Chasing the Getaway (cars)!

 As you may know, a few weeks ago I purchased a Getaway Chase Game game from a guy on Facebook Marketplace. He made sure I knew that the cars were shot, but it was such a good deal, I didn't care. When I got it home, I found out just how bad those cars were... Real bad. 

They were completely rusted out, which is weird, because the rest of the game (and box) were in near mint condition. I had thought that maybe I could fix them, but when I saw them, my doubts got huge. 

Here they are...

They are rusted so badly that the wheels won't turn! Totally shot. If I was going to rebuild them, it would have to be from the ground up. So, I cracked my knuckles, rolled up my sleeves...and went to eBay.

I figured I had so little invested in the game that I could spend a little more for some easier to fix cars and still be way ahead. Soon I found a listing with two very clean looking cars that the seller said weren't running. At fifteen bucks, I couldn't resist. I snatched them up!

I got them about a week later, and boy are they purdy! Here they are next to the old cars... New car on the left, old car on the right. The new cars look smaller because they aren't on their chassis, but they're actually the same size.

And here are the guts. I don't have to tell you which are which...

Now the new cars were clean, but they were missing a few parts (spare tire and side pipes on the gangster car) and a couple of pieces were broken (headlight on the gangster car, windows on the cop car) So I decided to combine the best out of both sets and whip out the super glue to make a really nice set. Here they are!

By the way, the old cars were so rusted that I didn't even see they have an on/off switch! It's there, right in front of the guide pin. Straight (as in this picture) is "on." Sideways is "off."

And now it was time to see if I could get them running. I wasn't exactly holding my breath, since these little motors hadn't spun in about 60 years. Still, you never know until you try, so I dug in. Here's a picture for reference...

The first thing I did was to take a 9 volt battery and a couple of pieces of wire to see if I could get any life at all out of them. The contacts are on the side of the motor where the metal clip is. One motor did nothing. The other jumped slightly and then whirred to life! So I knew I could save one!

I then pulled out my secret weapon: contact cleaner. This stuff is designed to clean electronics and I use it on my stereo and bass amplifiers (and basses, come to think of it) all the time. I sprayed each chassis and whiped them down. Then I sprayed each motor through the little vents. I pulled out my 9 volt and tried again.

Both motors worked! I won the old toy lottery! I went to the store and bought to C Cells (not from Sally at the seashore), and, after more difficulty than there should have been, got them in each car. A little more cleaning, and futzing with the contact points and battery position, and both cars were officially running!

Now I needed to see if they would run on the track. I set it up, and switched both cars "on." They both sprang to life! I set them on the track.... and they bairly moved. Not daunted (ok, maybe a little daunted) I gave them a little push with my finger. The result?

Success!!! They zoomed around the track!

Then I decided to try a switch!

Now I could see how fun this game really is! It's pretty cool to watch them almost touch and then switch them away from each other! Cool stuff!

So there you have it! I now have a completely working DX Getaway Chase Game! I'm a happy camper!

Until next time, keep searching for treasure!