Found a way to make my old Hot Wheels track actually work

I pulled my old orange track set out of the attic last weekend for my nephew. For years, I remembered it as junk because the cars would always stall on the big loop. I tried the old trick of starting them higher, but it never helped. This time, I cleaned the wheels of the cars with a bit of rubbing alcohol on a cloth. The difference was crazy. Those same cars shot through the loop every single time for over an hour. I guess 20 years of dust was the real problem. Anyone else have a simple fix that brought an old toy back to life?

3 comments

3 Comments

finleyl5516d ago

Honestly, I always figured those tracks were just cheap and the design was flawed. Like, the loop was impossible on purpose. Cleaning the wheels seems so obvious now, but it never crossed my mind. Makes me wonder what else I've given up on that just needed a basic wipe-down. Gonna have to try this with my old set at my mom's house.

the_alice16d ago

Cheap and flawed" is a cop-out, it's always been about maintenance.

wright.jesse2d ago

Dug my old HO set out of my dad's garage last summer and spent a whole afternoon on the same thing. Let me tell you, I was scrubbing those little wheels with a toothpick and some rubbing alcohol like it was brain surgery. @finleyl55 you're right about everything piling up like that. It's kinda wild how one little fix can make you look at a whole bunch of other stuff differently. Ended up finding my old air hockey table and the motor was just jammed with a dried out Hot Wheels car, twenty minutes later it was working again.