# A 2009 Clubman track, photos, Mega-Gs & SRTs



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

This Memorial Day weekend we gathered and raced on ab historic AFX/Auto World Clubman track just like it was 1973 all over again.

Due to today's faster cars we did however take liberty with the size of the track by increasing the running length by 42". Much in the spirit of the original Clubman's design of fitting on two 4x8 sheets of plywood we worked within the confines of the expanded Clubman fittting on two 5x9 ping pong table size sheets of plywood. Even though we did a floor layout we thought this important.

The dilemma in constructing a true Clubman with Tomy AFX track is the lack of 7" straight track. If you study the Clubman layout there are 2 short corresponding straightaways where one side is a 7" straight and the other side opposite is two 6" straights (12"). This is a difference of 5". What we did was to use a 6" in lieu of the 7" on one side and on the other side opposite an original AFX 5" straight coupled to two 3" Tomy track adapters (3"+5"+3"=11") in lieu of the two 6" straights. This created the same 5" difference in length. With this solved, everything else was easy Tomy track building.

Also in the spirit of the Clubman's heyday we used yellow AFX gaurd railing and the original yellow AFX Russkit controllers wired to fit the new dual power terminal tracks. Sadly, after installing all that yellow gaurd railing it was quickly learned that today's orange AFX gaurd rails and yesterday's yellow AFX are not exactly the same. It became apparent rather quickly that the yellow rails just did not stay clipped on well to the track. The height of today's AFX track is different from that of the old. But, it sure took us back to the good ole days!

One thing that has greatly aided us oldsters in racing on the floor is the benches you see in the photos. Each of these seats was assembled from four pieces of 2 x 12, painted, decorated and upholstered. When we use Parma controllers on 1/32 scale we can color key the seat fabric to the controller/lane. We have six of these seats and it has allowed us the flexibility of floor racing with racers ranging in age from the mid 30s to the late 50s.

Everyone agreed that the Clubman was a great track. Not only was it enjoyable to race on but it was also something to behold laying stretched out on the floor. After it was first contructed, lots of time was spent standing and gazing at it! The greatest feature of the layout is the 180 degree bank turn at the end of the 11' straightway with the short straight coming off into an "s" curve. Not only do you have to out run your 3 opponents through the bank you then have to quickly out brake them into the "s" curve.

This year was the first race with the new AFX Mega-G Champ cars. The verdict is that these were the best matched cars we have ever raced. Right out of the package the cars ran superb. Smooth, fast, quiet and easy to handle pretty much sums up our impressions. These cars were so good that in one heat race all 4 cars crossed the finish line within 12" of each other. The room erupted!

THe Clubman also hosted the AFX SRT cars in a class of GT-40s, Cobra Coupes and Chaparrals. The cars were great to race as well. Pre-race rumblings pretty much had the low slung GT-40s as the favorite. But I am pleased to announce that one on the not so low slung Chapparels out ran two GT-40s to take the win.

We race a scored method of racing with a score sheet which can convey who is leading the race at any time and by how much. The goal in scored racing is to keep your score the lowest. Meaning you are scored a "1" for the win, second a "2" and so forth. We race 5 heat races of 5 laps in each lane twice. In other words, each driver gets to race again in each of the 4 lanes. What this equates to is close and competitive racing each heat and is very intense and enjoyable.

The Clubman is certainly worth the effort to set up. It is a piece of slot car history and one of the most enjoyable tracks to date we have raced on. Those responsible for the design of the track 36 years ago knew what they were doing and have created a timeless winner!

If I can make it work, photos of the above mentioned will be in the following part of this thread. If you don't see them shortly.........HELP?!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*7 photos....no go*

The seven photos of the Clubman are too big.

Can anybody help get these posted?

Thanks,

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*Upload them...*

Up load them to your Hobbytalk photo album....
Then post a link here...


----------



## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

You can upload them to photobucket, or myspace and use the url of the pic here.

Then the size wouldn't matter, so to speak.


----------



## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Send them to me, I think you did this once before, and I'll host them somewhere and then post them. Once that is done I will do a walk through so you can do it yourself in future if you prefer.

You can get my email by going to http://www.bglawns.com/eahorc_main.htm and clicking just under the list of sponsors.....


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Thanks*

Thanks guys for all the help.

Montoya did a fine job before so I will have the photos coming your way. 

