The Mean Green Armature and Other Related Bits

 The Aurora Mean Green Armature was the pinnacle of the Pancake Motor to many affectionados of speed. Not withstanding the faster Quadralam as a drag racing armature and Super II fixture, it fits squarely in the circa AFX time frame and post  dates the Thunderjets of the 1960's. It was produced to up the ante by Aurora if you will, as many industrious and speed seeking individuals were rewinding their armatures for greater resistance. It was only a matter of time that these same guys became successful at mirroring the secrets of brass chassis and can motors in the larger 1/32 and 1/24 scales for HO scale, With Riggen, Cobramite, and Dyna-Brute  seizing the production niche for better handling and more speed and ultimately the Aurora apple cart being knocked over and broken by the wildly successful Tyco Pro chassis. Truth of the matter is that the pancake motor and Thunderjet was doomed to extinction if Aurora did not answer the call. The wider stance and vented chassis certainly helped, as the increased RPM's from a faster armature and more powerful magnets made for a hot ride in those long and fast heats. Aurora also marketed their line of Speed hop-up parts, and thankfully the armature and stronger magnet combinations could be retrofitted into a Thunderjet. Silver brushes and pick-up shoes also put more pep in their step, and the new AFX chassis also featured beveled brushes for a more consistant contact point to the armature commutator. With the advent of Aurora's Super II cars, the more poweful Super II magnets were coupled to the even quicker Quadralam armature. Again these were offered as a speed accessory. These could further be matched, shimmed, and zapped for an even greater speed gain. The AFX line further afforded new gear ratio varients as well, but these could also be used with the older Thunderjet Speed pinion and crown with good success. The photo above shows a new old stock Mean Green armature alongside the burgandy and white AFX magnets and the blue and yellow dimpled Super II variant. Put these thumpers on, add some sticky shoes on all corners, maybe a lexan body and go racin'.  Get back Smokey Yunick.   

God Bless! Tony  mgbbrown