Vintage R/C cars

Author
Discussion

t1grm

Original Poster:

4,656 posts

291 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
quotequote all
Many moons ago I had a Tamiya Frog as my first R/C car. I see you can get lots of parts for vintage R/C cars on ebay so I’ve thought about trying to rebuild a Frog for display only. Would it be best to restore one or build one from scratch buying the components separately? It seems both are possible.

Also what are the chances of getting hold of period radio gear and ni-cads? My package originally came with a Futaba Attack R radio and Tamiya 7.2V/1.2Ah Racing Pack. I’ve seen an original Attack R transmitter for sale. Does anyone know what servos and receiver shipped with this unit circa 86/87?

peterpeter

6,437 posts

264 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
quotequote all
t1grm said:
Many moons ago I had a Tamiya Frog as my first R/C car. I see you can get lots of parts for vintage R/C cars on ebay so I’ve thought about trying to rebuild a Frog for display only. Would it be best to restore one or build one from scratch buying the components separately? It seems both are possible.

Also what are the chances of getting hold of period radio gear and ni-cads? My package originally came with a Futaba Attack R radio and Tamiya 7.2V/1.2Ah Racing Pack. I’ve seen an original Attack R transmitter for sale. Does anyone know what servos and receiver shipped with this unit circa 86/87?



sorry cant help, but I found my old "rough rider" buggy and baja bug bodyshell. I had an Acoms transmitter. Iwould like to restore it again so ifyou have any spare part links..id appreciate it

shirley temple

2,232 posts

239 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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I've got a Ford Sierra XR4i that was available from Ford dealers around the time of the XR4i launch, I haven't seen another one.

Mark

t1grm

Original Poster:

4,656 posts

291 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
quotequote all
peterpeter said:
sorry cant help, but I found my old "rough rider" buggy and baja bug bodyshell. I had an Acoms transmitter. Iwould like to restore it again so ifyou have any spare part links..id appreciate it



There's loads of stuff on US EBay site. Try searching on "tamiya rough rider":

ebay

Also see here for original manuals and parts lists:

www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=16

>> Edited by t1grm on Sunday 26th December 19:04

roop

6,012 posts

291 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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It is possible to fully restore the Frog or Rough Rider. eBay is your best source for parts. I have restored a number of cars - see www.fastasfunk.co.uk

I can also highly recommend joining TamiyaClub - www.tamiyaclub.com - Costs about £15 per year - you'll save that in your first trade with a club member.

HTH,

Roop

>> Edited by roop on Sunday 26th December 19:09

anonymous-user

61 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
quotequote all
shirley temple said:
I've got a Ford Sierra XR4i that was available from Ford dealers around the time of the XR4i launch, I haven't seen another one.

Mark


I've got one, it's had a few knocks but, IIRC, it is still in its original box

Have also got the Tamiya Falcon and Monster Beetle.

t1grm

Original Poster:

4,656 posts

291 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
quotequote all
That’s a great site roop. Seeing the Fox and the Falcon really bought back some memories.

IIRC I got my Frog for my 14th Birthday in 86. There was a group of four of us at school with two Foxes, one Falcon and my Frog. We used to stage races after school.

Another couple of school mates had a Big Wig and a Hot Shot (Tamiya’s first 4WD buggy I think?). We didn’t hang round with them because they were noncey 4WD boys

Happy days…

Am I the only one that’s thinks the 80’s were halcyon days for R/C buggies with the Optima, RC10 and all the Tamiya models?

It all seems a bit naff now with monster trucks and ready to run nitro buggies.

nicecupoftea

25,313 posts

258 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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God I used to love those - various friends had a Fox, Falcon, and a Boomerang!

I still have one of those Tamiya catalogues that you had to buy

Could only afford a little "Space Hopper" though Bloody thing had a wideband chip in it and always clashed with other frequencies so I couldn't drive in proximity to others Mashed the gearbox on it eventually....

tvrslag

1,198 posts

262 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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I still have my Hornet, Optima and 'Option House' Optima in the loft!

RichardD

3,608 posts

252 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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t1grm said:
That’s a great site roop. Seeing the Fox and the Falcon really bought back some memories.

Am I the only one that’s thinks the 80’s were halcyon days for R/C buggies with the Optima, RC10 and all the Tamiya models?

It all seems a bit naff now with monster trucks and ready to run nitro buggies. Was


Sheesh -

Got a Tamiya Sand Rover when I was a wee sproglet.
Eventually got a "Rough Rider" a few years later - whooa, enclosed electricl gear... driving it through puddles!
The time of progress when the first 4*4's were not as good as the 2wd RC10 was quite amazing to observe. Remember telling my dad how crap road car suspension was generally compared to the models.

Must have been one of the first in the country to get (get ready for a dirty word) Schumacher (Englishman called Cecil) Competition All Terrain, or CAT.
Mad days of racing - cleaning the motor after each run and charging the "SCR" cells until 40 degrees c !!

Went on Holiday to Romsey with my dad in 1987 to watch the 1/10 electric world champs. Got autograph of an unknown japanese driver who had been given a CAT by Cecil (Schumacher) since he showed potential. He won, showing something designed by a man in a shed (the great british tradition) could take on the Americans and Japanese.

Got a carbon fibre LWB Optima under my bed still...

McNab

1,627 posts

281 months

Sunday 26th December 2004
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Try Bruce Edwards in Perth - he keeps everything, and will post to any location. Buils his own very successful full-size competition cars too. Good bloke.

