Sunday, September 30, 2007

Spirit Porsche 936-review

Think back for a minute to the days before high torque long can motors, the days before the Slot It's and NSR's were the hot ticket for racers...back when the Fly Classics were the cars to have (yes I know it wasn't really that long ago but you get my point). The Spirit 936 is more throw back slot car than another contender in the arms race.

There's no pod, no high torque motor but there are a few details that are desirable in a modestly fast slot car. First let's start with the finish and body molding.

The car does have generally correct lines for this version of the Porsche 936 as raced by Jackie Ickx in LeMans in 1976. The body made be just a bit too square but that's really being a bit overly picky, it's close, certainly close enough for most slotters. Where the Spirit 936 does feel a bit lacking is the printing on the car.

The colors are very nice and when you compare the slot car to the color photos available the Spirit car certainly does fall into the solidly "good" range. The red's, blue's and the white used for the body are nice. The detail printing is uneven. Several places on the body the printing fails to get into the mold lines, so at a body seam there may be a gap in printing. This may be just my car since many of the photos I've seen of other Spirit 936's, the Martini livery seems to be well represented. But there are lines printed on the front fenders are supposed to represent the vents, that printing is done poorly.

A number of comments have been made about the masking around the headlights. If you look over all the photos in the gallery at the Jacky Ickx fan site you'll see a number of photos that appear to be later in the race (LeMans '76) where the headlights clearly have tape around them. The slot car is a model of the late race car, with the tape around the headlights. I haven't asked Spirit about this but it's clear from the photos that this is the case.

Inside the car we see the driver is perched on the seat and thankfully Spirit hasn't tried to over do the detail inside the car. There's nothing more useless than details that drive up cost that can't be seen without taking a slot car apart.

The front axle has adjustment screws above the axle as we as underneath it. But to adjust the screws under the axle you must remove the axle (you can't get to the screws from the bottom of the chassis). Removing the axle is not a tough thing to do since the wheels are only plastic press-on's but still it's a bit odd to have to pull a wheel to do this adjustment. The screws do really allow you to set the axle just where it's needed, and the screw ends provide a nice smooth surface that the axle can ride on. The front wheels however on my car are pretty out of round and wobbled more than I'd like, especially in a car lacking a magnet. My car came without a magnet, I'm sure this is a mistake since other reviews have mentioned having one.

The brushes on my car were horribly out of shape, they looked as though they'd been used for quite some time. I examined the plastic spur gear and tried to adjust the set screw in it. But the screw just spun in the hole, it just doesn't tighten.

But the surprise came when I looked at the motor. The soldering of the wires that come from the guide to the motor was rough. But I figured that maybe everything was ok inside so I put the car on my track and tried to do a lap...nothing. The car wouldn't move. Technical Editor Robert Livingston tore the little motor apart and we found that one brush arm was broken inside the housing of the motor. The remnant of the brush arm had been mounted in the brush holder but didn't reach the commutator. So the motor never would have worked. The wire was soldered on the short broken end of the brush arm and during the soldering job was irregular and the top of the plastic end bell were melted. So the only way to get this car to work is to replace the motor with another end bell drive motor from another company since this motor isn't yet available as a separate part from Spirit.

We replaced the brushes (with the brushes from another brand of motor) and did a lot of tire truing on the rear tires. Laps are around 5.8 fastest on the ENYR 62-foot wood track. Which is not very fast, but about average for a box stock Fly Classic. The motor has average brakes and feels like a standard Fly motor. I really was expecting the motor to be overpowered. I was pleasantly surprised to drive it and find out it felt like most every Fly Classic I've ever driven. So it's got sort of an old school feel to it.

The Spirit 936 is a car that does have some flaws, certainly in my test there are problems. But anyone that's lovingly brought a Fly Classic car from a troubled out-of-the-box car to a solid racer will find the Spirit Porsche 936 to be a pleasantly uncomplicated car to work on and fun to drive.

Thanks to Cal Kimrey at Kimrey Enterprises for the car to review!

Dave Kennedy
Publisher, Slot Car News


Audi S8


Audi S8, originally uploaded by TheMaetty.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray

Avenger GT 1972


Avenger GT 1972, originally uploaded by tim72.

SXOC


SXOC, originally uploaded by Bolfotography.

Taken with a 400d whilst stood on top of a transit van on a windy hill in Edenfield.Post photoshop.

Nurburgring in a VAN!!!!

