Review 8880 Super Car, A restoration of a old classic Options

[starstreak]

This is a review of 8880 Supercar.


I bought this back when it first came out. I couldn't resist. It was the most technical Lego set you could buy. This IS your father's Lego. Technic sets back then, really meant ages 14+. No plastic bags are labeled with numbers, the instructions can have you put on over 30+ pieces at a time, and some parts need to "bend" a little just to get into a tight spot. This does everything. Four wheel steering, four wheel drive, Four drive ratios that work, plus many more.

This is going to be a restore of this Supercar. After sitting 15 years on my shelf or in a box, this unit got pretty dusty. But the dust couldn't just be blown off. I'm going to have to dismantle the whole thing and clean it and put it back together again. Should be fun!

Set Name: 8880 Supercar
Theme: Technic
Released: 1994
Pieces: 1343
Price: $n/a I don't remember the original price I paid. I think it was around $150 US dollars. It now goes for over $350 new.
Addition info can be found at: Bricklink, Brickset

Wanna see some pictures? Let's start with the normal box arts and manuals!


Box

Box art that I got from Bricklink.com. My original box is long gone.


Instruction book

Here is the cover of the instruction book. If you flip the booklet over...


You get an alternate build of a F-1 racer.


A few pages of completed views from the booklet.



Nice photos. The underside and view of the engine is well worth looking at the larger photos. Sorry, these groups of photos wasn't taken with my normal camera so the original size is smaller and not as clear.


Random page shot.

Here is one example of what I mean about the amount of parts to be installed. This one doesn't have a lot of parts, but how it gets installed can be a bit confusing.


The rebuild.

Here is a photo of it before any cleaning was done. 90% of all the dust you see in the picture, couldn't be removed with can-o-air. And maybe only 10% more could be removed with a soft tipped toothbrush. Go a head. Click on it and be scared. This is what can happen if you have your stuff just sitting on a shelf.


Closeup view of one piece. You can see how the dust layered one.


Here's a part of the tear down. Looks like a old roadster like this. Sorry for the ugly background. Someone walked off with my normal "table/drawer".



The above two shots are the pieces for the set. I had to soak everything you see in the first picture in some water. I let it sit for about an hour. Without using any detergents, I was able to scrub the pieces with the soft toothbrush.


Here's a problem. About 36 of these "Light Gray Technic Bush 1/2 Toothed Type II" was cracked. I'm guessing over time, just the stress of being on a shaft caused it to break. When looking at a good part, I can see a stress line where they joined it somehow. I was able to get 98% of the pieces replaced from my other set 8868 Air Tech Claw Rig, which I had in parts in the 8868 box. All of those are in great shape. I guess having it in the set box kept extra air and sunlight from corrupting the pieces. Amazing as there was air hoses in mint shape in that box for the air pistons in the Claw Rig.


On to the actual build!







Here is the Light Gray Technic Driving Rings that will be used to change gear ratios.



This is a good view to see the front and rear LSD.








In this photo, I removed the steering arm and one of the suspension shocks so you can see how much thought they put into the wheel suspension. The "Light Gray Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular" that points up is there so when the wheel travels upward, it'll bump into the wheel shaft to stop wheel travel upward. Same thing with the piece resting on the back of "..axle&pin connector perpendicular". When wheel travel goes up, it too helps stop the wheel from having too much travel. I wanted to remove it to see just how much travel it would have, but forgot to do that. I'm pretty sure it's stopping about 40% of upward travel for the wheel.


Here is the closeup of the gear shifter. Below the shifter, you can see where it moves those "Light Gray Technic Driving Ring". By moving the ring, it'll lock the gears to other gears to give different rotational speed to the engine.



Multiple view of the V8 engine. Yes, the pistons move. Notice it's grey. Not yellow pistons like in most engines now in sets. Interestingly, the whole engine is built, then stuck into the chassis.


Hard part is hooking up the chain drive to the engine and the gears. Here you can see the chain used just a head of the engine.





How complicated can it be? Check out how the whole trunk area is made first, then you connect it to the chassis. Every angle is used to get the part to join just right.


Even here, the trunk holder is made in just a way, that when fully opened, it'll rest locked up. Just push the center joint inward and it'll collapse and fold away.


I so love this view. Without the wheels, it looks very slick. Almost Celica like..





Finished photos!

Front view. Lego put some thought into making this set. Although you can't see everything, there are actually three air diffusers on the front. All helping to give the front end a better nose appearance.


