If you look at the front and rear bumpers on many new cars, you'll notice little squares and circles about the size of potato chips sitting right there in the plastic bumper covers. HO Slot Car Myth Busters – WD-40 vs. HC Slots-September 18, 2015. Myth busted that WD-40 is a good way to clean your HO slot car track.
Wheel Wells - Make sure all wheel wells are not 'cut' or slightly shaved.
My feelings on wheel well or alterations is simple. If a car is hacked and gouged to make room for larger tires, it should be considered a 'Runner' for racing. Sometimes a nicely done 'rounding' of a wheel well is fine as a 'Space Filler' for a collector, especially on a rare car.
The 'Light Blue' Mongoose above is a rare car and has slightly shaved rear wheel wells. It looks great on a shelf until an upgrade can be found. The White Vib Mercedes is 'hacked' and would be considered a a nice 'Runner'.
Screw Posts (T-Jets) - The most common issue affecting plastic slot cars is usually with the screw post. It is getting very hard to find a car withOUT any screw post cracks. The age and brittleness of the plastic affects the posts. Even the colors that Aurora produced cars in have different affects. Tan colored cars are the most brittle and usually have the worst issues. Look for cracks or splits in both screw posts. You should always take a car apart at a show to check. Bring a small screw driver with you to all shows.
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The turquoise body pictured above shows a typical example of a 'CRACK' in a screw post that holds the screw firm. This is a common occurence and is fine with most collectors.
The yellow car above is a typical example of a 'SPLIT' in a screw post. I consider deeper, wider 'splits' to be further along damage wise than a 'crack'.
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The turquoise body pictured above shows a typical example of a 'CRACK' in a screw post that holds the screw firm. This is a common occurence and is fine with most collectors.
The yellow car above is a typical example of a 'SPLIT' in a screw post. I consider deeper, wider 'splits' to be further along damage wise than a 'crack'.
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Chrome - Make sure the bumpers are 'factory' melted in. Examples below. If the melt marks look too big or not in the correct place, the bumpers have probably been replaced. Sometimes this is ok if the replacement is done properly and neatly with original factory parts. It is up to you to decide what is acceptable in your collection. I personally do not like reproduction parts on any of my cars.
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