This is it; the big race. Your car is perfectly positioned on the grid for maximum launch. The gearing, tires and motor have all been checked and rechecked. Everything has been lubricated; you’ve even polished the body, thinking that the extra coat of wax might find a tenth of a second down the stretch. Your heart begins to race as the starter pauses to see if anyone will jump the command. Strategy: Get in front and stay there. When the signal is finally given, you do what everyone else does: Depress the plunger with all of your thumb’s might and pray for the best.

Such was the world of slot car racing. It didn’t matter which decade or what scale you dedicated your time to, it was the thrill of being a part of racing without expending the family fortune. These days it’s the HO-scale tracks and cars that occupy much of the “big-box” chain store shelving, but many will agree that although changes can be made to enhance HO performance, the better challenge lay within the larger scales, such as the COX-made kits.

Spend more than five minutes in any quality hobby store and the COX name jumps off the shelf; longtime hobbyists will remember the name with great fondness. Founded in 1945, the California-based company first produced a series of tethered airplanes and race cars, powered by liquid-fuel engines. Over time, tethers gave way to full remote control capabilities. The firm also supplied many hobbyists with an array of fuel-fed engines. Still operating under the guidance of Hobbico since 2010, COX also produced a series of scale slot cars–no less than 75 by some counts–including the 1/24th scale Chaparral we rediscovered within the friendly confines of Carlisle’s swap meet.

At first glance, we thought that the vintage racer originated from the tether series, but this proved not to be the case. This edition was first issued in 1966 (some resources list 1965), complete with a die-cast magnesium chassis, a bonus for serious racers because of its combination of light weight and durability. The kit also included an electric motor, wheels and body. Seasoned racers would often forego the stock setup and changed any combination of gearing, wheels/tires and magnets to better suit their needs or track conditions.

The Chaparral kit, including at least two subsequent updates, was produced until 1969 to the delight of many a budding racer who had an appreciation for purpose-built sports cars. Countless victories and spectacular crashes remain untold to this day. Remnants of these youthful glory days are still obtainable, mostly in assembled condition, as unassembled kits are a relative rarity. As for slot car racing, beyond the living-room realm of HO scale, it is still strong and active, meaning these kits are sought after for both racing and collectability. Sadly for us, our vision of small-scale vintage racing was quickly quashed when we discovered that the Chaparral box was empty, though we could have had the shelf art for $6.

This article originally appeared in the March, 2013 issue of Hemmings Motor News.

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