John Ford has been a leading authority on slot car racing since 1965.

G

G+ - A H.O. slot car made by Aurora / AFX

GEFA - See Faas.

Gp7 - Originally named for the 1 to 1 scale Can-Am Group 7 class which no longer exists, but was for total unlimited cars. An awesome display of mega motors and road hugging sportscars. The 1 to1 scale was abandoned shortly after the supposed gas crisis. Group 7 slot cars has remained as the showcase of our industry. They are to slot racing what Indy cars are to 1 to 1 scale racing.

Gp10 - A term coined by John Ford to describe the type of racing being done with box stock cars using the 16D type motor. The term being used freely was "flexi" racing which was a name copywrited by Parma. By giving them a group designation, these races could be reported on in magazine articles without reference to a copywrited name. Unlike its peers, there never was a $10.00 Gp.10.

Gp12 - Originally named for its cost. A Gp.12 had to cost under $12.00 ready to run out of the box. Today it is a stamped mass production chassis with Group 12 motors. This class has been around since the early 70's.

Gp15 - Originally named for its cost. A Gp.15 had to cost under $15.00 ready to run out of the box. The original concept of this box stock class is no longer around in USRA racing. It has melded into a new calass of car that remotely resembles its predicessor. The only thing that remains the same is the armature which still retains 29 wraps of 29 guage wire. More or less. Remember boys and girls. Every car is legal until it is proven illegal.

Gp20 - Originally name for its cost. A Gp. 20 had to cost uner $20.00 ready to run out of the box. An almost non-existant class today. It never was very popular. In its beginning stages, the lack of popularity was because of the rigid rules placed on the chassis. A car with the speed of a group 20 was held back in its progress by a chassis barely sutable for group 12 racing. In Texas, Jim Honeycutt is credited with solving the problem by forming a local class using group 20 motors and group 7 chassis. See Gp.27.

Gp22 - In the early 70's the Group 20 motor was popular due to its high speed and low cost. There was quite a movement to take this motor and make it more efficient. Hand wound versions of the gp.20 armature were made by Thorp and Steube from California. To tell them apart, they had tags marked 22, mearly a number to show it was a hand wound 20. If you come across any of these 22 tagged arms today, they are quite rare. Hang on it it.

Gp27 - The hand wound Group 22 arms were becoming quite popular, and in Texas especially in the local Group 20/7 hybred class originated by Jim Honeycutt of San Antonio. The popularity of this hybred class grew to the point that it actually became a class, and the hand wound group 20 arms began to carry the tag 27. The rest, as they say is history.

GTP - A popular road racing car in 1 to 1 scale. A sports car coupe body style popular with the racers who like to race scale appearing bodies.

GTO - A very neat Pontiac from days gone by. I used to have this killer 389 tri-power 4 speed 65 GTO, but that is another story. In slot cars, its a company based in the northeast manfucturing high tech slot car equipment.

Galling - The motor brushes become galled when a glaze formes over the side of the brush that fits against the armature. The motor will slow down, but is not ruined if it is taken out of service right away. The glaze must be sanded off the brushes, and the armature must be cleaned before it is re-assembled. See erasure. (Note: Thanks to reader John Cahill who pointed out the mis-spelling I had here before "Gauld" and pointed me to the Wikipidia definition of the proper word. While Galling does not exactly fit the glazing process as it relates to slot car brushes, it is the word which has been used to describe the condition. See Wikipedia link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galling ...jf)

Gauss - A unit of measurement, used when measuring the strength of magnets.

Gauss meter - An electronic device used to measure the magnetic field strength of your magnets. An early way to measure magnetic strength was to use small washers and see how many each magnet could pick up. The object is to use two magnets that pick up an equal amount of washers proving that the 2 magnets are matched.

Garvic - A brand of slot cars and compenents back in the 60's. The term "thingies" was created to describe many of the wild, far out body styles offered by Garvic. Their "Firebird" a double cockpit open wheeled wedge was their most famous design.

Gear - All the stuff you carry in your box could be called your slot racing gear, but most commonly, the gear referrs to the two drive gears on your car. See Pinion, Spur, and Crown gear.

Gear press - A specialized tool used for pressing on pinions to the armature shaft. Much safer than a hammer.

Gear puller - A specialized tool used for pulling press on pinions off the armature shaft.

Girl thang - I don't know what this means. If you ever get to meet Sherri Pedersen, ask her. She knows!

Glue - In the construction of a slot track, the glue refers to the wood glu that holds the track togeather. In racing, glu is the term commonly given to the sticky substance placed on the tires of your car, or just in front of each turn to both give the car extra brakes where it needs it and traction as well.

Glue roller - Some people are using a screen door repair roller to roll out their glue in the glue zones during high speed compeitions. Very messy, but it works.

Glue Monkey (or Lane Monkey) - A person not participating in the race who grooms the lane for a driver between segments by cleaning braid, removing residue from straight aways, wiping turns, gluing or any combination of these.Thanks to MG Brown for this.

Golf cart batteries - Most commonly recommended as power for slot car tracks. Popular beacuse their deep cycle power and deep acid resevoir make them the longest lasting power plant for slot racing.

Goodie bag- This is the best part of racing. When you win and are presented with a bag of merchandise for your prize.

Gonsalves- A long time hobby distributor on the east coast.

Grams- The common weight slot cars areweighed in. Used instead of ounces because a more accurate of smaller increments can be used.

Graphite- An extremely tough material some guides and other small parts on modern slot cars are made of. Experimenting with graphite chassis has been done, but so far, none successfully.

Green- The color you seldom see a race car painted. Also the color of the third lane down on a slot car track.

Green arm - There was a time when Aurora had a factory "muscle car" program. Their "Green" arm was the #2 favorite hop up arm available from the factory.

Green can- Better known as the "C" can. Developed by Bob Green while he was with Mura of California. Bob Green invented many innovations that are still used today in slot car motors. Bob is retired now but can occasionally be seen at major slot racing events in the Southern California area.

Grenade- What a group 7 motor does on a King track at 18 volts. See explode.

Group- A class of racing. Called group rather than class because during the 60's can-am racing, the 1to1 scale mentor of slot racing used the term group. Commonly used describing the following recognized classes. Group 10, 12, 15, 20, 27, & 7.

Guage- The most commonly used guage in slot racing is the "tech check". It is used to "guage" the size of tires, wideth of chassis, etc. See tech check.

Guard rail- Usually the term guard rail is used in H.O. racing and referrs to that little plastic clip on rail that is installed in the turns of the track. On original American tracks, a guard rail was used on the cross over portion of the bridge. Today, the term guard rail is seldom used.

Guide- Since we don't race slot cars in jungles, the guide referrs to that little plastic or graphite thing on the bottom front of your car that fits in the slot. Early "T" slot rental cars had a guide both in the front and back. Not legal today.

Guide clips- These are the small clips usually made of brass that the lead wires are soldered to. They fit into the braid housing and are held in place by the tight fitting braid. See braid clips.

Guide collar- This is what was used to hold the guide on before the guide nut was invented.

Guide height- The guide height is one of the most important things on a slot car. See guide weight.

Guide hole- At the futhermost point of the chassis up front, there is a hole. This is where the guide post goes. One or more guide washer s should be placed between the guide and the chassis, and one between the chassis and the guide nut.

Guidelines- Some raceways prefer to post guidelines rather than strict rules to their racing programs. Guidelines are broader in scope, and will allow the raceway owner or race director to quickly ferret out those with a propensity to bend the rules. It is a much happier racing atmosphere when racers cheerfully adhere to simple guidelines, and are not forced to follow strict rules.

Guide nut- This is the nut that that was invented to hold the guide on so we didn't have to use those bulky collars any more.

Guide Pin- In H.O. racing, many slot cars have a small pin that sticks down into the slot. Some H.O. cars had a guide pin located in both the front and rear. Not legal today.

Guide post- That round thing that sticks up from the top of the guide, and goes through the guide hole in the chassis. It is this post that the guide nut is screwed down on.

Guide screw- Another method of holding the guide on before the nut became used universally. Sometimes, a guide screw can be melted down into the guide and help hold on the nut if you are truly paranoid.

Guide tongue- It never looked like a tounge to me, so I don't know why they ever called it that. Still, today, it is simply called the guide.

Guide weight- This term could refer to an actual weight placed on the guide. In the 60's some guide collars were quite thick and heavy. Also, all slot cars need to carry "full guide weight". Meaning that spacers need to be placed on the guide post between the guide and the chassis. This spacing affects the guide height. Lowering the guide on the chassis, allows the full weight of the car to be placed on the braid. This gives better electrical contact. Spacers should be added until the front wheels begin to come off the track, and then one removed. Teflon spacers come in various thicknesses so the proper height can be acheived easily.

Gutter lane - See Black lane.

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