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SRC Porsche 907L

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wixwacing
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SRC Porsche 907L

Post by wixwacing »

SRC Porsche 907L
Le Mans 1968


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by Phil Wicks
Another new maker on the scene? New is not quite the right term to use as the man in control has already cut his teeth on Fly cars as far as I can make out. He has also declared that the models will almost carry on the Fly tradition.....my question is, is that a good or a bad thing? As you can probably surmise I have had this on going love hate relationship with Fly and it would be nice to think this model doesn’t carry on that tradition. So lets look at some of the history and the contemporary and see what we can expect?!




Le Mans 1968


The model comes in a bit of a novel display case, it has an outer ‘jacket’ made from what looks to be acetate or a similar material and there is also a card sleeve which carriers the details of the subject matter, the Porsche 907L as driven by Spaniard Alex Soler-Roig and Austrian Rudi Lins at the 1968 Le Mans. The car was entered in the 68 Le Mans by Alex and the Swiss Tartaruga racing team and started 35th on the grid. The Porsche 771 2.2 litre flat eight engine developed a camshaft oil leak early in the piece and the car was eventually withdrawn on lap 145. By this time both Alex and Rudi were seasoned motor racers; Alex’s career took him into the early seventies where he drove a variety of F1 cars including March and Lotus. Rudi Lins’ career was more brief and he also stopped competitive sportscar racing about the early seventies.




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Porsche 771 engine



The real car itself started was a bit of a transitional model, carrying a lot of technical features from the Carrera 6 and it also had chassis and other features which were to be later used in the 908. The engine itself although quite powerful was reputed to be a mechanics nightmare. An engine rebuild was thought to take in excess of 200 hours, which was four or five times longer than its successors which were later to be fitted to the 908’s. Porsche’s pedigree needs no expanding and needless to say the 907 became one of the stepping stones to Porsches continued dominance in motorsport. The 1968 Le Mans was eventually won by a John Wyer Automotives GT40 driven by Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi. Interesting to note the race which saw Porsche’s ascendancy was also the race which marked the closing of Ford’s racing success and the demise of the GT40 as a dominant sports car. ‘69 was Ford’s swansong and by 1970 Porsche had six cars in the top ten positions!



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As mentioned, SRC is a new manufacturer on the scene and although they have been around for several months, this model seems to be the first they have produced. Also in store somewhere down the road are some impressively attractive F1 models. This model is marked as a limited edition being one of 2020 models, but we are assured there are more models on the way. As well as variations on the Porsche theme, there are also some sedans in the pipeline.



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But, time to have a look around the model. So, taking it from its protection I see the first bit of detail has a small piece of paper under it! SRC have decided to fit a very finely etched wiper arm and blade to the model and very fine it is too. Other photo etched parts include the front grill, although this is painted and not so obvious. One thing’s for sure, if you are tempted to race this model I don’t give it long before both particular items of detail become a statistic. This is very much in the style of the Fly cars and on closer inspection we see that it possibly has some of the old Fly traits.... But it does have several good points too!



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The model declares itself to be made in Spain, and looking around the detail it has the promise of an impressive shelf queen but there are some detail oversights which let it down. First up were both headlight covers. These are firmly in place but both are cocked up at the outer edges revealing an ugly gap down both sides. On this particular model the rear valance (under the tail) is not attached on one side, but some superglue did take care of it.



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Tampo is respectable but it is minimal with the body being dominantly white, and there are barely more than the racing numbers gracing the outer shell. Some nice touches are the rear end detail and the little lamps which on the real car must have illuminated the rear and right hand racing numbers during the night time stint. But even the tail lamps have been carelessly applied and are noticeably crooked. A plus at this stage is that a good even coat of clear lacquer gives it a great shine! Tail fins and air scoops are modelled but the tail fins are quite thin and may also be an early victim in the heat of contest. The driver is probably the best part of the detail from this side and SRC have not spared the expense to present us with a tidy cock pit and a driver resplendent in his seat complete with Fly style seat belts....and a tidy dash too! Down side is that the helmet detail is rather unusual or it has been rolling around in a box full of stones, each one leaving a random marking the paint job?



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Wheels and tyres are as per the real thing but there is a tendency among several manufacturers not to be able to get the cars ‘stance’ to scale. In real terms the car would be sitting several inches above the tarmac were it the same clearance as the model; whereas, in life, it would be hard to roll a tennis ball under the real car. The wheel rims are quite good as plastic rims go. Both front and rear tyres seem to be a fairly hard rubber but as I found out later they were still quite tractable! Mmmmmmm? What cannot be denied is that they are out of shape along the moulding line and a deal of rubber will need to be removed before it can be raced seriously; but then again, not a bad thing because the ground clearance issue would be automatically addressed!



