Pan Curious

[Dadio]

So here's the thing, I was a Buggy guy, and I had a list of buggy's that I dreamt of as a kid, I've now recently completed that list and sure they could all do with the odd part here and there but essentially I've got em all. So I'm still looking and there are one or two I like but not with that Zeal, I have however started looking at 1/12 Pan Cars, never had one and know very little about them and for what you get they seem expensive (like everything I guess ) and I don't even know what I'm looking for but some of the builds on here are stunning and give me a hankering.
I have a few questions.

Will they run on a road or do they need a super smooth track?
Other than "1/12 Pan car " is there a better eBay search word?
Is there a vintage Pan car forum or learning resource you could point me at?
Any other advice?

[LowClassCC]

Have you thought about Bolink cars? RJ Speed currently makes a lot of the old Bolink platforms. A good deal of them are 1/12 scale and pretty easy on the wallet.

[GoMachV]

Running on a non prepped outdoor surface, it won’t be a lot of fun with a 1/12. My recommendation would be bumping up to a 1/10 scale and buy the CRC rubber tires. Then you have a chance at going fast and being able to drive it. Foam tires on unprepped asphalt just lead to chunking and lack of traction. Also with little to no suspension, it takes a pretty flat area.

[XLR8]

I'm right there with you Dadio. There have been a number of 1/12 scale build/resto projects posted recently that have rekindle my interest in this segment of the hobby.
And, if you browse the various online catalogs of 1/12 re-pop bodies, you will find an absolute gold mine of options. ...and they're relatively inexpensive.
Like Jeff says, the problem with building a pavement runner is tires.

[Frankentruck]

On a flat indoor carpet track, 1/12 with a quick steering servo is a lot of fun. It's like the RC version of a TRON light cycle. Quick acceleration and sharp turning little land sharks

Outdoors they just get beat up by the road surface too much due to lack of ground clearance, and have less high speed stability than 1/10 pan cars.

[Dadio]

Thanks guys, so 1/10 might be better and no foam tires, I know even less about 1/10 pan cars, thanks for the RJ Speed tip as well, I may just pick up some parts and do something bespoke...

[GoMachV]

With your printing abilities you could also made wheels for a 1/12 that use M chassis rubber tires. Should be relatively close to the right size. Of course narrower in the back and wider at the front than regular 1/12 but usable

[Dadio]

With your printing abilities you could also made wheels for a 1/12 that use M chassis rubber tires. Should be relatively close to the right size. Of course narrower in the back and wider at the front than regular 1/12 but usable

Just had a minor surf on M Chassis as that's a new subject as well but there are plenty of tire options, I was thinking that really all I need is a rear axle and I could print the rest, cut a g10 chassis etc.

[GoMachV]

That’s what I would do!

[Frankentruck]

RJ Speed 5732 looks like a reasonably complete rear axle setup.

[Dadio]

Yea I saw that, Schumacher does one for Mardave V12 cars as well so I'd have a choice of scales, could almost do something like the original Bolink Digger chassis.
And BING! The light comes on. Does anybody make the original Digger chassis ?

[GoMachV]

That’s a good one. I know I have the modified version that was sent to me by Thomas Peter I believe. I also remembered that I do have the originals because I tried to shrink it down to 1/20 these were both printed

[Dadio]

Ooooh you little gem

[RC10th]

On unprepared surfaces they are like a vacuum cleaner. The aerodynamics sucks the dirt off the asphalt so your chassis will be covered in dust and tire foam

[morrisey0]

I find 1/12 pan cars fascinating to build.... but completely impractical to actually run. Their simplicity is what attracts me, with a minimal amount of chassis parts (ie less $$$ replacement parts), but so much mass once electronics and such are brought into the picture, and it all needs to fit onto this tiny little plate. They are like 300 piece jigsaw puzzles when you have been busy building 1000 piece puzzles. They make for relaxing builds. But unless you have a local carpet track, or know someone with empty office space, there is no great place to actually use them.

1/10 pan cars are what got me back into the hobby, and I am still picking up 10Ls and 1/10 Bolinks when the price is right. MUCH more practical and a joy to drive if you have a local relatively smooth area like a tennis court or such.