Custom 1/32 Slot Car Build

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Originally Posted by Flygirl

^^^Great cars! I love the Impala, all of them really. I can't wait to see how your track comes along. Routed tracks are the best! Mine is a small little thing, but it's portable and has survived two moves with no damage. I'm kind of mixed about the cars; I like slower non-mag racing but those doorstop cars were unbelievable, and I found myself hypnotized by the motion and speed. It was kind of a trip.

And to those who identified it, that is indeed a Lotus Cortina. The Pinto? It's an early '73; I drove it in high school in the late '70s and (of all the cars to end up keeping), it just kind of never went away.

I suspected I might find a few kindred spirits here.

Some more pics:

1. A Porsche 908 body that I built and mounted on a TSRF brass chassis equipped with a pin guide and all the other old school running gear. It's blazing fast on my track, but I like the body so much that I don't run it too much since I've yet to add guard rails.

2. Ford Galaxie with Slot.it running gear and a brass chassis. This one's a sentimental favorite but is happier on bigger tracks.

3. Slammed GT350. Also with Slot.it running gear and a custom chassis I cobbled together from the parts bin. I Dremeled the inside of the body to where it's thin as an eggshell, and lowered it as much as I could in hopes of wringing every last tenth out of it. It's fast, but not quite as fast as I'd hoped after all that work. The body is also a bit too delicate for its own good.

4. McLaren. Another custom decal job, vacuum formed interior, a super lightweight that competed with some success in the first Slot.it Shootout some years back, but failed to find the podium at the end of the series.

5. Lotus Cortina. Lots of lead underneath, and it's still a bit top heavy.

Your cars have such incredible detail, they look like contest models. I'd hate to wreck one of them. It seems you have at least two 'Guy" hobbies... you are to be commended. Some people have no idea of the work involved with these tracks & cars, and to build your cars like you do and race them is over-the-top. I think you'll have a great replica Cobra, no matter what brand you choose.
I'll post news of my track build as long as there is interest. We usually have to go on a slot car site to generate interest or get a positive response, as CC doesn't seem to have many modelers. I'm glad you showed your stuff though.

[HealeyRick]

Featuring a 1/32" Steve McQueen:

[Flygirl]

Funny, the slot racing comes and goes in phases. Building the track was a really big project for me, then getting into the car modeling was another, and if I have the time, I'm hoping to learn how to do realistic scenery.

I have this idea for modular scenery pieces, which could be removed and stored separately, so the track could still be transported. But right now I've been so busy with work that the track has been idle for the last few months.

Originally Posted by FWB

i have some vintage slots i diddle with.....much older than what most are used to.
late 50's early 60's AC gilbert stuff.....32 ford bodies....i'll try to scare up some pics

Please do; those Gilbert Ford hot rods are true early classics!

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The model railroad guys have the scenery thing down pat...they are the best. Check out some of the rr magazines for tips and details. They seem to be able to use things we would never think of to create their towns/roads/scenery.
I know what you mean by phases. Not enough time to do all the things we like to do. Good luck on your Cobra project. ERA is a wise choice, if you go that way.

[TN Shelby Cobra]

Originally Posted by Flygirl

^^^Great cars! I love the Impala, all of them really. I can't wait to see how your track comes along. Routed tracks are the best! Mine is a small little thing, but it's portable and has survived two moves with no damage. I'm kind of mixed about the cars; I like slower non-mag racing but those doorstop cars were unbelievable, and I found myself hypnotized by the motion and speed. It was kind of a trip.

And to those who identified it, that is indeed a Lotus Cortina. The Pinto? It's an early '73; I drove it in high school in the late '70s and (of all the cars to end up keeping), it just kind of never went away.

I suspected I might find a few kindred spirits here.

Some more pics:

1. A Porsche 908 body that I built and mounted on a TSRF brass chassis equipped with a pin guide and all the other old school running gear. It's blazing fast on my track, but I like the body so much that I don't run it too much since I've yet to add guard rails.

2. Ford Galaxie with Slot.it running gear and a brass chassis. This one's a sentimental favorite but is happier on bigger tracks.

3. Slammed GT350. Also with Slot.it running gear and a custom chassis I cobbled together from the parts bin. I Dremeled the inside of the body to where it's thin as an eggshell, and lowered it as much as I could in hopes of wringing every last tenth out of it. It's fast, but not quite as fast as I'd hoped after all that work. The body is also a bit too delicate for its own good.

4. McLaren. Another custom decal job, vacuum formed interior, a super lightweight that competed with some success in the first Slot.it Shootout some years back, but failed to find the podium at the end of the series.

5. Lotus Cortina. Lots of lead underneath, and it's still a bit top heavy.

Very awesome Flygirl! Makes me want to get mine back out and set up! Mark

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When I was a kid, my (late) uncle, Sparky Belmont, a veteran New England stock car driver and champion, had my dad get me started in commercial slot car racing. I built my own first car and learned to race it in the Tuesday night men's league in the Branford, CT. Hobby parlor. Being much too young to drive a full-sized car, I took to slot racing like a fish to water and went on to build and race all over CT., winning many races. To me it was real racing, until at the age of sixteen, I discovered girls and full-sized cars. After that, there was no more time for slots. Still, the memories of those racing days and nights stuck in my mind as ideal times, and I recently (after more than forty years) visited a commercial slot racing facility. What I saw I liked, especially with the newer rules prohibiting expensive rewind motors and bodies that do not look like cars. I also like the Hard-Body slot cars, based on 1/25 scale model cars over factory produced 'stock' slot car chassis. I also have many vintage slot cars and components that will recreate the slot cars of the 1960's.
Slot car racing is generally a winter thing, and I'm looking forward to competing again, as well as building a home routed wood 50' semi-banked oval for the stock cars. It's really just another car thing, as I also build contest-quality scale models and collect die cast cars. It doesn't replace driving the Cobra and the vintage modified race car, but just adds to the automobile insanity I came down with around the age of three or four. I love seeing these other car hobbies displayed here on CC. It shows me I'm not the only insane person here.