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Welcome to our site for racing and collecting slot cars. This site covers all scales of slot cars. Many of you have visited our first site - Slot Car Racing on the Net. This is our new location so please update your bookmarks and/or favorites section. We originally created that site on September 09, 1997 until we began it's move to here in February 1999 and then Ken Marx turned the site over to Jon Pierracos in 2002. During October 2005 ownership changed hands once again, this time to long time Slot Car Garage reviewer Shawn Smith. We've had a fantastic run here on Slot Car Garage since 1997 and we have no intentions of stopping any time soon! Our Privacy Policy is listed below. |
These scale model vehicles are powered by a small hobby-type DC electric motor. They use a front-mounted guide pin or flag to ride in a slot on a scale race course or track. The vehicle's speed is controlled by the racer (you) via a controller to navigate the different areas of the track such as the curves and bends in the course's layout. Some slotless systems allow you to also steer the cars from lane to lane that gives you the advantage to pass the other vehicle on the track. The controller carries a resistor to vary the power transferred to the car so you control how fast the car travels along the course.
Some HO cars when they first came out on the scene in the early 1960's used AC-powered vibrating type motors. They were released by Playcraft Highways and later by Aurora. Aurora then switched to a DC system with some new cars called the Thunderjets. These are currently being produced under the Model Motoring line using some NewOldStock Thunderjet chassis. Others such as Playing Mantis are producing some reproduction and new bodies to fit on these neat Thunderjet chassis. With all the fast, magnet cars out there being the norm, it seems that the older non-magnatraction cars are more fun to drive for even to new folks in the hobby.
Most of the cars are composed of either a plastic or metal (brass, etc.) chassis with a body made from either a thin light-weight lexan material or hard plastic such as that from a model car body. They range in size from HO to 1/24 scale. There was also some smaller than HO Micro Machines electric powered slot cars and huge 1/20 scale outdoor gas engine cars made by Cox from the 1960s. The tracks that the vehicles race on are mostly made from plastic with steel rails that transmit the power to the cars.
The common scale for home slot car racing and collecting is HO and 1/32. Some do run 1/24 scale if they have a large enough space for a good layout.
Many enthusiasts started out in the 1960's and fondly remember the golden era while others have been in the hobby since the 1980's. Us? We don't have any '60s flashbacks of the golden age but like many others is very fond of the pieces produced back then. We started with HO scale slot cars then went into the larger scales such as 1/32 and 1/24. Currently we collect and race various scales of slot cars...
You have my permission to post a link to my site using a plain text link to my URL - www.slotcargarage.com or you may use a banner such as the one listed below:
Contact me via email after you have linked to my site, thanks!
Slot Car Garage brings you various articles, projects, a photo gallery including 1/24, 1/32, and HO sections plus various reviews on slot car items, the swap meet, classified ads, forums to chat with fellow enthusiasts, and much, much more.
If you visit this site to read or gather/download information, such as
reviews, tips, tricks, reading the forums, etc.
We collect and store only the following information about you: the name of the
domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are
connecting from an America Online account, or princeton.edu if you are
connecting from Princeton University's domain); the date and time you access
our site; and the Internet address of the website from which you linked
directly to our site.
We use the information we collect to measure the number of visitors to the
different sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to
visitors.
If you identify yourself by sending an E-mail:
You also may decide to send us personally-identifying information, for
example, in an electronic mail message containing a comment, question, etc..
We use personally-identifying information from you to help answer your request
in the best way possible. Slot Car Garage will not disclose your name or
email address or other personal information to a third-party unless you are
specifically in need of a product or service that we are unable to supply.
We will not obtain personally-identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information to us. These guidelines are posted here because of the new US Federal Government law to protect kids on the Internet.
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Slot Car Garage uses WebTrends Live to analyze traffic to this web site. WebTrends Live does not create individual profiles for visitors. Unlike some tracking services WebTrends Live does not have a database of individual profiles for each visitor. WebTrends Live only collects aggregate data. For more information about WebTrends Live privacy policy, please go here.
Thanks for visiting,
Shawn Smith - Slot Car Garage
webmaster@slotcargarage.com
Home | Swap Meet | Photo
Gallery | Reviews | Projects
| Forums | Email
FAQ | Vintage Slot Cars
| Links
| Web Ring Info
| Tips & Tricks