El Gecko

No concern there as it's only running a 380 motor and 10T pinion. I actually like how it drives on and off tarmac with the existing setup, and the locked diff is perfect for drifting around, but one of the hex driveshafts started slipping in a drive cup. At least that's what I think it is... I haven't actually pulled the rear end apart yet to investigate.

You didn't hear this from me but... we hid them from you They're in that box with all that other stuff. You know the one.

Thanks, that's basically confirming what I had thought--I'll be keeping the original locked diff gear in it. Now the $64,000 question: Is it acceptable to replace my clapped out original drive cups with some from the Frog/Blackfoot? The originals have no hole for the center rod like the later ones, although I believe the hex driveshafts and splines are the same so they should interchange?

Would you leave the original locked diff or replace it with an actual differential like the re-re Brat?

Success! V2 is actually on the truck and doing its job! V2 is a larger diameter piece of pipe, with a smaller diameter piece inside it as a sleeve. (V1 in the pic below at the top left) It actually works!!! (still looking for a more permanent solution though)

Well that's the nickname explained. It will make even more sense when you see the body shell The truck is a vintage Traxxas Sledgehammer (white chassis, gold aluminum) that I've been trying to keep running since my cousin gave it to me in the late 90s. It started out mostly stock, but the brittle white plastic has succumbed to age in many places, which has given me license to get creative with my repairs. I'm still trying to figure out which of the new part numbers will interchange with the old simple planetary gearbox/diff, so if anyone knows please post up, thanks. I think the output shafts from the 2382 set will fit in the old planetary gear, allowing me to upgrade to 4628R or 4628X u-joint yokes? I realize this is a Tamiya forum but there's a lot of crossover in vintage RC so perhaps one of you knows. The stock yokes are white plastic and easy to break, just like everything else on the truck. But it turns out, if you break all the plastic off the end of the shaft, there's a pin that can be pulled, leaving a hole big enough to drill out (or even better, tap) for a 2mm screw. This was my very first attempt using a piece of aluminum tubing from my spares box. The concept seems sound, maybe the 4628 yokes will fit these outdrives with a little modification? In the meantime I'm working up an improved V2. I ruined V1 below with an errant slip of the pliers

I had that same thought... I've been putting together a list of the first (soon to be) 9 rounds, which I'll post prior to round 10, so we can either revisit one of the old ones (or all of the old ones if we decide to get creative and combine them all!) or we can just do another new track that's completely different than all the others. Round 10 could be kind of a "milestone" round depending on how we decide to run it (sorry I was MIA for round 8, we were buried under a foot of snow and I kept breaking cars!) Edit: I'll need some extra corner markers this time, but @jupitertwo's latest design looks like fun! You've got my vote for round 9! (for whatever that's worth)

If this is the criteria, that means all my cars are shelf queens!

Ok I want a 1:1 Holiday Buggy now please (maybe a DT02 will suffice?) I was curious so I did some Googling and found some more info on the Corsair Stripper https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=96951&id=23692

I'd have to know a lot more about it before dropping that much, but if I was in the market for another project Frog (and enough of the car was usable), this would be a good start to a cool period restoration. Guessing it's a Brat that was converted to Frog spec (with a few extra hopups) for someone's weekend racer back in the day, but it's actually a bit of a mind boggler for one big reason: It's hard to say if the chassis has been dyed or painted, but that dark gray spaceframe was only used on much later Blackfoot series ORVs.

I'd go the same route (re-re for a carefree basher with the kids) and keep your original not just for the shelf, but runnable, so you can have the occasional light cruise with it. If I made pure shelfers out of my old cars, I wouldn't have anything to run! I completely understand the impulse to preserve, but it's usually outweighed by my desire to drive

@Exit13 You're not alone

I take it you haven't seen the re-re Sand Rover on the DT02 chassis? https://www.tamiyausa.com/shop/ready-run/rc-rtr-sand-rover/

Was there damage to the Falcon? (of COURSE the hawk goes after the car named like a bird!) Talon marks on the wing?

I hadn't given this much thought but I've seen people slice tires down the middle to narrow them... no experience with it but I suppose Shoe Goo would work?

Yep, this was a big part of the reason I switched to 2.4G for everything. My old Tx/Rx combos were mostly 75MHz but the best one was a 72MHz aircraft set, which had a big "not for surface use" warning that always made me feel a bit guilty every time I used it.

Run it on the bench at a constant low voltage (3-6V) until you hear the RPMs start to increase, then leave it there for a minute or two longer after they level out. Might take 5mins, might take 1/2 an hour. Make sure to lube the armature bushings first!

Is it still considered boxart if the body is painted correctly but the chassis has hopups or has been modified or painted to match the body? Boxart "plus"?

Ooh, if it was a shelf queen perhaps the motor brushes have never been properly broken in...

Might be something else wrong with the car? If the same motor isn't performing the same way. Any binding in the gearbox? Does it have ESC or MSC?

Dunno, never had one

Yes and yes... Grasshornet (bits from both), and they did... but today the rear wheels were bald Kyosho Optima!

Apparently I wait until complete structural failure

You're funny. I just used this the other night. It'll do a 1200mAh NiCd in about 20 minutes, and an 1800 in about 1/2 hour. You have to restart the timer manually once it returns to zero, in order to reach the appropriate charge times. The green on the meter is where you want to adjust the knob so you get a 4A(4000mA) charge rate. Otherwise it trickles at 50-150 mA. As with a NiMH peak charger, the batteries only get slightly warm to the touch (if at all).