Anybody like Slot Cars?

[Clonefan94]

The deal when we bought our house 20 years ago, that the basement was mine. Mainly would be for beer and slot cars. Well, 20 years goes by and I did get the beer thing going at least.

This past September, I finally pulled the trigger and decided to get building. It really cut into my brewing time, but a few months later and I'm really getting to the home stretch on this.

It has computer timing and scoring, with pit stops. It's analog, not digital. STarting lights, fuel warning light for each lane as well as track status lights. It's 3 lanes, to save on space, so you can reach cars in the corners.

Still a lot of details to do, stands, spectators, trees, shrubs and a curtain around the bottom to hide storage.

Anyways, I'm pretty proud of this, so I thought I'd show it off a little.

So here are some photos of where it started to where it is now.

 

[arturo7]

Awesome track. I have a cousin who is deep into slot cars as well. The newer style cars are stupid fast.

 

[Clonefan94]

Awesome track. I have a cousin who is deep into slot cars as well. The newer style cars are stupid fast.

These are the lager, or I should say medium sized ones, 1/32 scale. And the track doesn't work with magnets, since the power rails are copper tape, so mine aren't stupid fast.

Here's an example of one of the cars, they are about 5 inches long and 2 inches wide or so.

 

[arturo7]

Aha. Even cooler. There was a hobby shop back in St Louis that had a track for that scale. It was huge! At probably six lanes and a banked turn that was 5' tall. I didn't think that scale was still around.

 

[Dimax]

That's pretty dang cool!!
can you put a GoPro in or on one of your cars and make a little video?

 

[Totally]

Wow! Amazing build, I love it. I was into slot cars as a kid but just the crappy plastic snap together stuff, this is really cool to see.

 

[Clonefan94]

That's pretty dang cool!!
can you put a GoPro in or on one of your cars and make a little video?

Working on that, I don't have a GoPro right now.

The little micro keychain spy cameras would probably work best though, to make sure it gets under the overpass ok.

 

[Inkleg]

Awesome build! Now you have two cool hobbies going.

 

[Clonefan94]

Awesome build! Now you have two cool hobbies going.

Yeah, my wife has already pointed out to me how well it seems the two go together. Sippin' on Suds while racing slot cars.

 

[gromitdj]

Man, that's awesome! I've always wanted to do it, since a borrowed a book about slot cars from the school library. I was probably in 5th grade or so. Very cool that it is even still around. Just what I needed... something else to obsess over.

 

[unionrdr]

Man, is it rare to see people building home tracks anymore!? I still have my 1/24 & 1/25 scale big track race cars, controllers, pit box, armature timer, etc. Also, my Parma controller I built from a kit with multiple resistors, mosfets, 3 position resistance switch that acted like a 3-speed shifter, & 4 position brake micro switch & the usual finned heat sink. Cost $150 in the mid-90's. I'd need to scan a ton of pics to show my stuff though. I came in 10th in the regionals, But was the 96-97 Division 1 GTP champion. Lost only one race. The rest of the time, 2nd place averaged 2 laps down, last place about 44 laps down. I also won 14 regional Concourse championships. The GTP competition in the regionals was absolutely fierce! Stoopid fast! And being a touring pro backed by 3-time world champion Jan Limpach wasn't all glitz & glamour. I also raced Group 15, the so called winged cars. My wife & I called'em thingy cars, her saying what I did years before, " but they don't look like nothin'?!" My GTP's had some 42 degrees commutator timing, .010" thick Lexan bodies, steel chassis center section with aluminum pans, dual wires to the motor brushes that were rounded off with a small rat tail file to " break them in". And last, but not least, anyone that's been around big track slot racing & read Scale Auto Racing News might remember my monthly column, " The Soap Box Racer"? Good to see somebody still is into slot racing. Cool! :rockin: