Mattel V-RROOM motor repair

I repaired my non working v-rroom motor.

[@tomparker9966]

I got one for Christmas in 1963. Parked it in my neighbors driveway and she backed over it on Christmas Day. They were nice neighbors and bought me another one when the bike store opened after Christmas. I was a lot more careful about where I left it afterwards. Was a really cool bike in its day. I rode it till I outgrew it.

[@davegergick8659]

I'm glad you opened it up so I could see inside. Now that I know the layout, there's an easier fix. You will need a flashlight and a stiff wire. Shine the light into the slot below the battery compartment and turn that propeller gear using the piece of stiff wire about 10 times. That was enough to get mine working!

[@bobmarker6812]

I had one of these on a pedal car! Somehow, I locked the key in the battery compartment!

[@crimsonhalo13]

Looking back from 2021, the simplicity of this device is fascinating. Also, I've never seen a mechanical speaker before. Cool!

[@robertwallace6492]

Excellent job Paul, and you're right, it is much better to have a repaired V-rroom Motor than one that is 'Original' but not working. I happen to be lucky enough to have a never used "New" (from old stock) 1963 " V-rroom Motor In the "Hot-Rodder Original Box", with a shiny looking original new key, and original Owner's Manual/Installation, works like it is 1963 all over again. Sounds excellent. I bought it many years ago, and probably will never use it. So, if you ever hear of someone truly looking for such a find, but understands that this are extremely rare (i.e. not cheap). You can have them contact me through a KZbin comment.

[@robs3670]

Just picked one up in a flea market and it works. Not as loud as I remember it being when I was a kid. But since it works, I'm not going to take it apart. My only suggestion to this vid is I would have been more careful at removing those rivets. It would have been better to grind the head off one side as they are only sheet metal and then removed the rivet. This would have let you use replacement hollow rivets to reassemble. I also think that the rheostat in the controller is another problem area. I noticed in your vid that the speed of the motor was not consistent with the position of the speed controller. I have not figured out how to get the controller apart without damaging it. I suspect it is not possible. I might try to shoot some contact cleaner inside to try and clean up the surface of the rheostat.

[@davegergick8659]

Oh, the knob of the controller will pop off without too much forcing - but it's impossible to put back together without taking the whole controller apart! ! ! DON'T DO IT! ! ! ! ps - after doing all that and cleaning the wire-wound rheostat, I didn't notice much difference.

[@robs3670]

@@davegergick8659 Mine works great now. I ended up putting a small piece of plastic thru the speaker grill to press on the plastic speaker cone. This increased the volume markedly. My guess is the speaker mount had gotten loose from age and use. I mounted it on a board and have it in front of my desk for whenever I need to put a grin on my face. I'll send you the link to the vid. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKLQdGSDhJ50fKM

[@ysgdhio]

Had one of these as a kid. I lost the key on the first day. The next day I discovered a paper clip works in place of the key. 😀

[@karshowkerry5858]

thanks for the lesson. I tore into to mine and actually got it to wroking. But I had to bypass the dial (resistor). That seems to be the problem. So back to the drawing board.

[@RustingRelics]

will do!

[@DrMauriceGodwin]

Is your V-RROOM for sale

[@RustingRelics]

I installed it on my Bronco, and sold it. Thanks.