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Proper care and maintenance are essential to peak performance! Always be sure that your track surfaces are CLEAN.

1000 Series

Your RiggenHO Model Race Car is a reproduction of a 1970’s vintage product. Slot car technology has advanced considerably in the past 35 years and you should not expect your RiggenHO model race car to run like a contemporary slot car. You should, however, expect your car to be the same kind of “barrel down the straights, slide through the turns” fun they were in the 70’s.

RiggenHO Model Race cars use a guide flag assembly similar to 1/32 and 1/24 scale slot cars. The Copper (Beryllium) wipers on the flag are subject to wear with hard running. For optimal performance, shape your wipers to suit your track and rail height. Make sure your wipers are clean and shaped properly to make contact on TOP of the rails (not along the sides of the rails). Replace the guide flag material when grooves form. Make sure that pick up wires are fully inserted into the brush tube barrels and the retainer clip holds tightly.

The stock motor is a new old stock (NOS) Mabuchi HT50, which is the same type used in the original Riggen Industries cars. It requires very little maintenance. A very light oiling at the front of the pinion shaft as well as at the pinion/crown joint helps insure smooth running.

Check the rear wheels to be sure they turn freely with nothing binding or rubbing. Chassis alignment and gear mesh is a critical factor in improving your performance. Make sure that the crown and pinion gear mesh perfectly. Fine-tuning can be done by slight tweaks to the angle of the rear uprights to assure perfect fit with your preferred gear and tire set up.

Keeping your tires clean is important to their adhesive properties. The “No-Tear” silicon tires on your RiggenHo model race car are very durable. Vintage Sponge tires can be retrofitted to your RiggenHO model race car and work best with some type of tire traction “juice”. TNT and AJ’s Tire traction can be used. Vintage set screw wheels can also be used but tend to be delicate. The set screws can strip easily. Silicon tires are only recommended for set screw wheels that have been firmly secured with the smallest dab of Loctite or Black Max to prevent slipping.

All cars are track tested on home style plastic track with rails. You may notice a small groove line on your pick ups from testing. This is normal. A light application of Slot Car race oil has been applied to the crown/pinion gear joint. This reduces friction and improves the drivetrain.

All RiggenHO bodies are interchangeable with Series 1000 and 2000 chassis’s as well as with vintage Riggen Industries chassis’s. Additionally, your vintage Lexan bodies may also be adjusted as needed to fit your RiggenHO chassis.

2000 Series

Your RiggenHO Series 2000 Model Race Car is the evolution of the “radical” brass Riggen Industries chassis that dominated HO scale racing in the 70’s. In the modern era, your RiggenHO Series 2000 chassis should be considered a “tuning base” ready to be customized for your track, driving skill, and competitive rules. Numerous vendors provide various hop up options for your chassis. See www.riggenho.com for the latest performance parts, tuning tips and reader rides.

The motor used in the RiggenHO Series 2000 chassis is a new old stock (NOS) Mabuchi Green Arm motor, similar in configuration to the venerable HT-50 but smoother running with even acceleration and useful coast.

Most contemporary gear sets including sintered BRASS will work on your RiggenHO chassis. Adjust gear ratios to your preference. Various spacers can be used to tighten the drive-train. Experiment and check the “reader rides” section of the website for ideas.

Rear wheels and gears are easily interchanged with many contemporary rear end set ups and with any 080 size threaded products. The tires which come on your new RiggenHO 2000 Series model race car are “No- Tear” silicone. This height is suitable for Tyco, Tomy and AFX track and a few other types. However if you find your car rubs the rails, you can change your tire height or change to a different tire to provide a smoother ride. Increasing the overall wheel/tire diameter can be accomplished by simply adding masking tape around the hub.

Front wheels are applied with an arbor press. They can easily be removed with a proper wheel removal tool. Various contemporary independent front wheel/tire sets can be used.

Complete assembly instructions with photographs are provided on the website.

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