In the old Spencer he uses a flat drive motor, the strips of metal hold the motor in place and are used as conductors for the power (instead of wires) if you want to remove them you'll have to heat the point where the metal touches the motor tab (using a soldering iron) to melt the solder on the connection,
As for motors with paper, some have them, some don't, it's to stop one of these metal strips touching the motor casing and energising it, you don't always need the paper if there is enough clearance, but saying that, if it was fitted it was because it needs it!
If your going to be doing motor swaps I don't know how much difference a standard motor will make regardless if it's Spencer or Thomas, they generally all use the same motor, the speed is more dependant on the gearbox used,
As for motors with paper, some have them, some don't, it's to stop one of these metal strips touching the motor casing and energising it, you don't always need the paper if there is enough clearance, but saying that, if it was fitted it was because it needs it!
If your going to be doing motor swaps I don't know how much difference a standard motor will make regardless if it's Spencer or Thomas, they generally all use the same motor, the speed is more dependant on the gearbox used,