COX:
LeRoy Cox, of Santa Ana, California, founded Cox, the most respected
name in the business, in 1945. Perhaps the first to develop a low-cost miniature
gas engine, Cox manufactured a line of gas-powered airplanes and cars that
proved immensely successful. Cox was at the top in 1964, when slot car racing
was set to really take off. In spite of advice “not to get involved” by business
partners, Cox went into the hobby with a vengeance, producing the most beautiful
slot cars ever made over the next four years.
After introducing the
first true diecast magnesium chassis as separate components, the Ferrari and BRM
F1 kits were issued shortly thereafter, followed by the RTR versions. Early RTR
had vac-plated magnesium wheels. Plating was deleted in subsequent issues. The
cars won rave reviews in all the model car magazines, and sold by the hundreds
of thousands. Cox had established a benchmark of quality that virtually no other
manufacturer was to reach. Packaging was sumptuous, quality control was near
perfect, instructions, decals and parts beyond reproach.
Cox quickly
followed its F1s with a brace of Ford GT40s in 1/24 and 1/32 scale. The early
1/24 kits had the TTX200, an FT36 with, like all Cox motors, a chrome-plated
can. The improved FT36D and a new chassis soon replaced it. It is rumored that
the earliest kits had the TTX100 (FT16) motor, but the author has not been able
to verify this. The 1/32 kit used an inline magnesium chassis with drop arm and
a TTX100 motor. Later versions would use the TTX150 (FT16D) and the final series
had aluminum, instead of magnesium chassis and wheels.
Marvelous Chaparral 2 kit raised the bar for all other
manufacturers. Perfection in a toy.)
(Photo 55: RTR version of
Chaparral 2 on its beautiful display box. Unfortunately, waterslide decals were
replaced, as in Ford GT40, by self-adhesive paper decals which eventually
“bleed” through.
1/32 Cheetah kit, another beauty. These were first
TTX100 (FT16) then TTX150 (FT16D) powered.
(Photo 57: Both Ford GT40s
expertly assembled from kits. British-made MRE reproduction decals are now
available to repair those old cars. Courtesy Jerry Whitney)
1/24 and
1/32 Cheetah RTRs on their display boxes. The 1/32 model is harder to find. Both
use waterslide decals. Interestingly, boxes background photos were shot by none
other than Dave Friedman, who snapped the above pictures 33 years later with the
help of Maggy Moore!)
Other cars and an incredible plethora of accessories and
parts were issued, covering virtually all aspects of slot racing (especially
controllers), all wonderfully packaged in very appealing cards and
blisters.
Cox superb packaging helped sell millions of spare parts,
such as these beautiful chassis kits. Many can still be
found.)
The TTX250-powered Chaparral (the only one officially
authorized by Jim Hall), Cheetah and Lotus 40, and a 1/32 Cheetah, all in both
kit and RTR forms, were available by the beginning of 1966. The RTR versions of
the Ford and Lotus had ackermann steering units with their own special
spring-loaded guide flag. Both the Ford GT40 and Chaparral RTRs had
self-adhesive, instead of water-slide, decals. They sold like hot cakes, the
Chaparral II becoming the second best selling slot car of all times. Bruce
Paton, Joe Lane and Don Reed were the research and development team under the
direction of VP Bill Selzer, and maintained Cox’s well deserved reputation of
quality and innovative design. Al Baron was the factory “rep” to the
distributors.
The continuous pressure for new and competitive products
pushed Cox into more research, and the 1/24 Ferrari Dino “double kit” was the
result. Engineers devised a new chassis with adjustable gear ratios. Powered by
the smaller TTX150, it was again a great sales success.
Gorgeous “Double Dino” kit, another Cox
product.)
A Ford MKII was also planned, and eight different
prototypes were made, the last ones introducing a variable ratio frame with the
TTX250 and ackermann steering. It was announced through dealer sheets and
featured in the November 1966 issue of Car Model, including a color photo on the
cover.
A few pre-production packages were produced, and at least
one survives today in the collection of a noted Japanese collector and
well-known pop-singer. But the whole program was canclled and a splendid
Chaparral 2D coupe was issued instead, minus the ackermann
steering.
Chaparral 2D kit is possibly Cox’s nicest. This one is
hand-signed by Jim Hall. Note well-preserved original pink-color magnesium
parts, thanks to a clear coat sprayed to protect against
corrosion.)
But a revolution was in the wings. Facing increasing
competitive from “thingies” issued by smaller companies, Cox made its own.
