The AFX Can-Am Pit Kit

Having graduated from my alma mater at Chapel Hill long enough ago that you could drive from our house in Raleigh and park in front of the Bell Tower-I am occasionally reminded of their famous fight song:

I'm a Tar Heel Born;

I'm a Tar Heel Bred;

And when I die

I'm a Tar Heel dead.

Of course one can substitute the word "T-Jet" for "Tar Heel" to have a firmer grasp on things slot car, at least as I see it from my vantage point.

My childhood spanned the Thunderjet era, having abruptly ended by the gov'ment's attempt to send my brother and my hinnies off to Sunny southeast Asia, all expenses paid. My slot car philosophy pretty much has been to pick up where things left off, so it is I suppose proper to root my enjoyment of HO slot cars primarily on the venerable and lowly T-Jet. Unfortunately we were dismantling our Grand Prix Raceway and packing up our cars in such anticipation that only a Selective Service number of seventeen can offer, that by the time Aurora introduced their AFX line, it was too late. Couple that with the excitement of our trip being canceled by the bombing of Haiphong Harbor and actually being able to go to college and experience the lure of perfume and petroleum-slot cars never had a second chance until now.

Unfortunately aftermarket Thunderjet lexan bodies do not capture the maturity of the Can-Am Championship. They do however come close, as such notables as the Auto Coast Ti-22 and McLaren M8C and M8D do bring the T-Jet towards what was to come. The truth of the matter is that if I REALLY wanted to experience the later body styles whizzing around Riverside-I needed to jump on the AFX bandwagon. And limit it to a few select Can-Am offerings. Period. I would need to build an all-AFX Can-Am Pit Kit, just as I have built an all Cobramite bodied Can-Am Pit Kit for T-Jets. Simple as that, and call our site founder Ray for help.

The original plan was to include only those cars introduced by Aurora on a non-magnatraction chassis, since that was the first of the AFX chassis line-up, but there simply were not enough Can-Am body styles to fill up the inside of the seven front compartment Pit Kit that was a spin-off on the eight compartment T-Jet version. This would include a Ferrari 612 Spyder number 1751; the Auto World McLaren XLR of Oscar Koveleski number 1752; a number 1747 Porsche 917-10K; an example of a number 1767 Lola T-260; a 1786 Porsche 510K; and a number 1768 UOP Shadow. Add a Super II and you have only seven Can-Am cars that were made initially for a non-magnatraction type chassis if you stretch that one a bit. However-Aurora offered a lexan Ferrari 612 and a McLaren M8B formed on the same sheet in their High Performance Parts Kit number 1461; and the McLaren would be the last body of the bunch to make the Pit Kit complete with the Ferrari painted up as a spare or ditch the Super II entirely.

The yellow early AFX T-Jet style Pit Kit is true to formula in that I added an original Can-Am series waterslide to the right side of the lid, similar in fashion to the 1968 Watkins Glen decal on the Cobramite bodied T-Jet version. These early AFX Pit Kits are quite common still, but this one is exceptional and acquired from Ray. It is deckled with vintage decals and of course Dymo labeled accordingly as was the practice then.

The project had a rather backwards beginning as I discovered that Bill Overmyer had the correct Super II gear plate and Quadralam armature necessary for a Super II, but unfortunately he passed away unexpectedly from a pulmonary embolism before it could be shipped to the house. I did acquire a complete NOS yellow Ferrari 612 from Bill, and although not the correct N.A.R.T.  red as raced by Chris Amon-it is notwithstanding from Bill as are several of my restored T-Jet Hot Rods. I was also fortunate to locate a pristine winged Auto World McLaren, but of course the original one raced by Oscar Koveleski was without a wing. The UOP Shadow; Lola T-260; Porsche 910K; and Porsche 917-10K are all new old stock. The Super II body was also NOS and painted by Jairus Watson in a vintage Dave Bloom style in colors correct for the 1970's.

Like all of my other Pit Kits; various hop-up bits from the period will be showcased. The Ferrari 612 Spyder chassis has an Auto World brass chassis magnet adaptor attached; the Auto World McLaren chassis has a full AJ's brass weight pan; and the UOP Shadow has a brass AJ's stabilizer. All of the cars feature various aftermarket tires in the rear-either foam or rubber. Hopefully an ICP lead-sled pan kit can be found to modify a chassis, or one eventually scratch built from brass sheet in the old HOPRA fashion.

Inside the Pit Kit are several items unique to AFX and somewhat scarce. One is a K&B Aurora axle nut wrench found in their 1461 parts kit and an early track tool. Also there is a bottle of AFX labeled Red Racing Oil, which filled the gap before the introduction of X2-C Oil. There is also an NOS AFX track cleaning pad and a track eraser, and the handkerchief was one of my dad's.  

All-in-all a nice departure from Aurora's venerable Thunderjet. Common bodies, but still a nice cross-section of what was the later Can-Am. I can certainly see The Wee Scot thrashing the Lola T-260 about, or George Follmer piloting the Porsche 917-10K in anger.  I am sure that Oscar Koveleski; Chris Amon; Jackie Oliver; and Mark Donohue would be proud. Still T-Jet born and T-Jet bred I suppose, and one day I may build more of these AFX cars. I have some really nice period lexan AFX Can-Am bodies just waiting for a rainy day. God Bless! Tony mgbbrown