Post by rickvoegelin on Nov 28, 2011 10:17:45 GMT -7
Racers,
Lions is dead; long live Lions!
The day after the last hauler left the NTRA World Finals at Lions Drag Strip, the bulldozers moved in. We demolished Lions, but it was all for a good cause.
On December 3, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and the Wally Parks NHRA Museum in Pomona, Calif., are hosting the Lions Last Drag Race Reunion. Here's info on the Reunion:
museum.nhra.com/apcm/templates/general.asp?articleid=47993&zoneid=41
Now you can't have a drag race reunion without a drag strip, so I decided to take Lions on a 400-mile journey back to Southern California. Here is the new and expanded version of Lions, mocked up in the garage workshop. I've added a backdrop with vintage Lions signs, posters, and memorabilia for the display. There will be additional timing/scoring monitors and a sound system with drag racing audio to create the right atmosphere.
When Lions was originally constructed, the track was on a 16' long table with an 8' extension for the shutdown. This seemed like a good idea at the time -- the one-piece track was very rigid, no alignment problems between the sections, and no connectors for either power or timing system. The problem is that a 16' track isn't easily portable, and it's a pain to share space in the garage with 1:1 cars, HO road course, and HO oval track. I also wanted to expand the pit area, add a return road, and make setup and teardown easier.
So we cut up the original 16' table and built a new 8' x 28" table with folding legs.
Then we built a 30" extension section for the pits.
This clamps to the end of the drag strip section, and has auxiliary driver stations at the end of the pits.
I put all of the Trackmate electronics/wiring on a hinged board that folds down for easy access to the fuses and connections.
Used RC battery connectors between the track sections so it can be diassembled and reassembled quickly.
So I've got a cargo van rented, and next Friday morning, Lions is going to make the trip to the NHRA Museum. I'm thrashing on scenery and cars now (thanks to HairyCanary, who sent some NFC bodies -- much appreciated, Rick!) and I'm hoping that we can recreate Mongoose vs. the Snake in HO scale.
I hope that any Nitrosloters in the neighborhood will make it out to the Museum next Saturday for some HO drag racing!
Cheers,
Rick V.
Lions is dead; long live Lions!
The day after the last hauler left the NTRA World Finals at Lions Drag Strip, the bulldozers moved in. We demolished Lions, but it was all for a good cause.
On December 3, Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen and the Wally Parks NHRA Museum in Pomona, Calif., are hosting the Lions Last Drag Race Reunion. Here's info on the Reunion:
museum.nhra.com/apcm/templates/general.asp?articleid=47993&zoneid=41
Now you can't have a drag race reunion without a drag strip, so I decided to take Lions on a 400-mile journey back to Southern California. Here is the new and expanded version of Lions, mocked up in the garage workshop. I've added a backdrop with vintage Lions signs, posters, and memorabilia for the display. There will be additional timing/scoring monitors and a sound system with drag racing audio to create the right atmosphere.
When Lions was originally constructed, the track was on a 16' long table with an 8' extension for the shutdown. This seemed like a good idea at the time -- the one-piece track was very rigid, no alignment problems between the sections, and no connectors for either power or timing system. The problem is that a 16' track isn't easily portable, and it's a pain to share space in the garage with 1:1 cars, HO road course, and HO oval track. I also wanted to expand the pit area, add a return road, and make setup and teardown easier.
So we cut up the original 16' table and built a new 8' x 28" table with folding legs.
Then we built a 30" extension section for the pits.
This clamps to the end of the drag strip section, and has auxiliary driver stations at the end of the pits.
I put all of the Trackmate electronics/wiring on a hinged board that folds down for easy access to the fuses and connections.
Used RC battery connectors between the track sections so it can be diassembled and reassembled quickly.
So I've got a cargo van rented, and next Friday morning, Lions is going to make the trip to the NHRA Museum. I'm thrashing on scenery and cars now (thanks to HairyCanary, who sent some NFC bodies -- much appreciated, Rick!) and I'm hoping that we can recreate Mongoose vs. the Snake in HO scale.
I hope that any Nitrosloters in the neighborhood will make it out to the Museum next Saturday for some HO drag racing!
Cheers,
Rick V.
;D
(good part is, I still have stuff in boxes that I haven't unpacked yet, so that will make it a little easier..lol)
