Scalextrix Lotus 16...(?)

[strummer57]

I think that's what this is; just today got it off eBay, and have spent the last hour or so looking it over and trying to figure it all out. Some photos first:


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You can see here that the tail was packed with putty for weight: I removed all that , as it seemed a messy way of adding ballast. Also, the axles/wheels/tires are obviously off something else. I do like the metal gears...

Here is the motor, ready to go. Reminds me of any one of many train motors I've had over the years. I like this, because it's a style I'm familiar with.

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It strikes me as rather odd to have a car with no screws. I changed out the braids, and it does run: not badly, but is very noisy; is this typical for these older Scalextric models?

Also: it runs in the opposite direction (clockwise) of all my newer cars. I noticed the same thing about my "newer" similar-vintage Aurora Mustang. On that car, it was an easy fix; this one might prove to be a bit of a challenge.

Okay guys, tell me what I need to know about this car! :D

Mark in Oregon

[chappyman66]

Mark,
The putty helps put weight in odd shaped places which sometimes happens on cars.
Changing direction just requires changing the lead wires to the other side of the guide flag.

The noise is partly the metal gears....we used to use toothpaste and 30 min at low RPM to smooth them out. Rubbing compound may be another choice.

The single ferrite magnet at the rear of the motor doesn't generate the RPM of the can motors. But they can run ok, especially if you run them for a few seconds submerged in alcohol and then pull them out so they can dry. No, this does not burn your house down....the chemistry (specifically the air/fuel ratio) is not correct. But it will help clean out the commutator and gunk, so oil it when done and it should be a bit faster.

[chrisguyw]

Hi Mark, The Lotus appears to be in good shape, and other than it has had both front and rear wheels replaced and is missing the rear shocks/springs, it is all there and original.

Where to start.......

1/ Direction of travel,...... you could reverse the lead wires on either the motor or the guide block, or,... much easier,..... you can carefully pry out the rear axle/bushings/crown, and flip the whole assembly over so that the crown is on the other side of the pinion. Someone has previously flipped the axle assembly, as the Crown was originally on the other side of the pinion when it left the factory.
While you have the axle out, slide the bushings back and forth, and remove any bits of hair/lint, and give the crown gear a good scrub with an old (or your :) ) toothbrush and some dish liquid......dry,...a drop of oil on the bushings and re-install.

2/ Motor clean......give the whole motor a good shot of contact cleaner,....run it for a minute or so in its normal rotation, dry, and sparingly oil the front and rear motor bushings.
If you don't have any contact cleaner, you can run the whole motor in a glass of water for a minute or so,....again, run in its normal rotation, dry, and oil. (If you don't have an adjustable power supply a 6/9 volt flashlight battery will do). Check that the slots (3) on the commutator are not filled with junk, and if they are you can clean out the slots (carefully) with a round toothpick......tooth cleaning products are very useful in the slotcar world ;)

Noisy while running........The major cause of noise in this series of Scaley cars, is not the gears, but the fact that the motor is clipped into the chassis on either side of the motor, and, only at the front ......this allows the back of the motor to bounce up and down in the chassis, constantly altering gear mesh, and banging on the bottom chassis plate.
Securing the motor at the back will help a ton.......a drop of Shoe Goo, or better yet a drop of Lepages 100 flexible glue on the bottom half of the body between the body itself and the brass "ears" at the back of the motor will do the trick.

The rear wheels have been replaced with what looks like some MRRC Cobra wheels/tires, and they are neither the correct style wheel, and, are much too wide for the car. I do have a complete (correct) rear axle assembly for the C54 Lotus 16, and you are welcome to it should you wish. It does not have tires, but, RSSlotracing (google) have repro Ortmann urethane tires patterned after the original C54's. These will not only look better, but will have more grip than what is currently on the car. I will look for an original front axle/wheel assembly, but, I don't think I have one.,....I will also have a look for shocks/springs.

Hope this helps, and if I missed anything, please let me know.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[strummer57]

Thanks guys for the input.

I did give this whole thing a complete cleaning and careful lube. As I mentioned, this type of motor is very familiar to me, so it was relatively easy to work on. Yes, I have many sources of DC power, due to my model railroading interests, so testing this was also a snap. I think I might want to replace the brushes, as they are pretty worn. Where might one find such items?

I added a couple grams of weight to the tail, where the putty was. It handles pretty well.

I think that flipping the rear axle would be the easiest way to address the direction issue, so I will try that later today. And yes Chris, whatever you may have that'll fit this, I would be interested in, thanks! The front axle/wheel/tires look like they might be Revell(?) The axle, though it "fits", is really too thick for this chassis, so those wheels don't actually turn...

I am impressed with the die work on the body; it's very well done. With those fat rear tires it kinda reminds me of some of the late 50s- early 60s Novis that ran at Indianapolis...

Anyway, more fun and games!

Mark in Oregon

[strummer57]

A few more pictures...

Rear wheel...

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Front wheel...Revell?

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Must be a piece missing here...

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More for you experts to comment on... :)

Mark in Oregon

[chrisguyw]

Hi Mark, Your new pics. make it easier to identify the wheels,.........the rears are from a 1/32 Cox Ford GT , and the fronts, well, they could be from a variety of folks.

As far as motor brushes, you could contact... scalextric-car.co.uk. These folks carry a wide range of vintage Scaley parts, and they do have motor brushes for your motor.

I did not brouse their site for your other missing bits, but, they may have springs/shocks, and the missing trim piece from the bottom left. This piece is a crude representation of some of the oil/water lines that ran from front to back in the car. (See attached pic).

Cheers
Chris Walker

This is a small pic. (sorry) I stole from google images.......not all that easy to see, but it is the small chrome trim bit on the lower left side of the body.
Also, this car has the original wheels/tires.

[strummer57]

Thanks Chris for the info and photo; will look into the possibility of getting those parts.

I've think I've taken taken this as far as I can for now.

Before:

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After:

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I repainted the driver's head and scrapped as much of the shoddy white paint off the clothing as I could. I decided to not re-paint the clothes: thought it best to just let that area sort of "blend" into the rest of the car. I can always go back and paint later if I feel like it.

This might be considered blasphemous, but I think I prefer these "incorrect" wheels to the originals, although some slightly narrower ones on the rear might be better. I will do some hunting and see what I can come up with.

In the meantime, thanks for bearing with me on this; I'm sure these types of threads have limited appeal...

Mark in Oregon