69 replies to this topic

[Gator Bob]

Slot porn.

[don.siegel]

Maybe not a joke... what it comes down to is: Russkit 23s are sexy (and the 25 is Jayne Mansfieldesque...), Champions are sexy, and Muras are not... at least the later, more perfected ones...

Also, look at the age of most of us talking here - you're talking about our youth! We started rewinding Mabuchi 16Ds and 26Ds and have stayed faithful to our first loves...

Don

[Champion 507]

In my opinion, Don's 100% correct with his post. However, I think the later Muras were sure made well and perform well and that's what slot car racing's all about! Even though Mura has changed hands over the years, they're kinda like the Pettys and the Wood Bros. in NASCAR. They're the cornerstones of the hobby/sport. Parma is another cornerstone of our hobby. I'm glad they picked up the Champion name but I'm afraid it will kinda fade with time. Hope not.

How do I wish I could retrieve all my melted Mabuchi endbells from the past, strip them down, put new Parma brush hoods on them and make them go again.

[Gator Bob]

Don, you seem offended? Hope you like the awesome Russkit-based French motors posted above.

Padlocks, Globes, Pitts to Puppy Dogs ... I most all.

Falcons... Hawk 7... etc. well... except the one John did above, it's hot.

Though not pure like a Russkit 23... To me even that dressed up virgin Mura is pretty darn sexy too

Raquel Welsh to "Lady" Gaga...

[Jairus]

Well, I love both Mura and Champion motors of all years and make. So there!

This C-can #28 double wind I built for a Lee Gilbert replica.


Not exactly sure where this one went any longer... but it screamed nice when tested on the power pack. I loved that motor like any mother can love a young chick.... *sigh*

This one has yet to go into a project. Built it from an "Orange Picker" motor I picked up off eBay. The original endbell sucked so was replaced with a dyed NOS item with '68 period bulletproofing brush hardware and shunt wires.



This baby has that 'thump-thump' feel when you turn the arm over and purrs like a kitten at idle -screams like a banshee at half throttle. I love this one, too!

The arm is Champion marked, too...



Sorry my stuff is not as clean as Bob's but... it's usually used when I get it and that sticker I didn't really want to remove so I restored the rest of the motor to match (true story).

[Gator Bob]

Jairus, so nice.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

Was the Group 20's endbell 517 white before? I could eat those Lifesaver orange flavored endbells.

The Mura and Champ I posted are two of my prize pieces, my others are not all so clean but keep them under my wing and feather dust them from time to time.

Young chicks...

[Jairus]

No, Bob, the Orange Picker came with an orange endbell with the same brass plate that held the bearing like your open motor. But the mounting holes on those endbells just do not have enough meat to hold the motor securely so I replace them.

The endbell you see is still Champion, but it came out later as an improved version, molded in white which I dye orange or yellow.

[Howmet TX]

I love these cans, too. I just picked up two old Champions on eBay at a reasonable price I thought. Ideal for our 'Tottenham Class' Retro cars. Now I never owned these particular mills when they were new - can anyone help positively identify them? The cans with this hole pattern would have been available in the UK in 1970 or 1971, I think.



Not showroom condition yet, but one day???

As Jairus says, a very satisfying clunk when you turn the arms. One on the left has, I think, home-made elephant ear heat sinks, horrible pin-riveted can, a balanced long-stack arm, and no marks on the magnets. Never been apart, but a mix of screws and bolts holding the endbell hardware in place.

One on the right has white dot mags, short-stack arm, not tied, epoxied, or balanced, but that nice can with the extended lip over the endbell to accommodate proper countersunk machine screws.

They just need fettling and cleaning... I hope.

[havlicek]

Bingo! John, I've seen those and other variations and if Philippe were here we'd have all the detailed info about those. Other than being from "close to the end" for Champion, I can't say anything for sure about them.

Jairus, those are lovely as well and I think it's particularly cool you used a Champion endbell dyed orange for the replacement. I have to guess that very substitution may have been done regularly back then as the "Orange Picker" endbell was an odd arrangement... even more so for an endbell drive motor!

I have to say that I love all the can motors from Mabuchi to Mura. They all have their charm, but Don's remark about the Mabuchis being "special" because they were what we worked on (and worked on... and worked on... and worked on... ) when we were kids does ring true... and perhaps none are more iconic than the Russkit "23". Even on a paperboy's pay, you could grab one off the rack and go to town... absolutely sure that THIS ONE was going to be a world-beater when you got done with it.

Tony's post about winding them until he got one to hold together brought a huge smile to my face. I'm pretty sure that a big part of the Mabuchis' charm was related to the fact that you HAD to work on them.

-john

[Hworth08]

My personal favorite "built by Mabuchi" motors was the 26D and oval hole 16D with ball bearings that appeared in late 1966 and early '67. No matter which color (company) sold the motor, they cost $3.29. Either motor, completely stock, was used in our local 4.5 inch, inline stock cars that was called the 329 class.

This motor likely saved our local track as the rules stayed the same even after the anglewinders arrivied. There was about four racers in this class to every one that raced the faster sports cars that allowed anglewinders with any motor.

The $3.29 motors filled the spot that a FK sized motor does today. They were the Falcons of the mid/late '60s. A mild 65t of 30 wind, decent magnets, and usually, an endbell that didn't melt as long as the motor was left stock.

[havlicek]

I think I know the motors, Don. Aren't those the 16Ds that had the strange magnet clip that was a one-piece "basket" sort of thing formed from flat steel and the magnets had blunt tips?

-john

[Jairus]

John Dilworth, I've been searching for one of those two hole champion "C" can motors for two years now. Even have a search in eBay that notifies me when something Cox or Champion or Dynamic pops up. But so far... missed those two.

The two motors are indeed Champion's C-can items released on the public in 1970 and lasting until 1974. The lower one looks like it has a Mura endbell. Seems that by 1975 Champion shut its doors on producing their own stuff and re-packaged Mura items as Champion after that. So of course Dokk will probably have the final word, but I would suspect that the lower motor is one of those last produced incorporating Mura parts.

To reiterate, I am looking for one of the early 1970 Champion "C" can motors to build up/restore one of these:





If anyone wants to trade.

[Hworth08]

John,

The FT16DBB did have a one peice magnet clip with four arms that held the magnets.

The easiest way to ID the motors are the oval holes.

[havlicek]

Hi Don... thanks for the info! I did remember the oval holes and "thought" those magnets were the ones that came in that motor. From what I remember, they're a bit of a step up from the earlier Mabuchi magnets... not that that's saying much, but overall better performers.

Jairus,

I did have some of those Champ C-cans at one point and am not sure if I have anything left (?). I will check today and if so... it's yours.

-john

[Howmet TX]

Sorry, Jairus! I was just lucky with those two. They fill a hole in my collection... I hope John H. can find you something.

[Jairus]

Oh, I will!

How would life be if everything I wanted or was looking for came to pass?

Boring, since it is the HUNT that's exciting.

[don.siegel]

John,

I do believe you've touched on a subject dear to my heart... here's a quick look at my slot motor porn collection, from frame to can and beyond - but definitely with a preference for the older stuff. And as I think somebody mentioned above, for every later Mura motor there were probably a hundred earlier Mabuchis..

Don

[Jairus]

Holy cow, Don, you have become my next best friend!

[JohnnySlotcar]

Motors, motors everywhere and not a "Cee" can in sight! LOL.

[Prof. Fate]

Hi,

John, I didn't mean to be vague.

What I was saying was sort of mashing up the conditions of the period ('68) and later collector efforts. THEN, a 23 or a 26D was, street price locally, about $2.50. The first three mains would involve "franken-motors" (Russkit 23s with aftermarket magnets, endbells, and rewinds of different sources) or factory hot motors like the 507.

It was a matter of a kid buying one bit at a time for the "frankenmotors" and rarely having the outright cash for a 12 buck motor!

The usual format, however, was qualifying, with eight heats of 5 minutes and possibly moving up to the next heat. Meaning, that we usually assumed a motor was done in one or two races. So, when we became collectors, we have a few survivors that are battered, but the initial cost was an issue.

The box stock three buck motors might stay new in the box by not being sold or used and found obsolete in a few months. The stuff being raced was raced hard because people didn't usually have the money, and would not buy the motor unless it WAS for a race. And therefore did not survive.

In later times, you have people trying to buy motors from a smaller than expected pool. I have found it easier to find new in the box Russkit 22s and 23s, for instance, than ever the early two-hole Muras or Champions.

Fate

[Champion 507]

No wonder all the good motors are gone... Don has 'em all!

[don.siegel]

Well, shucks guys, always liked motors, and started collecting almost 20 years ago, ergo...

Lots of projects to be completed tho, with endless fun in sight!

And I actually do have some C-cans and all the stuff I competed with for about ten years here, plus things I've picked up, but they're in another drawer, along with a strap motor or two, a British peanut, etc.

But nothing quite gets me vibrating quite like a Ram XL500, except maybe when I actually rewind one of my own...

Don

[havlicek]

Geez, Don... I guess you'd qualify as both a pre-... and post-Mabuchi person, maybe even a "slot-slut" (and I say that with the greatest admiration!)

Hi Rocky... gotcha!

-john

[Gator Bob]

Don,

As a motor junkie you are in good company here on Slotblog.

Nice collection.

[endbelldrive]

Don would be referred to as a "Slot Car Ho" out here on the West Coast.

(Don Ho... get it?? Awwwwww nevermind... )