124 replies to this topic

[ed holly]

Thought I'd start a thread - although not strictly motor racing it sort of is related I think most would agree.

 

Back in the 60's I guess a lot of us couldn't afford real racing so slot cars were I suspect our "racing" outlet..

 

Still have my COX Lotus 30 and it has history - Pete Geoghegan drove it at the official opening of the Drummoyne Slot Car Club in the celebrity race. Years later I asked Pete if he remembered the night and he said  "Suuurrrre ddddiiidddd" when I asked him if he remembered "driving" the Lotus 30 - he said no, but quick as a flash said "did I win"  -- my answer "sure did".  These things were pretty advanced, magnesium chassis and wheels, very light and very quick and very reliable straight out of the box.

 

Also have the shell of a Airfix GT40 I ran in a 24 hour race at the Sydney Society of Model Engineers, which is now located at Luddenham in Sydney's west, but in those days it was off Parramatta Rd, Ashfield next door to Peak Freans Buiscuit factory. 

 

Slot cars back then were pretty big business, most large shopping centres had a track, and a lot of shopfronts put in a track and various clubs were formed, such as the Drummoyne one mentioned above.

 

image hosting 10mb limit

 

free picture hosting

 

 

 

[Wirra]

Still have a Cox Lotus 30 but I preferred to build cars based on local heroes.

 

[cooper997]

Wirra, Can we have some individual closeups of your racing fleet please?

 

Stephen

[Catalina Park]

Part of my fleet...

[Wirra]

Wirra, Can we have some individual closeups of your racing fleet please?

 

Stephen, are you wearing an anorak or just 'takin the ###'?

 

That photo is from the period and I'm not sure what I still have, many morphed into something else.  It's all buried away in some forgotten place waiting for a son (long given up on that one) or a grandson (not much on that front either). As I've mentioned on TNF before I had Warwick Farm layout, bought with paper round money and I dragged it out for my fiftieth to find it wrapped in newspaper announcing the disappearance of Harold Holt.

 

[KWSN - DSM]

I never raced slot cars, except for the home variety of Scalextrix most boys in Denmark grew up on. However wanted to give a different gift to a friend turning 30, and after digging around found this one

 

http://www.buzz-a-rama.com/

 

we will be heading out there in May, 10 adults being kids followed by dinner at some fancy swank place. We are all looking forward.

 

[cooper997]

Stephen, are you wearing an anorak or just 'takin the ###'?
 
That photo is from the period and I'm not sure what I still have, many morphed into something else.  It's all buried away in some forgotten place waiting for a son (long given up on that one) or a grandson (not much on that front either). As I've mentioned on TNF before I had Warwick Farm layout, bought with paper round money and I dragged it out for my fiftieth to find it wrapped in newspaper announcing the disappearance of Harold Holt.
 

Peter, neither anorak or p... take. I just got the impression the photo was recent and thought it would be good to see the slot cars like Ed showed his. Sorry if it came across otherwise.

I was too young for the slot car craze, I remember young uncles having a setup at my grandparents in the late 60s . I have a couple of sets from swap meet purchases in more recent times. But really only because of their Cooper content and great box artwork.

Stephen

[launchpad]

Ed, I'm in the same situation. My budget only ran to model  and slot cars in the sixties.

 

Although I had enough to get into Oran Park and Warwick Farm and Catalina to spectate and snap some pics.

 

Spent many hours at SSME Ashfield and was on the winning team for a couple of 24 Little Le Mans races.

 

Great fun, but I haven't done any slot racing for many years.

 

Like a lot of others, I still have slot car bits in a box somewhere...

 

Launchpad.

[David Lawson]

I started slot car racing at home in 1960 and raced seriously from 1966 to 1972 at the large commercial tracks.

 

I resumed club racing in the early 1990s and the national open retro race meetings from about 2005.

 

 

I still have quite a few original 1960s slot cars, the picture shows some of my cars at a vintage slot race meeting two or three years ago.

