NSR Alan Mann P68 - Eric Cropper - Home Racing World & Slot Car Garage

NSR Alan Mann P68

Shell Limited Edition Review

Eric Cropper

The new NSR P68 releases are here. Well, not here in the States, but they are available from your favorite European retailer. I went to Top Slots & Trains to check out the pictures of the new P68’s and fell in love with the Shell painted version. I had always heard about the prices that some of the locals have paid for NSR cars from T.S.T. and decided it was time I take advantage of the overseas discount myself.

I’m sure everyone knows that newly released NSR’s run around $110 to $120 when they finally reach us here in the States. However, the removal of the taxes for being a non-local buyer means an incredible savings to an US buyer. What was the damage? $85 shipped! Yes, $85 shipped from the UK to the US. How long did it take? 7 days and that included the day I placed the order. I’ll wait a week to save that amount of coin. Heck, I’ll wait 2-3 weeks to save $25 or more on a purchase. Having no real buying power for over a year requires me to be frugal with the hobby cash when it becomes available to me.

APPEARANCE

The Shell livery is what sold me on this car VS the Gulf version. You can get Gulf covered cars all day long, but the Shell is just different. Plus, a yellow colored car always wins me over.

It’s perfect for my Shell sponsored track too.

The P68 is long, sleek and curvy. It really stands out from the rest of the NSR Classic Lemans cars. I’d call the P68 the long legged curvy lady of the bunch if I had to describe it. However, as good looking as it may be, it was a complete dud in the real world of racing. This car never finished a race. It did get the pole once at Spa in 1968, but it still couldn’t make it pass the checkered flag.

You can read about its miserable existence here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_P68

Below, is the gapping bottom lip on the face of the P68. Its mouth is wide open to suck in the air with its glassy eyes wide open. The headlights are kind of disappointing after seeing what NSR did with the 917 and some of the other cars. However, I bet it would be extremely bright if a light kit was added up front. The entire length of the car is tattooed with a red triple speed stripe combination which jumps off the yellow base color. This car is high contrast and will not get lost in a crowd of cars on the track.

Doesn’t it look like a fish waiting for a hook from this angle? I just love that bottom lip stretched out in front. I’d say that a SCRAPPING WARNING might be needed for those on banked tracks. My front end it actually higher than it would normally be and you’ll see why later in the review.

Slipping past the front end we get to the cockpit and driver of this NSR. The interior is mostly black with some hints of silver. The driver is all white except for his visor and safety belts. I know NSR’s are for racing, but a little more attention would make him pop and not just because he’s all white against the black interior. The silver rivets and simulated opening on the side windows is a nice touch.

Above and below, you do see that the numbers are not executed as cleanly as I would expect them to be done. The wiper on all NSR’s is molded into the windshield and painted. Finally, a wiper you don’t have to worry about losing! Check out the molded in detail on the other seat.

Below, is probably my favorite detail of the P68. The rear view mirror mounted on the roof that is only viewable through a small glass window about the driver. I also like the fact that the body lines are not lost in the printing of the stripping. The engine detail shows through the rear window and is NSR’s typical representation of what a motor is to a car made for speed and racing while not being overly detailed. I’m just glad it isn’t bright (beeping) chrome like they did on my US release Gulf GT40 MKIV. I dull coated that sucker. This finish blends in good enough for me to leave it alone.

The rear end of the Ford tapers into a steep spoiler. Again, the access door doesn’t disappear into the body from the red of the stripes. All the body lines are very deep on the NSR classics. I have the red #11 Piper 917 and at certain angles the lines are so deep it appears as it someone ran a black marker in them to create separation within the body panels. I give NSR props for keeping them clear and unclogged of paint.

Below, the back side of this lengthy racer has some nice details. The tail lights are not disappointing, the spoiler adjustment details and finally a great looking set of pipes peering from a dark rectangular opening in the rear.

Let’s talk about the shoes. The good thing is that NSR puts metal set screw wheels on all four corners of their cars. Their inserts and knockoffs are well done and look great. However, I’m not sold on their tires.

