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[TSR]

IGARASHI
Igarashi can motors made simpler
I wrote several attempts to figure out the various versions of the "Hemi" motors manufactured in the 1960s by Igarashi. First, I was mistaken many years ago when I believed wrongly that the "Hemi" motors, sold in Strombecker and Pactra models, were manufactured by Hitachi. There is absolutely zero connection between Igarashi and Hitachi or even, HIT, which is a Marusan sub-brand. I had deducted this from looking at the mysterious 1/24 scale "P1" Japanese slot cars of the Ferrari P2 and Lola T70, that someone on a Japanese site had called (wrongly) "HIT". Now I got things straight and weeded out previous confusing information, so as to present what I now believe is well over 95% correct and complete. So here it goes:

Before manufacturing can-type motors, the Japanese Igarashi Electric Co. founded in 1952, built pole-type motors exclusively for Strombecker. Indeed, Strombecker used KMK and Mabuchi motors in all their models from 1959 through 1962, when they concluded an exclusive motor supply in full partnership with Igarashi. After this Strombecker used the Igarashi motor shown in this kit in various plastic and aluminum chassis until the 1966 year:



When Igarashi issued their can motors in 1966, their manufacturing quality compared to that of Mabuchi's was quite superior, but it had several engineering flaws that reduced its appeal to customers, besides having a higher retail price.
The armature stacks were made of better silicone steel material with thinner laminations, and had a better quality commutator than that of its Japanese competitor. Its magnets were also quite superior to that of the Mabuchi motors. Its endbell was made of a more brittle but much more heat resistant material than that of the Mabuchi.
Unfortunately the cylindrical brushes wore more rapidly than that of the Mabuchi motors, and the sintered bronze-powder can bushing, at least on the smaller motors, was retained by a riveting process that broke the material and caused many failures, the bushing simply and often falling off the can. However, Mura and at least one other rewinder used many "Hemi" motors as basis for rewinds, often mixing Mabuchi and Igarashi components.

STROMBECKER

TC32: sized like a Mabuchi FT16D. Pinion on the can side. Introduced in 1966 for the new 1/32 scale Strombecker kits using the 2-piece brass chassis. Chrome plated can, green wire on armature, royal blue endbell marked "Strombecker". The endbell is retained by four tabs stamped in the one-piece drawn can, folded in cavities molded on the Bakelite endbell. 1967 "Hemi 300" versions have red endbells and hotter armature specification with larger orange wire and were never sold in the 1966-only boxed kits, only in bagged kits or semi-RTR models. Motor discontinued by late 1967 but still sold until the end of 1968 from existing inventories.



TC24: sized like a Mabuchi FT36D. Pinion on the can side. Introduced in 1966 for the new 1/24 scale Strombecker kits using the 2-piece black-anodized aluminum chassis. Chrome plated can, orange wire on armature, royal blue endbell marked "Strombecker". The endbell is retained by four tabs stamped in the one-piece drawn can, folded in cavities molded on the Bakelite endbell. 1967 "Hemi 400" versions have red endbells and hotter armature specification with larger orange wire and were never sold in the 1966-only boxed kits, only in bagged kits or semi-RTR models. Towards the end, other endbell colors were produced: light orange, light blue, white, purple... Motor discontinued by late 1967 but still sold until the end of 1968 from existing inventories.



Motor kit: Strombecker sold the Hemi 300 with red endbell as a kit, with a blank armature and rewinding wire, sold in a plastic tube with a cap.



AT-300: This 16D-size motor used a modified TC24 can with more endbell-side clearance so as to fit a system of brushes with adjustable timing. A new red endbell had an inner black Bakelite drum supporting the cylindrical brush holders. The endbell was affixed to the chrome plated can by folding tabs.





AT-400: This was the larger version of the AT-300.






Strombecker, partner with Igarashi, allowed the sale of similar motors to Pactra and Russkit.

PACTRA

Hemi X-88: In 1966, Pactra issued a series of kits and RTR models , followed by a much smaller second generation in 1967 and an even smaller third series early 1968. These models were all, at the exception of one car, powered by Igarashi motors. The Hemi X88 was a slightly hotter version of the Strombecker TC32, using a red endbell and larger orange wire in the same chrome plated can. It was sold at first separately in an orange box with two motor-mounting plates, then found in some late-edition 1967 kits and RTR models so as to use existing stocks. Other X-88 motors exist with black or light blue endbells.