Designed by consultant Fred Neff, this new car was to be one of the top sellers
in the Cox line. It was wide, low and had a brand new “Iso-Fulcrum” chassis
design. The 2-piece aluminum frame was pivoted behind the inline TTX150 motor,
so that the part of the frame carrying the ball bearing-equipped front wheels
were independent of the guide flag. The weight of the motor forced the guide
into the slot, greatly improving handling. Rear tires were gray sponge. The
free-style body was a CanAm type design molded in colorful see-through orange.
Dubbed “La Cucaracha” or cockroach in Spanish, this “bug” gained a reputation
for clinging to the track like nothing else. The polypropylene body was
virtually indestructible, and lugs molded underneath snapped into slots stamped
on the chassis for an easy force-fit.
First sold in a display box with
very thick sides, this expensive packaging was quickly replaced by a standard
yellow display box, still easy to find today. The translucent body was replaced
by plain orange pigment on the second issue, which included a redesigned roller
bearing on the front wheels, slightly wider rear tires and side body mounts for
other body types.
Early translucent “La Cucaracha” in scarce first-series
box.)
Standard version of “La Cucaracha” in regular
box.)
The next “hard body” kit was the magnificent Chaparral 2E,
complete with working wing. This was accomplished by allowing the motor to
rotate in a new aluminum mount, actuating the wing through a wire linkage. Under
acceleration, the wing flattened out, while under braking, the motor torque
caused it to flip-up for “aerodynamic” braking. Sold in a gold-brown box, the
2E featured beautiful detailing with a full driver’s compartment and identical
decals to 2D model. One of few Cox’s few failings, in the author’s opinion, was
to use incorrect fonts for the numbers on all its Chaparral models, except for
the RTR’s self-adhesive paper labels. This was the first kit to use Cox’s
36-sized NASCAR motor, made in Hong Kong for Cox International, probably by
Johnson. This was a reaction to Mabuchi becoming quite arrogant, as they kept
increasing their prices in line with the American dollar instead of the yen (a
similar problem happened to Russkit, causing Jim Russell to look elsewhere). It
is now the most sought after slot car on the collector’s market. Used cars are
still fairly easy to find, but sealed kits have become extremely
rare.
Cox’s “Mag-frame” version of Chaparral 2E. Bill Wessels
expertly assembled this magnificent example from a kit. Courtesy Joe
Alessi.)
For 1967, Cox re-issued the four basic kits (Ford,
Chaparral, Cheetah and Lotus) as the “Team Modified series”, a very unsuccessful
try that lasted only one year. Equipped with the 2D running gear plus new black
sponge tires glued and trued on the magnesium wheels, they were generally fitted
with the large NASCAR motor. They sold poorly and are today very hard to find.
They bear blue stickers on top of the regular boxes, and new stock tags at each
end. There are also tags on the side, indicating that the motors were made in
Hong Kong.
“Team Modified” Lotus 30/40 kit is scarce. Some have TTX250
motors, others the Cox NASCAR.)
Cox then introduced a new series named IFC (for Iso-Fulcrum
chassis) but it was no more successful than the Team Modified. Four previously
issued models, the Chaparral 2D, 2E, Ferrari Dino and Cheetah were refitted with
the La Cucaracha chassis, a new NASCAR 16D-sized motor, black rear sponge tires
and La Cucaracha knife-edged front tires, all mounted on magnesium American
Mag-style wheels. The rears were first threaded, then set-screwed on slotted
axles. Three of the four molds were modified to fit this new set-up. The
Chaparral 2D was given side-mounting holes and smaller rear fender openings. The
Dino was completely re-done with flared fenders, one-piece windows, mounting
slots for a specially formed outer body mount elimination of headlight lenses
and taillights. The Cheetah was also modified with side mounting holes and a new
front valance. All four were sold in the same red box with individual
hand-marked identifications on each end.
The Chaparral 2D IFC kit seems to be the easiest of the
four to find. Body is a special molding, which cannot fit on standard magnesium
frame.)
Dino IFC has new body molding, one-piece windows. Box top is
colorful but non-descript, cannot compare with earlier
kits.)
Cox also issued “body cards” (IFC versions) each holding
six Cucarachas, Dinos or Cheetahs in various attractive colors. These
replacement bodies could be used to build new cars from the separate chassis
kit.
