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Dragster of the Day : April 18, 2013; Muscle Machines '92 Chevrolet Camaro Top Fuel Dragster
Topic Started: Apr 17 2013, 09:40 PM (621 Views)
craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

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The cardragster for today is Muscle Machine's 1992 Chevrolet Camaro.

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Wikipedia.com
 
Drag racing is a competition in which specially prepared automobiles or motorcycles compete, usually two at a time, to be first to cross a set finish line. The race follows a straight course from a standing start over a measured distance, most commonly ¼ mile (1,320 ft (400 m)), with a shorter 1,000 ft (300 m) for some Top Fuel dragsters and funny cars, while 660 ft (200 m) (1/8mi) is also popular in some circles. Electronic timing and speed sensing systems have been used to record race results since the 1960s. The faster vehicles need a parachute to slow down, an innovation credited (indirectly) to cartoonist Tom Medley.


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Quote:
 
Before each race (also known as a pass), each driver is allowed to perform a burnout, which heats the driving tires and lays rubber down at the beginning of the track, improving traction. Each driver then lines up (or stages) at the starting line. Races are started electronically by a system known as a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree consists of a column of six lights for each driver/lane, one blue, then three amber, one green, and one red, connected to light beams on the track. The first, a split blue open circle, is split into two halves. When the first light beam is broken by the vehicle's front tire(s) indicate that the driver has pre-staged (approximately 7 inches (180 mm) from the starting line), lights the first half of the blue circle, and then staged (at the starting line), which lights up the second half of the blue circle, and also the corresponding bar in the middle of that circle. Below the blue "staged" light are three large amber lights, a green light, and a red light.

Once the first competitor trips the staged beam, the tree is automatically activated, and the opponent will have up to seven seconds to stage or a red light and automatic timed-out disqualification occurs instantly. Otherwise, when both drivers are staged the tree will start the race up to 8.3 seconds after the race is staged, with the time randomly selected by the Autostart system, which causes the three large amber lights to illuminate, followed by the green one. There are two standard light sequences: either the three amber lights flash simultaneously, followed 0.4 seconds later by the green light (a Pro tree), or the amber lights in sequence from top to bottom, 0.5 seconds apart, followed 0.5 seconds later by the green light (a Sportsman tree, or full tree). If the front tires leaves from a stage beam (stage and pre-stage lights both turned off) before the green light illuminates, the red light for that driver's lane illuminates instead, indicating disqualification (unless a more serious violation occurs). Once a driver commits a red-light foul (also known as redlighting), the other driver can also commit a foul start by leaving the line too early but still win, having left later. The green light automatically is illuminated on the opposite side of the red-lightning driver. Should both drivers leave after the green light illuminates, the one leaving first is said to have a holeshot advantage.

The winner is the first vehicle to cross the finish line (and therefore the driver with the lowest total reaction time and elapsed time). The elapsed time is a measure of performance only; it does not necessarily determine the winner. Because elapsed time does not include reaction time and each lane is timed individually, a car with a slower elapsed time can actually win if that driver's holeshot advantage exceeds the elapsed time difference. In heads-up racing, this is known as a holeshot win


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Check out Wikipedia.com to learn more on drag racing.

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MM produced some pretty neat stuff with their door slammer line of drag racers. Multiple opening features and rubber tires with semi correct appearing wheel sizes are among the features.

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Edited by craftymore, Apr 18 2013, 07:32 PM.
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Dean-o-mite
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Muscle Car
Not a whole lot of "Camaro" left in that Door Slammer. B)
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Billy Kingsley
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The Mad Documenter!
It looks like it's barely being held togther- the first photo especially, the front wheel is crooked, the door doesn't look good, and the nose appears to be bending down forward.

Even with all those problems, it's still the best I've ever seen from Muscle Machines, though.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hands down the best series MM did, although of the 12 castings this is one of the least favorite and not as well done. I suppose the line could be called Door Slammers, but I know them as Super Chevy Nitro Coupes. At any rate, only three series were made...this is from the first two, the color by memory I think this may be from the second series. The third series was a one and done deal, and included some of the best castings in the series. These were all premium releases, high priced even for MM, so there aren't all that many to begin with. They did turn up at Big Lots sometime later around the time Funline sold out to Action.

I highly recommend the '55 and '57 Chevys from this series, the '67 Camaro is a favorite I've had loose in my display cabinet for years, and the '41 Willys is awesome...all are patterned on real cars that were racing in the Northeast in the early 2000s. Detail is phenomenal for the size, removable hood/fender assy, opening doors, full roll cage, nice rr tires on believable wheels, wheelie wheel, parachutes...did I mention hands down the best series MM ever did?

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Edited by juantoo3, Apr 18 2013, 07:40 AM.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
juantoo3
Apr 18 2013, 07:39 AM
... These were all premium releases, high priced even for MM, so there aren't all that many to begin with. They did turn up at Big Lots sometime later around the time Funline sold out to Action.

Which is why, Wes, I don't recall this series. I'll bet you they weren't carried at the big discount store chains due to their higher retail prices (for the time). Your collection photo is amazing, to see yet more cars I never saw for sale anywhere I frequented.

Sadly, there are so many series ( or diecast companies) that disappear quickly and never seem to be reissued by someone else.
But there is always someone who gives up the hobby, and items like these will show up at sales or online.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I did see these on the shelf as new issue, and at the time I frequented Wally, Target and Kmart, so they were available at the time in at least one of them. Initially the price was a turn off for me, and I only bought the 67 Camaro, and possibly the 41 Willys although if memory serves I think someone beat me to that one. But that was only the first wave.

When I found the second wave at Big Lots I didn't recognize them, I thought they were the same from the first wave. I picked up all of wave three, and another 67 Camaro...which turned out to be different from the one I had! That was my first clue. Turns out they are numbered differently as well, by MM convention at the time. Since then I've kept my eyes peeled and lucked into a few deals and found most of them, but I am still missing two or three from the second wave. That wave is proving most elusive, I suspect a lot of customizers grabbed them up for parts and cannibalized them, making already rare cars exceedingly rare.

I've said for many years now, that if I were in a position to commission a promo issue for any reason, an event or company premium or some such, I would actively seek to have one or more of these castings reproduced. They wouldn't be cheap, but they would be worth every penny.
Edited by juantoo3, Apr 18 2013, 08:40 PM.
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juantoo3
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BTW...thank you Crafty for indulging me! I had no idea you were fixing to run this for CotD, but you sure made my day!
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69Stang
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Station Wagon
juantoo3
Apr 18 2013, 07:39 AM
Hands down the best series MM did, although of the 12 castings this is one of the least favorite and not as well done.
I could not agree more with both of those opening statements! My least favorite of the series, primarily because it was just poorly executed. But as a series, I loved them! Door slammers are my heart for drag racing, and pro mods are my favorite class, so I was crazy when these came out.
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