Control Knobs

The control knobs, along with the jewel bezels, are simply chromed plastic slot car wheel hubs from the Aurora "Vibrator" series that were first introduced in 1961. The Vibe line was phased out and replaced in 1963 with the more-reliable "Thunderjet" slot car series. Since they fit both styles, the remaining stock of Vibe hubs, all of them what we call the "C" style, seems to have been repackaged as T-Jet parts until depleted. Then Aurora retooled to make the flat-bottomed Classic T-Jet hub, which was never used in any authentic comm. Same for the aluminum hubs, which came along even later still. As for the "Small Flange," it seems to be a rare oddity with no known original usage or part number, pictured here only because we had a couple:

The original comm knobs as seen so far are all the Vibe "C" style. For anyone looking to recreate this item, we have produced exacting dimensions of that hub here:

> > > > The Plans - THE AURORA HUB < < < <

Hubs were originally packaged in small manila envelopes. The "A" and "B" came as part #1573:

The "C" (and "D" which are exceeding uncommon) first also came in envelopes but with the the part # 8316 (#1350-16):

Once the ThunderJet cars replaced the Vibrators, the small inventory of remaining "C" hubs was repackaged in blister cards (12 blisters with four hubs each) with the identical part number 8316 (#1350-16):

After the "C" hubs ran out, Aurora retooled the part to be what is now known as the classic T-Jet flatback hub with again the same part # 8316 (#1350-16) available only on the same blister card:

Years of monitoring eBay suggest that when you see up for sale some carded T-Jet hubs, there is a 95% probability they are plain classic flatbacks and not the communicator-ready Type "C." Thus if you are considering purchasing carded hubs and you can't tell from the photo(s) which type they are, ask the seller for a better close-up. And prepare for disappointment.

Where to get:
If you are seeking authentic-styled Vibe "C" hubs for use as jewel bezels, you'll need some luck as they can still be rooted out - albeit with difficulty...

1) Original Aurora Vibrator and ThunderJet hubs can occasionally be found selling on eBay, commonly under the search words:

"Aurora hubs -oldsmobile -olds"
"Aurora rims -oldsmobile -olds"
"Aurora wheels -hot -oldsmobile -olds"
"Aurora parts -oldsmobile -olds"

Note that what most usually comes up are the flat-bottomed "classic" or un-chromed "truck" style; that is when they're not from altogether different slot car lines (AFX, Hot Rod, Tuff Ones, O-gauge, etc., none of which are anywhere near a match).

1a) You can always take an original Classic flat-bottomed T-Jet hub, which are somewhat easier to find, and sand down the thickness of the flange to match that of a "C," then insert a tiny plastic disc of equal height to the height you just shaved off. The shaved hub should be 0.121" thick and the disc insert below 0.019" thick. While labor intensive, this is an excellent way to render a perfect vintage knob appearance while not using up a valuable supply of authentic "C" hubs.

2) Chromed reproductions are available (as of the mid-2020s) from only one vendor - Model Motoring, Inc., via their eBay store. Though these have slightly rounded edges, the hubs nicely (at least used to) use a yellow base plastic, just like the originals. If the specific link above at some point craps out, try entering in the eBay search some or all of the following text: T-JET 6 PR HO SLOT CAR HUBS & TIRES. NEW. FROM MODEL MOTORING FITS TJETS. And if even that fails, then you're probably sh** out of luck.