Here you can see a more top view from the front and here you can see the front diffusers better.


And of course the rear. Again, the rear has built-in diffusers too. The mufflers are also kept under the car so as it does not stick out. The rear tail lights seem high. I thought about moving them with the yellow strip as they are the same size pieces but then the yellow strip doesn't go around the car nicely. I think they made the rear big just so you can see that lovely V8 engine.Yes, the fan on the V8 actually spins with the gear ratios changing. So sometimes it spins fast, other times, it spins slower.


Top view. Here you can see, looking from the front to the rear of the car, the gear to raise and lower the headlamps. Then comes the front "limited slip differential". Next is the steering wheel gears to control the front and rear wheels. Then comes the 4 gear shifter. How you have a center shaft that allows "you" to rotate the steering wheel and the wheels . Finally you have the V8 engine. Pistons work and so does the rear fan. Although you can't see it in the picture, there is a chain belt connecting the engine to the gears on the car. They could've gone with a rubber band setup and made it similar to a belt drive, but this way is so much sleeker.


Some outside shots

Somehow the back view just doesn't look right. Almost like it was made way too big. But I think that's they way it looks when you take the shot from a low angle.


Final picture. Front view parked on gravel. No, that's not my Corvette in the background.


The videos. Yes. This review has a little of everything.

Here's a video of the suspension. Nothing fancy, but how many Lego cars come stock with 8. Yes, 8 spring suspensions. That's two per wheel folks.


Next up is a view of the interesting 4 wheel steering. This vehicle led the way for other multi-wheel steering.


Features
Having to remember this is not a REAL car, this Technic set really shows how a hi-tech car would work in a simplified layout. It has working suspension, Four wheel steering and drive. Working four gear ratios. A working headlights that open and close. Working trunk. Also a working engine and working Limited Slip Differentials for both front and rear.

My rating:
Playability: 5/5. When compared to other Technic sets, I don't think Lego has outdid this for a model of a car yet. Even my 8448 Lego Super Street Sensation can't hold up to all the technical wizardry that Lego put into this set.
Design: 5/5. If a Technic set could have labels like UCS, This would be one of them. This is a show car that I'm glad I cleaned up. I just hope it'll last another 5 years so my son will appreciate this set for what it does.
Build experience: 5/5. Comparing it to other Technic sets, this is hard. It's no walk in the park. There is no numbered bags to open, and some parts as I mentioned before, need to either be removed to shimmy in the piece they now want you to add, or bent a little to get it into its spot. Once in, it fits snuggly. But I don't remember in recent years, where parts needed to be inserted that way. And for each step of the build, they give you allot to put in. Not like some Star Wars set that have you placing 2 pieces for one instruction number. We're talking like over 10-30 pieces at one frame of instruction!
Overall: 5/5. Well worth buying. Not sure if it's worth paying $350+ for it new, but I know if it came out for $200, I would still see if I could find the cash to get it. Remember, it "only" has 1300+ pieces.

Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!
All photos are click able for larger, bigger-than-life picture sizes! You can see all photos used here: 8880 Supercar

[LEGOMAN132]

Thanks for posting that was a great set.

[prateek]

thats epic

[starstreak]

Thanks! I had fun re-doing it. :)

[LordGalewind]

Probably one of the best TECHNIC models ever made. Like you said this thing is all guts and glory, the build is tough and the functions are as realistic as it gets. Its a shame I sold mine not to long ago...coincidentally to buy more new sets at a bargain.

On another note, how did you get the set so clean? A toothbrush, a little mr. clean and water usually gets 95% of the gunk off of mine without ever harming the parts. Dust has become a major enemy to my collection, and I agree its better to keep your sets under some protection to avoid this problem.

This post has been edited by LordGalewind: Jun 12 2009, 12:41 AM

[CP5670]

Great review. This set has actually been reviewed before, but it's good enough to warrant another perspective.

Most of the dust can be removed easily by rubbing the pieces against a cloth or carpet, even the layers that don't come off with compressed air. I use these things and they work very well, although they won't get the dust inside the hollow studs on Technic bricks.

Comparing it to other Technic sets, this is hard. It's no walk in the park. There is no numbered bags to open, and some parts as I mentioned before, need to either be removed to shimmy in the piece they now want you to add, or bent a little to get it into its spot. Once in, it fits snuggly. But I don't remember in recent years, where parts needed to be inserted that way. And for each step of the build, they give you allot to put in. Not like some Star Wars set that have you placing 2 pieces for one instruction number. We're talking like over 10-30 pieces at one frame of instruction!

