Your car is a Cox Thimble Drome Special, powered by a Roy Cox-modified Anderson Spitfire engine with a displacement of either .045 cubic inches or .060 cubic inches. The .045 engine was the most common engine but a few of the larger displacement .060s were produced. While the car itself is relatively simple, the integral engine and drive unit is a masterpiece of engineering design; featuring a planetary gear drive, an integral fuel tank, an exhaust muffler, and an air intake through the hollow drive axle. Roy Cox was an absolute genius!
I agree about Roy Cox' genius. I was responsible (though hardly qualified) for Cox Mfg's R&D activities for a time in the early '80s. The miniature engines were extremely impressive, but even more remarkable were the screw machines that made them. These were basically automated lathes that turned out the crankcase, cylinder, piston and so on. Each was MECHANICALLY automated (these were designed in the '50s, remember -- no electronics) to run continuously with no human supervision, and to spit out complex machined parts at the rate of several a minute. By the time that I was working for the company, there was nobody there capable of designing a new automated machine, so the product line stagnated (as far as new engines were concerned, that is). Another interesting detail was Cox' smallest engine -- a .010 cu in displacement motor. Every one of these sold was assembled by two little old ladies who had great manual dexterity and sharp eyesight. When the two ladies retired, the .010 was discontinued, because there were no other employees capable of assembling them.
Hi, have not looked at this thread for a while so was really pleased with the kind words about my cool handbuilt 'Track T' tether/mite car. Here are some more photos of cars in my collection - hope you like what you see! I urge you all to take a look at Johns (mitecars) website at: wwwmitecars.com full of rare and vintage mini racers - fantastic! Enjoy the photos - more to follow - back in the garage now and (still) working on the old Triumph bobber!
Here are a couple from my collection. Running out of places to display them. John has a great website and is a great guy. He is a wealth of knowledge, not only about mite cars but about the whole hobby and its history.
Thimble drome special powered version is harder to find than more deluxe thimble drome champion car nice versions sell from to 450 to 500 dollars
Heres a couple of pics of a car my 15/16 year old engineering students made. The chassis is 2" x 1" ally extrusion, CNC axle, bush and wheel hubs, tyres and friction drive are cut from the mats between railway tracks and the sleepers. The bodys are grp moulded over carved sanded and sealed foam. The blue body was inspired by the Indy winning Maserati of Harry Schell. We initially made the flywheels too heavy and broke a few cranks but got them running up to 70mph. I havent done these for a few years so I'm re-inspired, I'll go and find the box of engines and parts tomorrow. The aluminium car was built by a guy I got to know, fantastic detail and fast. The last pics are of the track we built and some old timer hand built cars that ran at the only track in UK.
I had no idea we had a thread devoted to these little monsters. I picked up a "Fugi" dated 1952 last weekend, and thought I would post it on the Hamb, not knowing there was this thread. Here's a pic, and the link to the thread for the story. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632272
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Got this in 1958 Ran out of gas allready hasn't run since 58 but I did play with it for awhile. FRANK
Ok, so I have to get this quick story of personal stupidity out into the H.A.M.B. world in gerneral... Back on Janurary 8 of this year, I loaded up a friends truck with a bunch of misc Triumph motorcycle parts and headed out to our best once yearly swap dedicated to such things. Just after pulling in, thing got pretty brisk so I really didn't have time to look at what the other vendors had on their tables, but for once had some loose dollars in my pocket.(Not the norm, trust me!) About an hour in, a friend of mine came over and said that the guy across the isle from me and next to him had a pair of Ford flat head heads, and could use some help identfying them. So I walked across the way to take a look. Now this guy had a long banquet table heaped with things like Motocross boots, gloves, and helmets from the seventies and such, so nothing I would ever really pay attention to. I found the heads on the ground at the end of the table, introduced myself, and started talking with the owner. After talking for a bit, it became apparent that he was convinced that these were worth lots more than I did, and at that point a guy standing at the table interupted our dealings. I said my good byes and walked back across the way to my stuff. Two minutes later the guy that interupted us came walking my direction with his head down, a Chesshire cat grin on his face, and clutching a small box under his jacket as if it was pure gold. Not knowing I was watching, he pulled it out from under his jacket, and let out a completely satisfied laugh... The box read "RODZY TEATHER CAR"! I asked "is that just a box?" he replied by just lifting the car slightly out of the box to show... He paid 25.00 for a new in the box, original RODZY that had never been run! It was right next my left elbow for ten minutes!!!! DOH!!!