Those wacky guys at Top Gear are having a bit too much fun here, but it's a good Sunday morning type of thing to watch. So sit back and let Sabine take you around Nurburgring in a 10 minute lap!

chevy chevrolet galery

general motor gallery


gmphotostore.com

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Slot Car News Classified section


In the market for a good low mileage slot car? Have a good low mileage to sell? Slot Car News has set up a classified section at this link.

Spirit 936 review on the way

I'm working on a review of the Spirit Porsche 936 that should be done in the next day or so... until then why not join the discussion about this car on Slot Car Illustrated.

DK

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S

Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S
Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S, originally uploaded by jarapet.

Nissan Mixim

Nissan Mixim
Nissan Mixim, originally uploaded by jarapet.

New features on SCNews

Hello Slotters! I've added a Google Newsbar under the Motorsports feed. Why another newsbar? Well the motorsports feed has been a popular feature here so I figured I'd add another newsbar... what the heck.

The Google search box near the top of the sidebar has been fine tuned for slot car searching.

I'm always looking for new features to add here at Slot Car News, if you have an idea for a new feature let me know. What would you like to see added?

DaveK
Publisher, Slot Car News

Marc Bunting / Dominic Cicero II Stevenson Motorsports Corvette

Shot by \"The Daredevil\" himself at the 2007 VIR Grand Am event

Dodge Viper

Dodge Viper
Dodge Viper, originally uploaded by TheMaetty.

Corvette

Corvette
Corvette, originally uploaded by RicKarr.

Chevrolet Concept Car

The Chevrolet WTCC Ultra has got what it takes to be a star. Not just because its rear spoiler shoots so brashly up towards the heavens. The bold and aggressive design of the sports car study takes the Chevrolet body language to the extreme. "We wanted to explore the concept of a Chevrolet muscle car reinvented for Europe," says David Lyon, Executive Director GM Asia-Pacific Design.
The Chevrolet WTCC Ultra concept car is equipped with a powerful 1,991 cm3 diesel unit generating 139 kW/190 hp. The basic version of the four-cylinder engine is the common rail unit with four-valve technology and variable turbine blade geometry currently powering the Chevrolet Captiva and due to go into the Epica from spring 2007.For Ewan Kingsbury, the Lead Designer of the WTCC Ultra, "aggressive", "muscular" and "dramatic" are the words that first spring to mind when he is asked to describe the design of the new project. "As the chosen theme of the car was a concept racecar, this immediately gave me license to push the passion and aggression of the styling to the extreme".

Friday, September 28, 2007

Carrera Mustang-Fire Chief "livery"

It's 3am at the Bay Street Chief is sitting in the parking lot at Red's Java House when the call comes in..."Station Five...125 Mission Street...structure fire" the Chief jumps into his car and tears out of the lot, lights and the 5 litre Ford motor screaming...
Coming or going you can see him coming from a mile away, the bright, fire red 'Stang is always the first on the scene....

Carrera is really getting the most from the 2005 Mustang's they've made. The Grand Am car and CHiP's car was only the beginning. The latest release, the Fire Chief's Mustang, is another car that at first glance might not be an immediate "must have" but, just like the California Highway Patrol car, is one that every kid will be begging for.
Around the Carrera track, the car did a respectable 2.8 seconds. The 94 gram car has a pair of red lights on top that flash very brightly as soon as the car begins to roll. The headlights and tail lights are very bright, as are the red lights on top.
The printing on the car is very good. The paint is solid and free of blemishes. The car lacks an interior and has solid black glass just as the CHP does. Both the Fire Chief car and the CHP car both feel more stable than the Grand Am car and have a less top heavy feel in the corners.
It will be interesting to see what Carrera decides to do next with this body. Another Cop car? Maybe a current Grand Am racer?

Driving this way... need a good car insurance

Clio S1600

Clio S1600
Clio S1600, originally uploaded by sebgutkopf.

wallpaper race of champions

The Long and Winding Road !

The Long and Winding Road !
The Long and Winding Road !, originally uploaded by redvette.

car effect

car effect
car, originally uploaded by Jen133.

sports illustrated founder

Thursday, September 27, 2007

SCX's latest releases

Photos from SCX to show today.
A VW Toureg
The Audi R10 (I'm hoping this fits the Pro chassis!)
The new F1 digital set complete with these 3 cars.


CLK

CLK
CLK, originally uploaded by hanneskessler.

Hot Rods in Photoshop

Hot Rods in Photoshop
Hot Rods in Photoshop, originally uploaded by Jen133.

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