 

The back row are all 1/24th scale, L to R; Revell chassis with an Italeri Ferrari 250SWB body, Russkit Porsche, Cox Chaparral 2E and Cox Ferrari 158.

The middle row are 1/32nd scale; L to R - Revell Cobra, Revell chassis with Strombecker Chaparral 2D body, Monogram Cooper and Riko chassis with a Charlie Fitzpatrick fibreglass Lola T70 body.

The front row are all 1/32nd scale, L to R; Charlie Fitzpatrick fibreglass Lotus, BRM and Ferrari F1 bodyshells fitted to Airfix Clubman chassis and a Revell Mercedes 300SL.

 

Some of my original hand controllers are also in the picture.

 

Like others have said here I also had the 1/24th scale Cox Lotus 40 and all sorts of other cars by the various US producers and I still have a lot of them to this day.

 

David

[pete53]

I started with a basic Scalextric set which featured  a Lotus and a Cooper. I soon discovered that other makers produced more potent cars, particularly my Revell AC Cobra which really could shift.

 

Here is an old Scalextric Vanwall that  I picked up recently and is in need of some care.

 

https://www.flickr.c...eposted-public/

Edited by pete53, 07 February 2016 - 19:15.

[kayemod]

Occasional forum visitor Philippe, is better known here as T54 after the ex-Jack Brabham Indianapolis 500 Cooper that he owns, and he also has what must be the biggest collection of slot racers in the World.

 

Have a look for yourself, it's the Los Angeles Slot Car Museum at http://www.lascm.com nearly all shop bought ready to run stuff, but an impressive collection all the same.

 

I was a pretty keen teenage slot racer myself back in the 60s & 70s, some of us used to travel all around the UK to race on large club tracks. It was a pretty big thing back then, a few of us had useful commercial sponsorship, and all our cars were scratch built. It was clearly a good grounding in race car chassis design & technology, one of my Manchester clubmates back then was Ross Brawn, who clearly learned a great deal from his slot racing experiences.

[Derwent Motorsport]

Yes, me too roughly late 50s to 1970. from Scalextric to scratch built and routed circuits. Onlt recently found a box with many of my old cars in and donated them to Barry Boor who still races of course. I have a few new cars in my model collection which have not raced including the Scalextric MGB similar to my one. I bought both my grandsons Scalextric sets but they are not yet 5 so give them a couple of years!

[pilota]

I remember having a Revell 250 GTO, and Supershells 250 P, and 158. I was Ferrari mad even back then. Later I put my own cars together and I remember a Galaxie because longer wheelbase cars handled better.
Nathan

[Lee Nicolle]

We had a slotcar track at school. Full size commercial. I still have my D type Jag bodied car some where. I did resurect it with tyres etc about 20 years ago when I had a commercial operation up the street who have long moved elsewhere.

And when younger I played Scalextric at friends places too.

I think those tyres are U/S. nothing seems to last these days.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 22 March 2015 - 09:12.

[DanTra2858]

I still have a Trophy for a 1/32 scale track record for a track at Berkeley, NSW, the car was a replica of the U2 FJ, The body was made of cardboard stiffened with Aeromodeling Dope. Also tried using a Scalectrix Lotus with inderpendent rear suspension, did not work as well as I had wished for, but one has to try.

[john winfield]

We had a basic Scalextric set back, I think, in about 1963 or '64.  It came with two Grand Prix cars, a Lola and a BRM. Over the next few years we added an old Jack Brabham Cooper, and two Airfix cars, a Lotus Cortina and a Mini.  My favourite though was one we borrowed for a while, a yellow Equipe National Belge shark-nose Ferrari; it was larger scale and went like a rocket!

I bought my children a set about ten years ago, and it still comes out occasionally.  The F1 cars are a bit too grippy, but the GT Mercedes are fun, tail-happy with too much power.  I still prefer lining the track with 1960s white fencing rather than the modern grey plastic Armco....

