In the years between 1963 and 1973, a chaotic array of motors and variations on motors came and went in an endless parade of technological development. Some were made in the U.S.A. and many were not. Some were original designs and some were "copy-cats" claiming to be somehow superior. Some were packaged and sold by their original manufacturer and many were simply marketed by companies that didn't manufacture any motors at all. A very few new designs quickly became the industry standard and a few, although carefully thought out and well manufactured, were obsolete before they hit the market. Most were somewhere in the middle.

In order to put some order into the chaos and attempt to avoid an information overload, the motors have been grouped into three arbitrary periods of time, based on their earliest known availability for use by slot racers, and in which period of time the larger portion of their product life cycle falls. The periods are the Pittman Era (1963 and earlier through August 1965), the Mabuchi Era (September 1965 through mid 1968) and the Pro Era (mid 1968 through 1973).

Since slot car motor development paid no attention to the calendar, the boundaries of these time periods are somewhat elastic. For example: The period of time in which Mabuchi motors were utterly dominant didn't begin at 12:01 AM on January 1st, 1966; it sort of dawned in the latter half of 1965, and reached fulfillment in the first few months of 1966.

As a result, some Mabuchi motors which lived their entire product life cycle and were superseded by more advanced motors (Mabuchi or otherwise) before the end of 1965 will appear in the Pittman Era group. Their immediate successors, the FT-16D, FT-13UO and FT-36 even though introduced just before 1966 began, will be found in the Mabuchi Era group.

Conversely, Pittman motors introduced in 1966 (the DC-6001 and 6001BB) will be found in the Mabuchi Era group.

Pittman Era Motors	All motors introduced in 1963 (and earlier) through August 1965
*Can Motor Spotter's Guide*	Can motors introduced in 1963 (and earlier) through mid 1968
*Mabuchi Era Motors*	All motors introduced between August 1965 and mid 1968
*Pro Era Motors*	All motors introduced from mid 1968 through the end of 1973

Note: Mabuchi 15, 15-R, 35R, TKK FT-16 & FT-36 motors are located here. Mabuchi motors introduced after August 1965 are in the Mabuchi Era group.



	*Globe*	*K&B*	*Kemtron*
	Micro Motor	Mini-Auto	Monogram
*MPC*		*RAM*	*Revell*
*Russkit*	Speedway Products	*Strombecker*	*Tradeship*
*Tyco*	*Varney*	*Wilson*

Note: Mabuchi 15, 15-R, 35R, TKK FT-16 and FT-36 motors are located in the Pittman Era group.

Mabuchi 15R	FT-13UO	FT-16	FT-16D Type 1
FT-16D Type 2	FT-16DBB	FT-26	FT-26D
FT-36	FT-36D	Igarashi-Hitachi Small	Igarashi-Hitachi Large
Pittman Can	Shigoto-Johnson