Let's talk slot cars

Rear view.....

Hey, Javelin! (actually, wasn't that a tag line for an AMC ad back in the day?) I didn't mean to jack your thread...:(  Just realized that is probably what I did. Sorry, sorry. To make up for it....I'll post this last pic of a genuine Aurora "Tub" track - this was a commercial layout offered by Aurora to their dealers. Never saw one in a shop but we have one up in Washington that uses a routed roadbed instead of the sectional plastic track and it truly is a blast from the past, especially with todays cars and 12 volt power.

Question for Javelin - you're up in the Portland area, right? Shoot me your email & contact info and I'll send you a headsup next time we have an event there..... :)

In reply to Pushrod :

I sure am! About 40 miles north of Portland. You can get me at AMX310 AT Gmail dot com.

You didn't hijack at all, it's slot cars for everybody!

This was posted a few days ago on a car modeling forum: SNL slot car ad. 

In reply to Pushrod :

Cool!  I've raced on a Tub in the past.  Neat experience, although I pretty much wrecked my car setting it up for running on Aurora track - it was originally set up for a routed track and did not like the jointed track at all. And since it was the only car I had at the time. Sadly, it's never been quite a same since.  

Ian - I feel your pain! The two setups are quite different. Where are you located? Javelin, you've got mail!  On the subject of routed tracks, this is one I raced on this last Tuesday evening in Portland. It's a 4-lane replica of Riverside Raceway and it just got retired. (It's also for sale, if anyone is interested..... :) This is the view from "Turn Nine."

Oh man...I really wish I had the space for that track. Maybe someday. *sigh*

In reply to slowbird :

It's only 4ft.x 12ft... :) the pic makes it look much larger than it really is. (That's what she said!)

What's a routed track?

In reply to vwcorvette :

A routed track, regardless of scale, is not made from purchased plastic sections, such as Scalextric (1/32) or Aurora (HO). It is made by routing the slot into MDF or similar and the contact rails are glued down along side the slots. this eliminates the section breaks yielding a much smoother surface and no electrical contact issues between the sections. The old commercial tracks were all made that way, and some hobbiests do it today.

In reply to Pushrod :

How much?!?

In reply to Javelin :

Check your email.... :)

We used to have not one but two hobby shops in the area that had routed tracks like that, but even bigger and with banked turns, bridges etc. I spent a lot of time there as a kid, racing my Parma slot cars there and crashing them over the wall of the big banked turns. Now I wouldn't even know where to find a hobby shop that had any slot car stuff, much less a track. :(

In reply to slowbird :

You're right - stand alone raceways/hobby shops with tracks open to the public are few and far between these days. However, there are still some out there. Try slotblog.net - they have national listings for both commercial and club raceways. Depending on your area, you might get lucky! In that spirit, I offer another track pic. This is called a Scorpion. It was a commercially available 6-lane routed track made by Buck Trax here in Eugene by Dale Buck back in the early '90's. Board size is 4 ft.x 16 ft., running lap length was 66ft! (That's just over a scale mile in HO/1/64th scale).  Though not currently produced, they are still out there and can be found, usually in good working order. This particular one was in both Redmond and Maple Valley, Washington before being sold to a buyer out of state. 

Since my last post a couple weeks ago I've found a couple pics in my archives that are germane to the thread. In racing/slots/car modeling, everyone started somewhere, and this was my "launch pad." Christmas, 1965.... My little sister Laurie was actually quite  a good driver, but I could never get her to stick with the hobby afterward. (Boys were icky and that was that!) Here's a shot with the set "outta da box." Yes, eventually we attached the guardrails...

In reply to Pushrod :

I'm in SE PA, but when I was working in central NJ, I used to sometimes go to a shop "NJ Nostalgia Hobbies" that is primarily a slot car store. He runs a Friday night race series, switching between HO (usually T-Jets) and 1/32. The HO track used to be a jointed track (not Aurora... later/current brand that escapes me at the moment), but I think he recently got a routed track.  I haven't been up there in a few years, due to various reasons.  I have a couple of 1/32 cars, but never raced them.  I have a Carrera 1/32 set that I've been meaning to try to sell for ages.  As much as I do enjoy slot cars, my time is limited and can only do so many hobbies.

Hi, Ian - I used to talk to Joe Correa/NJ Nostalgia Hobbies back in the day when I worked for Scale Auto Distributing here in the Pacific NW. He's a very good businessman. (he's all over EBay now). It's great when a successful shop runs an equally successful race program - that's rare nowadays. If you're interested in East Coast HO clubs, pm me. I can put you in touch with a few.

While still on home tracks, I thought I'd share this shot as well - I'd apologize for the misalignment of the the two slides, but I was 14 at the time! My first real home track, 4x7 board, minimal scenery, fast sweeping turns, fun to drive. Would've made a great 4-lane course if I'd had the room.....This was 1969, the Aurora "Thumbkiller" controller dangling on the right and yellow Lancer Honker body definitely date it. A lot of fun racing with the neighborhood kids. 

Happy Fourth, everyone!

Thanks for the thumbsups guys, I appreciate it! Here's the last HO track I built,  presented for your indulgence. Pic here is from mid-1981, board size is 4 x 10 (with one corner lopped off, hence the double doglegs at the top of the photo). Very fast track on the 18-volt power used at the time. The plastic track I used was, unfortunately, the 2nd-generation Aurora A/FX sections, which popped joints & rails repeatedly. I was forever chasing & tacking them down in an effort to keep things smooth. A blast to drive, though, regardless. A modern routed version with 12-volt power would be fantastic. The gray box in the center is one of the old classic TCP lap counters.

Minimal scenery again, but the turf infield carpeting, 'O'gauge corkbed shoulders and lots of wall stickers for "trackmosphere" are all evident. This is during morning warmup at one of the old HOUROC club races. We were running classic IMSA GT cars that day. If there's any interest, I can post a few pics from that race as well.  

Oh, forgot to mention, the track ran clockwise.... :) Here's another shot with a 240Z and BMW 3.0 going at it and a Vette just ahead of them both.

So, I picked up yet more slot cars, because reasons:

But even more exciting is that Sunday I get to meet and race with Bob Beers, Mr. Aurora himself! The guy literally wrote the book on slot cars!

I'm hoping to get an autographed copy there and buy some cars from him, but it's also going to be a pretty big race day for the Portland area slot car racers (PHOSAR) which will be my first. 

I told my wife that since we finally renovated the house with a nice finished basement I'm excited to bring my slot car tracks home from my Mom's house. My wife is not as excited for some reason. The kids are ecstatic. Now to find some working HO cars, as mine have all turned into solid blocks of green corrosion.

slefain said:

I told my wife that since we finally renovated the house with a nice finished basement I'm excited to bring my slot car tracks home from my Mom's house. My wife is not as excited for some reason. The kids are ecstatic. Now to find some working HO cars, as mine have all turned into solid blocks of green corrosion.

I'm thinning out my collection right now, I have some good runners that I'd let go cheap...

Also, can I come over and race in your basement?

My first track was Aurora Model Motoring.   

I couldn't pass this box of track when I saw it, but I'm really not sure what I'm going to do with it yet.

In reply to Pushrod :

Not perfect, but maybe a bit better...

In reply to CJ :

Wow - Thanks, CJ! That is very kind of you :) Your Photoshop skills are awesome! That really does justice to the layout now....