[ed holly]

Thanks for the replies guys ... terrific 

 

Here's an excerpt from RCN September 1965, I had just turned 18 !  - not sure but I think I am in the photo taller of the 3 with dark tops on facing the camera, maybe not as I can't recall the photo being taken. 

 

Launchpad, who else do you recognize - is that Alan Banister with his blonde hair above the start line ?

 

imgur

 

[seldo]

Around this era a mate of mine had a slot-car shop/track at Bondi, and was quite fascinated by a young kid of about 10/11 who used to come in every day and spend plenty.
One day he asked him where he got all his pocket money to be able to spend so much.
"Oh - I just go to Woolies and buy some books of raffle tickets and sell them at the pub...."
...I think his name might have been Alan Bond....

[eldougo]

I also was a 60,s slot head,began at the Anglo Rd shop in Campsie. People would watch through the front window meet a lot of boys my age and had fun

also at Bexley North that has been show no this thread .Kingsrove Rd near the station was a Drag strip only shop .Enfield AMF bowilng on Liverpool Rd,had 

a huge 12 lane track with banked corners an that was were as a team we did a 24hour race with 1/24 scale car Lola T70 ,we burnt out at least 10 hand controls.only did it once that was enough for me.

And on a Wednesday night we would race at our private track in Fourth St Ashbury.It was made on chipboard & wood frame and stored in the shed of Mr C,s ,and lowered down to use on 4 ropes pulleys. then lift it back up to let Mr C get his van in .GREAT Fun .

I will try and get some photos of my cars.

[JacnGille]

I dabbled for a bit.

[Ray Bell]

I was staggered to learn that some kids dropped off at the G & D shop in Parramatta had so much pocket money...

I'd lived through some pretty frugal times, this might have been about 1968 or even a little later. Geoff, the proprietor, told me he'd see kids dropped off by their parents who'd give them $10, but they'd be spending their leftovers from during the week first.

As one who thought two bob was pretty good ten years earlier, it was hard to reconcile that. And Geoff only told me because he believed the kids got all too much. But the 'ka-ching' factor helped him through the ordeal!

At the time, by the way, I think two bob bought you a ten minute session. They had racing one or two nights a week there, and it was in the G & D team that I contested the Crows Nest 24-hour race the weekend that Bill Brown found the fog plentiful at Catalina - April 22-23 1967.

I was working two jobs at the time and doing very well in the second one, which was a commission sales job. I funded the car for this race and bought the highly-touted 'Hemi' motor that was going to give us so much power and durability. It was a bit of a flop, but nothing was as bad for us as the spraying of an adhesive onto the track a day or two prior to the event.

For the record, the four on our team were Geoff, my youngest brother Robert (later known as Bob), his friend Keith Mellor and myself. I was almost 21 and Geoff said to me at one stage early in the race, "I think we'd better leave this to the young blokes, they're doing better than us."



.

Edited by Ray Bell, 22 March 2015 - 00:34.

[bbbryan]

Yes Ed that is Ian Bannister in the photo. I raced with Ian for several years in the Testor racing team and we were fortunate enough to win several NSW Titles in 24thscale Enduro racing. Sadly Ian passed away about 18 months ago while leaving Armchair Racing at Artarmon after a successful nights racing. The SSME is still going strong. They are the model park located at Luddenham, near the new Karting track..been there for 30 plus years. They still have all the old favourites.. Boats, Planes, Trains, Slot Cars, Tether Cars, and my hobby Quarter scale R/C Speedway.

 

Small world Ray ,I also raced in the 24 Hour at Crows Nest..for the Belfield team.

[Repco22]

I got hooked on motor racing as a schoolboy when the '57 AGP was held in Western Australia. I think it was the same year that a 'Model Maker' magazine had a spread about a new hobby--Scalextric tin plate slot cars. It featured a club and track that had been set up at a UK school which from memory was in Luton. Wow! I'd be in that and had the brainwave to build a track in the ceiling of our house--a plan which my father quickly vetoed! A bit too electric up there, so no, I didn't play slot cars till Barry Boor dropped by last year from Malta with a couple of cars in his luggage. [ Of course!] I have quite a few now and am scratch-building a model of Eldred Norman's 'Double V8' which should be of interest to Australian members in particular.

