With christmas coming i have decided to pick up a tyco style track for my 5 year old. These are noobish questions so i apologize in advance.

can you still buy lots of pieces for these type of tracks? ie spare tracks, extra cars.

I have some old aurora cars from when i was a boy....36 now. Will these run on tyco tracks? They look like they would.

I did some searching on google and it comes up with more stuff then i could research in a lifetime. Is there stuff out there to hop up the cars like there used to be when i was a boy? Im talking motors, tires, wheels etc..

Can i build a nice track on a 4x8 sheet of plywood and would you guys recommend leaving it attached to the board and making some scenery or would a 5 year old loose interst in one track to soon. Thanks for all the help.

SOme of my afx cars have never been opened. Is there a market for these? Im sure of it.

Welcome to the slot car boards!
Your queastion about if a 5 yr old will keep his interest is a hard one. Back when I was 5...nope! But when I got my first slot setup when I was about 8 or 9, YUP! But then again, will dad keep his interest too? I personally have no children, and I love my slots. I have more fun laying down my layout and adding in scenery and making it looks better. I have a slot buddy who comes over at least once a week and we run laps for hours. So I guess you should ask yourself if YOU will get hooked too. If you attach the track to the board, it will not separate as easy and break tabs. The performance will be much better.

As for your cars, yes there is a large market for M.O.C (Mint on card) Aurora slots. Look up the model on E-bay and you can get a good idea on how much they are worth. Some pull down in the hundreds for the right color, or special things.

Zeldas right, just check ebay to see the going rates for the cars.
As for extra track, i'll sell you straights for 1.00 each/ 9" curves for .50 as long as you pay the shipping.
I have a small track layout and Seth always love to sit and run cars off the tracks, he's only 3 and the racing don't last long, but he has the interest almost everyday.
HINT......radio shack sells something called a "rare earth" magnet, just ask them when you go in, they know what it is. they cost about 2.00 a pack, 2 in a pack. these tiny strong magnets superglued on the bottom of the tjet/afx chassis, help the kids keep the car on the track much better (I use them myself too).
I also have johnny lightning slot cars, which are compairable to tjets and afx magnatraction cars, for sale cheap. let me know what you need, i'll take care of ya.

Thanks guys. Yeah ill keep my interest in it too. Its kind of for me just as much for him. Last year i gave him the fisher price shaker track and a remote control car which he still loves both. He very good with his stuff and has never broke a toy. So the JL and the aurora and tyco cars will most likely all run on the same track? Most of my MOC cars are porsches. Im a porsche guy. My son loves 350z. Thats a strong influence from me we have always owned a performance nissan and we have been looking at z as of late. Ill be getting in touch with you for sure about the track and cars. BTW i have always loved the hobby just got away from it for awhile. I have 3000 plus hotwheels as well. LOL.

regarding kids' interest...

I have 4 kids... a 9-year-old girl, and 8, 4, and 2 year old boys. My daughter will come down to the basement and run cars with me if she's in a "daddy's girl" mood, but that's about it. The 8 year old was kind of into slots with me for a year or two when he was 5 or 6... then he picked up a baseball glove and never really looked back, except to mess around in the basement with me when he's bored. The 4-year-old has gotten pretty good, and really likes to run anytime he sees me going down to the basement... when he feels like paying attention, he can run a SuperStock type Tjet (AFX-width wheels, weighted fronts) and keep up with me if I take it easy. And the 2-year-old comes down too, believe it or not. The new Mattel/Hot Wheels sets have controllers with 3-position speed limiter switches. I have him use one of them on the slowest setting. He still deslots plenty, but he seems to be getting the concept of slowing down and speeding up.

Point is, my track is on a 4x16 table... if they lose interest, I'm gonna play with it anyway... :)

Regarding the market for old cars, and the availability of hop-up parts... yes and yes. Check e*Bay under Toys and Hobbies/Slot Cars/HO Scale. You'll be amazed. And to see what your old cars are worth, check some completed listings for the same types of cars...

oh, and keep coming back here and asking around. nice bunch of guys here, with answers to lots of questions.

--rick

When you say "Tyco-style track" are you talking about a new set from the store? In particular, which one did you get?

Yeah the new stuff. Me and my wife are going this weekend i beleive. My cars consist of about a dozen 311/917 styel stuff all afx and all in the plastic. My son is not huge into spsorts nor am it so i dont see him going that route but we are huge car folks. LIke i said i have redlines my parents bought and never let me play with. There not in the package sadly but i have a bunch there are in un played with condition. I modify the newer hot wheels to. Thanks again for all the help.

It's first of all important to know that Tyco and Mattel track are 100% compatible. Also, it seems that maybe Mattel has now stopped producing electric sets and has decided to produce battery sets in HO. The last three sets from Mattel have all been battery powered; it's been a while since I've seen a new electric set. But don't let that stop you, the battery sets are 100% compatible with the electric sets and Tyco/Mattel electric power packs are very cheap.
That said, Tyco/Mattel track is widely available and can be found cheaper and in greater quantities than Lifelike or Tomy. I sell new Tyco/Mattel track and have a large inventory, including a complete 4x8 road course starter layout for only $12. And with the new 6" and 15" curves, you can do a lot with Tyco track.
What you do not want to do is build a small layout. That will kill your enjoyment really fast. Build a layout on at least a 4x8 board.

Enjoy...Joe

You could always pickup one of the 1/43 or 1/32 scale small sets for the little ones to see if they have the interest or will sustain the interest before you go into a major investment with a nice 4 lane ho scale track mounted on a table. My grandkids played with the HO setup but opted more so for the little Artin set I picked up for them. Easier for them to deal with the cars and it was a little slower for the cars. Eventually they will graduate to the HO scale and enjoy them. :thumbsup: rr

Heck...go for both....set up an artin 1/43 set on one side of the board.....and the HO on the other side.....use horses with added pads and just make sure the track clears the set points...

I run a tyco 4 lane....my teen boys cant be botherd...but my 4 yr old daughter loves it...

I rigged a controler to not go full throttle so she wont deslot....as much...

Oh...and cheapskate...check yer mail....I'm VERY interested in some 6 and 15 curves...I might even be able to move some tomy large radius for you locally too...

I found two stores that started stocking HO slots stuff...and I make a point to shop at both at least once every week or two....so they are happy to see me...

I just picked up a sweet AW candy red challenger today NICE DETAIL...and couple of bowties from the other store last week....ofcorse I had to sneak them in the house.... :cool: