Back in the game with a sand scorcher.

[BigKid76 3]

Hello,

I had a FAV and a Hotshot back in the day as a kid (both in bits in a box buried in my Dad’s garage!) but always coveted the Sand Scorcher. I’ve recently managed to pick up a re re kit from ebay at a bargain price.

As I got it at a good price I can spare a few quid on some upgrades to use during the build. I’ve done plenty of research, mainly from threads on here but a few are from when it was originally re-released so I’m just after a bit of up to date advice if possible please.

From what I can tell without going too mad the main areas that can benefit from being upgraded and improve the car are –

Chassis, Shocks ,Diff & Pinion Gear.

Diff is already sorted, I’ve ordered one from Time Tunnel, a lot cheaper than everywhere else!

Chassis I’ll probably get from radshaperc but I’ve noticed they do a long version and wondered if anyone has any experience of it?

Pinion Gear, is it definitely worth upgrading and where’s best to get them?

And lastly shocks where I’ve read a lot of different threads and seen differing advice. Do they really need replacing and if so are there any improved third party shocks currently available that are a straight swap? 

Anything else I’m missing that’s worth doing during the build?

Sorry if this has all been done to death already but as I said some of the threads I read are quite old.

I’m sure this will be the first of many posts, I’ll no doubt have plenty of question during the build! Hopefully if the build goes ok it will inspire me try and got the FAV and Hotshot back up and running!

I’m looking forward to becoming a part of the community.

Cheers,

Mark.
 

[Fuijo 880]

Hi there. welcome to the forum.

Personally I wouldn't bother with the shocks. With a bit of fiddling and some better o-rings, they can be made not to leak. But it's never

going to handle that well on anything other than soft sand, for which you'll want to take out the diff and put the spool back in.

Sure you can put on better shocks and bin the rear torsion bars, even completely change the rear setup to double wishbone, but you're well beyond the point

of diminishing returns by then. Part of the charm of a Scorcher is that it handles like, well, a Scorcher. It might be better to spend your money

elsewhere if better handling is what you're after.

The kit already includes a steel 15 tooth pinion, so you'll only need to buy one if you want to go with the 20 tooth option. Again, for running in sand

with the standard motor, the 15t option will be better.

The chassis is fine as is for sand as well. I also ran my original SRB Ford Ranger for several years without anything nasty happening because of chassis-flex, and back

then I had no mechanical sympathy at all. But yes, if you intend to run it on tarmac or baked-hard dirt, then it might be worth considering.

 

But at the end of the day it's your money so it's up to you whether you would like to spend it on any of these things.

The only thing personally I would push out the boat on is paint and masking. Fine surface primer, 2 tins of each colour (so you can put on enough thickness to allow repairs

to bleeds or other mishaps), and Tamiyas normal yellow masking tape and also their white masking tape specifically for curves. Then finally some clear coat. It's such

a beautiful object when painted nicely, it would be a shame to scrimp and save on these materials.

Then, if you have any money left to throw around after that, then, well, knock yourself out I guess.

 

Have fun!

[moffman 5752]

Fuijo has said it all really the only thing I can vouch for is the ball diff I found it made it turn better and less intent on wanting to flip over so a ball diff is a must!, It's a sand scorcher so let it be a sand scorcher forget about the chassis and let the shock's leak (or turn them upside down) spend your money on having a top paint job and put a tamiya sport tuned motor in it! Then put it in the showroom we never get sick of looking at SRB'S! I love em I've just finished my sixth one all with what I said to do in them! Look forward to seeing it 

 

[moffman 5752]

 

OH! And if you can afford it get a front cage bumper from RC channel! Looks cool (IMO) and makes the front a bit more solid!

[Shodog 1835]

I've had a runner SRB for years and along the way broke things and found what works.  An aluminum chassis is a must.  The stock chassis flexes and you'll eventually break the body where it mounts to the front post.  The shocks will always leak but mounting them upside down and using a set of coil overs and eliminating the torsion springs will allow them to work much better.  The bumpers will break over time so.  Eventually you will need to replace them.  I didn't like the ball diff for beach running but was a godsend on the dirt.  

 

[BigKid76 3]

Thanks for the welcome and the feedback guys, I appreciate it. It will be run on grass and dirt so I think I'll stick with the ball diff. I assume the stock tyres won't cut it on grass, any recommendations? Already got my eye on the RC Channel front bumper, it does indeed look cool. I think I'll stick with standard shocks and try mounting them upside down and use some "green slime" that I keep seeing people referring to. Is it as simple as just fitting a spring over the shock or do they need to be modified in some way to retain the spring? The paint job could be interesting, I've never painted anything other than a wall in my life! Don't know whether to stick with the box art or try something different. Loving the pic Shodog, very cool. 

[Nitomor 2122]

Welcome to the forum!

I saw a really cool metal engine on ebay for one of these, I'll see if I can find the link.

I've been considering one of these for a while as I've never owned an SRB chassis. One question for all of you, does it require a hump battery or will the rere accomodate a round 7.4v lipo stick pack?

cheers

Nito

 

[moffman 5752]

1 hour ago, Nitomor said:

Welcome to the forum!

I saw a really cool metal engine on ebay for one of these, I'll see if I can find the link.

I've been considering one of these for a while as I've never owned an SRB chassis. One question for all of you, does it require a hump battery or will the rere accomodate a round 7.4v lipo stick pack?

cheers

Nito

 

When they started re-releasing SRB's Carson and maybe a few other manufacturers did a hump pack battery which is still readily available pretty cheap aswell! and you can put a lipo in it the kit comes with a oblong bit of sponge I think it's for the lipo battery to fit in it (I THINK???)

[Nitomor 2122]

Thanks Moffman, I've been trying to research it, looks like the sponge is for their LIFE pack, however Lipo's are available in all sorts of sizes now so I'm sure it's feasible.

I tried to look for that VW engine link on ebay, sadly I can't find it, it was unusual because it was all metal and not the usual plastic printed. It made me want a scorcher there and then!!

 

 

[mongoose1983 3335]

On 13/5/2016 at 7:11 AM, BigKid76 said:

Anything else I’m missing that’s worth doing during the build?

 

Hi Mark and welcome to TC!

Well, my friends here already gave you some good input. In case you're wondering what to do with the re-re body to make it look better you might consider these ideas:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=108778&sid=23692

Have a good one!

 

[Raman36 1655]

For the shocks, use the White / Clear TRF orings. 

http://www.rcmart.com/tamiya-damper-guide-oring-53574-p-8136.html?cPath=389_690

Since installing them on mine, I have had no leaks!