48 replies to this topic

[Bill from NH]

Call the museum! Edo might be a candidate, too.

[TSR]

Bring one new in its original box and we can talk...

Bertil,

If you look very closely in the pictures of the article, the "two" motors, (the one in the car and the one in the box) appear to be one and the same. Hence my questioning of that it could have been a replaced endbell. Barney's motor almost certainly proves that my guess was wrong.

[Bill from NH]

Barney,

Forget the big bucks! Maybe you could get yours autographed?

[TSR]

Barn,

Send it to Mr. G. French, Top Floor Suite, C/O Apple, San Jose, CA, with a prepaid return envelope?

[Hworth08]

I never believe anything until I see it, then see it confirmed. So it did not "stump" me, it TAUGHT me... indeed I had never seen a French motor that had a black endbell before, and

It's no easy task to put a month and year date on these old pieces! They don't arrive with a "born on" date!

To some of the people that actually raced these products in the '60s it's pleasing to learn new facts about the equipment we used.

Philippe is approaching two decades of searching for the history of these items. Without his efforts much would have been lost.

[TSR]

Don,

Thanks to gentlemen enthusiasts such as Bertil and others like him, they greatly help me through their own searches to put all the pieces together.

[redbackspyder]

Don,

I am just giving Dokk a hard time. I cannot wait to read his book with all the research that he has done. It is not often that he gets stumped, and as we all know, he was not here when these things actually were in the US market.

[Gus Kelley]

Hey Mill!

Sometimes it is hard to tell that Phillipe's chain is being yanked. Having not being in that inner circle but aware of past controversies makes for a tensive read on my part.

I will state that regardless of all that, I very much appreciate Phillipe's knowledge and his sharing with us all. Philippe! you are cherished from my part.

Gus in Sacto

[ravajack]

Bertil,
If you look very closely in the pictures of the article, the "two" motors, (the one in the car and the one in the box) appear to be one and the same. Hence my questioning of that it could have been a replaced endbell. Barney's motor almost certainly proves that my guess was wrong.

Philippe: OK, maybe I was a bit unclear on my part too, as the reference to the two (2) French Motors in Mr. Glimnes possession was in the text page accompanying the picture page in this old AoH mag. I thought it would be a bit overkill to also publish this text page here, as I guess nobody around here (except perhaps Tore and Nesta, and maybe yourself, with some help from your Norwegian wife), would be able to interpret the wonderful language of the Old Vikings...

But for the record and completeness:

Here is the missing text page from AoH, with emphasis on the relevant piece of the article highlighted at the end:



Rough translation of the above here:

”The other week I got a phone call from a person with interesting news, resulting in that the same person sent me two motors and an introductory letter. I hereby deeply regrets that I've lost the introductory letter so that I can't contact him again. I hope he reads this and accepts my apologies.

The motors were from the American hop-up company French Motor Co, San Bruno, California, and from the outside resembles a white-painted SP 500. But inside there were some different kind of music: The arm is rewound and covered with a thick layer of lacquer, and is then also balanced. Each motor is treated individually. We tried it in a Dynamic chassis, but it fits equally well in Cox, Revell, Monogram, etc. Gear ratio was 3.5:1. Lordy, what a speed there was in that motor! You press the controller plunger, and the car respond distinct and instantly. Whatever the price for this motor will be, it will definitely be worth it.

I hope that the importer of this motor will make himself known by an ad in the Allt om Hobby magazine: This motor is far too good to not be available in the Swedish market.

PS: Russkit is now available at Truedssons. We'll be back.”

[MG Brown]

FYI - Gordon French is mentioned in the first chapter of Walter Isaacson's biography of the late Steve Jobs which was released today.

[TSR]

Indeed Isaacson was all over the TV stations this week...

Bertil,

Thanks for the translation! My wife is of Norwegian descent but such a long time ago and in fact has more parentage to... Thomas Jefferson!
So her Norwegian comes short of being able to translate anything in that language!

Thanks a lot for all this info from those wonderful days when slot car racing was the #1 hobby in America, and a phenomenon abroad.

[S.O. Watt]

Interesting tidbits from the past.

If my feeble memory hasn't failed me yet again, I believe I can add a little of Dan Glimne's Great American Adventure of 1970 that was mentioned earlier in this thread. I'm pretty sure he was the gentleman that rode down to SoCal from the Seattle NCC race with Bruce and Jim Erickson and I. A nice quick ride in a Black '70 Mercury Cyclone 428 Cobra Jet.

Dan stayed down in OC at my house and proceeded to get me hooked on Tic Tac Toe, in 3 dimensions, 4 layers and 4x4. He then headed up to LA and raced with the big boys for awhile. I lost track of him after that, until Tore gave me a picture 15 years later that Dan had taken of me and my old VW. So Dan, if you read this and it was you--- Thanks for the picture!

[zipper]

Here's a pic of Dan, late 60´s, from his book:

[TSR]

Pekka, thanks!
This would have likely been taken in 1968 or 1969, because of the Lancer Ferrari P4 on his car and the Champion controller...
Bits date pictures.

[S.O. Watt]

Yup! that's the guy I remember..

And here is a pix documenting Dan's attendence at the Seattle NCC, he's in the right column. (this track was a monster!)

Attached Images

• 

[zipper]

The book (Hur man kör miniracing "how to drive miniracing") is printed in 1968, Stockholm, Sweden.

[Steve Deiters]

Yup! that's the guy I remember..

And here is a pix documenting Dan's attendence at the Seattle NCC, he's in the right column. (this track was a monster!)

Lot of familiar names from yesterday and today as well as heavy hitters from the day on that board...."Fast" Earl Campbell, Mike Kondor, Bruce Erickson, John Stephan, John Quaid...... Wonder what they are doing now?

[NJ Racer]

Here are pics of one of my French FT-16 motors with white endbell, no heat sinks and cup can bushing, The true performance capability of the French arm is diminished by the poor quality of this inferior setup.

My other French FT-16 motor is a can drive having an opening in the cup bushing for the arm to pass through, white endbell and no heat sinks.

Attached Images

• 
• 

[don.siegel]

Found this photo of a French 26D I picked up some years ago...

 

[HarV Wallbanger III]

I found my motor and it's funny I had it in the same 1/32 Dynamic chassis as shown in the pic. The brushes are still there but almost gone.
1 French motor.jpg
1-32 French Dynamic.jpg

 

Yes Don no brush tubes but this motor has never been apart as I can see the tabs have not ever been opened.

Hey maybe it's very rare and worth a ton of $$ and I can purchase that small ranch in Montana we always wanted!

OK guys anybody want this motor we talked about here?

Watch for my Garage Sale as I will sell it if somebody give me a offer.....

Maybe not enough for the ranch in Montana but enough to get a cup of coffee at our ranch in the mountains of Northern Nevada!

[HarV Wallbanger III]

This motor still runs but brushes are VERY small as I stated in this thread. I will take closeups of it and put it on my Garage Sale threads.

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Here are closeup pics of this Rare Black endbell "Unobtainium Series" French motor. Hey were all French motors rewinds?? Could this just be a balanced stock arm? I'll see if I can see the comm area and see what it looks like...

 

[don.siegel]

They were all rewinds Barn, but the early ones would have had pretty mild winds... 

 

Don 

[HarV Wallbanger III]

Yes they would have to be with no brush tubes...