Hemi X-88: This is the same motor as used in the 1967 Strombecker 1/32 scale RTR cars, and also used in many Pactra kits and RTR models also issued in 1967:





Hemi X-98: This was Pactra's version of the Strombecker Hemi 400 with red endbell. It was only sold separately in an orange box with two motor-mounting plates.





Super Hemi X-88 MK2: This was a 16D-size motor with epoxied green wire and a new can that retains the orange colored endbell no longer with tabs but with a small 2mm metric machine screw on top and bottom of the can. The pinion is on the can side. Many Pactra kits and RTRs as well as a few Russkit export models, utilized this very pretty motor also sold separately in the same orange box fitted with an additional gold sticker.









Here is a rather rare one with purple endbell:



Super Hemi X-88 MK2 motor kit: Offered in a clear plastic rectangular box, this kit had everything to build a complete motor. Chrome can and orange endbell identical to that of the standard MK2.







Hemi X-99: This ultra-rare motor used an improved armature with twin shafts fitted in a modified chrome plated can with 5 venting slots and the same retaining screws as seen on the X-88 MK2, but now fitted on the sides of the can, allowing the motor to sit lower in the chassis. It is almost certain that seen the very small number of them around, they were on the market in some form for a very short time. Some of these motors were used by Mura as a base for their rewind jobs. They are equally as scarce.





Hemi X78 "Black Streak": This was a rewound version of the Hemi X-98 now with a black endbell and what appears to be a Mura rewound armature featuring a larger commutator reminiscent but not identical to that used by Champion on their rewound "700" series motors. It was dynamically balanced and "electronically tested".

Hemi X98 "Rewind": This was a rewound version of the Hemi X-98 now with a red endbell and what appears to be a Mura rewound armature. It was dynamically balanced and "electronically tested".



Pactra also used a Mabuchi FT16DBB in their Meyers Manx Dune Buggy model, but we have so far only seen ONE example of this hyper-rare car. Pactra also had a motor produced in Hong Kong called the "Eliminator", but it does not appear to be made by Igarashi, so I have not included it here. It looks almost like an early Parma 16D from the early 1980s, and was issued in 1968.

Pactra's little mysteries
Pactra had several products in their line that appear to have never been issues. Besides a sidewinder chassis illustrated by a line drawing on all the back their RTR boxes, they also had the following motors described on the back of their larger motor boxes:

Tornado X-66 with 10T pinion
Tornado X-76 with 16T pinion

These two motors (one assumes that there was a smaller and larger one) are described as having "3-pole arm, epoxied stack, oilite bushings, ring type ceramic magnet, cylindrical brushes with single screw removal". The "ring-type magnet" sounds like these would have been cylindrical-shaped motors, maybe from Wilson's motor line? The mystery today is simply that, a mystery.

RUSSKIT
Russkit "28": This twin-shaft motor was identical to the Hemi X-99 at the exception of its finish, the can being zinc plated in a dark gold, almost green finish. It had a black endbell and two machine screws to retain its endbell.



Russkit only issued a few RTR with these motors in 1968, all in the 1/32 scale. Parma took over the production of these models in 1970 and sold 3 cars using this motor until stocks were exhausted.

TESTOR
Testor Turbo MK1: This Igarashi motor had a zinc-alloy (Zamak) die-cast endbell, and Pittman-style brushes. The chrome plated can with intricate detailing around the screw holes retains the endbell with two machine screws. Testor used it in their late-production RTR models, the most famous using this motor being their glorious Ferrari 330P4 Spyder model, one of the prettiest slot cars ever produced, as well as the second (and rather scarce) version of the Harrison Indy car.





OTHER BRANDS
"Blown Hemi MK3": This motor marketed by a company called "Thunderbolt" was a rewound Hemi X-88 with red endbell, on which the armature was epoxied but neither polished nor balanced. Aluminum blade-style heat sinks were fitted on each brush holder, covered with a sticker with the name of the motor:









Igarashi made many other motors for Strombecker, but we are here only talking "Hemi" and derivatives, so this should be it.

And... that's all folks. Unless someone can show me another version not already included in the above, at which point I would really appreciate the help.

[Kim Lander]

Darn good article Dokk....thanks for all you do...this was real nice reading.....Kim

[Horsepower]

More and more variations of what I thought was originally 2 motors (300 & 400 size). Truly amazing!

[skeeterbuck]

Thanks Dokk! Very informative as always.