The 1/32 Lil’Cucaracha was also part of the 1967 line-up, using a
smaller IFC one-piece chassis and the TTX50 (FT13UO) motor. Charming little
American Mags and gray sponge tires were the thing, and the metalflake purple
body was a smaller replica of the 1/24-scale car. The axle carrying the
independent front wheels clipped directly into the body. Sold in a beige box,
this car was re-issued in very small quantities in 1969 with a frame modified
for the NASCAR 16-sized motor. To accommodate its greater bulk, the body mold
had to be extensively modified and simplified. The rare survivors have the side
gas caps molded in, and the original metalflake color. In 1969, Robert E.
Haines, owner of REH Distributing, purchased 5.000 of the bodies (without the
metalflake additive) and the tooling for the chassis, along with wheels, tires,
guides, etc. He sold the resulting cars in kit form way into the 1990s. These
are fairly common and are easily recognizable from originals. They should not be
considered as “replicas”, since they use original Cox
parts.
Lil’ Cucaracha RTR in its original
box.)
Last of the ’67 line-up were the Chaparral 2E, Ferrari Dino
and Super “Cuc” RTRs. The 2E RTR had a tall box with corrugated insert to
protect the assembled wing mechanism, and were fitted with a polypropylene
“soft” body. The IFC chassis had a mechanism allowing the wing to rotate, as in
the “mag-framed” version, using two specially molded white polypropylene parts
and a convoluted steel wire. The body parts, lights and side scoops were
packaged in a clear plastic bag stapled on the side of the corrugated insert
with the instructions sheet. Self-adhesive decals were
provided.
Chaparral 2E IFC RTR. Car was partially assembled. A clear
plastic bag with scoops, headrest and plated accessories was stapled on side of
corrugated spacer. A large number have survived, but original boxes are scarce.
Many have missing parts, but reproduction scoops, radiators, tail lights and
exhaust are becoming available. Windshields are still a
problem.)
The Dino used the same body as the IFC kit version, molded
in light blue or red. During the year, a mold change was made because the guide
flag was interfering with the underbody, and a small bar was added in the
radiator opening to reinforce the weakened area. As in the Chaparral 2E RTR, the
FT16D-sized NASCAR motor was used. The Dino was sold in the same box as the La
Cucaracha, now printed in blue and red.
The Ferrari GT, Cox’s official name for this car. Cox sent
this example for press review to well-known antique toy expert Louis Hertz, who
also wrote one of the first books on “Model raceways and roadways” back in 1964.
This came up at auction in 1995, still unopened from its mailing carton!
)
The Super “Cuc” was an evolution of the La Cucaracha, the
metallic blue body being fitted with a vac-plated coupe top and a larger
windshield. The engine cowl blind intake was now open to mate with the roof tab,
and two winglets were later added on either side of the nose. These winglets
were also added to regular production La Cucaracha for 1968-69, molded in
orange, blue or purple, but with the regular windshield. The frame was modified
to offer two pickup mounting holes, and there was a new quick-change trailing,
instead of leading guide flag. (A great idea, which the author has
unsuccessfully pushed for years…) The motor was an FT16D-sized “Super NASCAR”
with no vent holes, to increase magnetic field. The lack of ventilation, along
with poorly made front bearings, caused most of these motors to die very quickly
in a puff of smoke, as the end bell melted, and the armature
seized…
On the 1/32 front, Cox offered three cars in a new
“Intercontinental Daytona” series. For the first time, Cox used vac-formed,
factory-painted bodies, made and painted by for them by Lancer. The IFC chassis
was now surrounded by a stamped steel, nickel-plated body mount, and there were
two wire clips to attach the Ford MKIV (silver or green), Lola T70 (blue, red or
silver) and Ferrari P4 (always red) bodies. Two versions were made, with or
without masked headlight covers, and of thinner or thicker plastic. Sold in
window boxes, many still survive. The same cannot be said of the
boxes…
The Daytona series Lola, Ferrari and Ford. Plenty are still
to be found in attics. The early cars had the TTX50 motor, while later versions
were fitted with the modified chassis and Cox’s own NASCAR
motor.)
The ’68 catalogue offered two major surprises:
most of the existing kits had disappeared, leaving just the IFC cars, and there
were two new cars. One was a magnificent “Gurney Ford” stock car kit with a
stunning nickel-plated brass tube and plate chassis, a 36-sized NASCAR motor and
rather ungainly wheels and tires.
This had been available since
mid-1967. The body was obviously made from the AMT pattern, but “NASCARized” to
look more like the real thing. Furthermore, the car was authorized by local hero
and five-time Riverside 500 winner Dan Gurney, one of the most popular racing
driver of all times. The car was the famous white and red #121 “Harvest Ford”,
driven by Curtis Turner and Dan to memorable victories. The car was heavy, and
technically out of date when issued, but was it ever beautiful! The decal sheet
was complete, but was not very accurate, and was also sold separately for the
many vac-formed bodies available in 1967. The box was the largest ever made by
Cox, with an insert “signed” by Dan Gurney. Quite frankly,
superb!
