spokanevr4guy

So I now have in my posession one of the oldest RC cars I've ever seen. It's so old I can't find any information on it at all. Anywhere. If anyone has any information on this or knows about "Dynamic Models" please point me in the right direction. I'm in the process of cleaning it up as best I can, but it's all original, and all the electronics work! The engine turns over (by hand) and looks to be good, but I don't plan on driving it. Amazingly it's still in the original box, with original price tag (289.95!) and instructions, though the instructions have been eaten a bit by something, it's still super cool they they're in the box. I thought that the hold in the lid was from a mouse or something, but I think it was made by a previous owner to let the car anteana sit out of the box. I can't find a date on it, but the info I do find online basically mentions that Dynamic Models was one of the first companies that offered gas powered R/C cars and sold them in the late 60's, early 70's.

Here's the whole story behind the car and how I came to own it:

Have you seen those shows lately on the Discovery channel about people that have problems with hoarding? My uncle was one of those kind of guys. He loved to yard sale and haggle and would buy stuff for stuffs sake but wouldn't do anything with it. Ever. Well, he had continuing health conditions that got the better of him recently and upong going through the 40 year colletion of detrius the family came across this. Knowing I was an R/C buff, they gave it to me. This wasn't something my uncle probably ever took out of the box after he bought it. Aside from yard sales, he was a complete shut in. I really didn't know the guy. I'm sure it just went in a room to get piled on. They guessed he bought it sometime in the mid eighties based on the stuff they found around that level of crap. There is a 175 crossed out on the side of the box, so I'm assuming he bought it for less than that (he lived to haggle. It's all he did.). I hold no sentimental value to this and really see it as an opportunity to fund my R/C addiction. While it's an amazing specimen, it would serve someone elses shelf much more than mine.

Here's some pictures for you to check out:




































Here's a nice video I made showcasing the car, box, instructions, and controller. The only thing you don't really see in the video is the remote control Antenna which is included and not bent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcak_72l6s

sheograth

That's a gorgeous specimen you got there, that body is amazing. Engine looks unique too.

Willystylz

The actual Porsche 917 was built during 1968-1971.......so I'd estimate this rc version was produced in and around those dates.

That is a fantastic looking body though![8D]

sheograth

I'm guessing that 298.95 is the price, expensive for that time. That's over $1500 adjusted for inflation in today's dollars.

spokanevr4guy

And that was with no radio equipment OR engine! I figure this was a rich mans toy so there probably wasn't a whole lot of them sold. I think that the "No. 1000" on the box might actually be it's serial number.

spokanevr4guy

Yeah, it's cool, the body is "pinched in between two pieces of metal and then screws are ran through it on both sides to keep it in place. I've never seen anything like it.

sheograth

The fact that you have the box and manual adds a lot to the potential value.

proanti1

My Feedback: (2)

Dynamic launched this in 79, I believe they were only producing them through 81, The radio is from the 80's. A hobby shop by my old house had a blue one in about the same condition without a radio, box, or anything which sold for $1200. Look on the box, says its designed for an .015... haha.

rooker

My Feedback: (1)

Nice find, Do you want the $289.95 for it?  lol   Very nice

spokanevr4guy

Thanks Proanti1! So far that's been the most information I've heard on this thing! I put batteries in the thing and it all works! I haven't fired the motor or anything (and probably won't) but it's nice to know it's operational! Thanks again for your input!

FieroMan121

My Feedback: (2)

that really is a great find! are the rims metal as well?

spokanevr4guy

Yes they are! The whole thing is SOLID. I'm pretty sure the only plastic on this is the body itself.

ScottKelly911

This has got to be one of the coolest RC finds ever. Definitely likefinding a great "Barn" car in the 1:1 world. I'm a huge Porsche fan,hence the 911 in my screen name. I immediately recognized the 917 body.  One thing they missed is 917's had 12 velocity stacks not 8, due to the fact they were 12 cylinder cars, but we'll let them slide on that little detail lol Do youmind telling us the specifics on how you came to own this awesome piece of RC history? Yard sale?Antique shop? How much did you pay for it? I'd love to hear more about this, so please keep us up to date.