01738 624896 - Mobile: 07887 795 910.

mybrainhurts

90,809 posts

262 months

Monday 27th December 2004
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t1grm said:
....I’ve thought about trying to rebuild a Frog for display only.....





ah do not sink zat is funny, monsieur........

tubafun

433 posts

255 months

Monday 27th December 2004
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I had the Grass Hopper 2. A very good and quick little buggy. Stepped up to the Astute, very, very good.

I still have an Attack R set, I've got it in my MR2 touring car. Looked at buying a new set when i got the kit, but, it still works fine, so i didn't see the point.

roop

6,012 posts

291 months

Monday 27th December 2004
quotequote all
t1grm said:
That’s a great site roop. Seeing the Fox and the Falcon really bought back some memories.


Thanks for the kind words - glad you liked it. I've always been a fan of anything r/c - my Tamiyaclub showroom is at : www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom.asp?id=380

t1grm said:
Another couple of school mates had a Big Wig and a Hot Shot (Tamiya’s first 4WD buggy I think?). We didn’t hang round with them because they were noncey 4WD boys


Yep, Hotshot was Tamiya's first 4WD. It's actually a really nice buggy but overly-complex. I have a restored one that I ran a bit before I decided to mint it. It's true the Hotshot has a unique noise all of it's own due to the overly-complex 4WD system...!

t1grm said:
Am I the only one that’s thinks the 80’s were halcyon days for R/C buggies with the Optima, RC10 and all the Tamiya models? It all seems a bit naff now with monster trucks and ready to run nitro buggies.


Not the only one at all, but having said that, some of the new stuff is very very good indeed. It's the ready-to-run stuff I dislike. Thing is that kids today can't be arsed building them. Their PS2 comes out of the box and is working in 5 minutes so buggy kits wouldn't get a look in. Unfortunatel but true that the consoles have really killed r/c cars, Hornby trains, Scalextric etc for kids.

roop

6,012 posts

291 months

Monday 27th December 2004
quotequote all
RichardD said:
Must have been one of the first in the country to get (get ready for a dirty word) Schumacher (Englishman called Cecil) Competition All Terrain, or CAT. Mad days of racing - cleaning the motor after each run and charging the "SCR" cells until 40 degrees c !!


Heh heh, the CAT was amazing, but only really came into it's own in the second generation LWB version which was released very soon after the original.

RichardD said:

Went on Holiday to Romsey with my dad in 1987 to watch the 1/10 electric world champs. Got autograph of an unknown japanese driver who had been given a CAT by Cecil (Schumacher) since he showed potential. He won, showing something designed by a man in a shed (the great british tradition) could take on the Americans and Japanese.


I believe that man was Masami Hirosaka. He ended up winning about 7 World champs in a variety of classes. Possibly even now the most successful driver in the history of the sport.

chris_freebie

955 posts

246 months

Monday 27th December 2004
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White Van Man still has a nice one kicking around.....

My car has transformed over the years.. I believe you can buy a Tuscan shell these days.. oooh

7.2v battery packs are available all over the place aren't they?

Anyone know anyone who had a Grass hopper ? (point and laugh)

chris_freebie

955 posts

246 months

Monday 27th December 2004
quotequote all
tubafun said:
I had the Grass Hopper 2. A very good and quick little buggy. Stepped up to the Astute, very, very good.

I still have an Attack R set, I've got it in my MR2 touring car. Looked at buying a new set when i got the kit, but, it still works fine, so i didn't see the point.


Grass Hopper 2 ? I remember it shared the rear suspension strut between both axels, really emberassing for our mate Neil - obviously it made no real difference at the time but it was the cheapest model out - wasn't it ??

The thing that annoyed me about these cars is that you could 'write them off' so easily. If you broke more than 1 part, especially within the gear box it was often the same price to buy a whole new kit....

Coxy the bear

84 posts

245 months

Wednesday 29th December 2004
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Now I'm going back a bit! A load of my mates used to race at the local school withn BigWigs, Hot Shot 2's and such like. Then they progressed onto Kyosho Optimas and a couple of Rockys which I had. Then we got bored and a few of us moved to Mardave Mini Stox whilst the rich kids went for IC Stock cars made of girders!
I've now got an almost vintage racer which is a Kyosho GP Spyder 2 with an E46 M3 GTR Bodyshell, replica 19's, AVS tyres, K&N Filter and a tuned exhaust........
I've used it at least twice.......

chris_freebie

955 posts

246 months

Wednesday 29th December 2004
quotequote all
Coxy the bear said:
Now I'm going back a bit! A load of my mates used to race at the local school withn BigWigs, Hot Shot 2's and such like. Then they progressed onto Kyosho Optimas and a couple of Rockys which I had. Then we got bored and a few of us moved to Mardave Mini Stox whilst the rich kids went for IC Stock cars made of girders!
I've now got an almost vintage racer which is a Kyosho GP Spyder 2 with an E46 M3 GTR Bodyshell, replica 19's, AVS tyres, K&N Filter and a tuned exhaust........
I've used it at least twice.......

It's the sort of thing you get out in the winter on a rainy day, then sulk as it's too cold to go use. Then by summer you forget Vicious circle

wedgepilot

819 posts

290 months

Wednesday 29th December 2004
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I've still got an R/C MkI Golf GTi somewhere, complete with Hi/Lo 'gears' and dodgy 'sunburst' graphics. It still goes, as I tried it a few months back, but seems very slooooow compared to modern stuff...