The molding of their tires isn’t as good as I think they should be. They have imperfections from the molding process. The majority of them can be taken care of in the tire truing process, but some could lead to tire failure over time. I also think the rear tires expand too much under acceleration and can cause hopping in the rear of the car. Around here we usually swap the rear rubber to Super Tires and have had good success with them. However, I did get to run one of my 917’s with trued stock NSR rubber on a wood track this past weekend and it handle 10 times better than on my slick Sport track. So, I wouldn’t hesitate to use the stock rubber on wood tracks.

The major issue I had in regards to wheels and tires is with the front axle setup. This is the only NSR I’ve owned that didn’t have wheel and tire clearance from the body straight out of the box. The tires not only rested on the inside of the fenders, they also hit the inside of the body. I have two 917’s, a MK IV and had previously owned one of their Moslers. None of these cars came even close to having their front wheels rub the body. I’ll show you my fix for the issue in the upcoming chassis shot. I didn’t get a shot of how bad they were before I fixed them because I wanted it ready for my trip. The picture above is of the finished product and clearance after my fix and tire truing on my Tire Razor. Yes, a plug for Jon. I’m sponsoring this review and can give a shout out to whomever I want. LOL.

Above, I’m calling out some bad body spots behind one of the rear wheels. A mold imperfection and flashing that should and could have been taken care of during assembly. Yes, the tire markers are very fragile on the NSR rubber. So, if you just have to have them, I suggest you coat them with clear nail polish or something similar to preserve them.

TIRE ISSUES

The above left is a divot in the middle of the front tire. It’s not all the way through the tire, but darn close. The shot on the right is the same front tire with a pimple or tag on the inside of the tire. The second isn’t as much of a concern as the first and is easily removed when truing the tire. It’s not obvious in the above pictures, but the front tires, as do the rear tires, have a lowered center with raised sides.

AFTER USING THE RAZOR

I pretty much remove all the pretty tread molded into these tires. It’s nice for a shelf queen, but not for a runner. The arrow below points to where the tire pimple once resided and shows that NSR tires have very noticeable layers to them. Remember this fact for a picture of the tires after testing.

Above, are the front tires once I’ve sanded them to my “Good Enough” standards. The arrow is pointing out the divot pictured earlier. I told you it went pretty deep into the tire.

THE CHASSIS

Flipping the Ford onto its back reveals a very nice chassis setup. The blue screws are the body screws and the green ones are the motor pod screws. I’ve found NSR chassis’ to be pretty true and flat to the eye, but I’ve also never put one on a setup block to check it. I’ve just not seen one that was grossly out of whack to my eyes.

Removing the body gives you a view of all the quality components that NSR puts into their cars. You have soft wires, a solid motor pod that keeps the motor and brass bushings on lockdown, a reliable Shark motor with an 11 tooth brass pinion that turns 20,400 RPM @ 12V, true axles and a set screw 32 tooth aluminum gear. Plus, as I mentioned earlier in the review, all four corners have metal set screw wheels. No replacing of off center and badly molded plastic wheels are needed on NSR cars.

Notice those white plastic bushing in front?

FRONT AXLE FIX

This is how I fixed my front axle ride height to remove the rubbing front tire issue that seems to plague the P68. I posted on HRW to see if others ran into the same problem and how they fixed it. I settled on the plastic bushings being glued in place to locate the ride height. Why? It was easy, quick and I had spare plastic bushings I could use to complete the task. Just make sure you use a good amount of oil on the axle and inside of the bushings before gluing them in place. Then keep turning the axle until the bushings seem to be set in place. Then remove the axle to allow extra drying time before replacing it.

You could also order a set of Slot Car Corner adjustable front axle mounts (Dickie, you’re welcome for the plug…LOL) to make a permanent fix. I did my fix before I sanded the front tires. This fix not only solved 98% of the rubbing issue, it raised the front of the car slightly and in my opinion created a better looking ride height to the P68’s front end.

Finally, truing the front tires removed all signs of fenders and body rubbing against the tires. I know the “tripod effect” folks are screaming bloody murder with this fix, but I believe my front tires should actually turn as they do in real life.

NOTE: I’m not saying you HAVE to do this fix to the front axle. Sanding the tires might have been enough to solve all the rubbing issues, but I’m satisfied with the results I gained with the bushing fix.