3 photos show some of the asides of the event
2 show cars old and new coming off the bank
3 show the track

Thanks,

Jim Norton
Huntsville, Alabama


----------



## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

Look forward to seeing them. I have a couple GT40's and a Chappy w/SG+ chassis. I love the Chap! Liketo see the Mega G's too!


----------



## Montoya1 (May 14, 2004)

Jim, you have sent me the final four twice buddy, once zipped once not!


----------



## Coyote Red (May 26, 2009)

Wow. Just awesome. Love the stools too.


----------



## noddaz (Aug 6, 1999)

*Nice*

Nice layout.
I bet it was fun...


----------



## T-jetjim (Sep 12, 2005)

Great idea. The stools are awesome too. The track looks like a lot of fun.

Jim


----------



## DesertSlot (May 8, 2009)

Coyote Red said:


> Wow. Just awesome. Love the stools too.


What he said!


----------



## Tazman6069 (Mar 20, 2005)

*Floor Racing*

I don't say much on here , but please get those cars off the carpet


----------



## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

Wow! It is really awesome to see the Clubman layout live versus looking at its track plan. I have always felt this particular layout offered a great compromise between maximizing track length and maintaining the appearance of a real racing venue. You can get that sense from the layout shown on Greg Braun's HO Slot Car Racing site.

http://www.hoslotcarracing.com/

However, this balance is much more apparent when you see actual track laid out on the floor! The layout captures many different turn complexes that are present in actual tracks and it just look "right" to me.

Thanks for sharing the pictures, Jim! And thanks for giving the technical assist, Montoya1! :thumbsup:

Aurora certainly came up with a winning design with the Clubman!

Russ the Hutt:drunk::hat::freak::dude::tongue:


----------



## roadrner (Jul 21, 1999)

GREAT layout! Get it up off the carpet as soon as you can. Love the banked turn. Just add two more terminal tracks, power supplies and modify them so you can have separate powered lanes. Plus keep posting pix. Sweet! 

:thumbsup::thumbsup:rr


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Carpet racing*

Regarding concern for running cars on the carpet......We have been doing this for years with no problems.

Carpet has its advantages:

If you notice from the photos the seam between the individual 2 lane track pieces is generally tight. This is due to a multitude of 3 piece paper clips clamping the bottom side of the track together. The carpet then allows the clips to sink down. This would not work on a hard surface as the paper clip extends too far below the track bottom. The paper clips do a great job of bringing the roadway together.

As far as performance goes:

Seldom ever do carpet fibers enter the mechanism of the car. A good vacuming beforehand generally takes care this. Maybe new carpet is a bad idea but we have had great luck on properly prepared carpet.

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Thanks Montoya!*

Montoya:

Thank you so much for posting the photos. Sorry for the duplicate files. I had 2 e-mails come back "rejected" because of size. So, I was surprised to see these posted!

The track looks as good as it was fun to race! Thanks again!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

The person that contacted me with questions on the Clubman please do so again.

Thanks!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

I'm glad you popped this thread back up to the top, Jim. I dig this layout. It really looks like a 1:1 venue rendered in scale. :thumbsup:


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Good to see it as well!*

I liked looking at it again too! The Clubman has been dismantled for about 2 months now. The the big bare expanse of carpet waits for next year's track whatever it might be!

It was bittersweet to take this track down as it was the most enjoyable HO four lanes we have yet to race on. Something tells me it will see life again as it was a true crowd favorite!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## SuperFist (Aug 7, 2005)

I like the Porsche 917-10 s.

__________________


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Technigue on banked gaurdrails*

Somebody recently asked about any difficulty in getting the gaurdrails to stay on the bank turn on the Clubman. This was indeed a concern of our before we set the track up. Many hours of intense racing lay ahead and we didn't want to have to be fixing loose rails.

The answer was no. The gaudrails never once came loose. We used a neat technigue which would even work for flat turns. If you look very closely at the photo of the Clubman from the bankturn side you will notice red segments between the 3 pieces of gaurdrails.

This is heat shrink tubing. We slid the tubing over the adjoining ends of the gaurdrails, fired the blow dryer up and created a continously joined gaurdrailing. This was the first time we tried this and it worked great.

Now,if I could just find some orange heat shrink tubing....!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## resinmonger (Mar 5, 2008)

Using heat shrink tubing to connect guard rails is a brilliant idea, Jim! That is a real keeper. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Thanks!*

Thanks!

