Carrera Mustangs - Home Racing World & The Slot Car Garage

10/22/2013

1/32nd Scale Carrera '67 Mustangs

Many of us have been waiting for these cars since they were announced last year. There is nothing like more American iron to add to our stable and we could not wait to get our hands on them. This is a special review as you will see two views; one from contributing reviewer Jeremy (Bibbster) Bibbee and one from myself.

The buzz around the web about these releases seems to center on one thing: The rake. Some enthusiasts were hoping for a more "race style" version of this car rather than a more traditional hot rod type approach.

What we ended up with is a combination of both. By just looking at the photos you should be able to make a decision if Carrera has made a model that appeals to you or not.

Both of these cars are adorned in a fictional type race livery which I do like. All you need are some basic designs and a few numbers and a plain old street car is transformed into a weekend racer. I am not a hardcore street car fan when it comes to slot cars. I like them and have a few that we enjoy taking out and running from time to time, but my taste leans more towards race themed models.

With that said I am not that pleased to see this hot rod type chassis used. It does look good; it is just not my personal style. I was one of those enthusiasts hoping for a model that I could easily tune and make it into a SCCA type race car for our home series. With the amount of rake and large tires in the rear, this will not be easily accomplished.

Well, for me, it's a Mustang and if you know me, you know I like Mustangs. While I'm not a huge fan of the combination of SCCA livery and the 'ready for the drag strip rear end', it's another model made for my stable. I will say though, I'm surprised that we don't see ladder bars printed on the sides of the chassis.

Although the hot rod chassis is not my favorite style, this paint scheme is a plus. The overall finish is very well done on my model. Crisp markings and a clear coat make it very eye appealing.

And with this digital version (the lights are a plus, both head and tail), the finish is that which we've grown accustomed to from Carrera, nicely done. While black models are generally hard to see when running on black plastic track, the white stripes and bright white gumball give you all the help you'll need to see it speed around the track.

Wheels are new to this model and they are nice looking for what they are. Tire compound is softer than I expected too. I am not sure if Carrera has changed anything in the tire manufacturing department, but it appears these tires have a little more grip. Both of my models seem to be round and true for the most part. There are always some slight improvements to make with plastic wheels, but these are pretty good and should not need a lot of work.

Can you say Torque Thrust? I was glad to see these wheels for obvious reasons; I mean a racing Mustang just has to have them. While the argent paint isn’t carried over to the center hub, a quick glance says, Torque Thrust. That's good enough for me! Like Harry said, the tires appeared to have a bit more grip than previous tires, though I found that on plastic track there was less than on my wood track which has a latex finish. Still, nice round tires with some extra width in the rear and only a slight bit of flashing on one wheel, not enough to cause any bounce though.

The interior is the other new part of this release. We now have a race-type theme with driver and a little roll bar detail. This is appealing to me as well.

I've not been a fan of half drivers and such, but over time they've grown on me. Let's face it, when you look through the window, you couldn't see the drivers feet anyway because of the dash and steering wheel. And speaking of the dash, there is one in this model and it is just like the 1:1 dash. The Grant steering wheel is also a nice touch on this racing model.

Track Test
MIDMO International Speedway
4x16 - 3 Lane MDF - Satin/Flat Latex Surface
SCC Braid/Flush Mount - Pyramid PS26KX Aftermarket Power @12 Volts
2 Types Of Control For Testing - Professor Motor 2110 Controllers/Parma 25 OHM

I have to say this car performed better than I thought it would. There is only a slight chatter to it like most cars have on our surface. It told me the running gear is at least somewhat round and true. If you are a wood track racer then you might expect that this car is not going to handle like a high end, dedicated race car.

It will tip on you due to the height of the car, but you can also get some great drifting. The tires do hook up pretty good and to be honest I doubt that change them anytime soon.

Some wheel and tire sanding made it much better and if you took the time to start fine tuning it, I am sure you can make a silky smooth runner our of it on your surface. And those of you enthusiasts with wood, I sort of expect that. You know most ready to run cars are not really ready to run for YOU. So you will have to tune it to find the performance you want. That is most of the fun really and it comes with the territory.

Carrera Track Tests

In fairness this car should be tested on track it was made for. I had the chance to bring it with me to the home track of Jon Sanders. This monster of a Carrera track would be a great place to see how it runs from box to track. Out here this car was just fine. Plenty of power and the magnets keep this pony planted. Side by side these are nice slot cars and most of you who choose to grab both will likely have a great time with them.

