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Building a Tyco “G” Pro-- a hot TycoPro with traction magnets and other performance mods...!
by Terry Flynn (contact by email)

1.0; 1.3 – For a standard “G” Pro you will need:

1) Tyco Pro brass pan chassis. The true brass pan works better than the brass colored steel pan.
2) Factory guide flag and weight. Braided pickups can be substituted with a little extra effort. If factory lead wires are unavailable, they can be fabricated using HO train layout copper braided lighting wire.
3) Radio Shack rare earth magnets. Four each.
4) Factory front rims and tires. If factory rubber is unavailable, o-rings can be substituted.
5) Factory crown and pinion gear. G+ and Super G Plus can be fitted if the ‘crown gear sump’ is cut out and relieved for clearance.
6) Factory rear hubs. Other types work well if properly selected.
7) .059 Tyco rear axle drill blank. A .063 will have to be used if G+ and SGP crown gears are used. .063 axles require that the rear axle retainers be relieved or sufficiently worn to allow friction free rotation.
8) Rear silicone tires. A soft compound and diameter similar to the AFX Magnatraction silicone tires from HO Slot Car Racing. These tires are about .480 diameter mounted on factory rims. Tires that are .450 or less may not provide enough clearance on factory plastic tracks. (This chassis modification has not been tested with silicone covered sponge tires such as Wizzard Law)
9) Mabuchi can motor. Select a good spinner if possible. A hot stock arm could be used or a Racers Edge can as well.

1.4 – Push the pan holding tabs down into the plastic chassis to hold it fast. It cannot run as a ‘shaker plate’.

1.5; 2.5 – Attaching the magnets. Degrease the chassis especially at the front of the brass pan and the sides of the ‘gear box’.

Use contact cement on one side of each magnet and then at the attachment points. Let the cement dry completely. The point of the contact cement is to only hold the magnets in place till they can be securely affixed with hot-melt glue.

Attach the magnets in the front as in photo 1.8. Attach the rear magnets as in photo 2.0 so that they are flush when the chassis is placed on a flat surface. Use a small hot-melt glue gun to apply glue across the magnets and onto the chassis. Be careful at the rear to leave tire clearance.

2.6; 3.0 – Fabricating pickup wires. Strip back the wires; twist a pair of ends together and pre-solder. Pre-solder the pickup wipers. Solder the wires to the wipers. Use soldering paste to facilitate work. Wires can be reused many times as the wipers wear out and need to be replaced.

3.1; 3.3 – Front tires. The front end can be tightened up with the fitting of nylon washers. Use a .020 thick washer and split one side with a razor knife. The split will allow the washer to easily fit over the front axle stub.

3.4; 3.7 – Attaching the pickup wires. Use a tooth pick to friction-hold the soldered ends inside of the brush barrels. Be careful not to press in too much as drag will be created on the commutator by the brushes. Trim off the excess tooth pick with a pair of small wire cutters. Leave clearance for the body.

3.8 – Rear axle. Cut the axle blank the no less than 1.25”. 1.3” will work fine. Press on the factory crown gear and fit into chassis so that equal axle lengths are measured outside of the ‘gear box’.

3.9; 4.0 – Fit rear rims. Press on the factory rear rims. Check for free rotation and relieve any not-melt glue or rim tabs. Test with a 9-volt battery. If the rear crown and pinion have too much side-to-side play, a .005 armature washer can be inserted to take up the play.

4.1; 4.3 – Fit rear tires and check for clearances. Make sure that the chassis is not ‘slammed down’ too much. The front tires must carry weight. Factory front rubber will probably make this a non-issue. O-rings may require that a guide flag chassis tab be hinged up a fraction. This will prevent the pickup wipers from being smashed into the rails by the flag holder from magnetic down-force. The car will not run or handle good nor will the pickups wipers stay positioned properly if the chassis weight is not fully supported by the front tires.

4.4 – If the car experiences severe rear wheels hop under maximum acceleration, the rear chassis motor clip is probably not holding the can motor fast in place. Apply hot-melt glue at the back of the chassis motor clip and onto the can. Contact cement might be used as well.

Total Assembly Time – Having done a few, about an hour