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FLEISCHMANN 1/32 LOTUS

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12K views 30 replies 17 participants last post by  TSRF  
#1 ·
I see one on Bay of E right now for approx $40. It looks very complete and just some wear on roll bar.

Do they run reasonably well? I am looking for a 1/32 30 and have not found a reasonable Strombecker yet.
 
#2 ·
I will give you my personal opinion..

I have about 8 or 9 of these and 40$ is not cheap (i can source you one for a better price)
(depending if you are looking for the rare versions and if it still has the mirror on its window)

I was even lucky enough to get a decal set for these cars..

I think they are one of the smoothest cars ever produced
grip can be a little problem and they are a Little bit heavy in the bum..but they are real quality products..
(specially when you think about the fact there around 30 years old)

It actually has my favorite electric engine
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#3 ·
don't buy, the price is way over the top, especially since we see a drop in prices of slot car related stuff, in general.

I can sell you one easy for 20 euro, and maybe even less if you don't mind a scratch or two. You can look in Ebay.nl and Ebay.de for most hits.

If you have a good one, it runs very smooth, but you do need very round tires, since any irregularity there makes the car bounce in corners very easily, and this will speed up the process of the rear axles bearing-holders to come apart (they dĂł that in time, when raced intensively), then you're in trouble!

Besides it's very hard to find new gear (pinion AND spur gear are unique, I found no other make that produces same types for replacement, you really have to find new-old stock originals, ALL OTHER TIPS/HINTS WELCOME!!!), and the axle diameter is nothing like others, you can not use other brands wheels, because you are held to the Fleischmann's wheels since the spurgear is mounted on the wheel instead of the axle, and the axle and motor shaft diameter is also different from anything else.....

The motors are unique to Fleischmann as well, NO OTHER MOTORS fit without fiddling around with some tools!!

But, in Holland they were the best sold system (commercially), the best tracks and the cars are also all very sturdy, so you won't be surprised I'm still very attached to my Fleischmann collection.

I still race on those tracks at home, as do many clubs, which is also wide enough for 1/24 scale racing and has a deep slot, you know, like club tracks. I can run close to anything on it, let alone exotics like Carrera "Universal" (which name is actually a joke, because there is NOTHING universal to that system, it should be Carrera Unique!! LOL), and the digital system is not adaptable for my track, since there are no lane changers ever made....

Anyway, look further, be patient, and you WILL find cheaper stuff.

DJ
 
#6 ·
I echo the sentiment presented above, I love mine but they are mostly shelf queens due to the component incompatability. I had modified the guide on one to fit my track, (The guides are too fat for any other track) & got things going, only to have the pinion let go before one lap! The pinions are white metal jobs and they become loose over time and spin on the shaft. a little more engineerring and I am sure I can get them going, but I had already burnt a bunch of time on it & I needed to move on to something else!

$40 is about the going rate for a good one in North America, I am sure our euro friends can do better, but then the shipping could kill you. The lotus 40 seems to be the most popular model followed by the Porsche Carrera 6. there is a good web site devoted to this brand & as I understand it you can sill buy replacement track from Flieschmann!
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Although apparently it's VERY expensive. At one time I was going to build my permanent layout out of it, but the dodgy availability of it made me sell off what I had & go with Carrera instead!
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#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have a few of these, The Ferrari I used this year in Turin.

However, although they are really well made, as is mentioned the gears and motors are unique with little to no chance for tuning EXCEPT...

They made two motors, the standard and a 'sport' version. Both are very slow with weak magnets although the 'sport' one has a hotter wind. Here is what I did to make mine competitive...

First I sourced the superbly made Ortmann tyres, these are great copies of the originals and transform the handling with little work. But the main work was inside the motor.

I asked in many places and of many people, how can I tune a Fleischmann motor? The almost unilateral answers was 'you can't'
So I stripped one (Sport) down after talking to 'CBR' and removed the ring magnet, yep it is a solid ring and not two separate magnets.
Then I stripped a Slot.It motor for the magnets (orange can in this case) and lined up these on the armature with a shim of fairly thick paper between each magnet and the armature.
Then a tidy covering of two component Araldite on the outside of the magnets followed by gently easing the whole unit back into the can.
Once dry I removed the armature again and took out the shims.
Put the whole lot back together and you have a car that will almost keep up with a Scalextric F1 car with Ortmann tyres and is a lot more balanced.

There are also a few places that sell spares and cars cheap in Belgium and Holland, even NOS decals are easy to find if you want to renovate.

I will try and find a couple of links I have used in the past.

In the meantime don't strip out the chassis for an Artin one, you will regret it
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#11 ·
QUOTE Then I stripped a Slot.It motor for the magnets (orange can in this case) and lined up these on the armature with a shim of fairly thick paper between each magnet and the armature.

I hope this wasn't the motor you used in Turin this year, where as you surely know, only vintage parts are allowed
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#12 ·
I personally love the Fleischmann cars. However, as I wanted them to be competitive with my Scalextric GT-40s and Ferrari P4s. So, I made some seriously easy modifications.

