395 replies to this topic

[mickey thumbs]

Ya gotta love a15 year old messing around with an oxy-acetylene torch. Most of us were stuck using the old reliable Bernz-Omatic plumbers torch.

[Paul Lindewall]

Wow, really straining my memory here.

 

I do remember two shops I frequented as a kid. Don't ask me their names (I call my wife "honey" all the time, just so I don't mess up and get myself in trouble!) but one of them was in Quincy, MA, on the corner of Water and Franklin streets. I could walk to that one, and I did, just about every Saturday bright and early so I could rent a lane for an hour without having to wait forever on the "list". They had two tracks, one of them was, I believe, a King. 

 

Second shop was in Randolph, located in strip mall off the main street. Dad used to drive me to that one. They had several tracks, but the only one I was interested in was a Purple Sovereign. That bank at the end of the long straight looked HUGE to a kid, and a lot of plastic model kits converted to slot car bodies met their demise there. 

 

Both shops closed around the same time, at the end of the boom. I though I'd never be able to relive those days, until one day, about 35 years later, I was out on a call for work and passed by Modelville Hobby in Ashland, MA. I walked in out of curiosity and there it was - a Purple Sovereign! Walked out with a chassis, motor, body, controller, some tools and spares. The following week I started racing again, and continued until I retired and moved out of state. 

[Jay Guard]

Ya gotta love a15 year old messing around with an oxy-acetylene torch. Most of us were stuck using the old reliable Bernz-Omatic plumbers torch.

There's a bit of an interesting back story to "a 15 year old messing around with an oxy-acetylene torch"...

 

When I was 14 I was building chassis' for a lot of the guys at the track, especially the kids that couldn't afford a scratch-built chassis from the grown-up fast guys.  Heck, I'd make them one for a nice motor and a buck or two.  One of the grown-ups that raced at Aloma saw some of my work and asked if I would be interested in doing some solder work for him, but not slot cars?!  It turns out that he owned a machine shop and he had a contract with the U.S. Navy to hard-silver solder together fuse housings for 500 lb. bombs!

 

So a few days later my Dad drove me over to his shop so we could check out what he was wanting me to do.  He gave me a shot at handling the torch and soldering a few and I did quite well at it.  So that weekend my Dad drove me down to Orlando and we got a torch set-up and the gas tanks I would need.  Once home my Dad helped me set it all up and we came up with four ceramic one foot square plates that I could set the assembled, but not-yet-soldered housings on.  OK, now I was in business and the guy would let me solder as many as I wanted, for 7 cents apiece!  I know that doesn't sound like much but it was 1968 and I could knock out several hundred a week, and even a thousand (or more) a week in the summer.  Not bad part-time pay for a teen in those days.  I did that for a couple of more years until the contract ran out.  I made enough money that I bought my first car, a 1969 Camaro for cash.

 

Here's a picture of the fuse housings compared to a JK Hawk Retro.  The center steel firing pin bushing and the Copper wire conduit was what had to be soldered.  Not your average summer job for sure!

 

[Pablo]

  Jay, you are the bomb-diggety       soldering master 

[Alchemist]

Hi Jay!

 

One of my all-time favorite cars!

 

Many years ago, I had the opportunity to paint/restore a 1969 Indy Pace Car Camaro.

 

Would you happen to still have pix of your Camaro please?

 

 Thank you for sharing  Jay - that's great story.

 

Ernie

[Mr. M]

Is that a brass tube for a front axle?

[Jay Guard]

Mr. M:

The axle itself is steel, it must be the oil that's making it look like brass.  The front and rear axle tubes are stainless steel, as are the pans.  The drop arm is regular carbon steel.  Everything else is piano wire except maybe the pin tubes, those might be brass so I might have lied a little about the all-steel thing. 

[Larry Coleman]

Howdy Jay,  I remember the endurance races, they were a blast. That is cool you have the same award too after all these years.

 

I grew up in Dommerich( also known as the land of the Martians with all the Martin Plant employees living there) also on Thunderbird trail just past the ball fields. Near Eric Erikson's house. You must remember for his older sisters, they had a 65 convertible Mustang. Good times.

 

I went to Trinity Prep for high school. 

 

My main racing these days is online "Iracing". https://www.iracing.com/ Extremely realistic and great fun. We have a team and run many endurance races 

 

Now living in Oviedo. Maybe touch base one day up on the river.

 

Cheers Larry

[Jay Guard]

Hi Larry:

I knew Eric, he was in my class.  Did you know Ricky Campbell, he lived on Mojave right where Thunderbird intersected it?  I spent a huge amount of time on the ballfields just a few blocks from your house and knew a lot of the guys that lived in that area.  And BTW, my Dad worked at Martin (40 years), and I did too as a Field Engineer for 37 years.  Finally retired (from now Lockheed Martin) in 2014 and moved back to Central Florida in late 2017.  

