Tiny Tim's Slot Car Racing and The Boys and Girls Club Track

Does anyone else miss these cool places. Tiny Tim's was my a favorite place to go on Saturday Mornings..... Hard to belive its been gone for 21 years now. Anyone know what happened to the Track at the B&G Club???? thanks

I do! I loved Tiny Tim's. I was just watching a "documentary" on the E channel about the Oakland County Child Killer and they mentioned the second child was taken from Tiny Tim's.

I have some great memories of Tiny Tim's, and my dad taking me there in the early eighties. I remember that there were two tracks; one for the older kids and the smaller faster , like, supercars. And then the one that I remember most on the right hand side of the store which was slower and I think a bit bigger cars? I finally got big enough to get a fast car and go on the left hand side track!

I was working at the Boys Club when they took down the slot car track, I believe They turned the room into the new Intermediate Room. Not sure what happened to the track I will ask Ken Poirier he may know.

Our community needs more places like this. Such fond memories of spending time with my dad, unlike the mindless video games that the kids are playing with now. So much more creative too. You worked on your own car and actually learned something.

which city?

can anyone also remember the "Groove" that was on Main Street??? Those were also very-fine memories of further-back,slot-car racing...60's? I've missed that place for many,many years. Goes back towards the 60's!!! P.S., I miss you, Carrol Ann (DRAKE),Waldrop...my beloved Baby-Sister! Charlie

Anyone remember the "GROOVE" in Royal Oak? Slotcar-Heaven from the 60's!!! Ask dad or grandpa if they were ever there...Many good-times and racing galore on those tracks and always packed...Ahhh...Good-memories from a grown-kid,53 & growing!!! Hope the kids of today can have those memories as we had or at least have someone whom may share their memories of way-back-when... Yes, I miss much that is no-longer around to share with the young of today!!! By the way...I miss my little-sister, Carrol Ann(Drake)Waldrop. The perfection of my life...I miss you soooo-much! Love,Charlie

i was just thinking about Tiny Tim's. The last time i was there was for a birthday party, my 6th in January of 1982. A film crew was filming a commercial for Tiny Tim's there and we were in it, eating our soft serve ice cream cones. What a day that was. I wonder if anyone has access to the videos of those commercials somehow...would be great to know if that is around.

My family owned Timy Tim's and we closed the place in 1985 after 20years of being in business. The only commercial that I recall was one we made for the Oak Drive-in advertising our store. We sold the tracks to a couple of guys in Detroit who were going to open a store but never heard if they did or not. The reason my dad opened the store was because he wanted a nicer place for kids to go to than the Grove in downtown Royal Oak. The Grove didn't care if you swore or smoked and my dad didn't like that, thus Tiny Tims, a place you could bring the whole family.

that was a GREAT place..lets reopen

I was just thinking about Tiny Tim's the other day. I loved that place as a kid. Somewhere I still have all my Parma Womp Womps.

Dave L wrote:

My family owned Timy Tim's and we closed the place in 1985 after 20years of being in business. The only commercial that I recall was one we made for the Oak Drive-in advertising our store. We sold the tracks to a couple of guys in Detroit who were going to open a store but never heard if they did or not. The reason my dad opened the store was because he wanted a nicer place for kids to go to than the Grove in downtown Royal Oak. The Grove didn't care if you swore or smoked and my dad didn't like that, thus Tiny Tims, a place you could bring the whole family.

Dave,
I remember your dad do I recall your last name to be Lavender or something close ?? your dad's name was Dave also. I spent many many hours @ Tiny Tim's aws I lived right around the corner I had an older friend (next door neighbor) that worked in the pro shop ( Bill Scott) building "piano wire frame" car's with Dyna Rewind motor's. Brings back alot of memories. Would love to talk sometime if possible. I collect old "Woodward" photo's and would love a photo of the old building. e-mail me gander10@comcast.net.

