When I was a kid with slot cars, I used to run them so much I would run grooves into the contact shoes! I still have a set that JCPenney sold that was exclusive to them. It fit on a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood.
Man, when I remember those Aurora sets in the 60s, I could burn those contact shoes out without a problem. I remember that the parts were expensive, but I was just a kid and didn't have much money to spend, so maybe they weren't too bad to buy. The 1:32 and 1:25 scale slot cars today are nice, but a big layout is needed. Having an HO set, I've got 65 feet of track on my layout and still put it on a 8' x 4' platform. I had to sell my Aurora set when we moved in the late 60s. Glad to have one running again. Cool that you kept yours! See ya -- Atco
Very nice Atco, that works really well. Seeing your slot car videos got me back into my old Hot Wheels with the orange track. Working on some old Sizzlers as well. Your videos are always enjoyable, always learn something new and I look forward to your Spring garage sale finds. Take care.
Hi Mike - Thanks for the nice comment! Glad you kept your Hot Wheels collection over the years. Since I've had my slot car set back up again, I've told people about them and I've been responded that they either have a slot car set somewhere in the house, and/or a collection of Hot Wheels. Now these people are not kids... these are guys closer to my age. So yep, we've all liked are cars and little models over our life. Very few people have had the enjoyment of owning a full size classic car to play with, but we still have fun collecting the little models. See ya -- Atco
Atco, I'm 59 now and I probably enjoy these cars today as much as I did back in the day. Your game room is a great idea, you can probably just sit there and be transported back. I'm working on setting up something similar here at my place. Have a good weekend.
Do it Mike. With just me and the wife (plus the Chihuahua) we never use our living room anymore. Then at 2006 I asked the wife if I could turn it into a game room for me. Thought she'd say no, but said.. why not. We're not using that room anymore. Well, over time it got a lot bigger then she ever thought it would, but she's still handling it fine. I'm in that room every day, quite often with a cup of coffee. It just makes me feel comfortable sitting in there. Hope you get one too. See ya -- Atco
I'm hoping to move sometime this summer and I'm thinking of turning the new living room into a game room. Yours really turned out nice. I like museums and I enjoy just walking thru and taking in the ambiance. I have so many things vintage and antique that I could place in one big area and like you say, just sit and enjoy the surroundings.
Really nice and easy job cleaning up the contact surface there. Only thing I might be a little concerned about is if any of the steel wool type brush material came of. I've heard that it can potentially do a number on some of the engines for these cars, being pulled up into them when they run. This is why some of the manufacturers specifically say to not use steel wool to clean the track contacts. Not sure if this is an issue here or not though. I have a Dremel Stylus with a little accessories kit for it that comes with one of these attachments, but also a brush, buffing pads, a couple polishing stones, and flat sandpaper wheels as well as the cylinder. I might give some of those a try too eventually, though the sandpaper might be too rough on it, as you mentioned. For basic cleaning they recommend using just an eraser on the contacts. I have one of the long mechanical type erasers in a pen-like tube handle that should work well for it, I think.
I don't use steel wood on my track. Too much dirt from it and yes, could screw up the motors. There are different buffers on the dremel set. I don't think mine is making much of a mess, but I still do blow it with a can of air whenever I clean it using just about anything. What I've seen is the best thing is to run your track at least once a week. If you do that, you won't have much trouble. Unfortunately, I can go months without playing the slot car room Then a friend comes by, and it does take a bit to get everything running well to race. -- Atco
I got the corded 3000 model and love the hell put of it ive probably spent well over a hundred in the years I've owned it but I like polishing my 1911 barrel throat and feed tamp on the frame with compound and buffing cloth wheels, I have used tons of cutting discs for fine threaded screws and the dremel I have I've definitely gotten my money's worth and it still hasn't burned up yet lol thanks for the idea on that I'll just polish am with the green fiber drums and maybe an extremely minute spec of compound my low gears don't work on my dremel anymore lol its so old it'll kick on at 4 and go to 10 lol I'd be nervous to get near the shoes at those speeds I'll either use the green fiber drums to polish or some 2500 grit sandpaper you'd be suprised how well 2500 grit will shine anything up
Hi Harry - Thanks! Man, we've been having a mild winter in Maryland (north east USA) so far. A couple days ago it was last year where we got 28 inches of snow on that day. That was a record for Maryland. So far though, only one snow fall for the season with only 2 inches to boot. I like the warmed winters when we get them (not very often), but we do need to have a few cold days to kill the bugs or we're going to have a lot of 'em during the Spring and Summer. How has your winter been this year in Switzerland? -- Atco
Hello Atco ... we have a hard winter, very cold since 3 weeks (-10 °) and lots of snow and fog. Today i saw the sun for the first time since 3 weeks. I hope the spring comes soon, i dont like cold. What are bugs Atco ..Moskitos..:-).. ??? Greetings from the cold Switzerland....Harry
Since I live in the country, the bugs (insects) that bother us the most during the summers are the flies and the bees, primarily yellow jackets. Also, they're not bugs, but we don't like getting bats into the house. Twice I've had bats live in the outside walls. Since they're protected by the state, when they live in the wall we're stuck with them all summer. They will leave in the late Fall and come back in the Spring. After the Fall we block all their entrances with steel wool. So far, they haven't come back to those two. What will show up next Spring, who knows. So you're having a cold winter in your part of the world? We had one last year. Guess it's our turn now to have a mild one. Hang in there, just a couple more months...-- Atco
Hi Atco, This is Randy . I really enjoy your videos. This past year you motivated me to ge a slot car track. My first one in 40 years. Can you do a video on maintaing your slot cars. The best oil to use and how to install new shoes. Any information will be appreciated. Regards , Randy
Hi Randy - Thanks for your nice comment. There are some nice slot car channels on YT where they just about redesign their cars with parts and have them souped up. I'm impressed with those, but my guess is that most of the people with slot cars, myself being one, just want to keep them running and replace normal parts as they wear out. Not a bad idea of just doing a video about basic maintenance of the little cars. I'll find some time in the future to do that. Hope you find a slot car set for yourself. I'll tell ya, when I went to that slot car show in Baltimore a couple weeks ago, I couldn't believe the turnout. The place was packed! So you may not hear too much about people still playing with slot cars, but apparently there are! See ya -- Atco
Hi Don - I did some testing to see if I could find a chemical to clean the car shoes, but didn't have much luck. Using my dremel with a 300 grit wool buffing wheel has worked out well. Very fast, very clean. I'm happy with that. -- Atco
you can use the old pen/ink erasers that have the brush on top. only found on eBay these days.. last forever. easy and cheap if you find the right auction.
Good morning Atco. Dremel really works great thanks for the info. Yes, I have the same Dremel 7300 with some accessories. Question? I can't seem to locate the polishing brush that you showed in your video. Do you have a part number? Was the item also purchased at Walmart.Have a nice day....Bob
Hi Bob - The finishing buff is model 512 (320 Grit). There are 3 different finishing buffs in different Grits. The 320 is the highest, and that is what I used. You'll need a 402 Mandrel. I bought these off the shelf at Walmart. Both parts together was about $5. See ya -- Atco
