Hi, I am wanting to get into slot cars. I have been collecting vintage carded Hot Wheels (68-82 redlines,flying colors,etc) for the past 6 years and I recently sold almost all of my collection. I have been wanting to get into slot cars for a while now and I have been looking alot on the net for info. Here is where I am at. I am very interested in vintage stuff. I really like the 1/24 stuff I have seen but just do not have the room. I have found several 1/32 sets/parts that I like. So far Eldon stuff seems to be interesting to me. I need any help you can give me. Is Eldon alright? I had alot of the tyco/afx and so on 1/64 stuff when I was a kid. I really like the bigger scale and I also like vintage stuff instead of new. I also seem to notice that 1/32 vintage stuff, for the most part,is very inexpensive. As of right now I have zero slot car items so I am starting from the bottom. Like I said I have been collecting carded vintage Hot Wheels for some time and now I would like to get into vintage slot cars. Any help would be great. Thanks!!!

try this site www.homeracingworld.com

Thanks, I will check it out. Mark

Hi, I am wanting to get into slot cars. I have been collecting vintage carded Hot Wheels (68-82 redlines,flying colors,etc) for the past 6 years and I recently sold almost all of my collection. I have been wanting to get into slot cars for a while now and I have been looking alot on the net for info. Here is where I am at. I am very interested in vintage stuff. I really like the 1/24 stuff I have seen but just do not have the room. I have found several 1/32 sets/parts that I like. So far Eldon stuff seems to be interesting to me. I need any help you can give me. Is Eldon alright? I had alot of the tyco/afx and so on 1/64 stuff when I was a kid. I really like the bigger scale and I also like vintage stuff instead of new. I also seem to notice that 1/32 vintage stuff, for the most part,is very inexpensive. As of right now I have zero slot car items so I am starting from the bottom. Like I said I have been collecting carded vintage Hot Wheels for some time and now I would like to get into vintage slot cars. Any help would be great. Thanks!!!




Let me start by introducing myself………..my name is John Clark and I do business as Slot Car Johnnie’s or SCJ on the boards. I’ve been it the business for over 25 years, have authored several books on the subject, consult for a couple of company’s on the product, manufacture or have manufactured for me several pieces/parts and have purchased the contents or what remained of several (mainly) Aurora warehouses.



Now lets tackle your questions……….to start with, don’t rule out 1/24 scale or vintage as with the right style/brand of 1/32 track and berm all the way around, you can easily run two 1/24 cars on the same track. Assuming routed commercial style track is out of the picture (This is by far the best!)……..in our opinion Carrera makes the best (hands down) plastic track and it has a nice depth “slot” to it. Eldon/Strombecker/Bachmann vintage track while cool for it’s vintage aspect and relatively cheap is in our opinion junk for the most part. Not to mention it tends to come apart with modern cars, the rails lift or come unglued and the slot depth leaves a lot to be desired. If you must go vintage, go with Revell/Monogram track which modern Riggen track will also bolt up to. Using either of the above suggestions (Carrera or Revell/Monogram) will also allow 4 lanes of 1/32 racing if you have the room. If you’re looking to save some money (and who isn’t) I would suggest maybe buying someone’s collection that is getting out of the hobby or out of that scale. For example, we just sold the equivalent of four sets worth of track and cars for this very reason and did so at a fraction of retail. We still have a few some cars if your interested, LMK. Of course eBay is always an option….a quick search shows a couple auctions with track that just ended. You can usually find a batch of track or a set or two (minus cars) at one of the local slot shows (Not sure where your located) but this should also save you some cash. I know up front the investment looks large, but keep I mind once you have your layout configured and in place, generally speaking you don’t often change it. I would however suggest you start figuring out what type layout you want: road course, oval, elevated, flat, detailed, semi detailed, power pack, batteries all-the-above etc. and how much space can you dedicate to it? Unlike HW track, you can’t just tare it down and put it away. It should be set up permanently for good connectivity and sustained fun.



As for cars…..there are several manufactures currently in business all of which make vintage type bodies as well as modern type racers and street cars. Keep in mind these (for the most part) use magnets for down force (as in a magnet that does nothing but hold the car to the steel rail imbedded in the track). Most modern tracks use steel rail, but not all vintage tracks did, so plan accordingly. This makes a MAJOR difference when comparing the handling of a vintage slot to a modern one. But price really isn’t any different…the average modern slot is approximately US$40 ~ 50 while the average used vintage can be had for this same amount, even less if your willing to kit bash a little. You can also pick up used but damaged modern cars and rebody them using a static model kit making them appear vintage but run with the new cars!



Bottom line, don’t get in rush to make a purchase if you can help it, slot car show season is coming up (fall) and eBay has several thousand new slot auctions up and running on any given day……take your time, find the deal that best fits your needs. Sorry for the long read, but if you have any more questions, LMK



Hope this helps and welcome to the board.



