For authoritative answers, we need people like Prof Fate, BWA, PdL, Larry LS, Russell Sheldon and others on hand. I know that Russell in particular has often used very potent HO motors in competition winning 1/32 cars.
In the meantime, I'll hazard a few comments.
Some of the specialized HO motors are immensely powerful little beasts that will knock the average home set Mabuchi into a cocked hat! My understanding is that they use a 1.5mm motor shaft as opposed to the 2mm used in the larger motors. If HO gears were used, the possible incompatibility might be shifted to the axle/wheels - this I am not at all sure of. The 1.5mm shaft can be sleeved with something like hypodermic needle tubing in order to fit standard 1/32 pinions. I hope some of those other guys can expand on this.
In another direction, the 1/32 Monogram F1s of the time used a slim Mabuchi FT13UO motor which, to my eyes, produced some fine looking cars with no obvious bulges. My recollection is that their gears wer a little smaller than currently used and equivalents might be still available from US sources. I think the current SCX motors are equivalent in size and might be worth investigating as an alternative route.
I am not too sure of any of this, but I hope it will stimulate discussion.
EDITED on the basis of Russell's later post in order to correct motor shaft diameter originally misquoted at 1.6mm.
It is 1.5mm
In the meantime, I'll hazard a few comments.
Some of the specialized HO motors are immensely powerful little beasts that will knock the average home set Mabuchi into a cocked hat! My understanding is that they use a 1.5mm motor shaft as opposed to the 2mm used in the larger motors. If HO gears were used, the possible incompatibility might be shifted to the axle/wheels - this I am not at all sure of. The 1.5mm shaft can be sleeved with something like hypodermic needle tubing in order to fit standard 1/32 pinions. I hope some of those other guys can expand on this.
In another direction, the 1/32 Monogram F1s of the time used a slim Mabuchi FT13UO motor which, to my eyes, produced some fine looking cars with no obvious bulges. My recollection is that their gears wer a little smaller than currently used and equivalents might be still available from US sources. I think the current SCX motors are equivalent in size and might be worth investigating as an alternative route.
I am not too sure of any of this, but I hope it will stimulate discussion.
EDITED on the basis of Russell's later post in order to correct motor shaft diameter originally misquoted at 1.6mm.
It is 1.5mm
