# Inspired by Thunderbird Speedway



## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Years ago, I made a little oval with 9" curves and 15" straights and set it up on the hood of my car at a cruise night, running off the car battery. I was amazed at the response I got. I've always wanted to do some sort of bigger, better portable track to bring to cruise nights or flea markets or what have you, but I never got off my butt to do it. Then I saw Rich's posts about Thunderbird Speedway, and remembered that I have a box downstairs with 2 of those Jeremy McGrath sets with the 12" turn borders. Rich's recent posts about how well the track went over at the craft show got me thinking... 

Another thought was that I've brought small boxes of track with us when we've gone home for the holidays, and it's always great to keep the kids (and me) occupied during down time. I am taking my 5- and 8-year-olds with me to the '65-'66 Full Size Chevrolet Club's International Meet in Lancaster for a couple days next week, and I was thinking a portable layout might be a good way to keep them busy during the car show and get the hobby some exposure.

Finally, I found out that the local Hobby Lobby is planning on selling HO slot cars again, and I realized that a portable track would be a great way to get people interested in the hobby if there's a place to get the cars nearby.

So with all that giving me momentum, I went to Lowe's and bought a 6 foot folding banquet table, a 1x3, and a some hinges. Then I bought a roll of kitchen drawer liner at Wal-Mart. I had some scrap Luan already, so I got to work. Here's what I ended up with:










The green stuff is that roll of drawer liner. It's this rubber-foam type stuff that keeps the track from sliding on the rather slippery table. It also helps keep the retaining walls from going anywhere. Speaking of the retaining walls...










I was able to make these for both ends of the track using just one 8-foot 1x3. I'm thinking that most of the time, if yer gonna come off, you do it by the middle of the turn (I hope, anyway). Because they are held together with hinges, they fold up like this:










Getting power to the inside lanes of a 4-lane portable track has always bugged me. Can't drill holes, so what do you do? This is what I finally did:










And this is what it looks like under the track:










When you cut the metal strips under that section of terminal track, they are the perfect width for a spade connector to slide onto. Also, I hacked out the red receptacle so that the transformer can plug in backwards and the inside lanes run in the right direction.

There are still some things to work out. I have to make a long power cord that I can connect to the car battery at one end and two terminal tracks at the other. I also have to adjust placement of track sections... a Tjet on the inside lane can fishtail out of the turn right into that terminal block.

I am pretty excited to bring this track with us to the show next week, and to other local events after that...

thanks for the inspiration, Rich! :thumbsup:

--rick


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Cool beans!!!!!!!!
Can't wait to see how it goes next week!!!


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Awesome, Rick!!! I think once those guys see this, they won't be able to resist!! Bummer AW hasn't come out with a 65 Chevy yet. I know a couple guys who really want one! :lol: I would leave the Mustangs home for this event (or make sure it has the slowest chassis under it!!) :tongue:


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

slotcarman12078 said:


> Bummer AW hasn't come out with a 65 Chevy yet.


I agree, but in the meantime, Mike Vitale has been kind enough to oblige. You can bet this one is coming with me.



















--rick


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Heck yeah!!! :thumbsup: :woohoo: MEV does have one, Bob...I want a blue one...Zilla!!! :lol:


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## eastside johnny (May 13, 2008)

*Track borders*

I too have been inspired by Thunderbird Raceway. I've had a Tyco oval track on a door slab that's painted with Rustoleum brown primer for several years that's part of our group's outdoor patio Summer circuit. If there are any more of those Motocross set borders available from anyone here on the board I would be interested in them to add to the track that I have. I think that they add a great visual effect to the dirt track. Thanks


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

nice little track rick!i would be curious about the car battery thing.do you go through a rheostat to control the voltage??


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## Crimnick (May 28, 2006)

"When you cut the metal strips under that section of terminal track, they are the perfect width for a spade connector to slide onto."

Yup...All my taps are now done this way...


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

could ya post a pic of how to do this?


