14 replies to this topic

[Superbird]

The 'Manta Ray Reunion' is a slot car club in the north Alabama - southTennessee area. It welcomes racers of all ages and is family friendly. The club owns a collection of portable and fixed tracks in various scales and features Slot Car Parties (racing) as well as Monday Night Build Nights at a member's home. The club frequents local 1/32 club tracks and a 1/24 professional track in TN. Our motto is "Fun your way!" 
 
We have been operating since 2014 and publish a free email newsletter, usually more than once a month!
 

What is a Manta Ray anyway?

 

Wild “Thingies” from ‘64–‘67

In 1964, the slot car boom was taking off with the advent of large commercial tracks. The lust for speed took over from scale home-track cars. Classic Industries hit a home run with their 36D-powered Manta Ray. The fast, rugged, and wild looking fantasy car dominated racing and took slot car design to a new level. From ‘65 through ‘67 manufacturers like Monogram, Riggens, Gar-Vic and BZ poured out new “Thingies” to light up kid’s imaginations and beat each other on the track.

The Manta Ray Reunion is an opportunity to reunite slot car racers with their old cars and celebrate the wild and wonderful machines of the period.

[airhead]

​Where and when are some of your races? I live near Prattville, AL.

 

 

[Rob Voska]

Every time I see a thread with "Manta Ray" I always think of Ray Price.

 

Every time I see a post about the "Sano" I always think of Sano Dave.

 

Miss you guys a lot!

 

 

[Dave Crevie]

Me too, Rob.

 

Ray Price got the nickname when he bought a couple Manta Rays off the internet.

 

Chicagoland was in La Grange at the time, and most of the regulars still had Manta Rays in their collections. So between him and Mike Swiss, they organized a Manta Ray class which we ran on Saturday nights. I think we had more fun with this class than any other we were running at the time.

 

Sadly, many of the racers from that time are gone now. Mike always had some way to "spice up" the racing for the night. 

[Superbird]

Hey Dave and Rob,

 

I believe I first saw Manta Rays slinging around a track at Roosevelt Field when I was 11 and stood there amazed! My mom later told me if she had known I was going to get into slot car racing so deeply she'd have bought me a car and left me there to race them while she shopped!

 

The track didn't last for some reason but there were many more on Long Island and I later got into 1/24 slots for life. I have a couple of Mantas now and for the life of me I can't figure out how anybody raced these things! New tires (fresh sponge) or old hard rubber the cars just break traction and jump around the place!

 

I recently talked with a friends and I realized the cars I saw had the hard rubber tires and ran on a rubber-painted surface. Maybe they never had perfect traction and just slung through the banks like the "Drifting" movie cars we know today. Maybe that was what I saw as a kid? By the time I actually got to drive slot cars spongies were being introduced so we replaced the hard rubber. If you guys raced these things maybe you can fill me in on how it was achieved?

 

Please feel free to find out more about the MRR club by contacting Superbird through Slotblog or iam.pete.shreeves@gmail.com I'll email the latest newsletter to you.

 

Thanks,

 

Pete

[MSwiss]

Hi Pete,
 
We ran the Manta Rays on my flat track. It has a Sherwin Williams, two-part water-based marine epoxy, graphite-colored surface, painted by, coincidentally, the before mentioned Manta Ray Price. It's very high bite, and seems to coexist pretty well with both sponge and silicone tires.
 
When we had races, of course, the stock tires did not work at all. Some guys went with the 27mm dia., silicone-coated ProTracks, which were easy to get. The two problems with them were they were just barely big enough for gear clearance, and cars hopped with them, from too much traction.
 
A few other guys had AJ's full silicones. Cars with those did not hop and ran great, with the perfect amount of slide.
 
So the races, while still fun, were the "haves and have nots."
 
I think that's why the weekly races died off after a few months.
 
That and maybe the guide blades breaking occasionally going through the esses (which in the below photo, are not seen, as the track now has the straight section rotated into place)
 

[Superbird]

Wow! OK! Thanks! I found the 27mm ProTracks listed on Professor Motor. I seem to get the idea that AJ's no longer make the solid 1/24 items.

