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.
(Photo 54: 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.
(Photo 56: 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)
(Photo 58: 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.
(Photo 74: (out of sequence) 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.
(Photo 59: 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.
(Document “D”: Color advert for Ford MKII)
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 cancelled and a splendid Chaparral 2D
coupe was issued instead, minus the ackermann steering.
(Photo 60: 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.
(Photo 61: Early translucent “La Cucaracha” in scarce first-series
box.)
(Photo 62: 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.
(Photo 63: 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.
(Photo 64: “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.
(Photo 65: 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.)
(Photo 66: 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.
(Photo 67: 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.
(Photo 68: 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.
(Photo 69: 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…
(Photo 70: 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.
(Photo 71: 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.
(Photo 72: 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.
(Photo 75: 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.
(Photo 76: 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.
(B&W Photo “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.
(Document “G”: Cox ad for the Ford stock car, featuring Dan Gurney. This
was published on the back page of several period magazines.)
(B&W Photo “H”: The real thing: Dan’s Ford at Riverside, winning the
race for the fourth consecutive time. Photo by Dave Friedman.)