I appears that the Testor version was an improvement over the original design. With the diecast endbell and Pittmann style brushes that would solve the brush issues of the original design. (Heat disapatation, brush wear, and current flow through the brushes)

Chuck

[Steve Deiters]

I was always curious as to the wire size and wind count on these motors. Any ideas?

I seem to remember that the quality of the magnets were a step up from the norm at the time, but the round brushes with the coil springs were a big negative as was the use of #2 pan head screws on the flat sides of the can to hold the motor/end bell together with the inherent clearence/shorting problems with the track they brought to the equation.

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

I haven't seen most of them.

The Stock 16d mabuchi in 65 was 140 turns of 34 wire which is still a standard wind in things like some of the "homeset" parmas.

By comparison:
The TC32s were 100t of 32 wire.
The X88 was the classic 65/30

After the X88 I didn't buy any hemi variant having given up on the brush system and was winding much hotter arms anyway.

Fate

[TSR]

I seem to remember that the quality of the magnets were a step up from the norm at the time, but... the use of #2 pan head screws on the flat sides of the can to hold the motor/end bell together with the inherent clearence/shorting problems with the track they brought to the equation.

Yep... but that was not too much of a problem because one could chamfer the can and use a 2mm flat-head screw. Many of the period rewinds had the same issue anyway, the Champion motors as well as Mura being good examples.

The last successful use of the Igarashi Hemi motors in pro-racing appears to have been in the Rod & Custom series in 1967. I think the brushes did it. The trick was to use the brush holders and brushes of the hemi 400 inside the Hemi 300 endbell... but few figure it out.

[havlicek]

As always Philippe, an excellent and informative overview of the subject. Once again I prove to myself that I must have been simultaneously sleeping AND enjoying slot cars in the 60's because most of this is news to me. Of course whether the motors were successfull or not is irrelevant now, because they are all interesting from a historical perspective. On the negative side, not just the brush system is a bummer, but also the exceedingly thin and weak can material. On the plus side, the endbell material (some sort of bak-o-lite or similar???) is a huge step up from the candle wax that Mabuchi used. That endbell material with squared 36D size brushes and holders would have made a great system. Too bad nobody put two plus two together back then. Thanks for the info!

-john

[TSR]

John,
The Hemi cans are very strong. Try filing one... their only weakness was their bushing, and that's rather easy to fix. At least the Bakelite endbell DID fit tightly inside the can. The Mabuchi endbell FLOATS in the much weaker (and thinner) Mabuchi can... until you place two pieces of brass as spacers on top and bottom.
AND, I never had problems with the brushes once I exchanged the "300" for the "400". I also used stronger brush springs made from BIC ballpoint springs, and my rewound arms with 27AWG Mura wire were pretty fast and reliable...

[MrWeiler]

As always Philippe, an excellent and informative overview of the subject. Once again I prove to myself that I must have been simultaneously sleeping AND enjoying slot cars in the 60's because most of this is news to me. Of course whether the motors were successfull or not is irrelevant now, because they are all interesting from a historical perspective.

-john

John if you were asleep, I was in a coma. While I used some of the 16D size, I was not even aware of the 36D sized Hemis....

[68Caddy]

Philippe thanks for that article very interesting for me, of course I will never own one of this motors or have a reason to have one.



Nesta

[TSR]

Of course there is. They make nice pendants at the end of a chain around your neck.

[Duffy]

Of course there is. They make nice pendants at the end of a chain around your neck.

O snob! Just for that, one's going under a Vanwall!

[TSR]

Good point and they are still quite inexpensive...

[Prof. Fate]

Hi

P as I am sure you know, a lot of the other japanese motors for trains used round brushes. And I found some in a dedicated train store with the larger holders were HARD and would survive a race.

Before the ball point pen spring, I used multiple stock springs woven together. But, ultimately, it was a failure. I was using the larger 36d carriers on black endbells which I think were tradships then and that was clearly the better idea.

As for the shimming the endbell. I used steel.

It was fun back then, no rules just build the best stuff you could think of(and afford).

Fate

[TSR]

Indeed, the Japanese KTM motors (Kemtron) used round brushes too...

As a final touch to that greatly simplified the sometimes complicated story of these really nice motors, I got a few PMs requesting more info on the Thunderbolt rewinds done over Hemi X88 motors, so here are a few pictures:

The motor in its original box:



There were two sheets of stickers as well as two printed cards.



The leaflet is amazing and unique in the field of rewound motors, a 10-PAGE manual with all kinds of tips, advice etc.



