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It definitely helps relieve a little stress Doc!

I don't have much to show for today's efforts. I spent a little extra time trying to find materials. It seems as though every time I restore or re-construct an existing track I find myself wondering if it would have just been easier to start over from scratch. Today some of the "challenges" that come up when re-constructing an existing track made themselves known. First off this track surface is 5/8 inch MDF. Now the easiest way to make changes in the layout is to use like materials, so that all the joint line up easily. Well guess what, I found out after visiting Home Depot and our local lumber yard, 5/8 inch MDF is no longer easy to find. So I went with 3/4 inch MDF. I'll use 1/2 inch plywood for the tabletop instead of the 5/8 inch used on the rest of the tabletop. This should put my track surface joints even where the track is flat to the tabletop. Where the straight from the exit of the banked curve comes down the hill, I will have to do some fancy shimming to make the 5/8 inch roadbed flush with the 3/4 inch roadbed.

The next challenge was with the 180 degree hairpin. As the hairpin was originally mounted to the tabletop. the entry into the corner was elevated making for downhill travel through the curve. With the layout reconfiguration the lead into the hairpin will be with a flat transition. This meant I had to remove all the screws screwing the MDF roadbed to the tabletop. Not terribly difficult but time consuming. I used a magnet (I've found many "useful" uses for 1/32 slot car traction magnets) to locate the screws, and then dug out the bondo covering them with a knife so I could remove them. I had to remove almost every screw so I could knock out the shim materials under the roadbed. The profile for this curve will be totally opposite of what it was originally.

So now it's hot and I'm done for the day!

I cut and installed a couple 2x4s in the framework for cross bracing.

In this photo you can see the 18 or so screws I had to remove to get the shims out from under the roadbed.

This shows the original profile of the corner when it was positioned at the exit of the banked turn. Not gonna work where it is located now!

Yes, thanks Rico!

That knife is my go to all purpose tool! When damage needs to be done it'll do it! Between that and my saws-all, I'm good to go!

I'm going to try to get some serious work done this week. I have no schedule yet because I'm also trying to work in days to take my Granddaughter driving. The driving days are harder to schedule because of my Granddaughter's spur of the moment schedule!

With the two temporary legs attached the curve is stable standing alone.

The curve is positioned to maintain 18 inches clearance from the other portions of the track to allow for turn marshals. Turn marshals will be able to access all portions of the track without crawling! No more hands and knees stuff for us old guys!

This is where the hairpin will sit in relation to the rest of the track. I will be adding about 12 feet overall to the lap length. The next step is to build the tabletop portion tying in the space between the curve and the rest of the track.

Nice starting grid Rico!

Friday morning. Gonna be hot today. Coffee'd up and headed out to the shop early. I was able to complete one of the changes I had in mind for the track. When we moved the track into my shop I kept it away from the back wall leaving space between the back straight and the work benches. With turn marshal access to the backside of the track I was able to eliminate the need for the turn marshal "hole" on the right side of the track. After taking some measurements I decided I could also eliminate the turn marshal "hole" on the left side of the track inside the banked curve. I figured I could take 16" out of the infield without losing any structural strength in the table. So the music was turned up, and out came the saws-all!

This is what the section of track looked like before I got started.

This is where the surgery took place.

I had to remove one 2x4 frame rail. It was a short section of 2x4 table frame work, and there was a 4x4 post on either side. Even without any further bracing there would not have been any structural strength loss. The MDF track is screwed down over a 1/2" plywood table top.

I race one of the old original Hanna Econo chassis. If I were to build another chassis for this class or the similar classes, I'd build it to the original Hanna dimensions. This provides the maximum possible chassis width and weight, which has been proven to be a great performer through the years. The rules really don't allow for modifications to the original Hanna chassis design. I pick bodies that fit the chassis or will fit with just a little stretching, there are plenty of bodies that fit the original chassis specs. Bodies that require a narrower chassis or different wheelbase may be giving up some performance, you won't know until you actually race it. To me that's a lot of "maybe" for the work involved to build it. I'd just as soon go with a proven chassis for these classes.

Will do Tommy! Thanks!

Very cool looking cars! The first one I ever saw was the Tyco HO slot car.

Here's where the day ended. Driver's stations and controller hookups removed.

This is the hairpin turn that will be coming off next and relocated to the end of the new track extensions.

The controller hookups on the other hand were an entirely different matter! I have had a lot of different tracks through the years and I've seen all kinds of controller hookups. I would say the majority of them have been, and usually are equipped with some sort of screw or bolt set up for the controller alligator clips to connect to. This set up usually works fine but, I have seen instances where the screws or bolts in this type of set loosen causing bad electrical connections. That potential problem was addressed in this design by using what appears to be threaded rod, or extra long screws where the heads were cut off after installation. The threaded rods extend all the way through the 3 1/2" dimension of the tracks 2x4 frame, being exposed for access through holes cross-drilled through the 1 1/2" dimension of the 2x4. The threaded rods appear to have also been epoxied into place inside the holes. Needless to say these were not easy to remove!

I'm tellin' ya, these rods were LONG!