I purchased a 1959-61 Ferrari TR "Sharknose" resin body. The kit uses a full interior. Using the full interior, I could build a period Pittman 704-powered car, or I could build something entirely different. I told Eric about this project, and he suggested I build a drive shaft car with a Falcon motor in the front to clear the interior. Great idea, but I wanted the car to be a little more vintage.
So, what motor to use? Well, what we called Mabuchi 13D motors are about the same size as the Falcon motor. I had a couple of 13D motors with fixed oilite can bearings lying around. Plus, the Mabuchi motor cans were painted Ferrari red.
Being a slot car model of a V12 Ferrari, how about two modified motors mounted in a "V"? "V13"? I decided to go with this idea.
Time to hop up the Mabuchi motors. The 13D motors have some of the weakest magnets. I wanted to use some magnets that were about as strong as vintage Mura magnets. I robbed the magnets out of a couple of blown-up Slick 7 Mini-brute motors (Eric, thanks for identifying the donor motors). These Mini-brute magnets are almost as strong as Mura magnets. See the readings taken with an old Monogram meter. The Mini-brute magnets are almost 3 times stronger than the Mabuchi magnets. The Slick 7 magnets were ground down to fit in the Mabuchi can. The magnets were then honed with a 530 hone. The 13D motors are wound with many turns of extremely thin wire. The stock armatures were replaced with a couple of Champion 507 armatures (thicker wire and fewer turns). The motor cans were soldered to a brass bracket in a "V' configuration. Power is delivered to a drive shaft located between the motors. The pinion gears are Sonic brand, and the spur gear is a Weldun. Flats were ground in the drive shaft for the gears. The twin motors and gears make a nice package.
V13
The chassis is a much-modified Corbin #915. Russkit wire wheels and Urethane rear tires are used. The guide flag is a Russkit "opto-guide," and the front axle is an independent rotating Ulrich.
The motors and gears were "run in" at a low voltage. The motors really rev. The glued tires almost want to fly off the wheels when the motors are revved up! Time for a track test.
Aluminum velocity stacks are set in foam.
Three body mounting posts.
Stock magnets
Slick 7 Mini-brute magnets
530 hone
Corbin chassis
Couple of Ferrari TRs
X 10
