The Observation Deck

I do remember Tommy Ivo. He used to leave his drag racers out in the drive once in awhile. One car was an all wheel drive, as I remember.

Ahh, the Diney's crowd too. I can't remember all the names, but I can remember most of the cars that hung out there ... and the girls : :

Mark Allan Crnolatas

Racing....Racing.....TV Tommy?

I can feel my blood REALLY heating up.

If you want to talk about racing, real racing....

Let's talk Slot Racing! One twenty-fourth scale high action!

With those Cox aluminum chassis wonders and their silicone slicks and their 12v motor armatures rewound down to 1.5 volts....

YEAH!!!!!!


We raced up there on Madison, close to Hilliard. There was also this place in Parma, and others too.

Then, it seemed like overnight- slot-racing went away...

Oh yeah, in the early '60's the family bought probably the first Ford Mustang convertible in town. Red with white top, 289 V-8. Dad traded it for a SEDAN(!!!!) not long before I got my license.

Sigh.

That slot racing place you refer too, took a few hundred dollars from my pocket over the time it was there too. I built my car from the ground up, then some company, maybe it was Cox, I don't remember for sure, came along, and anyone could just purchase a fast car, and beat all the guys who spent hundreds on their hand built ones.

It was fun though for sure.

I know a few people that were talking about trying to revive it, but radio controlled has taken over, and I doubt slot cars would make it in today's techy world, but "ya never know" ...



Mark Allan Crnolatas

Mark/Gary

There is a slot car place on route 83 just before getting into Lorain on the North Side of the street.

One Easter a couple years ago, my wife and I were driving around, and head back to Cleveland on 83. I saw a sign that said Slot Cars, with twenty cars around the store on Easter Sunday.

We stopped and went in. the place was packed, two large tracks. I was back last year while driving around, it is still there.

Although I proudly raced slots here in Lakewood and over where Ingersolls is now in Rocky River. I ended up with HO cars, still have Watkins Glen 4 lanes to scale somewhere.

Oh in that box over there.

Wonder what is in this one!

FWIW



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Gary Rice wrote: Then, it seemed like overnight- slot-racing went away...

I was into slots for a long time as a kid. My dad and I built a big table in my bedroom that literally was half the room. It became pretty elaborate. The (permanent) layout of the course was modeled after Riverside. I think while growing up, my parents single handedly kept Wings Hobby Shop in business! I have a bunch of pictures of it someplace. Don't have a scanner though...

After giving up racing real cars in the 80's I played around with racing RC cars & 2 WD trucks in the early 90's. There was a nice track in Medina I used to go to. Geez, I thought racing real cars was expensive.... The technology is pretty amazing in those things. There's people making good money off racing r/c cars. And I thought (boring) stick and ball sports figures were overpaid...

I still have a couple of my r/c Team Losi cars and even some of my old slot car stuff someplace.

Joe

PS
Jim O, I saw you in your Mini yesterday. Some day, before I die, I want to own a Bugeye to drive on nice days (never far from home...).

Joe

Riverside! The sweepers in the back were so key in real life and in the world of slots. Master the rhythm of the sweepers and the keyhole and you could win. Loved that track.

Team Losi! When I first started working with Paul Dallenbach he had Losi sponsorship, cars were everywhere.

A friend just sold a really nice bugeye. The guys came to pick it up in the middle of the night, and turned around to dead head back to St. Louis I believe the story goes. The car clean and very sweet. Needless to say the 998cc engine almost made it through Illinois, before they bent a rod or something. All free way, two people with parts in the car. So very very stupid.

As for the Mini I bought it for my wife. It ran like a top to last year. Then it became British again. By the time I put it away for the winter we had it all straightened out again. Clutch, tune-up, motor mounts, brackets. Went to get it this year along with the rest of the stable, and everything fired right up. Nothing like the roar of cars under 1000cc, or even under 300cc!

I think Dave at the Winner Circle has a bugeye(frogeye for our friends in the UK) for sale.


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Jim,

Thanks for the heads up on that slot place!

Now, if I can only find my white Cox Chapparel....

Of course, people really wanting that grease-under-your-fingers experience would have had to do the moped thing.

Mopeds?

Yeah, when the band went to Canada, I saw some mopeds up there in Montreal. I had to have one.

I used to get pulled over by the Lakewood PD, who fortunately could find no laws against them at that time.