[Larry Coleman]

Good Day Jay,

 

A true way back. Living in the good ole days. LOL Yes Ricky, Kim,Eric and myself played on the same ball little league team. Ricky's father was our coach. I have an old team photo. Need to dig it out. Eric died several years ago he built pools for a living. Kim and I went to a Gators game last year, good time. Had not been since college days in hog town. Go Gators

 

I lived on the Tbird trail east of there. 

 

Dad started at the Baltimore plant right after the war, then we went to Littleton Colorado in 1955 when I was 3. Then came to the Florida plant in 1962. Dad was always going to White Sands for missile testing. Cold war days for sure. 

 

I worked as a carpenter for many years then became a GC. Retired 2 years ago.

 

Hi Larry:

I knew Eric, he was in my class.  Did you know Ricky Campbell, he lived on Mojave right where Thunderbird intersected it?  I spent a huge amount of time on the ballfields just a few blocks from your house and knew a lot of the guys that lived in that area.  And BTW, my Dad worked at Martin (40 years), and I did too as a Field Engineer for 37 years.  Finally retired (from now Lockheed Martin) in 2014 and moved back to Central Florida in late 2017.  

[Courtney S]

 

I raced in College (Liberty University) at Continental Hobby in Lynchburg, VA, in December 1988.

 

I thought this track was a BLUE king, but the sides are red or orange.

 

So, if you know, please fill in the blanks. I think this was a win for the PRO WOMP championship.

 

Please notice the ASTRO shorts. I still love the Jetsons!

[brnursebmt]

Hey Mike,

Wow, I didn't notice the woodgrain. I just got these pictures today.

This answers one BIG question for me, the track I raced at from '69 to the mid-'80s before it closed was Beloit Raceway. I saw a post on the net where someone said that track had the wood instead of the Formica. I always had the suspicion that blue King at Family Hobby Center was the same one at Beloit Raceway. It probably is!

Here are a couple of pics of me at Beloit Raceway in the early '80s.

Thanks so much, Mike!

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This is an old post and I just now ran across it!  I raced at Beloit Raceway in either 80 or 81.  It was the USRA Nats.  My first exposure to the big time!  I ran amature grp. 27.  Got my butt handed to me! 

 

Met all the greats of the time.  Dan Dabella went out to his van and got me a ProSlot tee shirt!  He had driven all the way from California.  Joel had his dog house pit box.  Paul Pfeiffer won the Pro main.  I set and watched him assemble his car.  He even brought in his own air compressor!  I remember the mini motors were just coming to slots and I had C-cans.  Didn't stand a chance!

[Vay Jonynas]

I started out at Polk's hobby shop in ny city 1963. I raced in Brooklyn ny at champion raceway on ralph ave off of flatlands ave and at Thunderbird hobbies in the bensonhurst section of brooklyn ny.

 

 

 

 

Cool! Polk's actually carved out an even stronger reputation in the model train area beginning in the early decades of the 20th century. Polk's was the company that launched the  Aristo-Craft line of G-gauge 1/29 scale trains in 1988 but sadly closed its doors on 31 December 2013.

[Rob King]

Thanks Marlon! Been waiting to hear if anybody else mentioned that! 

 

I was on the south side of Chicago, in the city, but went out to Tri-City a couple times and actually won a (beginners) race there once. 

 

I thought they had 4 tracks, but I mainly remember the American Red, across from the counter as you walked in the door, and then an Engleman type track kiddy-corner from the Red. Didn't pay much attention to the other tracks, but the figure eight must have been in the other corner. It was a huge place and pretty well run if I remember right. (I usually raced at a small local hobby shop on 71st in Chicago, with one track). An older friend with a car sometimes drove us out there, and maybe my dad once. 

 

I think Tri-City was Mike Staskie's home raceway too, although I don't remember seeing him there - not that I would have recognized him if I did! 

 

Don 

This is the place my dad went to as a kid.  Oddly enough, a discussion of the track and Tri City popped up on a facebook group for the town it was located in. 

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[don.siegel]

Thanks Rob - it's good to see the address, even approximate. 

 

I must admit, even at 15, I was pretty overwhelmed when I walked in there after being used to a small local place. 

 

Don 

[PhDr]

Little shop next to SUNRISE MARKET in Valinda, Calif. (La Puente). Probably 64-65.
I had an HO 1964 El Camino. Pops would take me down to the market after work.

[don.siegel]

El Camino... Interesting how that stuff stays in our memory, eh? 

 

Was it a shop with just an HO track, or did they have the big wood tracks too? 

 

Don 

[Clyde Romero]

I am from NYC so I was lucky

there were tracks all over 

Polks Hobbies Manhattan 

Roosevelt Raceway in Queens

Buzzys in Brooklyn 

Rego Park raceway in Queens 

Cobra Raceway in the Bronx ( where I meet and raced against Howie)

There was a track at the end of the #7 subway line downstairs I can remember it’s name though

At one time there were 49 tracks in the New York City metropolitan area 

I must have hit most of them back in the mid 60’s when the hobby was on fire 

Those were the days!