ScottKelly911

I just found this site which may be very helpful to you. This guy has a Dynamic McClaren and talks about it's build. So maybe you can get in contact via email and find out more about your car. Once again, let us know the stuff you find out! He's got some pretty cool old cars on the site. http://www.eighthrchistoricmodelcars.com/ BTW, seems to be circa 1970 due to the article about the McClaren that he speaks of.

lez1troubles

"WOW" is all I can say.[8D]

kaiser01

that thing is cool as hell.

spokanevr4guy

First off, thank you so much for finding that site! I've been having a hard time finding anything on these cars and his site is a wealth of information. Thanks again!

Okay, here's the whole story behind the car and how I came to own it:

Have you seen those shows lately on the Discovery channel about people that have problems with hoarding? My uncle was one of those kind of guys. He loved to yardsale and haggle and would buy stuff for stuffs sake but wouldn't do anything with it. Ever. Well, he had continuing health conditions that got the better of him recently and upong going through the 40 year colletion of detrius the family came across this. Knowing I was an R/C buff, they gave it to me. This wasn't something my uncle probably ever took out of the box after he bought it. Aside from yard sales, he was a complete shut in. I really didn't know the guy. I'm sure it just went in a room to get piled on. They guessed he bought it sometime in the mid eighties based on the stuff they found around that level of crap. There is a 175 crossed out on the side of the box, so I'm assuming he bought it for less than that (he lived to haggle. It's all he did.). I hold no sentimental value to this and really see it as an opportunity to fund my R/C addiction. While it's an amazing specimen, it would serve someone elses shelf much more than mine.

I'm going to edit my original post to include this story so others won't have to get to message 17 to get the whole story.

ScottKelly911

You're welcome, I'm glad the site was able to help you out. I also noticed on his links page there's a few sites noted that may offer more info on that car. Thanks for sharing your story with us. To find out the ballpark of what it's worth, you may want to see if you can find it in one of those price guides like Beckets or Tuff Stuff, but one for Toys. Or, there's always Antiques Road Show lol Good Luck!

spokanevr4guy

Okay, so after talking with Simon at [http://www.eighthrchistoricmodelcars.com] I know quite a bit more about this car. It is in fact, a 69-71 model with an early 70's radio most likely also from 70-71. while the car is rare itself, and even more rare with instructions and a box, the two things that make this really stand out is the radio gear, which I've been told is incredibly rare to find in working condition, let alone find at all. I guess these would break and you'd just go get a newer, better model (sounds familiar, right?) so not a lot of these exist out there. The other rare item is the 8-cyl heat sink. I guess the 12 cyl were very common, but the 8 cyl, offset is rare enough that it was the only one that Simon had ever seen. Here's some info on Dynamic, which was once a slot car company. They went out of business in 74' so trying to track down info from the company itself is pretty much impossible. (http://www.slotmonsters.com/slot-car...l-company.ashx)

I'll be sure to let you all know what it's ultimate fate is, but I can tell you that I won't be letting go of it easily. ;-)

ScottKelly911

Thanks for the update, that's really awesome!Diamond in the rough that you got there! Good Luck, keep us updated as you find out more.

Frankie324

Wow, nice car, great story.

Ttam Says Blarg

Thats awesome! Nothing like an original.

mechanizeddeath

wow, amazing find

spokanevr4guy

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcak_72l6s[/youtube]

Thought I'd post a video.

ScottKelly911

Cool video, thanks for posting it. I'll be sad to see it go, but hopefully the next owner will really be appreciative of it and post on here as well. I can't get over what a cool car that is. Maybe it's just that I'm a diehard Porsche guy and the 917 was the very first car to give Porsche it's first overall win at the 24 Hours Of LeMans in 1970 and duplicated that feat again in 1971. That being said, it can certainly add to the collector value being that it was also manufactured most likely in one of the years that they won. Porsche has some SERIOUSLY fanatical followers, so when you do decide to post this up for sale, don't be afraid to post it in the for sale sections of Porsche specific sites like Rennspeed.com or PelicanParts.com, 6Speedonline.com and probably the site most likely to get top dollar for would be posting it on Rennlist.com If you play up the fact that it was a 917 RC car and the historical significance of the 917, you'll most likely be able to get quite a premium. Also, people such as Jerry Seinfeld who's a HUGE Porsche fan are known to rummage through the for sale sections in search of oddball and historical finds, so though a toy, it sure would look great on Jerry's mantle Let me know if you need any help finding out more about the historical significance of the 917 in the Porsche world.