 

Suggestions?  

[MSwiss]

Maybe the ProTracks will work narrowed. I perceived them to have too much traction.

Also, you can only run so big of a spur. 1" max?

The AJ's are strictly an eBay item.

Candies may also work well.

[Superbird]

I have some old silicone tires like these. I've tried them on modern drag cars and they jump all over the place, too. Should they work? 

 

[Superbird]

Can't say I don't listen to the experts! Here is my Manta sliding the curves on my test track! Yeah, She still jumps a bit but not like on sponge tires and when I use my old Cox controller I can finesse her into a pretty slide to sling her around the bends! It seems to take a very different driving style than I've ever had to use. Maybe that is the '64 driving experience? I can't wait to try her in a big track. 

 

I can attest that the BZ Banshee (which was designed as a Manta killer!) is a better slot car than the Classic Manta. I have two cars built on the BZ chassis and they both drive better than the Manta! Several "Thingies" of the period like the International and the Gar-VIc Sonic Needle were marginally better than the Manta chassis, but the BZ holds the edge in the old 36D "thingies."

 

Thanks for the help! 

 

[Dave Crevie]

I ran on foam tires on my Manta at Mike's. I tried the ProTrack silicone coated tires and they were too lumpy. I mounted natural rubber donuts I got from Jerry Kulich on Pro-Track wheels, stretching them some to get the 1 3/16" OD (after trueing). I added some solid core solder wrapped around the front axle to keep the nose down, and some stick-on lead strips to the drop arm to aid in pick-up.

 

The kings of the class were Dave Feidler and Jimmy Bostrom, both of whom spent many hours fine tuning their cars.

 

My car had last been used as a drag car in the mid '60's, and at that time had a Willys model kit body on it. I still had the original body, which I used for Mike's races. I also kept the drag motor in the car, which even though the magnets had gone a little dead, still had a lot pull coming out of the corners. I just didn't have the finesse of Dave and Jimmy to get the car through the corners quickly.

[airhead]

​We have had a few races with Manta Rays here and its like racing turtles on ice. Alpha sells  donuts they call Huge that can be used on the Manta Rays.

​

I have some repop Manta Ray bodies if you need some, I also have a Manta Ray body that fits a modern 4" flexi chassis.

 

​ Pete, you all are welcome to race here anytime at the Dungeon Raceway. We race on the first Saturday each month.

 

​ BIlly & Minnie

[Superbird]

Road trip!!! We will put it on the calendar and get back with you. 

[Superbird]

Update!  You can find an archive of the newsletters on the Facebook Page "Manta Ray Reunion Slot Car Group". 

 

Also, there has been the club's philosophy. 

 

“Reunion and Re-Vision”

 

The Manta Ray “Reunion” was an opportunity to reunite slot car racers with their old cars and celebrate the wild and wonderful machines of the period.

 

The Manta Ray “Revision” is the anniversary of the ‘peak’ or ‘apex’ period (1967-1968) of the Golden Age of slot car racing (1964-1968). The apex period was characterized by innovation and ground-breaking engineering advances in our hobby/sport. We celebrate the period by emphasizing those aspects in our lives today.

 

 

[airhead]

 Dungeon raceway is  having our monthly race  on March 2nd. 2019 , Track opens at 8am and the first race starts at 10 am SHARP ! and you are all invited.

 

We race 1/24 cars on a 150 FT. 4 lane wood track with banked turns and flat. the same cars you use an a commercial track will work here,  we only use 12 volts to keep the speeds down, 

 

1st race is the JK Indy car with a hand out body, the hand out body is a type of thingie . 

2nd race starting at 12;30 is the Nascar / DTM bodies 

and the last is the GTP, with any non wing body, and unaltered flexi chassis 

 

 For race rules , help with set up and directions 334 380 3892

 

 Just off I- 65  exit 186 

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