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

slotnewbie69 said:


> could ya post a pic of how to do this?


no prob.

this is a close-up of what the underside of that wooden power bridge gizmo looks like:










and this is the same shot, zoomed out, so you can see where all those wires go to. they just plug into the correct colors on the terminal track for the inside lanes (which is backwards):










Once you start using that trick, there's all kinds of things you can do with it. I made this adapter to easily connect a modern Tyco wallwart and controllers to old-school Aurora or Atlas/Lionel track:










Underneath, it's just those little spade connectors. you have to squeeze them a little tighter so they grab the metal contacts.










this is something i did a while ago to have the two lanes of a Lifelike track powered by two separate wallwarts. works exactly the same for Tyco track:










by the way, you asked about a rheostat to control the car battery... not needed. A car's electrical system is 12 volts. Most slot car wallwarts are anywhere from 15-22 volts. Tjets run just fine on 12 volts, especially on a small oval like this where you can't wind 'em up real far. If I had a 10 foot straight on this track, I'd really feel the lower voltage, but on this little track, 12 volts is plenty to get you in trouble in the corners, and it actually will help keep speeds down for noobs who would otherwise launch the car over the wall...

--rick


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

*Choose your events carefully...*

OK, so this did not go over like I had hoped. Not to say it was a flop, but at this show were guys who were pretty serious about their cars. A few were very interested and nostalgic and came to check it out and talk about the cars and tracks they had as kids, but most were more interested in checking out each other's cars and bench racing the 1:1 stuff. Nothin' wrong with that, just sayin' a cruise night at the mall with tons of casual attendees just checking out old cars might be a better place to get attention/exposure. Also, I was pretty involved with the show--I even judged a few cars--so I couldn't devote much of MY attention to the layout. And it didn't help that my kids were pretty much the only kids there. Gotta think it out a little better next time.

The kids DID have fun with it:










They even made a friend or two:










--rick

edit--by the way, check these rides out:


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Who'd a thought?? Gear heads can be so unpredictable. :lol: If it was the end of the summer or mid fall they might be a totally different bunch, knowing the 1:1s would be heading for the garages for the winter. I'm sure more than a few of them have the thought of slot cars simmering on their back burners now, and who knows??? You might get a call from one or two of them guys asking if you want their old slot stuff. And at the same time have a couple get in touch with you for more info about running them.:hat:

Nice bunch of Chevys!!! My choice would be the green convertible in the 2nd pic!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

slotcarman12078 said:


> (snip)
> 
> ... who knows??? You might get a call from one or two of them guys asking if you want their old slot stuff. And at the same time have a couple get in touch with you for more info about running them.:hat:
> 
> Nice bunch of Chevys!!! My choice would be the green convertible in the 2nd pic!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


Yeah, at least one guy said he had a whole bunch of his old ones sitting in a box somewhere, and another said a coworker of his just got back into HO slots and he was pretty fascinated with the whole thing.

That green 'vert is a '66 with a big block, by the way... don't remember now if it's a 396 or a 427. there were a couple other factory 427 cars there. crazy stuff.

--rick


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

hey rick,that was a great help!i botched up my tyco powertracks,but i like how you solved the problem!i'll get some spade connectors for sure!could you apply the same priciple to make a power tap?right now i just put an extra power pack about the middle of the track.but if i put the two opposing powertracks equidistant apart,would that act like having a powertap?eventually i am going for a 4X12 layout,so might need a boost here and there...


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

ParkRNDL said:


>


Zilla?


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

What? No Mopars?


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

1976Cordoba said:


> What? No Mopars?


Nope, sorry:

http://www.1965-66fscc.com/

The one guy did tell me he still had a '68 (I think) Coronet that he ordered new... he wanted a Chevelle with a 396, but he could only get it as an insurance-unfriendly Super Sport. Chrysler, on the other hand, was happy to put a 383 in a base Coronet for him...

--rick


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

heya rick.you have mail!


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

hey neil, you were right, i missed that... problem is, i've never done a Tyco track with multiple power taps. usually when I do a Tyco setup, it's something temporary or portable. for my big permanent layout, i use Atlas and Lionel track which has 4 screws on each terminal track, two for each lane. cutting up Tyco terminal tracks to make additional power taps can certainly be done, i just haven't had to do it yet. i figure you would make the same cuts i made to isolate each lane, but i'm not sure where the best place would be to take the power FROM the wallwart/controller and run the duplicate wiring to the power tap...

anyone else done this (multiple power taps) with Tyco track?

