3 replies to this topic

[Dave Crevie]

I guess that the popularity of vintage racing has trickled down to model car racing.


 
Slot Cars Used to Have Tiny Diesel Engines That Could Push to 60 MPH

 

 

[nortonedward117]

They're trickled down to model car racing. I saw that, too.

[Bill Seitz]

The Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, NE (affiliated with Speedway Motors) had larger scale gas-powered model racing cars that were guided around a course by a tubular rail on the left side of the lane. The cars pictured above appear to have used a guide system under the car. I've seen tether cars before, which these resembled, except for the different guide method which enabled them to race around a course with left and right turns and straightaways. The Museum had a sizeable collection of these all-metal, side-rail guided cars with glow-plug engines and a small piece of representative track.

 

The museum directory indicated they also had slot cars, but I didn't see any the day I visited in early May.

[Dave Crevie]

I'm pretty sure I posted this shot elsewhere. I ran these tether cars in Palos Park near Chicago when I was 18 or 19. I brought them out again when I was working at Tom Edwards Chevrolet, when some of the mechanics were running them in the body shop. I bought it from one of them. It's a McCoy that I believe was a 1960's re-issue, it's too nice to be an original issue example. It has the same size .19 motor that I had been using in my line control airplanes. It has never been run.