I don't think the build is that hard actually (in a good way). The studded construction makes it more fun and intuitive to build than modern Technic sets. The instructions definitely have more steps than than current sets though. The mother of all heavy instructions was actually the manual for the previous super car, 8865, which had one step involving a staggering 134 pieces.

There was also a cool incident with this set several years after its release. I'll quote myself from the other thread:

Another interesting tidbit: Lego S@H briefly sold the Super Car at one point in 2002 at the original $140 price, although in very limited quantities. I remember a Lego employee posting on Lugnet that they found a small stash of them in one of their warehouses that had somehow missed their inventory database. They were offering them with a limit of 2 per customer, but there were only 20-odd sets in total. Needless to say, they sold out in a few hours. I was tempted to get one myself, but I had already gotten two MISB ones off ebay by that point.

[edit] In fact, here is the thread on it. I see one of my own old posts in there.

[starstreak]

LordGalewind-
Believe it or not, while the tooth brush didn't get it clean, the soak in the water did it for me. After the soak, I brushed its teeth, and it was as good as new. Almost. :)

CP5670-
Re-released,huh? Wow. That was a lucky find. I would've bought another one too.

[Fluyt]

Wow, I had no idea this was such an awesome set .
Great extensive review.

[starstreak]

Sweet! Another happy viewer.

Wow, I had no idea this was such an awesome set .
Great extensive review.

[Smithy]

The photos are realy high quality. How did you take them?

I've tried many different things to achieve good photos but have always failed. Shadows, bright spots, have tried different backround and never seemed to some up with somthing that looks good.

As it was my second technic set I still prefer the 8860 Car Chassis from 1980!

[starstreak]

Believe it or not, it's just a white background and FL lighting. The trick is to have even lighting. Which is why, you'll notice I do most of my photos at work. :) Most of my photos at home is just average because I don't have proper lighting.

The photos are realy high quality. How did you take them?

I've tried many different things to achieve good photos but have always failed. Shadows, bright spots, have tried different backround and never seemed to some up with somthing that looks good.

As it was my second technic set I still prefer the 8860 Car Chassis from 1980!

[Zorro]

I actually still own this Technic car!
Well, my brother did, but he gave his LEGO to me .

[simonwillems]

I really like this car and I am missing one poll-option, the "Yes I own it and will never sell it" option

I bought mine two years ago for 50 euros from somebody who had had it on display since 1994 and did some major cleaning myself. Underneath the dust the parts were new (except for the yellowing on the seats).

There was also a cool incident with this set several years after its release. I'll quote myself from the other thread:

I remember this incident, somehow it happened in Holland as well, one particular store in the north of the country suddenly had a load of these sets for sale, coming from some warehouse. It was in 2002 but I was lacking funds at the time so did not buy it back then...

[Lupus74]

Good evening!

We received our 8880 yesterday. We bought it on ebay and it was the cheapest one of our 3 recently bought super cars. (We managed to buy 8880, 8466 and 8448 within 3 days - after looking for them for a long time on ebay...). It arrived in a plastic bag but the parts seem to be in perfect condition and even the instruction booklet does not look as if it is 15 years old. But we have a building queue at the moment. We finished 8466 today - we took a break from building 10185 especially for it - and we have 8 other technic set before we can start with this beautiful studded super car. Maybe I can convince my wife to give this oldtimer an extra permission to be build sooner...

[starstreak]

I always wanted the 8466. But never found a good deal for it. Join the reviewers academy and do a review on it. :)

Many people like the 10185. But I was never a house type builder. Except I do want "Waterfall" but can't bring myself to pay $140 for it.

Good evening!

We received our 8880 yesterday. We bought it on ebay and it was the cheapest one of our 3 recently bought super cars. (We managed to buy 8880, 8466 and 8448 within 3 days - after looking for them for a long time on ebay...). It arrived in a plastic bag but the parts seem to be in perfect condition and even the instruction booklet does not look as if it is 15 years old. But we have a building queue at the moment. We finished 8466 today - we took a break from building 10185 especially for it - and we have 8 other technic set before we can start with this beautiful studded super car. Maybe I can convince my wife to give this oldtimer an extra permission to be build sooner...