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Porsche 917 - Keep it as a Shelf Queen?

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4K views 18 replies 9 participants last post by  42redcat 
#1 ·
I recently dug my Fly Pedro Rodriguez Gulf Porsche 917 from 1970 Brands Hatch in its plastic box out from deep storage as I wanted to check the colour for the Mirage M2 I was finishing. The 917 is a lovely model and I couldn't resist a few laps of the track with it. As I suspected, it proved to be slow and squeaky with all the mounting screws tight and, probably, all the oil dried out, so it definitely needs some work. Worse though
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, Pedro is relying on his mystic powers to influence the steering, with both hands well off the steering wheel, while his helmet is wedged against the roof so he can't possible see out of the windscreen. Maybe that's how he drove the still-difficult full-size car so stunningly fast on that soaking wet day in early 1970 which I remember so well!

The question is: should I live with all this and keep the model in 'as it left the factory' condition, or should I follow my inclination and modify it? Advice welcome.

(No promises I'll follow any advice offered, though!)

Mike
 

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#2 ·
Mike

An almost agonising decision, and a situation I've been in with many cars. Solution is to have two cars; one for modifying and racing, and the other for admiring in a cabinet.

Better still, build your own 917 as a minter. Use it for a few laps from time to time, and then return it to its hideaway to be looked at.

I've got a number of 917s still in their boxes. Pointless, frankly.
 
#4 ·
Fly? Shelf Queen, unless you need/want it for a race that must be Fly. The only time a buy a Fly any more other than to look at is when my club runs a series that requires cars to be Fly... which is pretty rare any more.

For racing, grab an NSR. You'll end up saving SO much time, and in most cases, money as well, over what you'd need to do to make a Fly race-worthy.

If you just want to run some hot laps and you're not competing with other cars of better make, then run it. Resale value won't be all that high, unless it's pretty much never even seen a track, and even then your best bet is original retail... at least these days.
 
#6 ·
Had so many cars that i was going to keep as shelf queen's , but the urge to run them get's to great , then i run some of them , not all and find they are not that good on the track , typical for me was Fly loved the bodies but the mechanics left a lot to be desired in my view once i got them on the track , so hence my stable of really fast highly modified slot cars , just love a very fast all round great slot car, nothing better when you,ve had enough of the daily crap is hitting those really fast consistant laps.
 
#7 ·
Yep, you're all right. Race it seems to be the consensual conclusion. Below, two of my beloved 917 longtails; both are identical representations of the 1971 Le Mans polesitter driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Jackie Oliver.

One I race and the other stays in its box (fool), and when I can't see either, I paint more pictures of it...

She Who Can't Be Ignored has many colleagues who are Shrinks, whom I avoid with judicious attention to detail, especially at this time of year. Being diagnosed as an idiot with personality disorder at a Christmas luncheon probably isn't conducive to harmonious Yuletide celebrations...
 

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#8 ·
Two more versions of the 1971 917 langheck below. The first, by TopSlot, is raced regularly and goes well. The second, by Le Mans Miniatures, is destined to remain in its box, because, although it's by far the best model, life's too short to turn it into a competitive slot car...
 

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#14 ·
A few more 917s that get regular use on my track. Those by Fly here have been thrashed, and crashed, many times yet remain in super condition.

I tend to be more careful with the LM Miniatures' cars because, with so many delicate detail parts, they are vulnerable. The Pink Pig is especially precious to me, but to keep it as an exhibit only is out of the question. With Slot It rear tyres, it also goes acceptably well.

My obsession with the 917 started when I saw pics of 001 on display at Geneva in 1969, and continues to this day. The really difficult thing is accepting that half a century has ticked by since.
 

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#15 ·
i have this same issue. trying decide whether to drive the car and risk damaging it or keeping it in the box. too many times have i raced my nice cars and made a small mistake and the car slid off the track and got scratched.

essentially what i do now, i race any car i buy and if it gets damaged, then its damaged. however, there are a couple that i have multiples of, and the box is taped so i dont accidentally mess it up. like my 3 different scalextric ford gt gte (1 of each number). i have one that i drive and those 3 are not touched. i also have some renault 5 that are taped. finally my ford mustang bullitt original (but only because i over paid for it)

if this is a car you really love and dont want to see it damaged, i wouldnt use it. i had a renault 5 in gold that was perfect and i messed it up, and had a lot of trouble finding another with perfect paint.
 
#16 ·
Thanks for all the comments. Since I only race on my home track, I can manage the risk of damage to a large extent. If it gets too bad, I can usually fix it - fixing old racers is one of may favourite parts of the hobby.

I'm surprised nobody commented about the poorly-fitted driver. maybe I'm weird, but it really bugs me if the driver doesn't look right. I'm almost certainly going to take the knife to this one to make him more realistic. I've oiled the gears and bearings (and DEFINITELY NOT the tyres), and the car already runs much better.

For all you Fly-haters
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, and following in the spirit of Trisha's welcome hijack of this thread, here are a couple more pictures of Fly 917s . Both are Scalextric C22 shells on Fly 917 spyder chassis. I'd possibly use Slot-it parts if I was starting today, but the Fly chassis are fine on my home track after a bit of fettling. Short-tail No 30 is the 917's debut race entry, driven by Mitter/Schutz at Spa 1969, where it was reportedly very difficult to control and anyway lasted only 1 lap. No 12, of course, is the 1969 Elford/Attwood Le Mans car which very nearly won before the gearbox broke on the Sunday morning.

Mike
 

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#17 ·
Mike

Your pics above of chassis 008 (Elford/Attwood) and 002 (Spa '69 short-tail) not only demonstrate your modelling skill, but also show Scalextric's accuracy all those years ago.

Some of my early langhecks herewith: standard Scalextric Stommelen/Ahrens car, chassis 007, Ocar-bodied 006 with red nose, and an Ocar scratchbuilt in Gulf livery of 001, as it appeared at the London Motor Show, 1969.

Incidentally, 006, with red nose, went to Le Mans, 1969 but was only used as a test hack by Lins, Redman, Schutz and Linge.

As an aside, as I'm sure you know, Richard Attwood was suffering from mumps at Le Mans 1969 and has said many times that he'd never felt happier than when his car (008) broke.

I really must get around to building the Elford/Attwood car soon-ish...
 

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#19 ·
Nice models, Trisha, and great paintings, too. I see your Scalextric car has lost its rear wing as they are prone to do. You'll see my no12 has a repair at one end! The short-tail has wings made of paper clips and plasticard, which is much more robust. It may be an illusion of the photo angle, but those Oscar shells look a bit wide at the back, more like the 1970 Le Mans long-tails. The 1969 cars were narrower and I had to fudge the Scalextric rear wheel arches a little to fit a Fly sidewinder chassis under them.

Mike
 
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