Anyone race R/C or slot cars back when they were kids?

[BLK141SS]

In addition to 1:1 cars I also love the little ones. A few years ago me and a co-worker were reminiscing about the slot car and R/C racing we did as kids. This led me to go on an e-Bay search for the cars I owned and raced back in the early eighties to late nineties. I discovered a whole group of people like me that are now collecting and restoring the cars we once owned and raced as kids.

Here are a few of my restorations. These cars were my first introduction to all things mechanical. Back then you actually had to build the cars unlike today. Tires had to be trued and balanced and you had to build and solder your battery packs and connections. Math was required to figure out your gear ratios for a specific track. I credit this early mechanical introduction to where I am today with my 1:1 cars. Too bad today's kids are missing out on this with all the pre-built made in China plastic junk.

1/12 1979 Associated RC12E.

As I found it, rusted and rotted after sitting in a guys basement in New Jersey.


Chassis after stripping away all the rotted electronics.


And today, fully functional and exactly the way it was in 1979. I ran it a couple of times before retiring it to a display cabinet. You should have seen the smiles on us forty year old guys when I ran it at the office.

The body is an original 1979 TOJ Can-Am body I found on e-Bay along with all of the other necessary bits. I'm also in with a group of collectors that trade parts. No original parts are made for the cars anymore.




Very rare Futaba elctronics on this car. It uses a mechanical resistor speed control.


1985-86 Associated RC12i.

Probably one of the rarest in my collection. This is one of the first cars to incorporate a working front suspension. It also was equipped with a carbon fiber rear axle and chassis stiffener. It was rare to see carbon fiber at this time. Several championships were won by drivers using this car. The car is also equipped with a front sway bar and rear ride height adjuster. It also has a rare Associated modified motor.

As I found it, luckily the original owner never ran it.


Now restored to running condition with all vintage electronics.




It's fitted with a vintage McLaren Can-Am body with custom aluminum velocity stacks that I hand made.





1979 Associated RC12E with weight saver chassis. My buddy copied this car using a CNC machine. It incorporates vintage parts and modern electronics. I built this as a runner. The car is crazy light and very fast. Aluminum and titanium screws were used throughout.








Vintage Can-Am Osella body with vintage decals and my stripe tape job.






Something tells me you guys will like this one. 1988-91 Associated RC10L 1/10 scale. Not a rare car, but I had one back in the day. All graphite chassis with carbon fiber braces. All vintage except the receiver as I occasionally run this one.

As I found it.


Restored with hand built 6-cell saddle pack.












1986 Associated RC10 off-road buggy converted to dirt oval. This was a very popular conversion back in the day. I ran several dirt oval cars with friends almost every weekend. What good times those were! This is almost the exact car I had except much better. The car is unfinished, but thought I would show it off.


The old six-gear transmission rebuilt with full bearings. These sucked as an off-road transmission, but rocked for dirt oval.


I had the aluminum chassis powder coated blue. Super rare aluminum rims by Advanced I believe. All parts are vintage.


You need a set of chassis tools to properly dial these guys in for camber and caster. That was the fun part!


With vintage Chevy Cavalier oval body. Waiting on a paint job.

[BLK141SS]

Please feel free to add your pics or stories to this page.

[1COR.1:18]

What do you mean "When" we were kids? LOL

[rebelyell22]

I had a RC10T4 for my first hobby grade rc when i was 10 or so. My last one was a Mini E-Revo than ran 60-70. They are fun, but break way too often

[2010SLVRBULIT]

one of my hobbies were/are R/C. Started electric, then nitro(back & forth). But most are shelf queens now. I do like to plow light snow w/ my E-maxx. Also got 1:10 scale versions of my 5th and C6 rides.
..latest aquisition is an electric 1:6 scale s/c truck.

[mp51998]

I still have my RC10GT, my first RC car, and a Kyosho MP5 4WD buggy, my screen name, from my younger days. Hell I was in my mid twenties before I could afford them. My friend and I also put together two or three slot car tracks to make a huge one in my attic. We would then custom build our own cars. Motors, gears, controllers I attribute these hobbies to what has interested both of my daughters in cars. While they are are not as hardcore as I am they can hold their own for teen age girls.

[TooCool5]

I did, still got them.

[SimpleGreen]

No slot cars but I have a 2WD and 4WD Traxxas Stampede hanging on the wall in the shed that I play with occasionally. All the usual durability mods. Better clutches, titanium shock shafts and aluminum shock caps, RPM arms etc...

[CamaroDreams76]

Not a slot car but I have a Cen Racing FunFactor ATX (2 speed 4x4 buggy) with upgraded skyon servos. Haven't used the thing in years. Never raced it but ways tore up my yard tho and occasionally took it to the tracks. The pullstart for the motor is broke currently.

I want another Nitro RC, something along the lines of a racing truggy or buggy. HPI has some nice setups

[BLK141SS]

Originally Posted by 1COR.1:18

What do you mean "When" we were kids? LOL

LOL, I guess we never truly grow up and I'm glad for it. That Camaro set is cool!

[BLK141SS]

It seems all gearheads have about the same hobbies in common. Just about everyone one I know that is into cars started out either racing R/C or slot cars. Not to mention mini bikes and go carts. The list could go on and on.

Here's another one of my cars nearly finished. Another RC12E with a Vintage Greenwood Corvette body.

[guerrillakilla13]

Originally Posted by 1COR.1:18

What do you mean "When" we were kids? LOL

when I was a kid I used to do this with my dad all the time. i always flew off the track but it was still fun

[dreagan]

...wow...A trip down memory lane...My dad and I were into slot cars in the mid-70s. He bought the parts and I tried to stay on the track.

I am 99% sure all of those cars and parts are somewhere around the garage back home...I had not thought about them in years. Time to find that old box of stuff, and see if I can piece together a car...

-David

[Sir Nuke]

I raced SLOT cars....I think they were like 10th scale.....or something like that. I still have them and the controller. I had/have two cars that I made from scratch......