[KB1HNZ]

Great topic, and great memories!

 

The first commercial track I raced at was Redline Raceway, at the Holyoke Mall, in Massachusetts. They had at least 5 tracks, including a hill climb, tri-oval, and even an HO track. They had display cases stocked with cars, painted bodies, and every part you could imagine. My twin brother and I raced frequently and made great memories there. The popular cars at the time were the Parma Flexi 2 and Champion Turbo Flex, with 16D or S16D, depending on class.  

 

When we first discovered it, the raceway was setup in a portion of an old G. Fox department store, so there was lots of space available, but after a few years, it moved to a much smaller space in the mall. Our family moved to Maine around 2001 and when we came back a year or two later, Redline Raceway was no longer there. To this day, I wonder what became of all the tracks... I believe there was another Redline Raceway in nearby Chicopee, MA at around the same time, but from what I could tell, that one had also closed. I believe the owner's name was Bob. He was very knowledgeable and helpful.

 

If anyone else has any memories of Redline Raceway, or knows what became of it, please share!

[Bill from NH]

That guy Bob had a lot of tracks in the Springfield area, both in raceways & stored in a (I believe Westfield) warehouse. His raceways very mobile in that they quickly came & closed. I can't remember Bob's last name. He was a short gray-haired guy who I think smoked cigars. I was at his Chicopee raceway in the Chicopee Mall for a CASRA race. It was located in the Chicopee Mall right off a Mass Pike exit. The raceway was small with just a UK Orange track. About the same time, late 90s or early 2000s, Bob also had raceways in Agawam, Westfield, & Pittsfield. About 15 years ago he closed the last one & hasn't opened any since. I think all his raceways were named Redline of (town name). I never heard what became of the tracks. I think most of them were used before Bob owned them.

 

Russ Upton of CT opened a two track (a spread Grandstand & a King Cobra) raceway about the same time in a former Palmer bowling alley. This was for another CASRA scale race. They ran "A"-production, JRL, C-1, & 1/24 Eurosport classes.

 

I was born in Brunswick & grew up in Freeport.

[KB1HNZ]

Great insight, Bill. I had no idea Redline moved around that much. The timing must've worked out perfectly with the closing of the anchor store at Holyoke, but once another big store moved in, I imagine finding that much space in the mall became too expensive. 

 

I grew up in Pittsfield, MA. I remember my uncle telling me about a raceway in the Berkshire Common, which is a downtown mall connected to the Holiday Inn on West Street (which at the time was a Hilton Hotel), but that was already gone by the 90's, so I never saw it in person. Not sure if that was one of Bob's or not. 

 

I have a 1967 copy of Car Model Magazine that lists the LeMans Raceway in Brunswick, that you mentioned in an earlier post, and another one at the Naval Air Station? Maine seemed well represented at the time. Did you know there's currently a track in Brunswick? Its called Slot Car Junction, and its located at the Merrymeeting Plaza (near the Shaw's), in Cooks Corner. My wife, 4 year old son, and I discovered it by accident one day over the summer. They have a 56' (although it seems longer) 1/32 plastic track setup. Nowhere near as smooth or as fast as a routed track, but once you get the ride heights adjusted, the cars go pretty good on it. I bought a car for my son and he loved driving on the "big track" as he called it. 

[Bill from NH]

Tim, the Pittsfield raceway I know of that came & went in the early 2000s was a different one. I was never there but bought an airbrush off the owner who may now be in the Midwest.

 

I've seen many Maine raceways come & go. Besides Lemans, the late 60s had Portland (2) Lewiston, Farmington, &  Rockland. Since then, Westbrook has had two, Biddeford, Bridgton, Brunswick. Windham, & Auburn had had one. The track at Brunswick NAS had a small track & many sailors came to Lemans for its bigger track.

 

I've never been to Slot Car Junction, but it's been in Brunswick for at least 20 years. My Maine relatives have been there. It started in a smaller storefront in the Tontine Mall on Maine St. Their current location is near the location of the where the main gate to the NAS was. Today, ME has no commercial raceways but has several privately-owned bullring ovals. They once were in Sanford, Dayton, & Greene. They are quite mobile, so are apt to be elsewhere today.

[Joe Grasso]

Danbury Raceway!  Pete was such a kind man, I think of him often. 

[Lloyd Coulson]

Danbury Raceway!  Pete was such a kind man, I think of him often. 

I know this is quite a stretch and off-topic here, but Joe are you any relation to Jim Grasso perhaps? I used to work with a Jim Grasso here in the Houston area back in the late 70s - early 80s.

 

IIRC Jim was originally from CT.

[olescratch]

Maple Hts. Raceway at the intersection of Lee Rd. and Maple.  A suburb of Cleveland Oh.