--rick


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

I'm actually in the process of this with my portable track. 
I'll post some pics tomorrow.


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

thanks rich!will be doing some more work on my slotcave,and need to plan my layout.i will post pics of the simple road course i am doing.just figured 4X12 would need a tap in the middle somewhere.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

*power taps*

Here's some pics of how Im tapping power.

Here's the Tyco power track.









I cut the box off the side, and pulled the taps off the posts.









The result is a track you can run in the same direction as the outside track,
with the taps run under the outside tracks.









Someday I'll get another table to mount all this on permanent.


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

i'd love to see this in more detail,as i am building a four lane tyco layout soon,and that seems like the ticket!my soldering skills are limited,so making my own power tracks seems a bit daunting right now.


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

heya rich is this method to tap power to the sidelong track,or to hook up power to?i am looking for indie power to each lane...could this be used to just create a tap or would it need to be soldered to the power source?i 'm sorry but it's all greek to me and my track build is starting to roll,baby!i gave some props in my track vids,by the way,running some tycos in your honour!check out the englenook raceways build thread i started to see .


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Εδώ είναι μερικές φωτογραφίες από το πώς Im συνδιαλέξεων εξουσία.
> 
> Εδώ είναι το κομμάτι εξουσίας Tyco.
> 
> ...


Gee, your right. It can get a little confusing.
You can use this method for adding taps or for main power.
I'm gonna use this for main power on an 8ft bullring oval track.

Rich
www.northtexasslotcars.com :thumbsup:


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## Rolls (Jan 1, 2010)

Yeah, Zilla?? I see blue ones...


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## slotnewbie69 (Dec 3, 2008)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Gee, your right. It can get a little confusing.
> You can use this method for adding taps or for main power.
> I'm gonna use this for main power on an 8ft bullring oval track.
> 
> ...


thats funny!gonna pick up some dissconnect plugs today,and once i track down more track,i will use both the suggestions here from you and rick.good tips,thanks guys.:wave:


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## gonegonzo (Jan 18, 2006)

Hey Rick ,

I was following yours and Rich's oval builds . Both are great builds and what one of you didn't think of the other did .

I was wondering what the present status was on both tracks ??????

Thx ,
Gonzo


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

the plan was to set up at a cruise night and get some exposure. the reality... my oldest son played travel team baseball this summer, which kept us busy weekends thru July, and then my daughter had knee surgery which kinda grounded us for a while, and then my wife just had ear surgery last week and we're still trying to get back into a routine. the layout is all packed and ready to go at a moment's notice... just waiting for life to give me a moment. i could still conceivably get to a cruise night soon, i think the good one around here runs thru September, but i'm not making any promises...

--rick


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## gonegonzo (Jan 18, 2006)

Hey Rick ,

I was looking thru some old posts and came across this one .

Did you ever make it to a cruise ? Sounded like you had your hands full . 

Also , am I assuming correctly that your oval track isn't fastened down but laid loose on the shelving mat ?

Tell us about the results of the 12 volt power from the car battery . Did it work out and what cars did you run ?

Rich ,

See what your oval project started ?

Thx ,
Gonzo


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## Tycoarm (Jan 7, 2006)

I posted this on another thread.
You can wire it like this, if you don't want to use wire connecrors.

With four lanes you will have eight rails, tag them by A B C D E F G H. Rails A C E G will be the power, while rails B D F H will be controller.

Since you have two of the terminals, lane one (A B) and lane two (C D) facing the opposite direction, you will have to wire them up like this to get the cars running in the same direction.










You will also have to cut the power cord to get the red tracer side of the cord on the power pack (negative side) to the power rail.

Hope this helps.

Tycoarm/Tycosaur


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

NTxSlotCars said:


> Zilla?










[/QUOTE]



Rich I don't know how I missed this thread? 

Wheew look at all these 65 Impalas!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Rick I dig your portable track and your Mev 65. 
Jerry helped me get a couple of them and will have some fun doing them up this summer.










Thanks Brother Jerry!! :thumbsup:

Bob...there is another thread right now about how to get a larger sized pullback 65 off of Pay Bay...zilla


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