Average Review Rating: / 5 Stars (5 Reviews)0Items related to LEGO 8865 Test Car available on external websites:Buy lego technic 8865 test car new sealed 1988' super carBuy lego 8865 - test car - technic / model / traffic - 1988Buy lego technic test car 8865 black or redBuy lego technic 8865 test car red or blue 100% complete Free Building Instruction Scan Download For LEGO 886512345678910 . 13 . . . 17 . . . 21 . . . 25 . . . 29 . . . 33 . . . 3738- or - Full Download (PDF)Andre rates this set 5 of 5 stars.I received this Test Car set from Santa when I was eight years old. I must say that it is still one of the greatest LEGO Technic kits I've seen. I still love it! I'm 31 now (don't play with LEGO myself now, but I'm keeping it for my son who will enrichen our lives next January...). The ORP was FL 206,- (Dutch guilders) back in 1988. This would now be something like 130,- to 150,- euros 23 years later. Marty rates this set 5 of 5 stars.I received this car from Santa too... in 1992. I remember that it was a big surprise for me.
I played with it for about 10 years thereafter. Lots of fun... but I hated the 4 piston engine, which jammed very often. At first I drove in neutral only, but after I reworked the engine with two pistons, things worked perfectly. I love that car...Dan rates this set 5 of 5 stars.A real achievement of Design for its day. To this day I'm the go-to guy among my friends when something needs fixing and I credit Lego, this set (Auto Chassis #8865) in particular. It has it all, working 3-speed transmission connected to a camshaft and pistons just like in a real car that are also connected to the wheels and move as the car rolls along! A working differential, independent suspension, a working steering wheel with rack-and-pinion steering, and even adjustable seats and actuator headlights. It is the one toy I have kept from my childhood. I consider it an heirloom. Oskie rates this set 4 of 5 stars.Asked the 8865 test car for Christmas from my mom, and while she was skeptical over if I still wanted legos at that age (11) I was determined I wanted it.
Turns out, I've built it only once or twice in my life and was quickly moving away from the legos altogether as my mom had presumed. I always felt bad about that. Now after more than 25 years I've dug it up and assembled the #2 model of the set for the very first time. It was a remarkable trip down memory lane and I'm glad I've kept all the bricks and pieces safe in the basement to maybe one day build this set with my own children. This is the kind of toy that really ages well. And while the car was expensive by the day's standards it would be a steal to get anything under $100 worth of something as great as this lego set.paul rates this set 5 of 5 stars.This is the set that i really wanted way back when i was 8 or 9... i was well into to lego technic then but i remember seeing an advert on TV for this set. I thought it was the most amazing thing i had ever seen. When santa delivered it for christmas i was so happy. Built it, played with it and kept it for 25 years and it is still awesome...
Best lego technic kit ever... Your ReviewOwn this LEGO set? Tell everyone what you like about it - add a review.Name:Review:Rating: 1 2 3 4 5My Parts: You need to be logged in to see your Set List. FREE Download: Available from PICSLLEGO Technic Car Chassis in black and red with steering and rear diff.8865 Test Car is a TECHNIC set released in 1988. It contains instructions for two models: a sport car (the "Test Car") and a jeep-like vehicle. The main model features a host of realistic details like a functional V4 engine with moving cylinders, working 3-speed-transmission with different gear ratios, working open rear differential, rack-and-pinion steering, and 4-wheel independent suspension, as well as flip-up front lights and adjustable seats. This was the most accurate-to-reality model Lego ever produced.Welcome to the third instalment in our series of Lego’s ‘ultimate’ car sets reviews. The year is 1988, and progress marches on, technically if not aesthetically…
The ‘Test Car’ – so called for no reason I can discern – represented a useful further evolution in the technical capabilities of these early cars, adding a very effective double wishbone independent suspension system at each corner to the features already present in the earlier 8860. Not only that, there were pop-up lights and an attempt at some sort of bodywork for the first time…Having unpacked the (disappointingly flimsy) box you may notice lots of new (at the time) and very useful pieces – the parts for the front suspension and those stiff black pins made their appearance here. On piecing the chassis together, it becomes apparent that it lacks the elegance of earlier versions – almost as if it was designed by two people who never spoke to each other. Still, there’s lots of details here to delight the budding engineer. Suspension: It works very well, much better than 8860’s swing axles, if a little soft at the front. Strong, too – the car can be dropped from quite a height and will just bounce.
I will not be accountable for any breakages that occur from readers chucking it down the stairs, however… The problem is, this very strength makes it bulky, leaving nowhere sensible to place the engine. The other problem is, the rear axle’s movement is accommodated by 2 universal joints on each side, forcing an absurd width on the poor thing. Engine: A neat little V4 that’s not that little (blame those old square pistons, much as I like them..). There’s nowhere for it to go except on top of the bulky rear suspension. If the car was longer, it could have been some much more exciting mid-engine sports car: as it is, these technical compromises made it too tall, much too wide and not long enough. Gearbox: Still a three-speed linear arrangement, but it manages a smoother operation than 8860’s thanks to an extra shaft, and the engine spins freely in all three gears. These hinged together plates show evidence of concerted cost-cutting and are not a patch on the items used in 8860, which can be made to fit this – just don’t do them in blue…
Lights: My favourite thing on this car – they work smoothly and are a delight to operate. Is this where the money saved on the seats went ? Steering: Works quite well, but not brilliantly. There’s a UJ in there forced through a 45 degree angle and it’s slightly too much – leading to a gritty action. Also, Lego’s strange obsession with limiting the steering lock of it’s models first made itself known here. Blame those wishbone parts, I guess. It’s not bad in this respect – and would in the future get a lot worse – but it could be better.Perhaps they shouldn’t have bothered. It’s very sketchy, not at all pretty and lends the whole thing an even more unfinished air than the (body-less) 8860. It is very strong, though – thank those black pins, which you won’t be doing when it comes to taking this apart… These are the earlier ‘interference fit’ pins that really jam themselves in the holes, making for a finger-crushing experience to remove them. Use a 10 axle with a toggle on the end and PUSH.