Track Test
Bibbster's Bullring
3'x12' - 2 Lane Carrera
Stock Power @14.8 Volts
Stock Thumb Plunger Controller

Upon receiving the car for review, I decided that this time I'd setup a plastic track for the review. I know many individuals and clubs race on plastic track, and since the car was designed for Carrera track what better way to review it? I ran the car against a previous release (which also used a totally different chassis) and this model was every bit as fun as the older one. My wife and I ran them for quite some time and had a ball.

So let's remove the body, one screw at the front and two at the rear (removal of the two magnet screws for the front and rear magnet are not required). You'll notice a fifth screw close to the driver side rear tire, just leave that be for now. Note that when removing the body from the chassis, I had a little bit of trouble. The LED's gave a bit of a hassle but they finally let go, literally. The front LED assembly popped out of its carrier but no big deal, I just popped it back in. Reassembly was a bit of a struggle, again, due to the tight fit. I tried installing the front first then the rear, and vice versa, and ultimately, the rear had to go in first and I had to flex the chassis to get the front in, and I had to apply a bit more pressure than I was comfortable with, especially with delicate LED assemblies involved. I’ll be modifying the body/chassis to alleviate this problem. Watch for a post on how I do that soon.

Digital Version

Analog Version

Here you can see the internal workings of this model. Now where did they put that crown and pinion gear? It looks like it's covered by a top plate but it isn't. We'll get to that in a bit. The wiring, while tightly compacted, is routed well and doesn't interfere with the interior or running gear. The guide is the same as we've seen from Carrera over the past couple years.

This chassis posed something we’ve seen in the past with Carrera cars, a ‘pod’ assembly of sorts (highlighted in yellow below). I wanted to see the gears in this model and the only way to get to them...remember that 5th screw I mentioned? You'll need to remove that from the bottom of the chassis. Once you do, the 'pod' will come loose.

With the screw removed, you can now lift the 'pod' assembly out of the chassis. And if you didn't notice, you dropped the small spacer that you see in the upper right corner of the photo below. I'm no engineer, and I'm sure it serves a purpose, but I reinstalled the 'pod' without the spacer and couldn't tell that it made any difference. It looks as though it may be to keep the 'pod' aligned left to right, but with the screw tightened, I found no movement in any direction.

Flip the 'pod' over and now we can see the gearing used in this model; 9 tooth pinion, 27 tooth crown gear, a good combination. When reassembling the 'pod' to the chassis, notice that the front of the assembly has a notch that marries up to a tongue on the chassis. Make sure you get it inserted properly. And a tuning note here, once you have this pod put back in place, you'll want to glue it with some hot glue so that it doesn't shift during racing causing unnecessary vibration and binding.

Final Thoughts: Harry

The Negative: If you like your slot cars with a more hot rod appeal then there really is no negative. For enthusiasts hoping for a model that would easily fit into a Trans-Am or SCCA type series then it may not be for you. As it is it will be a nice runner alongside its running mate or some of the older street machine releases. Personally, I hoped that Carrera would have completed the car as it should have been with the livery designs they chose. A hot rod chassis just does not look right under this body to me.

In between these opinions, it is worth mentioning that it is great to see these classic cars coming back. Carrera has some great molds from years ago that could easily be re-released for the new and veteran enthusiasts.

The Positive: Did I mention this car only costs $31.99? That alone makes it hard to pass up. And for you advanced enthusiasts, look at what you have to work with. The bodies and interiors alone offer great modeling. If you are going to rebuild a slot car with aftermarket parts, or scratch build a chassis anyway, why not start with a lower priced model? That is exactly what I am going to do. And when they are finished, we will have a pair of fast Fords ready for battle in our series.

Final Thoughts: Jeremy

The Negative: The biggest negative for me was the chassis fitment to the body. For those with the D132 version, it is just too tight and delicate. Maybe I’m missing ‘the trick’ and if so please let me know. For those that want to do away with the rake, you have your work cut out for you. But hey, in this hobby, cutting, hacking, and building is part of the fun.

The Positive: It’s a Mustang. The body is a great example of the 1967 Fastback and detailed very well. Even better than that though, is the fact Carrera is still brining us a great value in our hobby; the D132 version runs $46.99. That’s less than most analog cars from other makers. It’s hard to beat a deal like that! Overall, this model is a fine American car that looks great going around the track whether it be plastic or wood.

Carrera keeps bringing us cool cars that run decent out of the box and doing it with the best price point in our hobby. Jeremy and I are both collecting more of this brand than any other due to those simple facts. If you are a classic Ford fan then you might as well add these to your ever growing list. In the end, they are fun like a good slot car should be.

Thanks go to LEB HOBBIES for sponsoring this review.