45 replies to this topic

[dc-65x]

I was searching the eBay automotive models and came accross this picture:
 

 
I wonder what in the heck it was so I opened the listing up:
 

 
This was listed under the "Truck" section for $10 with no bids. A few days later it was mine for $13.27... well almost mine. It still had to be shipped to me. The seller didn't make that easy when he only put down a 4 digit zip code. 
 
For over a week I watched the tracking info as the package went back and forth all over Oregon.
 
Here it is on my workbench in its re-purposed shipping container:
 

 

 

 
This 1977 Champion ad says a #127 is a Gp27 motor with a heat sink:
 

 
Here's what came out of the box:
 

 
Looks like the body had a nice factory paint job on it. Too bad the owner decided to paint it flat black on the outside:
 

 
First inspection and the motor looks like it might be a GP15 instead of a GP27, unbalanced with no heat sink:
 

 
We'll see when I tear it apart... if it doesn't fall apart first!
 

 
Wish me luck! 

[Pablo]

I'll bet the seller will want it back after you fix it.

[SlotStox#53]

What a bargain/steal and great find in the wrong section.

[dc-65x]

Yes, I was surprised to find it as I searched for an interesting model kit to make up a new hardbody slot car.

[Samiam]

Rick,
 
Can we call you "The Bandito" ?
 
Nice score.

[dc-65x]

 
I love Mexican food... and beer! But it seems my "Bandito" GP27 marked box contains a "Lawman" GP15 motor.
 

 

 

 
Unbalanced non-tagged arm:
 

 
We have a need to clean:
 

[Jairus]

I have a later (1979) Champion "Desperado" that I restored a while back.

Don't have your cool box though.... Can I have it?
 


If you need a new body, Parma actually sells this one. Yours however I am not sure is actually Champion.  

http://parmapse.shpt...-010-body?pp=15

[Jairus]

Okay Rick, I have blown up and examined the bodies in your advertisement. I believe the body you have is the third from the left.

The first and the fourth are the body I linked to.

As for which motor you want... just have John wind you a new 27 arm.
 
Watching updates with interest.

[dc-65x]

Hi Jairus,
 
Yes, I believe it is the third body form the left in the ad also, especially when you look at the bottom of the body. It's painted in the same paint scheme, white rectangle around the drivers compartment.

I have an idea for a motor, too. 

[Mbloes]

Nice chassis with the straight rails in back but still with a drop arm before they went to the full one-piece.

[dc-65x]

Hi Mike,
 
Your description of the chassis is what drew me to it. I like the built-up rails instead of just a big hunk of sheet metal.
 
I found some heat sinks similar to the ones used on the G27 and G40 cars so I went ahead and restored the endbell using them:
 

 
Everything cleaned up nicely:
 

 
I've got the chassis squeeky clean and ready to go into the jig for repair. Both the front and rear axle tubes are broken loose on one side and all the solder joints have been user repaired... so to speak. 
 

 
I'm guessing this motor brace could be factory since it seems to be an early Champion Arco magnet clip:
 

 
Here's where the motor can paint was removed prior to soldering it in. Maybe it was hit with a belt sander???
 

 
I'll scan more of the 1977 Champion catalog that shows pictures of the parts that went into the car soon...

[dc-65x]

I dug through my armatures and came up with some posibilities. These most likely wouldn't have come with the car from Champion but I'm looking for user replacements that could have been used in the day.

 

None of these arms have been reconditioned yet but here they are:

 

First is an absolutely lovely hand wound arm with what looks like a "C27" tag. Is it really a "G27" tag with the "C gone bad"? Anyone got any ideas?

 

 

Next is an arm marked REHCO S26. The Champion catalog says the Group 40 car had a single 26 wire armature:

 

 

This one is marked VUL (Vulcan?) S26:

 

 

It might be hand wound too:

 

 

Any ideas?

[tonyp]

Isn't a Vulcan a Lee Gilbert armature?

[Bill from NH]

Rick,

That first arm has been balanced by Camen (purple paint on the comm end of the stack). C27 could mean Camen 27.

I thought Vulcan was a name Mura once used on their open class arms. I have a Vulcan 26 that I used to run on relatively short tracks, such as E. Hartford and Hampton Beach.

As I recall, the Vulcans weren't a hand-wound arm.

[tonyp]

OK, guess I was mistaken. Too much eggnog. LOL.

[MSwiss]

Tony,
I also thought there was a Lee Gilbert connection to the Vulcan name.

From OWH:
Bob Green was the backbone of Mura in its later years winding his "Vulcan" custom winds. One contributor and user of arms was Lee Gilbert who gave his feedback of what worked and how to improve things. Lee said the Mura "Vulcan" name came from the Star Trek series as it was popular at the time and since the couldn't think of anything that sounded catchy for a product name "Vulcan" sounded good as any for a name.

[zipper]

I do have one Vulcan #25. It's definitely hand-wound but not as neat as Steube and especially Camen (Pooch) arms.

[Bill from NH]

Tony,

You were right and I was wrong. My excuse for that is I've had a few more years than you to forget.  

The one I own is wound ugly. makes me glad I didn't buy more.

[dc-65x]

Thanks for the input.

 

I found two pages in the 1977 Champion catalog price list of Mura motors and parts including references to Vulcan, Vulcan II, and
"hand wound" Bob Green Vulcan arms... interesting.

 

Here are some pages I scanned from the catalog:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[tonyp]

Carl Ford wound a good armatures. Very competitive on the east coast.

[Bill from NH]

I have a new Carl Ford 25S that I've never had in a setup.

[dc-65x]

I wonder what was used in "Group 40" motors? I know they were S26 arms but were they tagged or just engraved on the lams? Was it any wind with 26 wire or???
 
I've never seen much about Gp40 like I have about the other classes...

[MSwiss]

I never heard about Group 40 at all, until this thread.
 
I had almost zero exposure to slot racing from 1974 to late 1981.

[tonyp]

No idea what Gp40 was. Maybe something Champion made up to sell a car.

[zipper]

Re Group 40:

Champion Group 20 and derivatives/