Thanks

I was just googling for slot car stuff... came across this site.
Is anyone here interested in Digital Slot Cars? I want to try to get a semi local group going to race SCX Digital 1:32 Cars... I tried to give a way a $300 prize in the first race but only one person paid the entry fee and showed up... lack of advertising.
Unfortunatly I am in the Utica, MI area... but I take my track to birthday parties and other events. I have an event in Cleveland Ohio in November.. so I will drive to share my toys ;)
Just about EVERY day I have my track in a public location I get at least 2 or 3 people that bring up Tiny Tims :) And although I lived practically across the street from it in around 1980 to 1985... I sadly did not even know it was there when I was a kid in 1st to 5th grade...
Adding a digital computer to a slot car kind of makes it like a video game for kids... but then you also have hte option to tweak and mod your car a little, mostly maintanence since you cannot use too hot of a motor or the computer will fry.
I wouldnt mind opening a slot car track someplace... but there have been a few around here open and close the last few years so the building has to be SUPER ULTRA CHEEP, if not FREE.
My web site, for those interested in what I am doing can be found here: http://www.SlotCarRental.com

Greg A Royal Oak wrote:

<quoted text>
Dave,
I remember your dad do I recall your last name to be Lavender or something close ?? your dad's name was Dave also. I spent many many hours @ Tiny Tim's aws I lived right around the corner I had an older friend (next door neighbor) that worked in the pro shop ( Bill Scott) building "piano wire frame" car's with Dyna Rewind motor's. Brings back alot of memories. Would love to talk sometime if possible. I collect old "Woodward" photo's and would love a photo of the old building. e-mail me gander10@comcast.net.
Thanks

I have a digital copy of an old photo of the white/green house on benniville, behind the century 21 building, the street that is on the opposite side of woodward where Adams ends... the photo is VERY old, so old that there are NO houses in the background and its basically all field... from 20's or 30's or something... It pretty much looks like a hill billy shack by todays home standards lol... The house once blew up and off of its foundation but was repaired. It was a house my grandmother grew up in, and I once lived in, still owned by an uncle. I have also seen other photos from the houses driveway that have a sort of view of woodward... I could dig up scans of those too.
I also have an old stone from the street car tracks that use to be on woodward...
If interested in seeing them contact me via my page link above.

Dave L wrote:

My family owned Timy Tim's and we closed the place in 1985 after 20years of being in business. The only commercial that I recall was one we made for the Oak Drive-in advertising our store. We sold the tracks to a couple of guys in Detroit who were going to open a store but never heard if they did or not. The reason my dad opened the store was because he wanted a nicer place for kids to go to than the Grove in downtown Royal Oak. The Grove didn't care if you swore or smoked and my dad didn't like that, thus Tiny Tims, a place you could bring the whole family.

Do you know anything about Tiny Tim model car raceway in Virginia Beach Virginia, I used to go there in the mid 60's

Dave - I lived just down the street from Tiny Tim's. It seemed like I was up there everyday during the summer. I still have my old slot cars and controller's too. I remember the Baseball pinball machine that was in the arcade and also how we were allowed to play Intellevision on the counter. Graphics were terrible compared to today's games but it was still the first video game system that I remember to offer the sports games.(Football, Baseball, Soccer):) The Good Ole Days!

Dave L wrote:

My family owned Timy Tim's and we closed the place in 1985 after 20years of being in business. The only commercial that I recall was one we made for the Oak Drive-in advertising our store. We sold the tracks to a couple of guys in Detroit who were going to open a store but never heard if they did or not. The reason my dad opened the store was because he wanted a nicer place for kids to go to than the Grove in downtown Royal Oak. The Grove didn't care if you swore or smoked and my dad didn't like that, thus Tiny Tims, a place you could bring the whole family.

I used to go to tiny tims in 1975-78 ,cant believe its still there ! God Bless !!!!!!!!!!

My late Mom took me there. I raced a green car on the tracks and played those old video games (like the submarine motorcyle and Indy 500 one.)

good times

There is a slot car club in Williamsburg VA that have their own track and soon more than one. It is called Barn Burners Slot Car club and they have a web site also. The track is about 50 ft long. They race once a month and several different classes of cars. Most of the members are past slot racers and always looking for other members.

check them out

c-drake and company wrote:

Anyone remember the "GROOVE" in Royal Oak? Slotcar-Heaven from the 60's!!! Ask dad or grandpa if they were ever there...Many good-times and racing galore on those tracks and always packed...Ahhh...Good-memories from a grown-kid,53 & growing!!! Hope the kids of today can have those memories as we had or at least have someone whom may share their memories of way-back-when... Yes, I miss much that is no-longer around to share with the young of today!!! By the way...I miss my little-sister, Carrol Ann(Drake)Waldrop. The perfection of my life...I miss you soooo-much! Love,Charlie

Yep---I remember THE GROOVE. I remember the drag strip on the south wall of that place.I remember all the tracks being powered by car batteries to provide customers with maximum amperage for those rewound motors that were fine tuned and balanced. Good Times!