Cox Thimble Drome Prop-Rod Air-Powered Car

The Prop-Rod car was one of the earliest models produced by L.M. Cox Manufacturing. For many years the models went by the trade name of Thimble Drome, but later were know simply as Cox Models. It was featured in magazine advertisements as early as 1961 when it appeared in American Modeler. The Prop-Rod came with a Babe Bee .049 engine mounted with its cylinder inverted, which could make starting it difficult since fuel could pool in the glow head. As with airplanes having inverted cylinders, starting it was often done by holding the model upside down. It was designed to run either on a tether stretched along a sidewalk, on a tether mounted in the center of a circle (see video below), or it could just run free. These couple photos were captured from an eBay auction a while back. The Prop-Rod was a little over 12 inches long and 6 inches wide.

Overview of Thimble Drome Prop-Rod with Cockpit Detail

Prop-Rod Cast Aluminum Bottom Pan

Prop Rod Videos by Jeffrey Compton

Thimble Drome Prop-Rod Running on a Tether

Thimble Drome (Cox) Prop Rod Teardown