Many of these cars survived, although condition varies widely.
The frame was also sold separately, in two versions, one including all the parts
except motor and body.
two factory prototypes of the Ford Galaxie: left is a
pre-production version using General Electric motor, the other is the original
prototype built by Bruce Paton and sporting a Jo-Han Toronado body. This has a
TTX250 motor. Courtesy Cox Hobbies.)
The other car was the second version of the Lola T70 RTR
marketed by Cox International in Hong Kong, now with an inline
chassis.
The first one had been made at the end of 1966 when K&B
gave up on hard-bodied kits and began offering the lighter vac-formed body RTRs
that the buying public demanded. The mold was first converted to produce bodies
for Atlas, and subsequently for Faller of Germany. Cox had the mold changed
again to fit a new chassis made of gold-anodized aluminum, carrying the large
NASCAR motor in sidewinder configuration, a good part of its armature ground-off
for “balancing” purposes… Up front was the ackermann steering unit used in the
earlier Ford and Lotus RTRs. Tires were similar but not identical to the
U.S.-made Dunlops, and the wheels were machined-aluminum with vac-plated
“chrome” inserts. The “full” driver’s compartment featured the usual
factory-painted “Cuc” driver. This Lola was always molded in a medium blue
color. The earlier Cheetah decals were factory applied, and it was sold in a
small blue box with a certificate of inspection and an instruction sheet. It is
now a rare car, but belongs in every serious Cox collection. It was never
advertised in American catalogues, or shown in period
magazines.
The two versions of the Lola T70 RTR made by Cox
International in Hong Kong. Boxes are identical, save for labels applied on
later inline version. Yellow color is scarcer.)
(Photo 73: Underside
of Lola T70 clearly shows different engineering. Inline chassis is simply
attached to lugs molded in body.)
The second version had mold changes again to fit the inline
motor configuration. A nickel-plated tube frame, similar to the Ford stock car,
but without outriggers, was fitted with the smaller NASCAR motor, “Cuc” wheels,
tires, gears and axles. As in the Lil’ Cucaracha, the front axle clipped into
the body, while the whole chassis assembly pivoted from tabs at the back of the
motor. Molded in blue or yellow, this car was sold in the same box as the
sidewinder version, but with three stickers added to describe the changes
made.
The ultimate version of the T70, now purple or white, but with
no technical changes was issued in 1969. The box was now specially printed in
purple and light blue. This was the last Cox slot car made under LeRoy Cox
direction.
Last version of Lola had its own redesigned box, and purple
was the only color.)
An attempt was made to produce 1/24 scale gas-powered
“Muscle-Cars”, a ’68 Camaro and a Pontiac. They used the Ford GT40 wheels and
tires, slot car axles and gears, and ran on a tether. Sales were slow for these
gorgeous kits.
Cox’s .020CI Camaro kit used some slot car running gear. A
rarity today, commanding hefty prices.)
By mid 1969, the boom was a complete bust, and the Cox
Empire lay in financial ruins, with millions in unsold inventory. LeRoy sold
the company to Leisure Dynamics Inc., a holding company, to avoid bankruptcy.
They in turn dumped the entire remaining inventory for tax advantages. Today,
many condominiums in the city of Irvine have their foundations resting on
crushed Chaparrals… LeRoy died in 1976, after seeing a modest revival that was
to last until 1982, when Leisure Dynamics other companies forced the holding
parent in total bankruptcy. Cox was liquidated, and virtually all molds were
scrapped. The only known survivors are the window mold inserts for the Chaparral
II and 2D, and the Super Cuc roof and windshield…Former Vice-President Bill
Selzer, bought the company amidst these ruins, moved it to Corona, California,
and rebuilt it to a decent level producing mostly U-controlled model airplanes.
Cox celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1995. Shortly after, Bill sold the
company to Estes and retired.
While I was doing research for this book, Bill Selzer told
the author an amusing anecdote during a breakfast meeting with him and Jim
Russell, of Russkit fame:
“ In February 1967,we were in Chicago to
attend the hobby trade show, where we had a large booth. But Chicago was
experiencing one of the worst blizzards in its history, and all transportation,
airplanes, trains, cars, taxicabs had come to a grinding halt. There were
several feet of snow outside the hotel, and we were all stuck there. We were
passing the time at the hotel bar with Jim Russell, Russkit’ s president, when
the hotel paging system announced that I should “please go to the lobby and
meet my party ”.
