Maverick74

Original J, what a story having all to well know what you went through. I lost my mother right before Christmas as well and it never was or will be the same. There’s something to be said about missing an opportunity early in life to come back full circle and not have life repeat its story. It’s a healing moment more than anything else. God bless you and your family and thank you for your service. The world needs more hard individuals like yourself. CHECK!

Hello Geewings! Awesome story but I think that is worth a trip to see the old man lol

So thanks gentlemen, the disassembly is complete. When I do a restoration , the disassembly is one of my favorite parts not only to clean and Re-soften the plastics but to locate and identify all broken/damaged/missing parts. I took a leap of faith when I purchased because I really couldn’t tell from the pictures what I was getting myself into. It looked to have everything but the fact that the seller wasn’t trying to inflate the price to what all others are going for and accepted my first offer which I didn’t think I’d had a chance and he would reject. So knowing how pricy a 959 restoration could be I assumed the worst. Once getting it i noticed how clean it was with the exception of the body which was in the condition you would think it be in after 30 plus years. The wheels looked brand new but only came with slicks so I assumed the reason for the wheels, bumper and bottom chassis guard did not have scratch and to be in this shape must have been driven on -road only. The first mechanical issue I noticed was that the wheels were rotating in the same direction hence why I asked if it came with diffs and once you guys said yes I assumed the guy locked or glue them for whatever reason having seen that before. As I was disassembling prepping for its sonic bath I also was looking for breaks or cracks. After finding none I slowly started to realize from how good of shape each piece was in I wondered if that guy had the intention on restoring it and buying all the parts he needed to restore and for whatever reason decided not to and sold it to me. Once I noticed the screws looked brand new and they were from that period it only reinforced what I was thinking. I kept waiting to discover a part that needed to be replaced and had every piece down to the servo saver in the cleaner with the exception of the gear boxes which was driving me crazy why the diffs seemed locked. Once I had them open I then saw brand new gears and the reason why the diffs were not working. The poor guy didn’t have the pinion meshed correctly and once I looked hard at it I saw the teeth were bent I knew the drive gear was going to need to be replaced. He used locktight on his drive cups which I assumed he stripped them running it when his gears weren’t meshed correctly and not a dab of grease anywhere. Then it made a sense why he sold it like he did with all new parts. He spent a lot of money for restoration and got really ticked off when he couldn’t get it running right and just washed his hands with it and took a loss. So the only thing I needed to buy were new body, decals ,new gears and bearings which he might have kept and replaced with plastic ones. Anyway sorry for the Novel I really wanted to share that. I’ve always had crappy luck and was the guy who never wins anything but in this case I feel so lucky. Thanks for your opinions and listening

Hey thank you for the manual however looking at it I’m only seeing diffs for the rear. I want to say I heard that the difference between the 959 and the Celica is that the Celica had a center ball diff. I guess I’ll just pop it open to see what she has! Thank you again

So after many years of wishing I finally acquired a 959. It was only driven on-road so parts and plastic in great shape. Restoration hopefully won’t break my wallet. As versed as I am with Tamiya this is uncharted territory for me. Did the 959 not have diffs? I haven’t gotten into the gear boxes yet so if it does have diffs they are locked. Being the year it came out differentials we’re standard or at least I thought. Can anyone give me some info and if it’s a plain drive gear is there a diff upgrade that I’m not aware about? Any help would be much appreciated

Having read all these wonderful stories I came across a deal I could not resist and got “the one that got away”. Knowing how pricy and limited parts are today I am going to take my time to restore it and add it to my collection of memories.. Then I’m gonna “stretch some plastic”! I cannot wait to share the pics with the group!

Killajb, nice story and actually felt your pain.. the good Ol days of COD.. I think we all have been burned by it once or twice. It is a direct link to our childhood and for me my most happiest times. The Fox has a special place for me too. Thank you for sharing.

mtbkym01, such a great story and you are so right,, for us it is a direct link to our childhood that we will hold on to. The days of good ol COD.. I felt your pain and can imagine the joy you felt getting to build your dream car which btw holds a special place in my heart too which is why I have 3 of them lol.. our generation is very much different than today’s. We all drooled over the first commercials of the “Turbo Hopper” and when we found out there was a whole world of mechanized art it was game over. I’m so glad to be a part of that generation and not the generation of “Fort Night” or “PC gamers” we are the lucky ones..