Back in the 60s I got a Cox Chaparral tether car for a Christmas. It was started once or twice but never let run because we did not have anywhere suitable. Last I knew it was in the closet in what once was my bedroom. It could still be around her place somewhere. I'll have to ask her.
When I retired,my buddies bought me this repro....built in the 1990's I think.....looks cool on my garage shelf.........oh and a year later the red Thimble Drome was gifted to me.It was bought on the bay for a few £'s when my friend was looking for some 'vintage' hot rod kits,and thought I would like it.
Does anyone recognise what this car is? It is a friend of mine. Is it modelled of a real car? Appreciate any guidance.
came across this article today.. some cool stuff http://http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012/03/19/spindizzies-gas-powered-model-racers/#more-61562 there was even a dyno for these things!!!
If it makes you feel better it was probably one of the nylint repro rodzy's from a few years ago with the dummy motor. What are the odds of an original one still having its box? or still having something that could be called a box, even. Mine was stored in a dank basement for many years after my dad stopped playing with it, and when I finally got it the box was pretty much mulch.
Nope, I only wish it wasn't so. See out here in the dessert, we have no humidity or for that matter dank basements or basements at all... Paper goods as long as they are not exposed to the sun never die out here. This was the real deal that the guys father had sitting untouched on a shelf above his workbench since the early fifties. He had just cleaned out dads garage of playthings and thought that someone might want "this weird old toy". After the guy that bought it realized I knew what he had, he had to show it and gloat a bit, and I got a close up hands on look. It maybe had been run once back in the day, but that's it. Trust me, I'm still kicking myself!!!
Here's 2 of my original Rodzys. The blue "big nut" and the red one has its original box, instructions, tether bridal etc. You can find Rodzy's in their original boxes every now and then on E-bay. Mick
This was my dads (Ohlsson & Rice) and when I was a kid (2 or 3 years old) somewhere around 1976 or so he gave it to me..... I was rough on things and value wasn't even a thought so I managed to break off about anything that would come off. When I was around 12-13 I dug it out of the closet and not thinking about preserving the original patina, I repainted it and done a horrible job. Most of the original exterior paint was gone by then anyway. I made one missing radius rod out of a coat hanger but never made the other. I may attempt to give it a decent restoration sometime when I'm bored.
Northwest racer Jerry Day with a tether car in 2004. He did start it. The phrase "screaming banshee" comes to mind.
I hate to bring up old threads, but this one comes back up from time to time and I just figgured out how to post pictures, so here goes. When Ryan started this thread, I too fell in love with these cars, I looked on e-bay but could not bring myself to pay the price....so I made one. The body is carved from a block of aulmimun the bottom is a plate about 1/4" thick the nose is carved from one piece. the hood is some sheet. under the hood is a Cox .049 motor. the rear axle has a set of bevel gears. I cut the wheels from stock and they are two piece held together with the screws. The only parts that were bought are the gears in thr rear axle and the tires, engine also.
My Cox Thimbledrone. My dad got it for Christmas way back when. I have always kept my eye an it and he gave it to me for my birthday a couple of years back. It will always be special to me. One day we'll just have to fire it up!
I also have these that he gave me. Not really tether cars but real cool as well. These are the larger scale slot cars.
Dean, yes! lots of shavings. I do not have a mill so alot was done with a drill press, dremmel tool and grinder. THen files and sandpaper. the following year I made a "teather boat" if there is such a thing, wood framed, african magohoney (spelling?) planking, it came out real nice with a larger motor poking out through the deck and all, but the car gets more attention. Thanks
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