Strombecker International Road Racing Set

[Eric P]

I’ve always wanted a vintage slot car set, well, in addition to my AFX cars and track. This was a FB Marketplace find. It was truly complete , containing two cars, all the track, all of the literature and even the warranty card.
The cars are a little rough, but do run using the Strombecker power supply, controllers and start track. My plan is to clean everything up, oil as necessary, replace tires and enjoy it as it would have been in 1965?

[modernslots]

Great find! It should be a lot of fun getting it up and running!!
Rob

[ourwayband]

Love the vintage stuff.Have fun with it!

[Mitch58]

I got that set new from the store in DEC of '69.

[Bluevista]

I have that set too.
The cars are missing, I have them somewhere but I keep forgetting to look for them.

[JCIS4ME]

Killer find! Congrats!

[LAMing]

Late to this party by a "few" months, but congrats on the find!

I too, have that set:



After cleaning the motors and lubricating, the chassis ran great. The bodies also cleaned up great. I used Smilin' Ray's tires. Once finished, both are surprisingly quick and smooth! The RS is just a tad faster than the Lotus 19, but some of that was traced to tire rub. Finding that, I tweaked around on it and now they're very close in performance.

Hopefully, you've enjoyed your set a lot since you last posted!

[Mitch58]

My parents bought me that set new Dec 26 1969, they liked to shop the sales the day after Christmas.

[BIG E]

Congrats on that score, and it sounds like a you've got a great plan!
Contact Ed Sourbeck at EJ's hobbies for replacement rubber Strombecker tires, he specializes in the Strombecker stuff, and has even reissued some complete kits. Running rubber tires, instead of using silicones like most of us will usually do, you'll be keeping it truly as it was back in the day.
You will have a blast racing as it was when we were kids (or for some, not even born yet!).
Have a great time, and... ENJOY! -- Ernie

[LAMing]

Tires:

Also Smilin' Ray's (link below) has a very good urethane replacement set for the RS-61 and Lotus 19. The tire you want for those: ST79R

https://smilinray.wixsite.com/smilinray/slot-car-tires

[BIG E]

Didn't mention urethane tires either because I was under the impression that he wanted to go back to stock original set up, which of course would be rubber. The Strommy fans have got a few options out there when it comes time to put some new tires on their cars, for sure. Ernie

[LAMing]

Oops. I didn't catch that. However, concerning NOS 60 year old tires: I've always wondered if NOS tires might have hardened over the decades?