Behind Curtain Number Three

Good 'ol Bob Barker. Too bad he was not into slot cars or there would have been an Aurora race car set behind curtain number three at least once every show during THE PRICE IS RIGHT. So now we all remember "Come on down" and Kelly did ask the question so its time to at least peek behind the curtain. As a prelude to this show-and-tell session, Metalastics sold their cases as a finished box through various distributors and certainly Auto World, so it was by no means a West Coast phenomenon such as a Hoffman tackle box turned into a pit box. Metalastic pit boxes were always a dedicated slot car carrying case. The outside was stained in a dark walnut from the factory, and the inside left unstained. Shelving was made of Masonite, and the bottom sectons on each side enclosed with a plywood front. Each shelf is inset into the side panels and all pieces are mitered and glued. Overall the box is much smaller than one would expect, with each shelf about an Aurora Thunderjet clamshell deep and three cars wide if placed end-to-end. Since Metalastics began production in the mid to late 1960's, The cars inside are all from that era. Beginning with the top left-side shelf, a red Alfa Romeo Thunderjet is to the far left. A Tuff Ones Two-for One Cheetah and the beginnings of the Monster Motor is sandwiched next to a Cobramite Matich body resting on an open rivet Thunderjet chassis and decaled to represent the Tony Settember Can-Am car. For loose items and uncased slot cars, I choose to pirate some of my mom's Kordite freezer containers from the 1960's. If one looks closely, the driver of an early Tycopro Cobra that was mine as a boy is looking back at you next to my first AFX car I acquired recently, a winged Auto World McLaren sitting on an early AFX non-magnatraction chassis.

The second and third shelves will house various Tuff Ones racers in their clear cases. A Chaparral 2F and a Ford GT40 are currently in the stable, but a Ferrari Dino, Lola, and Cheetah will be forthcoming in the next few months. I never had any of this series when I was a young dabber,  so my attention will be on the on these cars primarily since they are a part of the Aurora Thunderjet family. I have no plans to acquire more, as I will be true to my early T-Jet roots. I must say that they are superior to their predecessors in just about every respect though.

The bottom compartment houses such implements as a slot car tool set from the period, an Aurora long yellow Pit Kit screw driver, a pair of English made Fuller needle nose pliers or spanners as they are called on the other side of the pond that were my dad's, and a matching small Fuller screw driver. You can see a tube of Cox Gear Lube inside if one looks closely, and there is a handkerchief of my late father's and an Auto World name tag or pit pass holder. A used track eraser is also lurking inside.  

The right side of the pit box is dedicated to various hop-up and service parts for Thunderjets and early AFX cars. The top shelf contains various loose parts such as AJ's threaded axle sets and tires, but is by no means limited to those items-after all this is just a look behind curtain number three. Various Auto World carded bits abound along with Aurora service parts. These are housed in clear plastic hinged containers that were a major part of 1960's marketing and storage.

The Kordite container to the left on the second shelf contains a host of various vintage lubricants and oilers as well as the traditional bottle of Aurora Red Racing Oil. There is a bottle of Aurora's X-2C lubricant, and perhaps a battle as to which is actually better is in the making. Thank God for improvements, but the old stuff still works great.

Next to this is another identical Kordite freezer container but filled with various hop-up bits such as weight pans and carded items. A difficult to locate Auto World card of helmeted driver's heads can be seen. If you guys want a look inside, we can certainly do this in a more detailed installment. Between all of the containers are perhaps a good assortment of what makes a Thunderjet run much faster.

Shelf number three to the left is a container of various slot car libations such as U-Go Tiger Milk and various tire gripping compounds such as AJ's T-n-T and Traction Plus. The Kordite container to the right contains smaller carded items such as brass and plastic axle spacers. different hop-up magnets and shims, and silver plated pick-up shoes and high silver content brushes by Auto-World and Mura shunted and weighted pick-up shoes and beveled brushes.

The bottom right side compartment houses two controllers with period stereo jacks-one a metal flaked early Parma Sebring and the other a Tower Stat. The Tower Stat is a 60 OHM controller with a brake, and is quite a performer. The Sebring is a 60 OHM with a brake and has TONY painted along the handle on one side.

So Kelly-I hope this has been a good preview. Cases like this were a status symbol for those fortunate to race the large commercial slot car center tracks in the Northeast and far West. I never had one as a boy, and only dreamed of having one in my second childhood slot car days. THANKS To Ray for making my slot car dream come true.  I have another vintage Parma Sebring waiting to be tested on Ray's track some day, as it is fitted with alligator clips. It is going in my AFX carrying case that is just a dream. God Bless! Tonymgbbrown