My Dad and I often change our layout between Scalextric Sport track and Scalextric Classic track.
The kit built cars, modern cars and the modified cars all tend to run better on the Sport track, but we quite often buy cars at swap meets and on eBay from between the 1960s and late 1990s which often run better on the classic track.
It’s been a while since I’ve purchased any old cars on eBay, and it’s been even longer since I shared the process of restoring them here. So today we are going to restore and Renault Laguna, a Jaguar XJ220 and a Ferrari F40!
I’m going to try to include links wherever I’ve had to buy anything, just in case you’re looking for the same part.
I have amassed a healthy stash of spares over the years I’ve been doing slot cars though, so sone bits have just been taken from the pile. I’ll try to be transparent when that’s the case.
We’ll start with the Laguna as that was the first to arrive in the post.
It was missing a wheel (which was odd) and it’s spoiler, but came with a set of mirrors still on the sprue!
I picked up a wing from eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304639786138?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4kaCbKhZSCu&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=dlsGq99WQ9q&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
The mirrors and wing fitted perfectly! I do pop a tiny bit of super glue on the stems just to make sure they stay in place (normally I squeeze some super glue onto a bit of cardboard then apply a tiny bit with a cocktail stick, to avoid any mess!)
I found a spare wheel that looked pretty similar to the others in my box of spares.
This one was actually in two parts – so an outer rim and an insert with all the spokes.
For painting wheels I‘ve made a holder by drilling some small holes into a block of wood. I then pushed axles into the holes that the wheels can sit on whilst they are being sprayed.
That way when you spray the wheels they aren’t being blown around by the aerosol.
It’s not a perfect match but it’s close enough. This is just for racing, it’s not going to be a concours winner.
The side with both original wheels. I don’t think my bodge looks too terrible.
The last thing to address is the lights.
This car has a little halogen bulb which illuminates both the head and brake lights.
The halogen bulb is located in a little holder on the chassis which is circled. Turn it with a flat bladed screwdriver to release it from the chassis.
This is what the bulbs look like.
You can get packs of these bulbs and holders from eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392651420147?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=yBcBALKHStG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=dlsGq99WQ9q&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
That’s the Laguna done and ready to race!
Next on the work bench was this rather lovely Jaguar XJ220.
This one didn’t really need a lot. The rear tyres were knackered so I got a new set from Scalextric Restorations: http://www.scalextric-car.co.uk/Parts/Tyres/Tyres_F40_wide/Tyres_F40_Wide.htm
Really it’s best practise to put a new set of tyres on a car when you get it. Much like a real car, when they stand around for long periods the tyres do deteriorate.
I also wanted to remove the co-driver. Both this Jaguar and the F40 you’re going to see in a minute had co-drivers fitted from factory. Neither were rally cars so it doesn’t make sense to me that they would be in there.
To remove the body just remove these four screws.
Again, it’s probably good practise to pop the body off of a second Scalextric car when you get it. Check out all the fluff from the carpet around the rear wheels!
You’ll note the weird capacitor set up. This car has brake lights! When you come off the throttle the brake lights light up! I know small things please small minds but that really impressed me!
Anyway – We’ve ditched the passenger.
The final thing to add were the replacement mirrors.
These were 3d printed items from eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384831089245?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=fg6wpKvvStW&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=dlsGq99WQ9q&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
They aren’t the cleanest prints ever, but they were cheap, fit really nicely and will look great as the car is going around.
Finally we have the F40!
The 3d printed mirrors I got for this sadly didn’t fit, so I won’t include a link for them.
The only other thing that needed doing to this one was the guide needed replacing. The stem was too short so it kept coming out. An easy fix!
First we take the body off. The body on this car is removed with these two screws.
As you can see it has the funky brake lights too! (Whilst the body was off I also took out the co-driver)
You can see that the guide’s little spring loaded tab stem thingy doesn’t come all the way up through the chassis.
This is much better! I’m afraid this one was from my parts draw so I can’t give you a link.
That’s 3 more slot cars revived and ready to race!
Thanks for reading! I know this post was technically pretty simple in comparison to doing the slot car resin kits or doing the modified cars, but it’s important to show that slot cars are a hobby that can be enjoyed on a budget and without any specialist tools.
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By Richard Francis
