Kevinpreston3
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2005
- Messages
- 484
More toys for those interested---
Was playing with this all week. Bought a series of old Eldon slot car sets a few years back, partially refurbished them at that time, in the process of getting all cars and items working now.
In 1963, my dad worked across the street from Eldon in Hawthorne, California, at NCR Hawthorne. They had a counter there where you could buy direct. He just asked for their biggest set, and they gave him the International Grand Prix Selectronic Road Race Set. It was a family favorite for a few years. Then I would sometimes drag it out, but slot cars like train sets atrophy when sitting awhile, and I could never get them working quite right. Plus, we never had any replacement "brushes". Eventually, that wonderful set went to the Salvation Army, or somewhere.
Flash forward to about 1998, and I bought the same model set again. The cars tires were hard and slippery, but I found a source for replacements. I found new brushes. I developed methods of cleaning the track and refurbishing parts to make them work again. With a little effort, the cars started getting "dialed in" again. I bought a Sears badged Selectronic set, and another Eldon set.
Just this week I got a few of the cars working that I did not have working before. They again need new tires, as the newer silicon ones I got a few years back were never really correct. The new ones are identical to the old design. We are having a blast with this.
Eldon slot cars are looked down by most in the "slot car arena" as the bottom rung--essentially bad. People complain about their nylon chassis, their pickups, and the track that is too shallow. My response is that maybe these guys aren't good enough to get the old stuff working again! This is a nostalgia trip for me. I want what I had and it's great fun. These are not whip-fast like the cars you would run at the old Slot Car stores. These are consumer grade, and were purchased at Sears, Wards, catalogs, and in toy stores rather than hobby stores like the more upscale units. However, they have their charm and are really fun.
Here are the two cars from my Sears set. They are two Ferraris painted an opposite paint scheme. Interestingly, the hand controllers are colored to match and are inverted the same way...yellow with red trigger and red with yellow trigger, controlling like colored cars.
Was playing with this all week. Bought a series of old Eldon slot car sets a few years back, partially refurbished them at that time, in the process of getting all cars and items working now.
In 1963, my dad worked across the street from Eldon in Hawthorne, California, at NCR Hawthorne. They had a counter there where you could buy direct. He just asked for their biggest set, and they gave him the International Grand Prix Selectronic Road Race Set. It was a family favorite for a few years. Then I would sometimes drag it out, but slot cars like train sets atrophy when sitting awhile, and I could never get them working quite right. Plus, we never had any replacement "brushes". Eventually, that wonderful set went to the Salvation Army, or somewhere.
Flash forward to about 1998, and I bought the same model set again. The cars tires were hard and slippery, but I found a source for replacements. I found new brushes. I developed methods of cleaning the track and refurbishing parts to make them work again. With a little effort, the cars started getting "dialed in" again. I bought a Sears badged Selectronic set, and another Eldon set.
Just this week I got a few of the cars working that I did not have working before. They again need new tires, as the newer silicon ones I got a few years back were never really correct. The new ones are identical to the old design. We are having a blast with this.
Eldon slot cars are looked down by most in the "slot car arena" as the bottom rung--essentially bad. People complain about their nylon chassis, their pickups, and the track that is too shallow. My response is that maybe these guys aren't good enough to get the old stuff working again! This is a nostalgia trip for me. I want what I had and it's great fun. These are not whip-fast like the cars you would run at the old Slot Car stores. These are consumer grade, and were purchased at Sears, Wards, catalogs, and in toy stores rather than hobby stores like the more upscale units. However, they have their charm and are really fun.
Here are the two cars from my Sears set. They are two Ferraris painted an opposite paint scheme. Interestingly, the hand controllers are colored to match and are inverted the same way...yellow with red trigger and red with yellow trigger, controlling like colored cars.