Then, the legal-beagles activated their fangs, and horsepower limits, insurance and regulations just about drove my little mopies off the road. A precious few survive here and there.

They were a blast.

My first was a Solex, where the engine actually rode over the front wheel! You dropped it down on the tire to make it go.

My last was a Garrelli, and that puppy was a dream on wheels.

I actually found a Montgomery Wards antique moped at an Alabama flea market. We crated it up and shipped it home. It's gone somewhere now.

Many people are surprised to learn that motorized bikes have been around for many years. Remember the Whizzer?

Collecting these treasures seems to have become big business, as well.

For the time being, I'll leave motorcycles like my old Harley and that Kawasaki drag bike (both gone too) out of the discussion.

Ah, those memories!

Gary

You can find that White Chapparl at the Winner Circle. Rob Giorgi collects slot cars. Also has the infamous Cheetah. With the rear wing that lifted in turns as you let off the trigger.

As far as Mopeds, used to have a Yamahopper. That I had put straight pipes on to race the kids in the neighborhood around Ed Wolf Shaker Saab in the summer.

Lakewoodite Gary Thomas, Steve Hoffert and I have a low input Scooter Club that shows up for the car show and rally. Gary has nearly twenty, always one for sale, Steve specializes in Hondas.

Looking forward to a scooter event this year. Join in.


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Gary Rice wrote: My first was a Solex, where the engine actually rode over the front wheel! You dropped it down on the tire to make it go.

Didn't Solex make carbs? I think it was Solex. Rings a bell with me... I remember using a little gauge thingy with a bubble in it held over the carbs intake to tune dual Solex carbs. Is that right, or am I way off base. That's happened before.

Joe Ott wrote:

Gary Rice wrote: My first was a Solex, where the engine actually rode over the front wheel! You dropped it down on the tire to make it go.

Didn't Solex make carbs? I think it was Solex. Rings a bell with me... I remember using a little gauge thingy with a bubble in it held over the carbs intake to tune dual Solex carbs. Is that right, or am I way off base. That's happened before.

Solex did make carbs.




.

Thanks again Jim,

I still might have my own Chaparral around here somewhere.

This has been the family home since 1966, so who know's WHAT'S around here?

As many of you know, I was the originator of the great Lakewood Day Bicycle Races. Even in my pre-teens, I tinkered with hi-performance bicycles. Still have about seven or eight of 'em gathering dust.

Unfortunately, I let a few of the big fish bikes get away over time, but I've still got a few road bikes, that would probably be be great riders, after they were gone over.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, surgery took away a good bit of my balancing ability.

I can still ride, but VERY carefully. No more hair-pin turns at 20mph plus.

See Tim Eliston's great BikeLakewood.org site for some upcoming Lakewood bike news!

Gary Rice wrote: I can still ride, but VERY carefully. No more hair-pin turns at 20mph plus.

Since the topic of this thread is "Getting to know each other" I'll make one more post to it since Gary mentioned bikes...

Cycling. That's something else I raced. Road bikes. It was an addiction - couldn't get enough. This was before spandex became in vogue and everybody (how many of them know Delgado, Fignon, Hinault...) wanted to look like a pro cyclist! Just kidding. Don't get your Lycra shorts in an uproar.

I did road races and criteriums. Remember the Revco races downtown? I did that a couple times - stuff like that. Even got to ride with the semi-pro "Team Columbus" a couple times. Talk about hammerheads.

Then one day while training (sprints) in Olmsted Falls I crashed. Broke some ribs. Got a concussion. Busted up my helmet. Lost a bunch of skin on my arms and legs. Haven't ridden much since. I have no clue what happened. I just remember waking up in the hospital. Nobody knows. Somebody found me on the road and called the emergency squad.

Ah, the good old days... Now I just quietly make sawdust. Unless I'm out causing problems on internet forums...

If you need a new bike, bike apparel, your bike fixed, or anything 'bike', go see the guys up at Spin on Madison. Good guys up there.

Back to the original thread.....

It has come to my attention that, almost unconsiously, I have amassed a collection of cookbooks....who would've thought?

I also have a cigar collection....but it keeps going up in smoke

Jeff

Occasionally I try to collect my thoughts but, it would seem to no avail.

Ok, Sounds like we need a slot car place to open up in the Wood.

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