casethejoint

LOL. We've all been there and anyone here who says they haven't is either lying or doesn't own a dishwasher. Fact. I'm another fan of the ultrasonic cleaner - and as mentioned above, a diluted dose of degreaser works wonders. I've done all kinds of bits and never had an issue with damaging anything - I think they're pretty gentle and it's far more likely a chemical reaction that's causing damage. It's clever how they work - the sonic waves cause tiny air bubbles to form on hard surfaces (so in between the surface of your part and the dirt) and the bubbles basically lift the dirt off. Hard to imagine anything more gentle than that. My cheap ultrasonic (I think I paid £20 for it new a few years ago) and my barrel polisher are the two things I rely on the most for vintage restorations. We also do my wifes jewellery in the ultrasonic FWIW and that always comes out amazing (just with water).

Weren't the early Tamiya on-road RC cars 380 powered with a diff ? There's also a 380 Sport Tuned - I have one in my Sand Rover:- I have no idea what the spec is on it, but it must be faster because it has a black sticker on it, right?

Lovely F150 and nicely built too I have several of these AP-35s (a few years ago there were plenty on eBay being sold for model trains - I guess they were used for those too, with PCM modulation being sent down the rails maybe?). Back in 1983 it was a big upgrade on the mechanical ESC that came with SRBs and there weren't that many other options. The transistor will fry if even a stock 540 motor if it's under too much load with 7.2v, so I think under-powering it is a good idea. You can still buy the transistors thankfully - plentiful supply on eBay. I now have as my main SRB runner a F150 same as yours but I opened up the Acoms receiver case and sneakily stuck a 2.4ghz digital RX inside the case, so it looks like a regular vintage Acoms but actually all modern no-glitch digital. If you look closely at the pic you'll see the two antennas poking out the antenna wire hole. I run this with a 6.6v (I think) LiFE battery and a vintage black 540SD. Lots of fun - totally vintage but the modern Rx makes a big difference to my confidence that it's not going to careering off on its own.

It sounds like the servo horn was put on without the servo having first been centered. Unscrew the retaining screw, take the servo horn off, switch everything on and center everything, then replace the horn.

Hey Erich, I found some stuff that might be useful. I have a set of re-re decals which has an unused licence plate (not sure if this is the same plate as the original 1980 SR - might not be - STOLEN I think was the original - but I guess at least it is genuine Tamiya). And I have loads of original little Tamiya round head single slot screws, which are correct for the windshield (they're original vintage Tamiya - from SRB wheels probably) other than they are too long. The SR windshield are shorter - but they are the right thing and I think with a little care and a hacksaw they can be cut so size. Happy to send to you if you want to have a go..... They are identical, just longer (need to be cut approx. in half):-

> By the way, now that I am replying to you I wanted to ask if you will show more pictures of the Sand Scorcher? I really loved what you did narrowing the rear axles! Like so many of my projects unfortunately it kind of got paused where it was due to work, family etc commitments. I will post some more pics when I actually manage to progress it though. You asking me has kind of got me wanting to get it back out on the bench...

I don't blame you - I don't run mine either. I took it for a lap around the lounge once and then put it back on the shelf. Problem with these vintage buggies is one crash and they're in a million pieces. With 30+ hours sometimes going into restoring, the emotional investment is too much to risk There is no servo saver - just a servo horn. The steering arms are just bent rod - which basically is the servo saver (they have a bit of spring in them). Actually quite innovative really - designed to a price. I'll have a look for some of those small screws - I'm pretty sure I have about a thousand of them

PS - I remember now filling in those front mount screw holes (so no need for the "Sand Rover" decal that normally covers them). Definitely looks better like that. I didn't do mine and wish I had now.

Whoop, good to see the lights got stickers - looks great! > Now I'm only missing the tiny windshield screws I believe these are the same as vintage SRB front wheel screws. You know the little round head slot screw things? I might have some - will take a look. What else is needed to get it running? I think we need to see it running > Hi, this is all a bit late, but the pinion issue on to the 380 motor is resolved by adding some brass tube onto the motors spindle and then put the pinion on, tightened by a grub screw. In desperation in the past I've had success by cutting a bit of tube from the ink tube of a Bic biro. I seem to remember it being a perfect fit....

Stunning. Better. late than never I'm also about 2 years behind on mine

Really interesting. So, as you say, both pretty much on scale actually. I guess the 4x4s were just much bigger vehicles (and maybe the scale effect amplifies this visually in some way). No - the 4x4 driver figures are significantly bigger.

Sorry, couldn't resist...

Nice data points! Om paper those seem closer to 1/8th than 1/10th. I'm being less scientific and eye-balling it. Here's a Blazer and an SRB for wheelbase:- ... and overall perception of size/scale:- Not just the old ones:-

They've always seen more inline with 1/8th to me. Just wondering if there's a reason Tamiya called them 1/10

Looks like you put some time and effort into that back in the day. My advice - don't sell it, restore. It's part of your childhood history

Nice! Can't beat a bit of 80's Tamiya Nostalgia. One whiff of blue Threadlock and I'm transported back to 1983

That looks awesome Erich I agree it doesn't need any decals. But I think you should paint the side body trim line (maybe silver per the 1:1).

That looks fantastic - nice work!

>>I'm curious about ultra-sonic cleaners. Do those things work?<< Yes. >>Should we all have one?<< If you do a lot of restos, probably. You can use all the chemicals you normally would (degreaser, deruster etc) in it, as well as water and a tiny drop of washing up liquid if it's just grungy crud. They're brilliant - couldn't do a resto without one now. You can clean just as well by hand but it's horrible and takes ages. Most things come out of my ultrasonic cleaner absolutely spotless within 3-4 minutes. The way they work is the ultrasonic vibrations form tiny air bubbles in between your item and the crud on it, and basically lifts it off. Very very gentle but brutally effective. The other thing I highly recommend is a barrel polisher (some call them "lapidary polisher") with the green cone media (walnut shells for polishing). This gets you pretty close to bead blasting in terms of metal cleaning but without having to have a high CFM compressor. I leave pot-metal type parts (SRBs etc) in these for up to 2 days in green media for a "fresh out of the blister" look and then 1 day in walnut media if I need it shiny. They normally come in three sizes measured in pounds (weight). A 3lb one will take an SRB gear case. The ultrasonic cleaner and barrel polisher are probably my 2 most used (and appreciated) tools when restoring old buggies and cars.

We're not worthy. This is genius.

Excellent - thank you both, knew they must be out there somewhere

There always used to be a few on eBay, but searching (UK) showing nothing. Anyone know if any other online stores still sell these ?

Welcome to the nut house! Great collection of bits. How long until you retire? I'm sure we'd all like to see what you come up with

Absolutely stunning!

Dogbone time.... And then some uprights. Sort of ends up looking a bit like: Then it all drops in with a pin and couple of screws. Nice and easy. Starting to look like a roller.... Front next, pretty much the same thing. The mounts are just sitting in place - makes it a little tricky to get it all together without it falling apart. The manual says to great the inserts on the ends of this pin, but I chose instead to grease the female side as it was a little easier and less messy. Then they drop into place and this blue alloy stay is screwed into the chassis to hold it all together. I love simple design like this. Front uprights. Different colour dogbones, not sure why (different metal?). Again pretty straightforward. Then they drop into the place the same as the rear - couple of pins and stays. "Bit too much blue alloy and carbon on that Tamiya", said no-one. Ever.