Slot Cars and Motorsports History

Nominate your top 5 favorites for our American HO Greatest Slot List.

Isn’t it great when you get to go back in time and do things you did as a kid? I remember the times when I would play with my old HO slot car track and wish I still had it. Today, fathers and kids join on the floor, build a kit track and pass down an age-old classic hobby. And collecting the cars, don’t get me started. How cool were those cars? I know you have a favorite. I’ve even caught myself on eBay occasionally, seeing if I can snag just one more Ford GT to add to my collection. How about you? Help tell us what Cars of All Time belong on the List (American models only, ’cause we’re American and we live in America! Thank you, Ricky Bobby.

What are your TOP 5 greatest slot cars in your collection?
Is it speed, collectibility, car you owned?

Maybe it’s your fastest car, your most collectible, or just a replica of the car you had when you were young. We’re on a mission to provide the first-ever internet gathering of information on the love of slot cars. There are no wrong submissions!

What’s your favorite car?
We can’t have just one, so give us your top five. We’ll gather everyone’s submissions to vote on the Greatest of All Time (#SLOTCARG.O.A.T.).

Warm-Up Slot Car Question…

Only One Ask Before You Add Your Top 5:

• Must be a HO Scale (similar to Match-Box and Hot Wheels cars) (e.g, AURORA, AFX, TOMY, LIFELIKE, JOHNNY LIGHTNING, etc)
• We won’t email you. The system confirms your submission via email.

For Reference: Magazine Slot Car Advertisements

If you have an ad or poster, send us a jpg image, and we’ll add it to the images below to help others. This might help you decide which ones to add to your list.

My Story

So, I fell into the same trap that most of you are in. You played with these slot cars as a kid, and 50 years later, you are remembering what you loved about slot cars: the speed, the wrecks, the track configurations, the tweaking of the cars, making customs, and spending every nickel you had to raise the $3.00 needed to get the latest and greatest.

The fever hit the Mr. Local History Project recently, and a few have begun rebuilding collections they had as kids. I’m part of a New Jersey group that built its Aurora/AFX collection back in the 60s and 70s, spending every dollar I could get my hands on at Tiny Tots in Westfield & Route 22 in New Jersey and Dick’s Hobbyland in nearby Cranford. Below is my rebuilt collection so far.

These cars and other models gave slot-car fans plenty to get excited about. The biggest manufacturer was a U.S. company called Aurora — cars riding on the Aurora Thunderjet 500 chassis from 1963 are highly collectible. Tyco was also early at the starter’s flag.

The Mr. Local History Project is on a mission to gather information from collectors and enthusiasts to determine the top 100 slot cars of all time and we need your help. We’re on a mission to collect the top 100 collectible cars of our time from the internet community. After we gather the input, we will create a survey to VOTE for your top 10 and share that with everyone.

More MLH Related History