Intrigued, I went downstairs and was pointed to two
fellows wearing sheepherder’s wool-lined jackets and Stetson hats and serious
cowboy boots…I went over and introduced myself, and they asked me “where do you
want the car?”
Now I didn’t know what they were talking about, so they
brought me to the front door, and showed me this Chevy pickup truck, with Texas
license plates, and an open trailer. To my astonishment, on the trailer was the
Chaparral 2E, complete with wing, covered in snow…I suddenly remembered that we
had arranged with Jim Hall to display the car at the show. And no one had been
able to make it anywhere inside or outside the city, except for those guys,
seemingly oblivious to the weather conditions. Let’s hear it for
Texas!”
Jim Hall and Chaparral: the real story:
Cox vice
president Bill Selzer contacted Jim Hall late in 1964 to obtain manufacturing
rights and plans for the new Chaparral 2, after attending the Riverside Los
Angeles Times Grand Prix in September, where the new car had been so brilliant
until an electric fire sidelined it.
Hall wanted more than just giving
his blessing to the model, and negotiated with Selzer and LeRoy Cox a three-year
sponsorship agreement. Chaparral Cars would effectively “approve” each model of
a Chaparral produced by the famed toy maker, but also would display its
corporate logo equally with Bosch, Firestone and Shell.
(Document “E”: Cox’s Chaparral 2 ad, featuring Jim Hall.
While other companies had used racing driver’s endorsements before, this was the
first time that advertising for a slot racing company was
displayed
onto a race car in the United
States.)
A royalty-centered agreement was signed in March 1965, just
before the Chaparral 2 won the 12 hours of Sebring. The model was issued shortly
after this and the decals altered to reflect the exact decoration of the
race-winning car. It is worth noting that even the face of the plastic driver is
sculpted to a likeness of Hall! The agreement was based on a payment to
Chaparral cars of three percent of the amount of gross sales to distributors. It
called for Cox to have the only Jim Hall-approved models on the market, which
Hall respected to the end of the contract. Since Cox produced some 1500000
various Chaparral models in all over three years, and with an average
distributor price of around $3.00 per kit, Jim must have collected about
$135,000, a hefty sum at that time. Cox made Hall proud by producing the finest
models of any slot racing company in the sixties. In the author’s humble
opinion, they have not been surpassed by any concern to this
day.
“F”: Chaparral 2E bearing Cox logo on its sides. Jim Hall
was one of the corporate sponsorship pioneers in auto racing. Photo by Dave
Friedman)
Once the contract expired, Cox issued its Chaparral 2E
models as a “Group Seven road racer”.
Dan Gurney and Cox: a good neighbor’s story.
Cox
wanted to make a stock car, and what would be more natural than the five-time
Riverside 500 winning Ford Galaxie, superbly piloted by “Big Dan”. The original
model of the stocker was in fact a Bruce Paton-built, JoHan-bodied Oldsmobile
Toronado, with a brass chassis sporting all the characteristics of the Cox
International (Hong-Kong) production model. Sponsored by the local Oldsmobile
dealer, this car won a fair number of local races and it was decided to put it
into production. Cox did not want to invest into an expensive new mold, and
contacted static kit maker AMT. After briefly dabbling with a Pontiac GTO, found
too narrow, a prototype was made using a Ford Galaxie which turned out to be the
perfect size for the job. Using the original wood pattern used for AMT’s kits
and a promotional model, an altered version was produced for
Cox.
All-American Racers, the Eagle’s nest, was a scant mile away
from the Cox Center, off Warner Ave., in Santa Ana, California. This proximity,
and the fact that AAR Club member and ardent supporter, John Hale, was also an
occasional pattern maker for Cox, along with owning Santa Ana Raceway, where Dan
and Skip Hudson often came to race slot cars, explains the meeting between Bill
Selzer, LeRoy Cox and Dan Gurney.
The contract was sealed with a
simple hand-shake (and we are really talking Gentlemen here), and…that was
that! Later, Dan helped Cox produce the splendid gas-powered 1967 Eagle-Ford
Indianapolis car, so highly prized today by collectors. There was a modest
royalty arrangement similar to the one previously arranged with Jim
Hall.
Dan can be seen in several period magazines in the company of
LeRoy Cox and Bill Selzer, and also in fine ads promoting the
model.
“G”: Cox ad for the Ford stock car, featuring Dan Gurney.
This was published on the back page of several period
magazines.)