Scalextric MCL32 (C3956)

[slotcarnewbie]

I just received the Formula 1 McLaren MCL32 (Model C3956) car and am trying to access the motor. I've removed the 3 screws on the underbody but still can't separate the chassis from the body. I'm missing something. Can anyone help?
Thanks,
Tom

[Modlerbob]

All the F1 cars from Scalextric are difficult to access the running gear, sometimes you have to push a little harder than you would expect to. They definitely weren't designed to come apart easily.

[KK Racing]

I don't own this car but most of the Scalextric F1 cars in my stable have more than 3 screws holding them together. Double check that you didn't miss the little one at the rear holding the rear wing.
I just checked all of the archives here and there has been no review posted on the modern F1 series of cars.
I did find a photo of a similar chassis. My guess is the screw you are missing may be under the removable panel behind the front axle.



Cheers

[lance]

according to the service sheet, this car has 4 screws holding it together. 1 in front behnd the guide, 2 in middle at the sides, and 1 at the rear wing
trying to attach service sheet. together. SS-458-Start-Single-Seater(2).pdf

[slotcarnewbie]

With your help (the schematic), I've discovered the "hidden treasure". You have to remove the beveled screw just forward of the two mid-screws. Once that screw is removed, you can lift the assembly (with coupler) and set it off to the side so the final forward-most screw can be accessed. Thanks. I knew someone would come through with the answer. That's why I joined this forum.
Tom

[KK Racing]

Ah, hah..........and now the real fun begins.
I can't find anything decent that shows how to tune one of these modern F1 cars specifically but I can tell you these are fine runners if you solve a few of the typical problems most cars with plastic rear bushings have. Maybe someone can point you in the direction of a tuning video or tutorial on securing the plastic bushings, taking the slop out of the stock plastic bushings, securing the motor and bracing the rear to take the flex out of the rear gear mesh in that car. I understand and do all of this stuff routinely so I'm not sure I'm the right guy to instruct you on what to do exactly as I don't know what skill level you are at or what your looking to do now that you have yourself deep into the guts of it all. As you did earlier, if you ever have a question on something just ask and someone here will be happy to assist.

Cheers

[slotcarnewbie]

Thanks, KK. For now, the car is more than fast enough for my "short-ish" track (total length is approx. 42') with two straights of 10'. Many crashes have occurred at the ends of those straights which means we're (the 10 year old great-nephew and I) are going to have to get better at decelerating going into the curves. The little motor just "sings" as it pushes the car around the track. The only issue so far is in the slot guide mechanism. One of the two vertical wire connectors makes contact with the plastic housing as it rotates in the curves so it doesn't rotate freely. Just an ever so slight bit of resistance. And the braid/brush pick-ups are not exactly made to last. No wonder they include a couple extra with each car! Trying to find out what the RPM rating is... not given in any specs. I've been able to find. I was trying to access the motor and gears to see if they were properly lubricated.

[RichD]

KK Racing did not say if he wanted to run the cars with traction magnets. One problem with Scalextric cars is that the rear axle is a sloppy fit in the bearings. Cars with plastic wheels usually have knurled axles and the knurled part is bigger in diameter than the plain part. The ID of the bearings have to be sized to clear the knurled parts. The sloppy fit contributes greatly to lower performance when you run a car without traction magnets, it has less of an effect if you use them. The easiest fix is the Super Glue trick. First I like to flush out the bearings with lighter fluid or contact cleaner to remove any oil or grease, then I put a little Super Glue in both bearings . It is probably best to use a type of Super Glue that is not instant setting. Immediately roll the car back and forth on a smooth surface for at least a minute until the glue is nearly set. Let the car sit for 30 minuter or so until the glue has fully set, then oil the bearings and run the car. The more expensive fix is to replace the rear bearings with bronze ones along with the rear axle, crown gear, wheels and tires. Except for the tire change the extra cost will not get you much VS the Super Glue fix.
If you are running the car with a traction magnet a tripod setup where the front tires do not touch the track is the best way to go. You may want to sand down the front tires to reduce their diameter a little and also coat the front tires with nail polish. Without a traction magnet the front end setup is critical because the front wheels must support the front of the car. These cars have a flexible front axle support that is often slightly tilted to one side or the other and the height of the guide flag may tend to lift the front wheels off of the track. With the older open wheel Scalextric cars we used to remove the braids from the guide flag and sand down the underside. Normally the braids are doubled over to hold them in place, we glued the braid to the top side of the guide flag. The final step with the front end was to remove the front axle and insert tubing through the front axle carrier to stiffen things up, then glue the carrier in place with the car sitting on the track or a setup block. I have not seen the latest Scalextric open wheel cars, so a different procedure with the guide flag or front axle carrier may be necessary.
See this article for more information;https://drive.google.com/open?id=1qB...qnhl30_ixis4rX