The heat shrink tubing idea came from trying to come up with ways to give the bank turn a wall on the outside lane like the Aurora AFX Daytona bank of old.

But every idea was labor intensive and unproven so we returned with keeping the gaurd railing and making it better. 

I greatly question AFX's producing the 12" radius bank without a barrier. Should a 15" radius become available I hope it includes a molded on wall. 

Until then, the heat shrink tubing between gaurd rail sections seems the easiest way to go!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*shrink a dink a dinky doo, doo.....*



resinmonger said:


> Using heat shrink tubing to connect guard rails is a brilliant idea, Jim! That is a real keeper. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


No Doubt....I love this place! 

Bob...will be doing this on my layout...zilla


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*Back again!*

This track has been taken down and back in the boxes for about 8 months now. It was a great track to race on and may be interesting to some that might not have seen it first go around.

I go back and look at the photos ever couple of months. It was a super track!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

*John and Marcus...here is the Clubman*

Brought this back into the discussion to share with a couple buddies getting back into slots. Hope you guys can see it now!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Awesome layout, Jim! I hadn't seen it before, so I'm glad you bumped it up. Pretty slick thinking on the heat shrink, too. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

The heat shrink tubing idea just kinda came to mind in an effort to get the outside lane of the bank turn to be smooth when the tail of the car rubbed the gaurd railing. Its a darn shame that Tomy decided to eliminate the built in retaining wall of the original AFX Daytona curves!

It worked great. Only problem....no orange shrink tubing. Maybe when the new silver gaurd rails come out gray shrink tubing will match up pretty good!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

Sorry.....I just had the urge to bring this thread back up for a little air!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## JazzyJerome (Feb 14, 2012)

Nice layout


----------



## Jim Norton (Jun 29, 2007)

Its been disassembled for almost 3 years now. But, it is just about as much fun to look at as it is to drive!

The Clubman is a great track. Its a shame modern day Tomy track does not offer a 7" straight which would make this an easy set up!

Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL


----------



## Stingray Johnny (Dec 5, 2020)

Jim Norton said:


> This Memorial Day weekend we gathered and raced on ab historic AFX/Auto World Clubman track just like it was 1973 all over again.
> 
> Due to today's faster cars we did however take liberty with the size of the track by increasing the running length by 42". Much in the spirit of the original Clubman's design of fitting on two 4x8 sheets of plywood we worked within the confines of the expanded Clubman fittting on two 5x9 ping pong table size sheets of plywood. Even though we did a floor layout we thought this important.
> 
> ...


I am going to build a clubman layout in the near future (sometime in 2021. I had one as a kid because I had my own club. I loved this track and look forward to building the second one. I will be forming another club as well if I can find the people to do it with me. We will run AFX Magna Traction / Autoworld cars and also Thunderjet stock and modified as well. Not a fan of the faster cars as they just are not enough of a challenge because they barely ever leave the track and also they are just a blur as they go by. I like to see the cars as they go down the track


----------



## Milton Fox Racing (May 27, 2014)

Be sure to add a thread to our events section when you are reading to get going on the club and track events! And a status/progress thread on your track build, too! 🤙









Slot Car Clubs, Events, Races, Shops and Shows


Discussion and information about slot car clubs, events, races, shops and shows




www.hobbytalk.com


----------



## Stingray Johnny (Dec 5, 2020)

Jim Norton said:


> This Memorial Day weekend we gathered and raced on ab historic AFX/Auto World Clubman track just like it was 1973 all over again.
> 
> Due to today's faster cars we did however take liberty with the size of the track by increasing the running length by 42". Much in the spirit of the original Clubman's design of fitting on two 4x8 sheets of plywood we worked within the confines of the expanded Clubman fittting on two 5x9 ping pong table size sheets of plywood. Even though we did a floor layout we thought this important.
> 
> ...


I am currently working on building a clubman layout. I am creating the 7 inch straights by cutting a 9 inch straight down to 7 inches. I actually sell this 7 inch straight to people who want the newer style track but also want the layout as it was designed to be.


----------



## Stingray Johnny (Dec 5, 2020)

Montoya1 said:


> Jim, you have sent me the final four twice buddy, once zipped once not!


I just built a clubman layout using 9 inch straights instead of 7's works great! Im looking for others who have this layout set up!


----------