[275 GTB-4]

I also was a 60,s slot head,began at the Anglo Rd shop in Campsie. People would watch through the front window meet a lot of boys my age and had fun
also at Bexley North that has been show no this thread .Kingsrove Rd near the station was a Drag strip only shop .Enfield AMF bowilng on Liverpool Rd,had 
a huge 12 lane track with banked corners an that was were as a team we did a 24hour race with 1/24 scale car Lola T70 ,we burnt out at least 10 hand controls.only did it once that was enough for me.
And on a Wednesday night we would race at our private track in Fourth St Ashbury.It was made on chipboard & wood frame and stored in the shed of Mr C,s ,and lowered down to use on 4 ropes pulleys. then lift it back up to let Mr C get his van in .GREAT Fun .
I will try and get some photos of my cars.

Ever go to the little track on Illawarra Rd at Marrickville just up from the station Eldougo?

[ChrisD]

In the 1960s I also raced slot cars with the local club for a few years.  Sadly I have none of my cars, controllers or photos from that period.

 

The race track was built in a large loft over the skittle alley behind (what was then) the Bricklayers' Arms pub in Hereford.  The length of the room (skittle alleys are long - for those not familiar think low tech nine pin bowling) allowed for an exceptionally long straight onto a steeply banked turn. 

 

A guy called Ian had the local model shop in Berrington Street and gave lots of encouragement, tips and hints to scratch building.  Soldered chassis made of brass tubing were usually clothed with bought shells painted in the colours of choice.  I remember that hinged chassis came in while I was involved in racing.  My memory is a little vague, but I seem to remember that the hinge was near the rear of the chassis.  This all allowed the main part of the chassis to remain parallel to the track surface, thus maintaining contact between the all important brushes that fed the power from the track to the motor and the power supply in the track.  The body, sub-chassis  and (I think) the front wheels would lift slightly, dragster style, under full acceleration.

 

I also remember some controversy over chemical assistance to tyre grip - Wintergreen oil, sold for pain relief, was a favourite for dressing tyres.  I seem to remember that it was banned by some clubs.

 

We travelled all over the Midlands and South Wales in competition with other clubs.   The only memorabilia I have from the period is the medal that we won for coming second in a Le Mans style 24 hour team race in Wales - I think it was Newport.

[David Lawson]

ChrisD

 

The chassis design you remember and describe was an iso-fulcrum

 

David

[marclaus]

yes, slot-car racing was very common in german bigger towns, professional run shops with circuits with 8 tracks, all began 1964 ,1965 with COX slot cars 1:24, you could hire for 20 Min one DM, ferrari GTO, Cheetah, Lotus 30 and Chaparral, Daytona Shelby and Ford GT 40. that was all, we had over here. COX were very sensible cars, as they had the magnesium chassis, which often broke, when a car was thrown from the track with high speed, especially after hitting any wall after the banked turn at the end of the 10m staright was taken with too much speed. very common were 6, 12 or even 24 hours races, with a crew of several drivers, sharing one car. later came RUSKIT, these cars had the metal platform chassis, which was driled with many holes to get it lighter, combined with the Lexan clear bodys, which were painted from the inside. at the end of 1965, this industrie had advanced very rapidly, nearly all cars you could get , even such exotics like the John Mecom Hussein, the Marcos Mantis Repco or all the Maserati LeMans prototypes. Also there was a huge range of different wheels, tyres (different colours for softness), gears, and even engines. Completly undrivable were the four-wheel driven cars with two engines, same development as in real motorsport, and also same flop. i remember this time very well, still have a box with many bodys, gears, wheels, but all hasn´t been used for decades. My biggest trophy was the win of a 1 hour race with my selfmade Lola MK6, selfmade chassis with COX engine and LOLA MK 6 shell from Monogram-kit. was 1:36, but eligable ( speak homologated...yes!) in this categorie. Was a real nice time, some of the cars , i was lucky to see  racing  1:1 in those days.

