LEGO


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Some motors were sold in 'service pack bags' numbered 1175.
-But these motors could vary from the very first 1977 variants to the 1982 variants.


I know of the following packages:
870 (the original 1977 package).
960 (First "Expert builder" labelled box. Picture looks much like the 870, but the wires inside the box changed).
1175 (service pack bag - only the motor, but it could be any of the variants).
8700 (1982, 3-prong hole variant)
In addition, 1032 (1 motor+battery 'rod'), 1034 (2 motors + battery 'rod'), 1038 (2 motors), 1090 (2 motors), 1092 (3 motors)
The 4V badge on the old motor (no middle pin hole) is positioned 0.5mm higher than the newer ones. Details:
On the old motor, the position of the badge from the bottom of the badge to the edge is 2mm. The distance from the top of the badge to the top of the back is 4.9mm
On the motor with a middle pin hole, the distance from the bottom of the badge to the bottom of the motor back is 1.5mm. The distance from the top of the badge to the top of the back is 5.4mm.
On the 12V motor without middle pin hole, the distance from the bottom of the back to the bottom of the badge is 1.5mm. The distance from the top of the back to the top of the badge is 5.4mm.

So far, I've encountered these variants:
YearVoltageColourPlastic AxleVoltage BadgeMiddle PinArrowOilite Bronze BearingSet NumberComment
19774.5VGreyOld Type(None)NoNoNo(870 or service pack 1175, never 960)Original 4.5V motor
Late 19774.5VGreyOld Type4VNoNoNo(870, 960 or service pack 1175)4V Badge added
(LEGO plans on releasing a 12V motor)
Late 19774.5VGreyOld Type4VNoNo(Maybe)(870, 960 or service pack 1175)New oilite bearings
Late 19774.5VGreyOld Type4VNoYesYes(870, 960 or service pack 1175)Oilite bearings marked with an arrow
197x4.5VGreyOld Type??No?(960 or service pack 1175)
197912VBlackOld Type?No??(880)
197912VBlackOld Type12VNo??(880)
197912VBlackOld Type12VNoNoNo(880)12V badge is placed lower than the original 4V badge
(preparing for middle-pin on 4.5V motors)
19xx12VBlackNew Type?Yes??(880)
19824.5VGreyOld Type4VYesNoNo(8700 or service pack 1175)Middle pin hole added
(it should have been added to the 12V motor instead)
19824.5VGreyNew Type?Yes??(8700 or service pack 1175)
19824.5VGreyNew Type4VYes??(8700 or service pack 1175)
You can download and view my draft .dat files in LDView.
Note: The draft-files have not gone through the cleaning process, so they might contain a lot of clutter and the line endings might not be <CRLF>