Loading... Please wait...

Welcome Back, Guest

View Cart | Checkout

If you were a member of the old site and have not yet done so, Reset Your Password. Your password from the previous site WILL NOT work.

Sign Up | Forgot Password?


Lancia 037 Review

by Nuro

FLY Lancia 037 Campe≤n de Espa?a de Rallyes 1986

Review by Nuro.
At the rally de Catalunya in 1986, Serviα and Sabater driving the Lancia 037 Evo III came in 3'rd place (6h 12' 00')

Salvador and Serviα, racing  in the Lancia 037, clinched the Spanish Championship with wins at the Gerona Rally (Apr. 5/6) and the Villa de Llanes Rally.

Other WRC result: Monte Carlo Rally (18th - 24th January)  Serviα and Sabater driving the Lancia Rally 037 came in 7th place (10hrs 58mins 32secs).

The photo on the right is actually a 1:18 diecast model of the '84 037, but it shows the car very well. 

The Lancia 037 was based on the Monte Carlo road car. A Group B rally car that raced in the early 80's. It was powered by a 2.1 liter, supercharged, 4 cylinder in-line engine that produced 205bhp @ 7,000rpm. The rear wheel drive Lancia was raced with success in the World Championship Rally against cars like the Audi Quattro. It continued on in 1984, 1985 ant just into 1986, but four-wheel-drive had stamped its authority on rallying and the 037 could not keep up.

We see many examples of the Martini Racing edition, but the Fly Model is modeled on the Jolly Club Team Seven-Up car that raced in the 1986 Catalunya rally. It seems to have been a one-off. If anyone has any photos of the car racing, please send them to me and I'll put them up here. 
The Fly model looks good seems faithful to the real car. The tampo paint and advertising logos are sharp (with a couple of exceptions - see below). ? The rims, although dated and not very exciting are true to the '86 rally car. The tyres are quite good rubber. Once trued, they were very effective on my Scalextric Sport track. ? The rear-mounted engine shows through the back window and really does look good. The supercharger is painted yellow and stands out. That must have made a racket in the rally car. ? The rear over-sized mud (and dust) flaps look good from a distance, but look plastic up close. Sure they are plastic, but you know what I mean. ? The flap on the rear is so big that it identifies the car as '80s right away. It must have pushed the back of the car down so much! ? There is a screen between the rear lights and together with the engine detail and the chunky double exhaust sticking out, make the real look good. ? The two drivers look fine in their detailed racing seat-belts. The navigator has a map with neat squiggles, perhaps indicating the way around my track.
The Chassis is a new one. Lots of moulding detail makes it look interesting (better than a flat chassis). It has a pocket in the front behind the front axel that would take a button magnet (not supplied) and that recess has a hole going right through the chassis that would take a Scalextric diode on the Sport Digital chip. ? For the first time I see a sliding bar magnet. I still can't perceive the difference in front and back position or anywhere in between. It is so strong that the car goes around flat out on full throttle without coming off the center line. A little mundane for a rally car. Wouldn't it be great if slot cars all came with the option of putting a magnet in the back in or lead in the front. Sure one can pull it out and use it on the fridge - than that's what I did.
I pulled the bar magnet out and added about 20 grams of lead up front, just behind the front axel using the button magnet pocket to help secure it. Wow, what a difference. It held well in the slot and the rear did what you expect all good rally cars to do. After all the tuning (see below for more) it went like the wind and was allot of fun to drive. Without the lead, it was very light in the front and popped out of the slot a little too much on my track (that goes up and down quite a bit).
Gripes: Yep, there are a few. ? First off, the tampo print in some places is not that good. The two tones of green that run the length of the body begin and end in a mess. This is immediately evident and detracts from the appeal of the model. The mess continues where the stripes hit the door and over the petrol cap. ? The drivers' names are on the front fender and are tampoed onto white that is tampoed onto the green - unfortunately the green shows through. ? The model as the usual Fly noise which comes from the gears and axel. Having a metal pinion on a plastic crown doesn't help. The noise is amplified by the engine bits in the back and perhaps the rear mud flaps. ? I can't believe that Scalextric have patented rubberized aerials for slot cars. Why can't manufacturers like Fly use them to prevent the little plastic things snapping off?
This is a review and not a tuning guide, but I can't slag the car off by running it out of the box and expect you all to believe that this is all that the car is about. The goes well once tuned a little and this is how you should remember it.

? I made the modification to the weight (outlined above) ? Next, I trued the tyres. ? Then to get the car running a little better and to cut down on the noise, I oiled the axels and super-glued the bearings to the chassis. I found that the motor moved quite a bit in it's cradle, so I glued that in too. ? Whilst the glue dried, I put the car on the track with about 6 volts applied and the rear wheels raised (put an old tyre under the rear end). This prevents and glue that seeps out getting onto any moving bit and seizing up the workings. ? Whilst I was about it, I let the motor run in for about an hour  at 6 volts, then 9 volts, then 12 volts.

The end result was a much smoother car. Now, it is fun, interesting and challenging to drive - just what all cars should be.

- Nuro 04/2005

This article was published on Wednesday November 09, 2005.