Hi DeadMeat666, incredible story thanks for sharing. We are young only once and I feel it’s absolutely necessary to keep as many links to our childhood for it goes too quick. Man do I feel your pain I can remember seeing it sit displayed in the window of my Hobby Shop and just looked crazy fast. I hear you on EBay,, within the last three years prices went from bearable to downright comical. The 959 is my dream kit but know way would I pay 5,500 for a NIB. Anything (vintage) is out of control so as I aspect many of us is the doing right thing by not giving in to the gouging because that’s what it is. This is why this club is so important and special because we all are RC nuts and I’ve seen nothing but cheap to fair sells here. Ive swapped part for part which is awesome. Prices will come down eventually when no one is buying happy driving!

So I settled for the Gold Pan and still run it today. My mother passed 6 days before Christmas in 83 and was the reason I got Into RC desperately needing the distraction. I know now how broke we were and how hard my father had to work to do what he even did. I never asked nor expected but appreciated the one or two gifts I got. I owe him everything which is why I’ve kept and maintained everyone I got. I contemplated on the WW2 at a time for it look fast and the sand tires looked like they were made for it. You all rock and loved reading those stories, it’s so important to keep the link to our childhood open!

Since bitten in 1983 I received one kit a year for Christmas and never looked forward to any other month than November. Each year the month prior to Christmas my father would take me to at the time the one and only Competition R/C Hobby Shop in Louisville Ky to get my “one big gift” and would have to wait a whole torturous month to unleash the beast of my choosing. Nov 1987 will forever be etched in my mind for this is will be the day that the one got away. At this point I was a veteran builder at 13 with 4 builds under my belt, The Frog, Grasshopper, Fox and the Monster Beetle which had filled me with many hours of uninterrupted fun and was looking for a more complicated build more tuned for a driver of my caliber(so I thought) and can remember walking through the doors of the Hobby Shop and was met by the oh so familiar smell of semi pneumatic tires and brand new electronics and went straight to what I had my eye set on the whole year “The 959”. This kit was intricate, fast and expensive and definitely not for the beginner builder. I told the clerk I wanted the 959 this year so he grabbed his step ladder to reach the top shelf where all high end kits were perched brought it down and saw my fathers eyes as he saw the hefty price tag but showed no discomfort. I had the kit in my hands when I noticed the factory seal had been removed i questioned the clerk who was unaware hisself. He opened the box and missing from the awe inspiring blister packaging was the RX-540VZ Motor. I then was like “Whats that all about then? CHUCK?!” as he explained that they were out of Technigold motor and someone must have broke into the blister to sell and replace it when stock came in which was a routine practice. The last kit? He stated the 959 were on back order and due in Jan! I was heartbroken. He apologized and said he would sell me this kit discounted and throw in a Trinity racing motor. My dad seeing my distress asked the clerk what kits did he have that we’re in that range and was equally good.. he climbed back up top and brought it down. It was the RC-10.. I looked at it and have to admit was hypnotized by the gold pan chassis, I thought about it for which seemed an eternity and left with the Rc-10. I never returned to get the 959 for Tamiya had newer more advanced kits coming out and till this day one of my biggest regrets. Thank you for listening to my story and would love to hear your “One that got away” story.. Happy driving

EBay is where I went to restore my bird. Although there are plenty of parts floating there seems to be a mass inflation thing going on with anything Tamiya, just last year I bought a part tree for the Falcon and it was 15.99 now guy is asking 130 for it.. no one is paying those crazy prices so it will go down. I love the 959 but no way would I drop 2,500 for one.. crazy lol you can get the body from TBG team blue groove and decals from MCI. Hope that helps

Sorry all had to add pics late. Thanks again!

Sorry. It wouldn’t let me add more than one pic.

After two years of pain staking effort I finally restored my original 1987 HS2! For me this was my first advance 4WD. Restoring this to showroom finish was a must for me. I want to thank all who helped me locate missing parts for keeping it original and vintage was a priority. The summer of 88 I was at a BMX track and had just installed the Novak Rooster reversible and after two runs it caught fire and melted the lower chassis and body. Instead of scrapping it I threw it in a box and am so glad I kept it. Although it took a long time to get her running again now I can say my collection is complete and I can enjoy them for what they are. Classics! Thanks and happy driving!