3 replies to this topic

[commiedoor]

just bought this hustler buggy of fleabay dirt cheap , vintage 1979/80's , it has limited front suspension and none on the rear . tamiya rims fit them apparently , the rear rims are genuine and the front dodgey a/m ones .. the whole thing looks a bit like a tamiya rough rider





should be a clean up to be a nice bit of histroy ..

[commiedoor]

well , so much for it being like a tamiya rough rider ! . the bearing in the front wheels are small , very small and flanged and imperial ! , on the wheels i have any way . the back righ hand rim was cracked beyond repair and since finding a new/second hand one is like finding hens teeth , i made one up out of a fav wheel . they are very similar in being 3 piece but not compatible at all . i used the front wheels of the fav to replace the ugly spoked jobs after making up spacers to run the tamiya bearings . the servo mount is spaced fora realy wide servo soi had to make up spacer plates to mount a servo to hold the steering in steady . its a very basic car but it came out with an esc way back then so theres a large space in front of the motor mount plate . the steering arms are held on to the hubs by brass collers and attach to the servo saver by 'z' ends . i just have to paint the rims white .

[darthfury78]

Hi Commiedoor,
I know of a guy who has all the parts to make your Latrax Buggy into how it was, including the remote control and servos. Let me know if you want his contact information.

[Hibernaculum]

I'm in the process of restoring one of these buggies actually.

Fun fact: LaTrax Hustlers were all originally white (I have the original box for mine). But for some reason, the flexible white polycarbonate-ish (but probably not polycarbonate) body shells have turned light brown with age. Mine looks just like the one pictured above. It gives them a rustic, aged charm...like desert dust.

Also, this model evolved a little while in production. I actually have two, and one came with an earlier fully-metal radio with a steering wheel on the front (like an old school Futaba), while the other has a more conventional 1980s plastic radio. The car itself also changed a little. The included 2-piece saddle battery was always fixed in place by plastic ties, but it's a different battery across my two models. Also the heatsinks seem to have changed too.

My buggies are basket cases, so I'm just restoring one out of the two at this point.

cheers,
H.