My Hot Wheels track, half way there

11 September 2008 11 Comments

Reading about all the creativity going on elsewhere, I was re-motivated to pursue my want for a Hot Wheels race track. I wrote a while back about Hot Wheels drag racing and how I thought it will be fun for just about anyone. Then I waxed on about how I was going to build my own Hot Wheels track. Well, like most things where I say, “I can build that,” it never really came about. As is usual, I planned and sketched and decided it wasn’t worth the effort. But all that changed one long weekend.

I had a long weekend and had to go to Home Depot for some things and while I was there just said, “fuck it,” I’m going to get all the materials and build my track. I had the idea already on paper so I knew what I needed. (That’s actually one good thing about writing things down when you’re hot about an idea…when you actually get serious about it, you have it all written down). So I bought a few planks, some hinges, and a few necessary tools.

So far the project is about half way complete. The base for the track is four, 6-foot wood planks hinged together. They are hinged so the whole thing can be folded up for easy storage. This track is designed to be used with “official” Hot Wheels race track - the orange track strips you remember as a kid. Well, in order to keep the track on the base I had to devise a little wall/barrier system. I first tried velcro to find it didn’t stick well to wood. With that failure I took a cue from my Amish friends and used wooden nails to make removable walls using a dowel and drill.

Still left on the list is a starting gate for the two lanes. My plan for this are simple wood posts with a hinged “door” that can be lifted, releasing the cars at the same time. As for the finish line, I have a playset finish line that I’ll be using for now. The only bummer with the Hot Wheels part is the lanes are really close together, but the track keeps each lane about an inch apart. Eventually I hope to plan up a finish line too, but it has to include some sort of winner light or something. That part I’ll need help with - my electrical engineering skills are, shall we say, non-existant.

The final step will be painting the whole thing with some sort of race track theme. All in all, it’s been pretty fun and rewarding so far. Sure, I could go buy a plastic track for $30 at Target, but those aren’t 15-feet long. Building it myself lets me customize it to my wants and I can also add on to it later. Plus it’s something non-digital that can keep me busy when I burn out.

Once it’s all done, everyone can come over for some races. Place your bets!

11 Comments »

Renee said:

Dude, that looks killer! Did you ever see that Mythbusters episode where they try to get a hot wheels car to get up to 200 mph? They ended up making their own cars for some reason though…. Anyway. They get 1/4 of a mile of that orange track and put it on a down sloped road. I tried to find a video for ya, but so far no luck.

# 12 September 2008 at 9:16 am

Big G said:

I’ll bust the myth right now…

Even in total free fall, a Hot Wheels car will only reach ~120 miles per hour.

On a track on a slope and a little bit of friction? Not a chance.

-SF

# 12 September 2008 at 10:14 am

Brian said:

I actually found the people that created the racetrack for the Mythbusters, but they no longer sell their track. Their photos inspired me to created my own. I think the traveling Hot Wheels track for kid parties is a great idea.

They live here and have some photos from the show too: http://www.racegrooves.com

I imagine the demand for long ass Hot Wheels tracks is not so high these days, but I would have loved to get some of that track. Maybe not a quarter mile of it, but hey…

# 12 September 2008 at 10:38 am

Jen said:

Too bad our dog gnawed through a piece of the wood.

# 13 September 2008 at 12:00 am

Brian said:

And just when I thought the project was done and ready for testing - all parts are done but not polished…disaster! A storm blew out the giant window and it shattered right on top of the track!! More soon when we get power back on at the house.

# 15 September 2008 at 6:06 pm

Jen said:

You fixed it though, right? Brian, despite the fact that I made fun of this (my job though!) this turned out pretty cool.

When are you going to make me a new coffee table?

# 17 September 2008 at 11:52 pm

Brian said:

One project at a time! This track is far from done. After playing with it last night I found I need different track for optimal performance — Toys R Us here we come!

Then it needs painting, etc…but I think Aaron got bit by the Hot Wheels bug after he saw it. He wants to modify Hot Wheels now. He mentioned a Dremel tool, sandpaper, and stronger axles…that would be cool…crazy, but cool.

# 18 September 2008 at 9:40 am

Brian said:

I went to Toys R Us to get some longer, more solid track for the home stretch of the strip and it makes all the difference. The final track is now made up of 3 different types of HW track so the curve is proper and the length is correct. You can find 1 1/2 foot lengths of track at TRU for 89 cents.

Last step of the build is the finish line. Please check out the forum for details as I need some help with construction.

# 19 September 2008 at 5:26 pm

zak said:

i have recencly started collecting hotwheels redlines and sizzlers with 400ft of hotwheels track set up.

# 11 April 2009 at 10:01 pm

Brian (author) said:

Wow, 400 ft. is quite a track. I’ve always wanted to try the Sizzlers. They totally look like something else to customize and modify. Sizzlers are one step up from normal Hot Wheels and one step below slot cars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIAbxRWOr0c

# 11 April 2009 at 10:21 pm

T R Marsh said:

I like the way you think! We had similar thoughts when we developed our track made of one complete (seamless) extruded piece of flexible PVC. The benefits of this design are: 1. Ability to do many loops and stunts other tracks can’t. 2. Extremely durable 3. No seams to take away speed or throw your car off the track. Check out our site http://www.blutrack.com and our TV commercial on Youtube. Good luck with your track! - Tom

# 17 October 2009 at 2:19 pm