- BODY: MEV
- WHEELS: MEV
- TIRES: Joe Skylark
Now here is something different; this is the first “non-competitive” car I’m showcasing. This is a body by MEV, a magnificent US-based “boutique” maker of extremely unusual and unique slot bodies. Their product line is peerless; if you want a slot car model of a ’57 Oldsmobile Super 88, a ’66 Pontiac Catalina 2+2, or a ’59 Buick Electra WAGON, MEV is the only place you are going to get it. On top of that, you can order your car in any of 23 colors, and some models are even available in 2-tone colors for an extra price!
Having said this, you may wonder why my entire fleet of slot cars isn’t MEV! Well, the only drawback to these bodies is that they are just a little bit too small when compared to the rest of my cars; they are sized like the earliest Aurora Vibrators. We all refer to our slot cars as “HO scale” but in reality, almost all the later Aurora bodies, all the Johnny Lightning and Auto World releases, and even most of the Dash Motorsports bodies are larger than HO. And, if you recall my saying that, as a collector of 1:64 diecast cars, I like to build dioramas around my slot tracks using my die cast collection, I am constantly walking the line between HO and 1:64. The MEV bodies are just too small for my needs.
Well, there is one other slight drawback to the MEV cars: they are quite expensive! But then again, as unique products made in very small numbers, one can hardly complain about that.
So, here we have a 1961 Chevy Bel-Air “Sport Coupe.” That it’s a Bel-Air and not the more commonly seen Impala is clear from its 4-rather than 6-tail lights; the Bel-Air “bubbletop” 2 door hardtops were made in very small numbers, and a large percentage of them were serious high-horsepower muscle cars. The wheels-identical in size to the original Thunderjet wheels-were also ordered from MEV in a gray matching my body color choice, and I chose to shoe it with a set of redline tires from another small manufacturer, Joe Skylark. I said it is non-competitive because, due to its small stock-sized early T-jet wheels and tires, it really belongs on a non-traction magnet chassis. I do have it mounted on a chassis with a magnet at the moment only because, at the time I built it, I didn’t have any non-magnet chassis available. I have since acquired several and will soon be rebuilding this car with one of them so it has a better stance, but the original vintage chassis cannot compete in a race with a modem AW Ultra-G, making this car a “no-go showboat.” It is beautiful, though! I will be buying more MEV bodies in the future despite their size, simply because they make so many interesting cars that no one else makes or ever will; the GM vehicles of the late 1950’s and early ‘60’s are my favorite cars ever made, and MEV has a whole catalog of them! If this interests you too, you should definitely check them out online!
