American Graffiti - Where were you in 62'?

[mopargreg]

Just thought I would move my track over to the new forum. This track is influenced by the movie American Graffiti. Based around the iconic Mel's Diner. The track is hand routed HDF with copper tape. It is an AC2car track meaning it runs on AC power with 2 cars per lane with a total of 4 cars can run at any one time. I can also run DC power with a more traditional approach with 1 car per lane. I switch between AC & DC depending on what I running & how many people. The track has 1 lane change per lane which allows you to either travel around the outside of the track or change lanes & run the inside of the track around the back of the diner. The track folds up against the wall when not in use. For a small simple little track its very fun to drive & a different experience.

The cars & structure are all 1/25 scale. All cars in the photos are custom built & are working slot cars & run on the track.

The latest area of the track Ive been working on is Mels Diner. Its mostly finished but a few extra things to finish. The whole Mels Diner structure was scratch built from MDF & styrene.

Still a long way to go to finishing everything but Im in no rush. Ill update some photos showing the layout wider as Ive only got older photos on hand.
Thanks for looking
Greg

[Fast Co.]

Mel's is looking spectacular. Love the lighted lettering, the vending machine, the Vespa and the phone booth. The cars are cool too. I forgot, is this 1/32 scale or 1/43?

[chappyman66]

That lighted sign is really cool....I don't recall seeing that before. It's a great track though, a totally different concept!

[dge467]

Beautiful Greg! Cars and layout! Looks like fun to just cruise the cars around.

[mopargreg]

Thanks for the replies guys. Fast Co, it is 1/25 scale. So it’s a lot bigger than you think!

Ive put working on Mel’s Diner & 50’s car on hold for now. I’ve been working on some stock cars, Superbirds & Daytona’s. Also working on some Transam AAR cudas. Felt like a change of pace working on some cars with numbers. 😀

[Fast Co.]

I have to bring this track to the top of the forum again. This is one cool concept and well executed!

[Fathead59]

Hmmm , where was I in 1962 ? Being that I was just starting to walk , I think I was at home .

[Fathead59]

And summer of '62 , I would have been 2 , so I should have been walking by then

[Fathead59]

But I will say this , nice concept for your track . I did like watching the America Graffiti movie , having older siblings that grew up during that time gave me the love of hotrods

[Fathead59]

And shouldn't there be a yellow '32 Ford Coupe and a white '58 Chevy Impala

[waaytoomuchintothis]

I have been remembering this post, and I thought I would try to restart something that was a hot topic in PMs after people read this title.

In 1962, I... (start writing from here)
was in the 6th grade, running around barefoot along the bayous, fishing and playing in the Gulf of Mexico near the Mississippi/Louisiana state line. Our family car was a 1961 Ford Fairlane, my best friend was my dog, Shep, and I had a heartbreaking crush on a goddess whose last name was Hebert (pronounced "A-bear"), who was 3 years older than I was, which at the time was a gap too far, so heartbreak was inevitable for me. I don't think she even knew my name, but you have to remember- on the Gulf Coast, you see the girls you know in swimsuits all the time all summer, and bikinis were just getting started. It was a testosterone typhoon every summer as we grew up and saw how much everybody had changed!
Also in '62, my first slot cars. A Sterling Moss Figure Eight Aurora Thunderjet outfit.

[arroldn]

9 years old and playing with my first Eldon figure 8 race set.

[RichD]

I was in high school but was not yet driving. There was a drive in restaurant in town, but that did not have car hops. I had HO cars at the time, bit I did not have my own track until 1963.

[DRW-FJ40]

Wow... that is cool. I was going to ask "what about the Vespa" but there it is. I was incognito for the first 9 months & then just lying around drooling for the last 3 months of '62.

[mopargreg]

Hi guys, Its really made my day today logging onto HRW & seeing my American Graffiti track get some attention. Thanks for the kind comments & your stories from 1962. The movie American Graffiti sparks interest to a lot of people for various reasons. Coming of age in what seemed like a much simpler time in some ways, hitting the strip in your hotrod & hanging out with your mates. The cars were simpler & life for someone of that age seemed much simpler as well compared to now. Its an iconic movie so if you haven't seen it do yourself a favour & watch it. hell even if you have seen it but not for years its worth a watch. Compared to a lot it has aged fairly well, but Im biased.

I was actually born in 1976 so Im way off the mark. So I cant comment on 1962 for me.

Sadly I haven't done any further work on the track. It folds up against the wall so once its folded up, its easy to forget about it. I tend to go through fazes where I'll do a lot of work on it & then leave it for 6 months. I don't get as much time as I would like messing around with slot cars. Everything on the American Graffiti track is hand made, Mels Diner, all the cars, the track so progress is slow. I spread my time pretty thin between, the American Graffiti track, building Grand National Nascars, Trans-am race cars & street cars. Im in a bit of a vintage Nascar kick at the moment but plan to get back to more track work very soon.

To answer a question above, yes I have plans to build all the cars from American Graffiti. I have all the kits & all the parts ready to go. Just need to find time to get started.

The latest thing I built was a glass display cabinet to store some cars in. All the cars in the cabinet are slot cars. Built it from scratch. Its about 5'9" long. Just finishing up another small cabinet that is wall mounted atm. Seeing the interest in this track has given me some inspiration to get more finished on it. Thanks for your comments & I'll share more soon!

[SlotCat]

What a beautiful layout that I had not seen, thanks for the bump from FastCo! I was born in 64, but have seen this movie many times, love it, the cars, the architecture/styling and the truly simpler times! I like this movie so much that it's one that I bought on VHS and then again on DVD.

BTW, very nice display cabinet that you built too, love the vintage clocks and vases on top too.

[mopargreg]

Also I forgot to mention. Im in the planning stages for a new routed Trans-Am Riverside track that Ill be building in the garage. Been chatting to Doc Reinecke about it. Will be starting that later in the year. Ill be keeping this American Graffiti track as well.