Edited by marclaus, 22 March 2015 - 15:58.

[ChrisD]

Thanks David.  Following your reply I have looked up iso-fulcrum chassis and this is certainly the sort of thing we were building.  Regards  ChrisD

[ray b]

semi-pro slot racer in the 60's [race for cash prizes]

we used mabuchi type motors that had no original parts left in them

every bit was aftermarket the shell magnets ball bearings blowproof contaminator

brushes end cap even used silver wire as it was a bit better then copper in the motor windings and pickups

 

cars went from 90 deg drive to sidewinders [180] to an anglewinder that was between

al alloy or mag frames to wire and brass to heavy iso-fulcrum chassis on the anglewinders

btw iso-fulcrum chassis tilted side to side for corner grip not fore/aft, but  the pickup swing arm did the fore/aft pivot

 

tyres were first rubber to silicone to foam and lots to goop to get better traction

 

bodys went from the cox or revell plastic to clear vacuum formed [paint on the under side]

then the cars got huge clear spoilers front and rear

 

controllers had batterys added for power brakes

 

we had more cash spent for  parts in the cars then some guys had in real street cars [beaters]

I had a $25 motor bike to ride and a $100 in a slot race car in 67

[Rob Ryder]

From around 1968 into the mid-1970s I was a member and raced at a slot-club in Middlesbrough, Teesside.
This was the place I spent many a happy night...

 
Like ChrisD I had brass chassis iso-fulcrum (plus batwing) slots, with Lexan bodies and mostly Ricoh engines imported from Japan. 
We were all members of ERCA, and I attended a few 'Open' meetings in the Northern area. 
The main claim to fame of our small club was that we had the 4 time British Champion, Phil Enos, as a member and he also built my chassis for me (at a cost) !.
 
Sadly I no longer have my Tyrrell-March 701, Dodge Daytona or Ferrari 330P4.  It is writing things like this that make me wish I had more foresight back then.
 
Rob

Edited by Rob Ryder, 23 March 2015 - 07:59.

[kayemod]

From around 1968 into the mid-1970s I was a member and raced at a slot-club in Middlesbrough, Teesside.

This was the place I spent many a happy night...

 

Like ChrisD I had brass chassis iso-fulcrum (plus batwing) slots, with Lexan bodies and mostly Ricoh engines imported from Japan. 

We were all members of ERCA, and I attended a few 'Open' meetings in the Northern area. 

The main claim to fame of our small club was that we had the 4 time British Champion, Phil Enos, as a member and he also built my chassis for me (at a cost) !.

 

Sadly I no longer have my Tyrrell 701, Dodge Daytona or Ferrari 330P4.  It is writing things like this that make me wish I had more foresight back then.

 

Rob 

 

I can remember racing on that track! I'd have been a member of either Ashton or Slots Inc. at the time, and I expect you remember local hero George Kimber, who I'm told is still racing today. I was away racing most  weekends back then, on all the northern tracks and some southern ones as well when funds allowed. I made all my own cars, but sadly all of them were "lost" in a long ago house move. If the thief from the removal company reads this, perhaps he could entertain us with pics of a few of my cars.

 

On the Isofulcrum idea, this was something that US firm Cox sold as a ready-to-run car in great numbers. Their product was a garish orange and purple non-scale 1/24th scale car with a stamped aluminium chassis. Where there was enough room to run it, almost everything was 1/32nd scale back then, the larger commercial raceways still hadn't arrived, its performance was impressive, and many UK racers copied the concept, with differing degrees of success. I can't remember the reasons, but it never caught on in a big way, so the concept was short-lived, and we all reverted to intricate brass sheet and wire self-soldered jobs, which still won almost all of the races, maybe the idea didn't work so well once it had been scaled down. Also, US tracks tended to be smoother and faster than ours, maybe the "Cuch" wasn't as competent over our bumps and tighter corners.