Fleischmann Alfa Romeo Conversion

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I also did the same to the Porsche 906 they made.

Fleischman Porsche 906 Conversion

Most of the parts were sourced from my spares lot, and the cars are now even more fun! I've even added Ortmann's to them now, and they really run exceptionally well!

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#14 ·
Hi!

A friend of mine did some Fleischmann motor tuning. He opened the motor, removed magnets and armature so that he was left with the metal can. Then he fitted a smaller motor inside the Fleischmann can (might have been ScalexMabuchi??) - and closed the can with original parts. End result being a motor which looks exactly like the original Fleischmann, but with greatly upgraded performance.

Cheers!

Julius

PS, I wouldn´t pay much for the Lotus, those cars are plentyful.
 
#15 ·
I have a couple SCaley sidewinder motors waiting for a new home.

Jaak. At 20 Euros plus 10 Shipping it would be cheaper for me to buy one here for around $40-45. But if you do run across a bargin please PM me. Thanks very much

bill
 
#16 ·
I was at local swap meet yesterday and found this for $30
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It looked to be intact except for missing mirror. I touched up the roll bar. Then a wash and it looks rather nice. Some detailing of the interior would help and maybe new decals and a coat of yellow on the exhausts?

Opening it up I found a major fault. One of the tips of a bearing holder was cracked to point of almost off. I was able to super glue then then reinforce it.

Trimming the guide was a challenge. Geez what do you people use? I tried sanding and it would have taken a full day I think. So I very carefully used dremel with drum disc to thin and shorten it. Added new braids. Oil and lube and away we went. I did find the narrow sections on my Sport track so repaired them with slight twist of a rather larger screwdriver.

The car ran quite well after giving the rear tires a light sanding. Quite a bit of wheel spin otherwise it would have been a real pleasure to drive. Some Ortmans will certainly make it into a nice driveable car.

AND I have a second one coming from Bay of E. In Orange.

I am happy with my purchase.

bill
 
#17 ·
Bill Black3sr and others,

there are special Scalextric track adapter flags especially for Fleischmann slot cars, they are narrower and not so deep, I bought some at www.modelracingworld.nl in Holland, maybe they are willing to send international, just try. I don't know if they are still being sold.

I have some left, can send international by courtesy in an envelope for 5 euro (includes postage and envelope) on my paypal. Send PM for that.

DJ
 
#22 ·
My second one (orange) came yesterday as well as Ortmans. The Orange one is used but other than missing mirror and roll bar rubbing it looks to be brand new.

I installed Ortmanns, trimmed guide and oiled them. I did some painting in cockpit areas. They go rather well. The green one is maybe a tenth or two of a second faster.

I now would like to have some info on decals. I seem to recall on the original car one that there was one one the doors said Jim Clark and also one Powered by Ford with the Ford logo. I am not sure of the placement of this last one. Were they any other significant ones? The number should be 8 on Jim's?

Was an orange paint scheme ever raced?

Thanks

bill

ps I made new mirrors. I used a round plastic push pin. I filed one side flat and hit it with a silver Sharpie. A dab of cement on inside holds it.

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#23 ·
They multipy if left together. Mix green and orange and they begat a blue one. I got it mainly to try putting a Scaley motor in. It went in without any cutting of the chassis. I Super glued the Fleishman pinion. Hot glued the motor. Went so well the others got an upgrade as well. The blue one still has original tires so a little loose. I have added Tarn weight to all three. It made quite a difference. The orange and green ones are shod with grey Ortmans.

These are fun cars and look or so good. Their lap times at 6.8-9 somewhat below most non mag cars at around 6.0 -1 but who cares.

The blue one had a very scuffed up windscreen. A coat of Future/Klear did the trick. Scuffs disappear. I am not happy with my decals so will redo the blue one. I will also do the grilles on rear deck with a Sharpie AFTER I wax again.

In the third pic bottom right - road kill.

Now some pics -
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#25 ·
QUOTE (Black3sr @ 27 Oct 2008, 20:35) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Thanks Pete. Is the difference mainly in the exhaust?

I believe the main difference between the 2 was the 40 was a litle larger to accomodate a more powerful engine. The lotus 30 while pretty was known as being only passable on the track, it apparently needed more power. Thus the 40! I paraphrase someone who at the time said something to the effect the the Lotus 30 had 30 things wrong with it; so when they made the 40 naturally it had 10 more things wrong with it! The 30 was thought of as passable, the 40 was regarded as a death trap!
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#26 ·
These little Fleischmann Lotuses are nice.
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I have one green original but also had some pieces that I didn't know what to do with. There was a green body and orange chassis with broken motor fitting and no motor. I cut away some of the allready broken motor fitting, installed a Slot.it rear axle with angle winder gear and hot glued a Slot.it 21.5k motor in angle winder position. Mounted NSR rear rims and some sort of Slot.it tyres. The rear wheels are 2-3 mm outside the body, but it was only meant to be a fun car to play with. And it is! With some lead behind the guide it's really cool to drift around with.
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Strange enough the drive seem to stay in place. Sticky stuff that hot glue....
/Sven