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Lastly under the model is the guide. This is one of the plusses for this model as the guide is long.....and deep! You won’t be racing this on classic Scaley track out of the box! And a bonus is that it is spring loaded, no more understeer deslots in banked and cambered corners!



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Just holding the model seems to make it creek and on removing the body it made several noises. Not sure where they came from but they were annoying. Next minus came when I checked the four body screws, there were miniature coils of plastic around the screw threads... this meant that the mounting posts had a degree less plastic in them. This did not bode well!



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The inside of the model is simplicity itself, and like its cousins, very tidy. Looking at the functional parts of the chassis the first thing noted is that the motor is loose. Being a non magnet racer at heart I tend to spot these things; in non magnet racing this looseness will manifest itself as tramp on take off and judder on acceleration. Not only that, the rear axle pops out of its mounts quite readily. Both of these issues will need to be addressed for either non mag or magnet racing!



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Also at the rear and under the chassis SRC have created a couple of holes for the exhaust system to sit in, unfortunately they are directly aligned with the axle mounts and could contribute to flexing at this critical spot. The only saving grace is that the hump of the transmission moulding does contribute to keeping the rear end rigid. SRC have also created some oversized chassis side plates which hold the motor and axle mounts. Here’s hoping they are up to the task!



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The traction magnet is good enough for Ninco and Scaley but magnabraid and Carrera will see you at a disadvantage unless this is addressed. The front axle has the traditional up and down movement in it at a time when most manufacturers are going over to a rigid front end. The bonus here is that it may well have the edge once again on tracks with banked and cambered sections. Lastly in the axle department, there is a degree of side to side play in the rear axle which ideally needs to be addressed. I would avoid pulling the wheels off to do this and recommend making some split washers to do the job. These will slide over the removed axle and fit flat once in place.



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After I had removed the chassis and discovered the threads on the screws, I lined all four screw holes with some superglue on a small drill bit. On refitting the body after the glue had set there was enough bight in the superglue to get the screws to grip. Putting the chassis back I noticed the chassis does not ‘drop in’ to the body. There is something either out of align or not clearing when trying to assemble it. In the old Fly days it was invariably the lead wires catching under the drivers tray, but this seems different. I had a good look around and I could only surmise that the chassis generally is not the best of fits in the body??



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Trying harder to like the model (which I do) I have to keep justifying the list of defects, but we’ve been there before I the past I think!! Finally after measuring it all up for the stats I decided to put it back in its box and take it racing (or testing at least) on the following Saturday at the LCR (Magnabraid and Ferador). On putting it back I noticed the model sits hard on the base, not even allowing the rear tyres to remain off the ground. In our hot climate and at this time of the year that surely will see flatspots appear on the tyres while in storage?



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So, at the track and what to do? well, first up it was necessary to warm the lanes up using something expendable and after fifteen minutes I decided to take the 907 for a spin. Very predictable out of the box and just enough grip to attain a reasonable amount of speed in the bends and a good turn of speed on the corners. The model is a good match for its cousins and not knowing what the motor rating was, it was soon self evident that it must be a standard Mabuchi ‘S’ can as used by the main stream manufacturers. I ran the model harder and harder until it started to slide out. The guide works well, even on the varying camber of the LCR and surprisingly the tyres hook up quite well, but I wouldn’t be so certain of this on smoother surfaces like Carrera track.



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Pushing the model to its limit I found myself squeezing the controller harder and harder and the tail hanging out further and further? This model needs a lot more work than I am going to spend on it But, having said that, those who adore Fly cars will no doubt get this model to fly. But you may well double the price of the model in expenses before it happens.




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Once again it will be the subject matter and its limited issue that will sell this model. It would have been nice to see a little more innovation on this model, even something as simple as decent independent front wheels (even SCX could do that); but as it is it is little different to the models of ten years ago. The attraction with this model possibly lies with its collectability, but I am no longer sure its thoroughbred lines will cut it against its peers? Lets hope for SRC’s sake the F1’s and Sedans have something in their favour?
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When I'm not racing slotcars,
I'm out in the back yard, burning food!!

When I win, it's because of my talent, not my car or my controller!
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