[Rob Ryder]

I can remember racing on that track!

You'll remember then that the track was on the 3rd floor of the building and that the long straight that goes from middle left to bottom right (under the bridge) headed directly for a window!
I manages to get 2 cars through the glass (with a shattering noise)in my time there, and I was not alone.
Rob
P.S. I think I misunderstood the 'iso-fulcrum' concept.. my cars had a hinged drop panel in chassis floor to keep the brushes in contact.

Edited by Rob Ryder, 22 March 2015 - 21:01.

[kayemod]

P.S. I think I misunderstood the 'iso-fulcrum' concept.. my cars had a hinged drop panel in chassis floor to keep the brushes in contact.

 

The Isofulcrum cars had the motor, driven rear wheels and slot guide with power collecting brushes in a single rigid three-pointer unit. The rest of the chassis comprising the parts on either side  of the central motor/gulde unit, also the body shell and front wheels, hinged as a single second unit just forward of the rear wheels. This meant that most of the car's weight was on the guide, which helped to keep it in the slot. Most rules stipulated that the front wheels had to be in contact with the track, so this was a way of being legal with all the weight doing something useful, and the front wheels just went along for the ride. Model car scrutineering, an essential before any racing, was every bit as strict as that applied to full-size race cars. We were mostly in our teens and twenties, and we all took it all very seriously!

[275 GTB-4]

I can remember racing on that track! I'd have been a member of either Ashton or Slots Inc. at the time, and I expect you remember local hero George Kimber, who I'm told is still racing today.

Was George related to Cecil?

[Ian G]

I also was a 60,s slot head,began at the Anglo Rd shop in Campsie. People would watch through the front window meet a lot of boys my age and had fun

also at Bexley North that has been show no this thread .Kingsrove Rd near the station was a Drag strip only shop .Enfield AMF bowilng on Liverpool Rd,had 

a huge 12 lane track with banked corners an that was were as a team we did a 24hour race with 1/24 scale car Lola T70 ,we burnt out at least 10 hand controls.only did it once that was enough for me.

And on a Wednesday night we would race at our private track in Fourth St Ashbury.It was made on chipboard & wood frame and stored in the shed of Mr C,s ,and lowered down to use on 4 ropes pulleys. then lift it back up to let Mr C get his van in .GREAT Fun .

I will try and get some photos of my cars.

 

My Uncle had the Narwee Slot Car Shop/Track ,just up from the Stations underpass,for a couple of years in the mid 1960's. I used to work Weekends & School Holidays there until he closed it.Main problem during the last year were the locals getting drunk and coming in causing trouble on Fri/Sat Nights,we were on a first name basis with the local Police.

I really got into the craze and competed in all the " American Raceway" in Crows Nest competitions until i left School.I had mainly Tamiya gear but when the "La Cucaracha" turned up it blew just about every other car off the track so a lot of people lost interest and the Crows Nest Racenights quickly went down hill until there was only about a dozen of us left.

 

 

http://www.vsrnonlin...11/vsrn_111.pdf

Edited by Ian G, 22 March 2015 - 22:49.

[JacnGille]

This is where I spent many a Saturday.

 

V\http://slotblog.net/...catur-speedway/

[275 GTB-4]

I really got into the craze and competed in all the " American Raceway" in Crows Nest competitions until i left School.I had mainly Tamiya gear but when the "La Cucaracha" turned up it blew just about every other car off the track so a lot of people lost interest and the Crows Nest Racenights quickly went down hill until there was only about a dozen of us left.

and that's about the time you noticed there was a Two-Up school nearby and it took years for you to recover financially!???

[GMACKIE]

Mick, pehaps you should explain what "Two-Up" is. There are people on here who may - due to their innocent up-bringing - get the wrong idea.

[275 GTB-4]

Mick, pehaps you should explain what "Two-Up" is. There are people on here who may - due to their innocent up-bringing - get the wrong idea.

