Car O'Clock

My car shed

A car shed! Yes, there have been some big changes to our household lately when we moved from the leafy, lower North Shore in Sydney to the even leafier and cooler climes of Wentworth Falls, in the Upper Blue Mountains. In January this year, my wife, Dexter the dog, the two cats, Brodie and Ashley, and I, all went on a voyage of discovery, leaving Sydney after 30 years – blimey, what have we done?

Along with the new location, there was enough space to build garaging space for three cars and, something I’ve always hankered after – a big car shed, which everyone else wants to call my man cave. Now, I’ve looked at all kinds of these man caves and they certainly don’t look especially female friendly. This might be because they usually feature large fridges full of beer, guitars on the wall, a snooker table and a few non-PC signs about men vs women.

There’s something very corny about man caves, harking back to the days when men weren’t welcome in the kitchen and women should know their place – cooking in the, um, kitchen. Call me a metrosexual, new age, or whatever you prefer, but I’ve always enjoyed the company both women and men. The conversation is usually less predictable, and certainly more thought-provoking.

Besides, I don’t play the guitar, have little interest in ball sports, and I enjoy wine just as much as beer. Maybe I’m just not blokey enough to have a man shed. Whatever, genders of all kinds will be very welcome in my car shed and when the fridge goes in, they’ll be plenty of options beyond some excellent beers. 

An idea begins to form

All this is very well, except I’m still trying to figure out what I want to with the shed. It’s already complete with a large sliding door entrance, full insulation, wall-to-wall carpeting and lots of storage space. The long shelves house my collection of car books and the cupboards are full of car brochures, unmade kits and slot car racing paraphernalia which has never been used. I sold my static model car collection years ago after buying them without actually looking at them, so I don’t want to go there again. No, the only car – related pastime I have not explored for a long, long time is slot racing cars. Besides I still have plenty of slot racing cars and parts track left unused for some years under the old house.

A slot racing track is mooted

I have found myself tentatively mentioning the idea of building a slot track to a few friends and, surprisingly, eyes haven’t been raised to heaven. Sure, I might be me re-living my youth, but who cares? Encouraged by general support, and enthusiasm from my car-loving neighbours it might become a happening thing. Since then a number of friends seem equally keen on the idea  and nobody said, “oh, for fuck’s sake, grow up.”

A former ‘serious’ slot racer 

I haven’t seriously raced slot cars since I was in my early teens.  And, when I say seriously, I was a member of the National GP winning team in what was known as the E.C.R.A. Championships (Electric Car Racing Association). I had keen club mates re-winding special motors for me.  I once raced against the son of Soichiro Honda ( the originator of the company) and Ron Mura, a legendary slot motor wizard from California. Back then, slot racing was serious stuff and, occasionally, I was racing against some real pro’s. 

This time it will be for fun only

In the light of this background, I have decided that if I go ahead with this plan it will be strictly for fun. I will not attempt to blow everyone into the weeds (this must become my mantra). No, this time around the emphasis will be about the construction of a truly scenic, realistic track. With luck, I might regain some of my past kit-building skills. I used to make some accurate, slot racing replicas of classic racing cars of the past. To this end, I have already bought some rare, 1/32 resin slot racing bodies. I’ve begun making some scratch built chassis’ for them. Whatever happens, this is not going to be a quick process.

As for the slot track itself, I acquired a large quantity of Scalextric track a few years ago. I’m hoping to use this as a basis for the eventual track. Ideally, I would love to have a custom-built, routed wood track, but that’s way beyond my skill set level.

So far, so little to see

So far though, it’s a bit of a pipe dream and there’s no obvious sign of a theme as such. The long workbench is in place and there’s a relatively large space waiting for me to decide what to do with it all (quick update – I went crazy and bought a custom s slot car track on eBay – more news to come soon). 

Sometimes I just sit in the shed and think about the options. I gaze around and wonder where I will put the bar fridge and the sound system. I try to decide what pictures might go on the wall. (So far I have two large framed images of Chaparral’s racing in the 1960’s – a personal favourite racing car). And, there’s a surplus of tools and equipment that haven’t found a proper home yet. Undoubtedly, there’s a lot more for me to sort.

Even so, it’s hard not to deny it’s all looking like a place where men who like cars would like to hang out. Mind you, our neighbour, Rhonda, has owned a few Ferrari’s, so let’s not be too gender specific yet. Let’s just call it an all-sexes welcome shed.

Car O’ Clock will post the latest news on the shed as it progresses. And, if there are any slot car fans living in the Blue Mountains area, feel free to get in touch. I’m always happy to chat – see my Contact Page