Remember Slot Cars??

In 1966 when slot car racing attracted millions of Americans, typical fast lap on this type of track was 6.5 seconds. Today, the fast lap in this race was in 1.7's.
This is insane.
Slot car racing European Championship Finals,



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Mid- late 70's I had a AFX track, in the 80's I got a Tyco track, my friend had one also. The early Tyco cars were slower than the later 440 magnum cars( that's really what they called them). The 440 cars had some awesome magnets, would really stick to the track. The set I had the one end would bend up so you could run them up the wall. Found a pic:)

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We set up a drag strip too we'd make our own "top fuel" frames and run them w/o any kind of body.

Yep did that with the Aurora HO cars, bought axles & gummy tires, hogged out wheel wells w/exacto knife, rewound armatures till they melted the plastic chassis, drilled holes for extra cooling, modified pickups to do wheelies, etc. etc. Never could afford the bigger cars on the paper route money at the time. When I went to sell all that stuff to collectors they would cry when they saw what I did to the muscle cars... heh.
 
Little 3in1 oil on the track made for great burnouts! Or when a car was on its last legs it got a little testors model glue and lit on fire......going around the track in flames...surprised I never burnt the house down lol
 
Tiny Tim’s Hobby on Woodward was our slot racing hang-out.
Still have the Afx and Stromberg stuff someplace in the basement.
I work with guys that have gone all-in with the new digital sets.
 
This just opened near me. The track has been in storage since the 1990's . Malls are failing and store fronts can be rented pretty cheaply I would think. This one opened in a mall.

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Lots of fun! I watched and raced some last night . Cars are fast!!!
That looks a lot like the track from the place my kids and I used to go. The timing would be right as it closed in the nineties.

Ask the owner if that was Doc Harsma's track from Syracuse.

I'll have to dig out the cars and take some pics.
 
Just catching up on the thread. I had a buddy in junior high that did the HO cars and won the national championship. He won a 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback. Top of the line Mousetang at the time. When he got it delivered, I got to ride in the backseat as he was too young to drive without a licensed driver in the passenger seat. (learners permit) I was big into the 1/32 stuff. Raced when I could as we were quite a distance from the store with the track. Still have the cars (mostly hand built) Favorite one was a Manta Ray. Cool car.
 
Got my Aurora set back in 1966 and continued to add track to it. By 1968 I was able to lay a nice track out on an 4x8 plywood board and hinge it to the back wall in the garage. When we moved out in 1972 it came down and went into storage and I have managed to keep it with me all these years. My son saw it a few days ago and wanted me to show him how to set it up which we did together. Had to clean the track and tune up the cars. Still recall how to tune them.
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In 1966 when slot car racing attracted millions of Americans, typical fast lap on this type of track was 6.5 seconds. Today, the fast lap in this race was in 1.7's.
This is insane.

That speed is ridiculous. What fun is there in that? The cars move so fast one barely sees them at all. What skill is involved when it comes to negotiating curves if the cars are so tweaked all you need to do is hold down the trigger and do nothing else.
 
That speed is ridiculous. What fun is there in that? The cars move so fast one barely sees them at all. What skill is involved when it comes to negotiating curves if the cars are so tweaked all you need to do is hold down the trigger and do nothing else.
It's been some years, but I have a couple of those slot cars and they aren't just holding the trigger down. Some of the banked corners are flat out, just the same as any slot car, but you do have to "drive" the car... albeit not quite like a much slower car.
 
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