Two up or odds and evens is a quaint little game of chance biased towards the house...where a board with three pennies (hopefully not same sided!) are thrown as in most dice games. I used to attend one in the Crows Nest area...PURELY to observe and learn about the excesses of the north side hoi polloi...it was amazing the depths to which they would sink and the vast sums of money that changed hands...the "one" time I accidently wagered a small bet (a bit like scratching ones nose at an auction), the kind spinner man chucked me $20 for cab fare home  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-up

[PS Wiki is wrong...they certainly had Cockatoo's at Crows Nest!]

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 22 March 2015 - 23:30.

[Lee Nicolle]

Mick, pehaps you should explain what "Two-Up" is. There are people on here who may - due to their innocent up-bringing - get the wrong idea.

All Aussies will though!

and no I do not gamble.

[Ian G]

and that's about the time you noticed there was a Two-Up school nearby and it took years for you to recover financially!???

 

What!!!.....no Mick,real Cars & real Girls......    

[bob433]

I belonged to a slot car club in the Sydney suburb of Belfield in the 60's which was conducted by the Golding (spelling?) family. They operated a brake and clutch service at Bankstown. Also had the hobby centre at Bexley North. I remember that Phil West ( well known racing driver ) and Allen Burt ( well known motorcycle racer ) were members. Also a member was Peter Bradley who at that stage was the owner or carer of the famous ex Ash Marshall Jaguar D Type which he bought along to show us one Saturday afternoon. Some of our members occasionally went to another club in Greenacre run by Ron and Brian Hunt. Two of their members that I remember were motor racing photographer Ian Elliott and Neil Fletcher of what was Fletcher's Photographics. Great times.

Edited by bob433, 17 December 2017 - 00:04.

[Catalina Park]

Just looking through the shed and I discovered a box of mostly unused bodies...

[275 GTB-4]

What!!!.....no Mick,real Cars & real Girls......

Ian...in those days, you needed to be a man for all seasons, so big nights at the Stoned Crow etc, long blasts out to Motor race venues and then room for the more manly pursuits...

[Ian G]

Yeah,i remember when the 'Grape Escape' & 'Stoned Crow' opened,girls were much more at home in a wine bar than pubs in those days so were the in-thing for  a few years.They were good years in my life. 

[Rob Ryder]

I think that this was the de facto standard sports/saloon chassis design in the early 1970s at the Middlesbrough club... drop down brush guide, side 'batwings' and anglewinder motor.
 

Edited by Rob Ryder, 23 March 2015 - 14:09.

[eldougo]

Ever go to the little track on Illawarra Rd at Marrickville just up from the station Eldougo? ...NO Mick must have missed that one.

                                                        ---------------------------------------------

Marclaus ..... mentioned the Marcos Mantis Repco  ,a car i have never heard of looked it up on google ,what a car.

Like i always say it's amazing what you learn on this forum.

Edited by eldougo, 24 March 2015 - 00:35.

[275 GTB-4]

Ever go to the little track on Illawarra Rd at Marrickville just up from the station Eldougo? ...NO Mick must have missed that one.
                                                        ---------------------------------------------

You didn't miss much!

Interesting sidelight on Extreme Collectors tonite (I managed to sit through 10 minutes of it) where an American slot and metal car model collector had half a dozen slot cars from 1932...purportedly the first slots and invented in the UK.

an article here which may be of interest...

http://slotblog.net/...letop-pioneers/

Edited by 275 GTB-4, 24 March 2015 - 10:00.

[eldougo]

That is very interesting Mike ,I always thought it started in the US of A.

 

UK strikes again.

 

image hosting 30 mb

Edited by eldougo, 25 March 2015 - 00:39.

[bbbryan]

bob433...The track at Greenacre that you mentioned is still operational  Would you believe that.we clock up 50 continuous years of racing in June this year..Race every second Tuesday and have 9 regular members. Still provides great fun.

Ron still races at 88 years young