Our slot racing models
I've had an interest or rather a fascination with slot cars since I was a teenager and I discovered a Scalextric 1/32 scale racing set on display in the window of Westchester Hobbies in White Plains N.Y.. Several of my cars from that time are still with me. One, a beautiful rendition of a 4 1/2 liter "blower" Bentley is on display in a case in our living room.
​
The cars shown here are from the IHSR years. The two stock cars, #'s 11 and 22, are modified Revell/Monogram models that have been updated for competition with BWA aluminum wheels and inserts. Slot-it axels, gears and guide and after market tires. Despite their size,the models are smooth, fast and fun to drive.
​
​
The #14 & 16 Ferrari's are models of the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa team cars of 1958. Both are heavily modified Ninco models. The #16 represents the Gendebien/Musso car which finished second. The #14 car represents the winning car of Hill/Collins. The original Ninco models had the wrong proportions which necessitated sectioning the bodies a 16th of an inch length wise and modifying the exhaust piping. Note also that the #14 car is right hand drive. Moving the driver and headrest across the car took quite a bit of work to accomplish satisfactorily. Beyond that, the two cars benefit from the same modifications as mentioned prviously.
​
After some years of enjoying a home track with my expanded Scalextric set, I joined a club in Eastchester N.Y.. This was during the slot car craze of the 1960's. By this time I was building cars from kits as well as scratch building and "kit bashing"what I wanted. Many fond memories of the evenings spent in the basement of the toy cum slot car shop that hosted the club.
​
In more recent times, Nick, Alex and myself have participated in slot car racing with an informal group known as Interstate Home Slot Racing or IHSR.
​
While we are no longer active with IHSR, Alex and I do attend race days with the group on an irregular basis. Slot cars are still on the agenda and perhaps some day we will have a track of our own.
The #2 Ferrari between the Porsche and the #2 Jaguar is the car I drove in the first IHSR event Alex and I attended. It has been much modified since then. At that first event the car was a bone stock Ninco model. Since then it as been repainted with added details such as the hood strap. Like the stock cars, BWA wheels and inserts have been added, mounted on Slot-it axels with slot it gears and a Slot-it guide. Similar detailing and running gear modifications have been made on the Jaguar which is intended to represent a club racing car of the 1950's
The #5 Silver Porsche is a heavily reworked Strombecker shell from the 1960's mounted on a reproduction Monogram adjustable brass chassis.
More photo's, stories and info will follow as time permits.
The Corvette's are also by Ninco. All began as Ninco's standard offering of the 1957 Corvette with the removable hard top. We saw the potential of these kits and decided to have some fun. The #21 car is a model of the car Don Yenko drove to a National SCCA win in 1965 at Marlboro Speedway. The #1 car is a model of the well known "Purple People Eater" Corvette SR-2 that Jim Jefford drove at Sebring and elsewhere. The car was backed by Nicky Chevrolet who later backed the equally famous "Nicky Nouse" racer. The #7 car is a representation the Briggs Cunningham team Corvette's that raced as LeMans and Sebring. Again, the cars are equipped with BWA wheels and inserts, Slot-it gears, axels and guides with after market tires.