I made a mistake when I said the the arms were not balanced, as they were, by grinding an entire side of the stack. Whooo.



Another "Hemi" that is not: the marriage (probably by REH in the 1980s) of a Hemi can, a Tradeship endbell and a relatively modern Mura arm:





If you see one of these, be careful as they are not "real".

Last but not least, the truly rare Mura rewind over the X99 can, shows a silver wound arm similar to that used in other Mura motors such as the Magnum 44 and 88 models. Not sure what magnets were used. I have only seen two of these over the years and have been trying to buy this one from the guy who has it for the museum, but he is greedy!





And of course there are all the OTHER Mura rewinds over Hemi motors, you will have to wait for the new book to read the complete story in detail...

[68Caddy]

You are a teas Philippe, publish it soon before I'm on the other side, I would like to have it signed by you.


Nesta

[skeeterbuck]

Notice that in the pics of the blown Hemi in the box, one of the can tabs is not bent over.
I would think that with the test run at the factory at 60,000 RPM that you would want all the tabs secured to keep the motor from flying apart.

Chuck

[TSR]

That is probably because the guy who bought the motor opened it to look inside...

[Bruce Neasmith]

Message to PDL ,
Thanks for an entertaining mini featurette from your forthcoming book !
With respect to the issuing of the Pactra x-88 , I can positively tell you that in Australia in
1967 when we received the first wave of Pactra slot cars , the endbells of the motors were
the very familiar 'red' colour that most are familiar with . However the companion slot car
kits issued by the brand 'Competition' were always issued with a similar motor but with the
black colour endbell.
Later with the second wave of Pactra cars , some still retained the red
endbell , but were very quickley followed by the switch to an orange coloured endbell .
My memory is that the 'Competition' slot car parts that we got here retained the black end
bell . I remember seeing a mint on card 'Competition ' revised card and updated chassis
kit that included a black endbell motor . I do think however that some 'Competition' product
would have been issued with other colour endbells .
One of the big slot car commercial track centres here in Sydney was an
establishment called "American Raceways" . It was run by a man called Jack Grenenger .
His claim to fame was that he was the local 'Russkit' distributer (wholesaler) and ran the
Russkit race team here in Australia . He also retailed and wholesaled Pactra and Competition.
He and his sons offered for sale Hemi's and Mabuchi 16D rewinds . The HOT motors were
called "Green Stingers" and were recognizable by their translucent green paint that was
applied over the chrome of the cans . The armatures of the motors were rewound and
epoxied and balanced . From what I can see of the examples that I've got , they had
stronger springs installed but did not alter the brushes at all or put spring post covers
on the Mabuchi motors . The endbells of the Mabuchi variants were white and the end
bells

of the Hemi's were orange or black . I cleaned up Jack's leftover parts residual a while back.
When you make reference to the 'round' motor style ( cylindrical magnets)
that were going to be used by Pactra , it was not 'Wilsons' that they were talking to but the
good old 'OK Kader' Company ( or whoever it was that made their motors). The motors in
this company's small slot car range (1/32 & 1/24) were quite strong and were candidates
for use by Pactra but in the end it didn't happen to my knowledge .
. Bruce Neasmith
. Sydney AUSTRALIA

[TSR]

Hi Bruce,
Thanks for the info!

With respect to the issuing of the Pactra x-88 , I can positively tell you that in Australia in
1967 when we received the first wave of Pactra slot cars , the endbells of the motors were
the very familiar 'red' colour that most are familiar with . However the companion slot car
kits issued by the brand 'Competition' were always issued with a similar motor but with the
black colour endbell.

Same as in the USA, except that in addition to the 1966 kits (no RTR yet) issued with the black endbell, other were issued with the same Hemi X88 motors (all with orange wire) but fitted with blue or red endbells. All these kits were issued in 1966.

Then in 1967, the new kits and the new RTR models (no RTR in 1966) received a new motor, the X88 Mark II, that had an upgraded armature with a single balancing hole and green wire, a modified can with holes for two retaining machine screws and an orange endbell. Some of the new RTR received a new chassis with brass tubing running side by side instead of top/bottom. All had the same front end and motor bracket as the 1966 versions.

In early 1968, there were only 3 new models, a Lotus 40, a Ford MK4 and a BRP-Ford Indy car, sold only as RTRs. These had a new ISO-fulcrum chassis using the X88 Mark II as a stressed component, an aluminum drop arm bolted straight onto the orange endbell, the new motor bracket hinged around the axle bearings. The Ford MK4 and the BRP are especially scarce, the Lotus comes up more often. All are painted in burnt orange metallic paint.

