Whisker's Other Rigs

[Eau Rouge]

...and the Reflex was one of ten cars made for guys that raced 1/10 dirt oval, before they made it public.

If that's the case, then it wasn't a Reflex.

[Whiskers]

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[Eau Rouge]

No B.S. alarm, so cool your jets.

If it was, in fact, one of the "original" cars, then it was a low production car before it was ever in Trinity's hands, and thus called a Titan TXO. However, it looks to me like it was one of the early production Trinity cars.

The car was actually sold for a while as a Titan TXO and had nothing to do with Trinity, and wasn't called a Reflex at the time. James Dieter (currently of Custom Works, and then hired on by Trinity after the car was done) designed the car locally, and created much of the base of the car from a Losi JRX2 and an RC10. I knew the original machinist of the custom parts that were on it, and James wasn't working for Trinity at the time—he was actually one of Revtech's main drivers. By the time Joel Johnson got his hands on it, the design, testing and development of the car had already been mostly completed by Dieter and Ken Pohlman.

They tested that car for a long time in this area and elsewhere, and it was wicked fast. One of the giveaways to your car that it was a crossover car from that time that James began at Trinity was the Losi wheels on the car. The production Trinity Reflex ran the TRC wheels and tires, but the Titans also had the yellow A&L steering bellcranks. The Titans all came with white nylon suspension arms, as well, which is the dead giveaway.

I don't doubt that your car is an early pre-Trinity mass production team car, just based on some of the components (rear shock tower, Losi silicone capped tires, turnbuckles, etc.), but that car was in small run production as a Titan TXO before it ever took the Trinity surname.



Like I said before, I love the car, and the Premier wedge body is my favorite of all time, but the Reflex was another in a long line of Trinity production cars that they essentially "bought" and renamed as their own. It was a complete, buyable chassis kit before it ever was called a Reflex 10 by ol' uncle Ernie. I don't doubt your collected history of that chassis one bit, but the history of that car, in general, isn't 100% complete.


I thought you guys might like these... they are a couple of small snapshots (I need to re-scan these larger someday) of one of the real original prototype Titans. This was actually Jim's car, from about 1989 or so (my memory continues to get worse as I get older).








Notice the cut down JRX2 front shock tower and RC10 steering linkage, and the handmade front and rear bulkheads. The car also sported gold Delta shocks instead of the TRC copies, and it lacked a top deck, too. This car looked like a 4wd car on the track it stuck so well. I have a few photos somewhere of one of Jame's other creations from just before that time, as well, which is a 4wd car based on a belt drive Schumacher Cat, that was stupid fast.


Sorry for the lecture, no offense intended. My previous comment should have been interpreted as light hearted, but I should have realized that not everyone here is completely comfortable with the atmosphere here yet, and it could have been misinterpreted. My apologies.





doug

[Eau Rouge]

Which Duane Pierson might you be talking about, too? I raced with a guy by that name locally for many years... I wonder if he is the same you are referring to?

[Whiskers]

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[Eau Rouge]

Yup, the very same one. Cool! Really good guy. Haven't talked to him in years. He used to (I don't know if he still does) own the Jus' 4 Fun karting track on Rt. 83. Duane was a great wheel, but I donno if he was ever a Trinity team driver. I used to race at his Oswego track when it was the only building in Oswego.


Are you local?

[Whiskers]

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[Eau Rouge]

As far as the team driver thing, I'm not sure either. 12+ years is a long time to remember exactly what he told me about the car that was special. So maybe the legend has grown larger over time.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I used to be a REALLY good driver, too.


Duane was good friends with Jim, so I don't doubt at all that it was an early chassis. I'd bet it was probably a production kit, pre-public release. That would fit the players involved.



Regardless, it was a great car. I have one in the process of being restored to box art layout, and just acquired a pretty good group of original parts, including a Titan.

Duane's track was a lot of fun to race on. My brother ran stock truck there with me the last few times I went there. That would have been about '91 or '92 or so. Funny.


doug

[Whiskers]

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[Whiskers]

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