:wave:
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www.SlotCarJohnnies.com (http://www.SlotCarJohnnies.com)

Thanks for the info. I was wondering if you could run 1/24 cars on the same track that you can run 1/32 cars. I will take all of the advice I can get. I understand what you are saying about the new stuff being much better as far as quality but since I am just starting out I think I will go with vintage since it is plentifull and if I damage something it is not a big loss. Ebay is where I have been looking and there seems to be lots of stuff for very good prices. I know me and what will end up is that I will probably get into collecting NOS slot cars. Stuff never used and never removed from thier original packages. I just love stuff like that. Hot Wheels,model kits, etc. Thanks again for all your help.Mark

Hi,
Yes you can run 1:24 & 1:32 cars on Carrera track. Their track is designed for 1:24 cars.

hi gang

i'm new to this forum .. just joined in!!

i'm not so new to slot cars tho .. i have been in the hobby/sport/obsession for more than twenty years, with the purchase of my first scalextric 'classic' set in the late '70s .. my collection is now stupid .. three large tracks, a couple of hundred cars, and enough scenery to build a town!

i just moved into my new house, and will slowly start reassembling everything .. i'll post pics as i get there ..

in the meantime, here's my take on the track issue ..

IF you want to run 1/24 cars, then carrera is the way to go! their track is the only track wide enough, though ninco works too (i think)!

but, if you are happy to stay 1/32, then, IMHO, scalextric classic is the best choice! my reasons :

1. the lugs hold together BETTER than any other system i've tried .. it's maybe a little harder to put together, but won't come apart if one bumps or moves the layout! best for kids, or for a "floor-based" layout

2. the surface of the track has a texture (as does ninco) .. personally, i like this texture .. it helps if one uses "stock" tires (not hi pro "stickies"), and the sound produced is neat!!

3. the selection of additional track parts available for the classic layout is better than any other company .. these include crossovers, squeezes, pit lanes, special "starts", sound units, a full line of scenery and people etc. etc. etc.

4. since it's "vintage", used classic stuff is available at reduced prices .. also, SCX still makes track that is COMPLETELY compatible with classic, so this system is available as new too! and the SCX electronics are a riot!!

the one BIG downside : the slots are a little shallower than most other systems, so some (and only some) car's guide pins will need to be trimmed or sanded, but this is a simple alteration

here's a pic of my "hairpin" track, a 6X6 foot table that provides 7 seconds of racing excitement .. the only problem - if its a problem - is that it is best driven with short-wheelbased cars - but my BMW minis LOVE it!! so do the kids ...

http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k272/peteingrouard/my%20tracks/hairpin3.jpg

so, all in all, if one is okay with 1/32, i'd advise for SCX/Classic :thumbsup:

hope this helps, and doesn't just muddy the stream!

the alberta clipper :jest:

I think you need to figure out if you want to race slot cars or collect them. If you want to have some great looking scale model slot cars that you can enjoy by running them on a track go with the current products. If you want vintage items that you'll be hunting for parts and tinkering with then go for vintage itme. You may want to collect the interesting kits and cars from the 60s in which case you'll spend a lot of time on eBay or going to swap meets.

My suggestion would be to purchase a NEW race set with some cars that you like, set it up and have some fun racing. It can be an HO set or 1/32 or 1/43 or 1/24 scale. I can NOT recommend Eldon track or cars and I really like some of the Eldon items (their Mopars are really cool!). The Eldon track is almost useless and thats why it's so inexpensive. The other vintage tracks all have a common issue - the steel power rails in the track. Many of todays track utilize stainless steel which prevents corrosion and this is really important.

You really need to go look touch feel squeeze shake and Drive..............No matter what anybody tells you it all comes down to what looks good to you........what feels right and what will fit in your area.

Every opinion on here will be differant.
I happen to love the New scalextric Sport Digital system..........But, thats me!!
The cars have excellent detail, run great right out of the box and you can run 6 cars on a 2 lane track..........lane changers are available for corners and streaightaways, Pit lane turnouts and pits are available for racing with mandatory pits............This makes the racing aspect more closely resemble real life racing.
You can also by changing a few track pieces and the main power track change over to analog to run vintage equipment.

Sport track however is not 1/24 scale friendly like carrera is.........But, it does take up a little less room.

There is far too much to collect across the board in slots...........Choosing the scale and then the genre's would be my suggestion.

Example..........1/32 scale and
F1 cars
Lemans prototype
Lemans GT1
Lemans GT2
Nascar
Indy league
Rally
Vintage trans am

Pick 1 or 2 or more and collect..............you'll find you'll have your hands full budget wise just trying to keep up with a couple of genre's let alone all racing and multiple scales ;)