Now for the Competition kits and RTRs: NONE were fitted with the Hemi motor, ALL were fitted with the Mabuchi FT16D painted in a dark metallic silver and with white endbell. Towards the end of Pactra slot car days, a mix of parts and mix of kit boxes happened: the original Competition kit boxes were deleted (maybe they simply ran out of them and decided not to make anymore), and all the kits were now sold as "Pactra" despite that the inner tray was that of the Competition model, with the Mabuchi motor. The box top was Pactra's, but no longer received a red sticker naming the car on its end. Instead, a cheap white stick-on label named the car, and no stock number was shown.

To complicate matters, RTR cars were issued with a mix of parts: Pactra ISO chassis and X88 Mark II motor, but fitted with Competition wheels and tires...
I was able to sort this out for good on the new book, but some of the announced cars may never have been issued, but again, who knows? It took me 15 years to find ONE genuine Ford MK4, and while the LASCM is lucky to have won on E-Pay the only boxed BRP I have ever seen, even a loose beater is hard to find.
And I have not seen another MK4 since...

[TSR]

Another element to kill old women tales, and how to separate HIT from Igarashi once and for all:

HIT mostly produced a rather cheap copy of the Mabuchi FT16, but featuring a can with 3 slots and a somewhat different brush-holder arrangement. This motor was used in quite a few kits and RTRs, from the Marusan HIT series, Atlas Lotus 30, Alfa Canguro and Lynx after they told Mabuchi to go screw themselves (actually they were not that polite), BMW Models in the UK, RIKO in the UK and some Japanese kit makers.

The confusion between HIT (that appears to be an entity connected to the Marusan company) and Igarashi goes way back, to the late 1960s when an article was published in a British magazine, there the then-new Russkit 27 motor was attributed to Hitachi as well as other "Hemi" motors. I got myself caught into this for a long time until I discovered an article in a financial newspaper, describing the connection between Strombecker and Igarashi, and their ensuing business. Also, the mysterious Pi or P1 Japanese Lola T70 and Ferrari 330P3 models fitted with the large Hemi motors were called "HIT" or "Hitachi" by many collectors, and before Iknew any better, I accepted this. Then, a reader of a forum on which I was discussing this woke me up and make me question the whole thing, and I thank him for that. I then researched the matter and found that Igarashi was not Hitachi, that the whole sequence of Strombecker motors since 1962 and the new frame motor they used was made by Igarashi, and then the whole series of can motors in their cars, then those of Pactra, then of Russkit.
Not only did Russkit purchased the Russkit 27 motors from the Strombecker/Igarashi group, but they also used some of the Pactra Super Hemi X88 in RTR versions of the Honda F1 for export. I did not believe at first that they were 'factory", but more of them came in and I had to accept the evidence as it stood, since we obtained several mint and boxed models.

A quick demonstration, look at these two, mint and boxed "export" Hondas:



Note that one used decals form the large Russkit decal sheet with "shadowed" numbers, while the other is using lower-quality decals produced by Russkit in 1968 after they had run out of earlier and nicer ones. You will find the same decals in the strange K&B and Russkit "bagged" kits with a beige tag that were sold in department stores in 1970, the most common being the white K&B Cooper-Climax 1.5-liter RTR model.

Now look at the bottom of both. This one has a Russkit 28 (Johnson motor from Hong Kong, similar but not identical to the HIT motor):



Please note that this model has different front tires, looking like Dynamic's. It is not known if this is original or not, but it probably is as the car was found new, unused in its original box, not a trace of it ever being on a track.

This one has the Super Hemi X88 (Igarashi):



And look at the motor in both these export versions in the two known colors:



Got the picture? Took me a while to put all this together, and to concoct the scenarios in which this would have happened. But a quick discussion with Jim Russell sorted things out for me. Please note that ALL the Igarashi Hemi motors (either Strombecker, Pactra, Russkit etc.) with the notable exception of the Testor Turbo MK1 have the Igarashi logo (an I inside a G) molded on their endbell. End of discussion right there...
One last pic to make you smile:

[edscars]

Here's a carded version of the Strombecker Hemi 300 motor from 1966, to go along with the kit version shown above.

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[TSR]

I love it when a reply to a post takes only 13 years...
 

[edscars]

haha, better late than never as they say