was the successful bidder and the parcel arrived from the USA a fortnight ago.
Since receiving it I have undertaken a cleanup of the magnesium components.
When originally made these castings were coated with a protective lacquer as soon as they came out of the mould but over time the lacquer deteriorates and slight corrosion and discolouration of the magnesium takes place; in many cases the magnesium takes on a very crusty and almost black appearance.
Some restorers have the mag bits powder-blasted and then immediately re-lacquer them.
That's probably the most effective method of regaining the original appearance but others look at the end result and consider that it is an over-restoration, as the patina added by time is completely removed.
Others, like myself, resort to other methods (usually cheaper!) and in my case I experimented, finally opting for a soup of vinegar and lemon juice (i.e., acetic & citric acid), finishing off with a sound scrubbing using an electric toothbrush and a paste of Gumption.
Bearing in mind that these bits were pretty blackened and somewhat crusty when I received them, here is the end result of the cleanup:-
The next phase is the assembly and painting of the body.
As it is unmolested and original I should have a straight-forward job.
Stay tuned!
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