Parts are parts, but pieces are hard to find is a saying I learned while working on IMCA modifieds on weekly basis. I'm not entirely sure what it means, but I always took it to mean parts, being bigger and more available, were abundant, while pieces were smaller and less readily available, and therefore harder to find.

For the people looking for parts and pieces for their Aurora, Johnny Lightning and Auto World HO cars, Auto World has many parts AND pieces available, including rivets and other more difficult to find pieces. Of course not all parts and pieces will fit all chassis, but many of these were previously unavailable.
ThunderJet Parts
X-Traction/AFX Parts
4-Gear Parts

Tires are something every slot car driver and racer needs. Needs vary based on track, class and desired result. Racing, restoring and modifying are the most common goals. Finding your favorite tire and wheel combination can be a fun challenge. Try some of these for inspiration and experimentation.
Balls Out HO Tires and Wheels - All kinds of good stuff.
SluggoSlots - Silicone covered foam tires (silifoams) for Tyco, Tomy and T-jets, as well as the pieces to fabricate your own.
Jel-Claws - Slip-on silicone tires for a variety of HO cars.
Heister's Penn Valley Tires/Super Tires
RT-HO tires and wheels - CNC machined rims, silicone and silifoam tires for racing.
Road Racing Replicas - Tires and wheels mostly for restoration and modification of T-Jets and AFX.

Pickup Shoes are key to getting those sweet, sweet electrons from the power rails to the brushes and armatures. Depending on your setup and track you're running on, different shoes work differently.
Model Motoring - Reproduction stock T-Jet shoes.
Wizzard - The E-82 is a favorite T-Jet shoe among Fray racers. Wizzard offers options for many other cars, as well.
BSRT - A wide variety of shoes and many, many other cars, parts and pieces.
AFX - The stock AFX shoes.

There are so many other pieces and parts in all the different classes of HO slot cars that it's nearly impossible to cover them all. Fill in the gaps. Let everyone know what I forgot. Tell us all your favorite tires, shoes and other pieces or parts.

Here is a collection of all of the videos of the Fray in Ferndale 2012 I could find. Please reply or comment with links to other Fray 2012 videos you know about.

Individual Competiton, A-Main.
Video by Lenjet1.
No audio in the car, title or screen shots (first 12 seconds).

Several people have reported that they are going through racing withdrawals following their venture to the Fray in Ferndale. Many returned home on Sunday or Monday and are already getting together tonight (Wednesday) for story telling, practice and notes sharing.

In addition, there are proposals and calendars flying around for race events coming up as early as this weekend!

Now THAT is dedication to the hobby. Or maybe it's an addiction. Is there a slot car wing at the Betty Ford Clinic?

Now that you're done snickering about the title... Oh? You're not done? I'll wait.


Ok. Got that out of your system? Good. Let's take lube seriously. (heh heh)

What I've learned in my most recent return to slot cars is that there are several ways to lube up that hot rod of yours. These days I'm mostly running T-Jets, but what I'm learning often applies to other classes of HO cars, other scales of slot cars and radio control cars. There seem to be 2 camps of thought; oil the living daylights out of the gears so they have everything they need or oil just enough to provide the bare minimum film of lubrication needed to get you through a heat or two.

What have I taken from the advice I've been offered by both camps? Take them both seriously, but be selective where to apply that advice. In T-Jets, I've learned to oil the top gears liberally, oil everything else very sparsely, spin the tires a few times with my fingers, then put the car on a warm-up box for a minute or two. If I can reach it and have time, I mop up any oil that got spun off of the gears on the top plate with a paper towel. That gives everything a good coat without adding drag.

For magnet cars, I've found that the sparse method works best, no matter what. Again, no matter how much or how little oil you apply, spin everything you've oiled with your fingers first to coat it, then run it on the warm-up box to spin off any excess. That way less will wind up on the track.

Not sure where to oil? I've found a few resources on the Internet, but the common sense should be applied liberally. Gears, axles and bushings all get oiled.

T-Jet/pancake motor car oiling.
Inline motor car oiling.

One last note, don't forget to oil the front wheels. They turn, too, but they require far less lube attention than gears or rear axles.


Got any tips you'd like to share? Please do.

Using that old Carnegie Hall adage, practice, practice, practice.

Most people from outside of Northern California and Southern Oregon will fly into Redding, CA, San Francisco, CA or Medford, OR and make the drive from there. It's about a 5-6 hour drive from San Francisco up highway 101. If you want to see some of the most beautiful terrain on the planet and have a couple extra hours, head up highway 1 along the Pacific coast. You might need some Dramamine from all the twists, turns and switchbacks.

Here's Rick Burneson's experience at the 2002 Fray. He drove from Southern California.

Old Weird Harold (I think) talks about his trip to the 2003 Fray, which took place in a new, larger venue. 

One industrious race, Tom Bowman of BRP rode his motorcycle from Virginia to the Fray in 2008. Here's his article on the experience.

Here is racer Smalltime's account of his experiences at the 2011 Fray.

I swear I'll make it up there someday.

Some people say slot cars of all scales are making a comeback. For some, they never went away. That said, the local news in Fresno, CA did a story on a local track and the characters that frequent it.