TESTING

I ran the Ford P68 non-magnet on my 4 lane Scaley Sport track, Legion Region Speedway, in the #2 red lane which is a little over 59 running feet long. I always run my MG Power Supply @ 10V and I used my new Difalco Genesis DD303 controller. I also ran my non-magnet NSR Porsche 917 and GT40 MK IV for a comparison.

If you want to view the testing layout you can click the below link.

http://cincyslotrods.yuku.com/topic/291/Legion-Region-Speedway-legionofone-s-track

P68

Box Stock Best Lap of 6.920 – the un-trued rear tires & blemished front tire caused hop

Trued All 4 Corners Best Lap of 6.423 – rear still had some hop, the tires expanding is my guess

Trued & Screw Adjustments Best Lap of 6.324 – rear settled down, occasional slight hop

917

Box Stock & Trued All 4 Corners Best Lap of 6.398 – a lot of tail sliding in the corners, some hop

GT40 MK IV

Trued Fronts, Slot It S2 Rears, Medium Spring Kit Best Lap of 6.214 – very consistent runner

I plan on getting Super Tires mounted on all my NSR’s when I have the cash to get them. They just handle the slick Sport track better and will increase the rear end stability. I know I’ll be in the 6.0’s with the P68 after making this change. How do I know this?

We ran a NSR IROC at Matt’s Monza track and LRS one day. His P68 was the car that ran in the same lane that I tested mine and I ran the fastest lap in that lane for the day with a 6.078. His car ran trued Super Tires and I was using his Difalco too. It seems very plausible in theory that mine will run the same as Matt’s car.

The other NSR’s from that event:

Lane 1 / Porsche 917 Best Lap of 6.283

Lane 3 / GT40 Best Lap of 6.165

Lane 4 / GT40 MK IV Best Lap of 6.048

(All the cars ran non-magnet on trued Super Tires)

This is what my rear tires looked like after testing. I looked at my 917 and it was similar, but not as bad. Flaking, cracking layers of rubber. It might be a reason for some of the slight hopping towards the end of the testing run. They didn’t look like this before I started and I didn’t overheat the tires while truing them. (shrug)

JUDGEMENT DAY

So, is a NSR worth adding to your stable of cars? I know that’s the question a lot of folks ask themselves. Some say, “No way, $110 to $120 bucks for a car!” Well, have you even spent $50 to $60 on a car and then added new wheels, gears and a hotter motor? If so, you just got into the NSR price range. I know locals who have more cash invested into a hopped up Slot It.

However, I just told you how to get one for around $85 shipped. Does that make it easier to stomach? Top notched parts, solid performance and reliability for $85. Yes, a tire swap might be needed depending on the type of track you run on, but that’s nothing a lot of us haven’t done to other cars we’ve purchased.

Is it a true scale car? That’s always been a debate with NSR’s and they have improved upon the scale greatly with the more recent releases. However, I’m not a scale purist. Yes, there are some mold lines, blemishes and not perfectly printed numbers, but each and every brand has these issues from time to time.

These are great cars and some folks think they are too good. I’ll tell you what Kurt Moser said, (my Hero…sorry I couldn’t resist) “NSR makes a bad driver better without actually improving the driver’s driving ability.” I’m paraphrasing, but he means that the cars are of such a quality that they at times drive or correct themselves. They can be overdriven by a driver with less skill and still be in control. I hope that makes sense. So, in turn we can say that a NSR in the hands of a very skilled driver makes it a true weapon on the track too.

I hope I was able to give good a detailed enough look into the NSR world for some of you that have been on the fence about paying the cash it takes to purchase them. However, you do get what you pay for with a NSR. I remember me saying, “I’ll never pay more than $50 for a slot car.” Well, those days are long gone on just about every brand of new car that we have available to us. Then I said, “I’ll never pay more than $75 for a car.” OOOPS!!! I think you see where this conversation it going.

I would like to thank those of you who bought the cars, track and parts I sold on the forums. It allowed me to splurge for the first time in over a year. This review was brought to you by me, legionofone, via a good deal at Top Slots & Trains in the UK.

Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments at ecropper@hotmail.com or via PM or public post here on HRW.

Thanks for reading and keep it in the groove.

Eric Cropper

AKA legionofone