Finally got an Avante

[Pablo68]

I never really wanted one before. I know how many people over the decades would have crawled across broken glass for one, but I checked them out and thought meh.
 

Recently however I thought, I think I might want one, and started looking. I found the one in the pics and picked it up for about 242 of your great British pounds, which from what I've been seeing lately is a good score.

Not entirely sure which edition it is though. The steering is the original set up, the motor is from the 2011 version, everything else could be from just about any edition really. I may eventually change the steering to the later set-up, seems to have less links in it.

Body is good, wing is beat up but it should be fine for occasional running.

[FoxShot]

Nice. Thats a ReRe that's been run. A very good price indeed. I love my Avante. Such a beautiful thing to look at. The linkage is how the Avante comes as stock. It is possible to fit the Egress steering Setup.

 

I will be making a few subtle mods to my Avante soon

 

[Willy iine]

Congrats, @Pablo68!!  Super deal too.   

I can’t wait to get mine.  

[Pablo68]

Had a bit of a look see today at changing the steering.......ouchy spendy!

[Willy iine]

5 minutes ago, Pablo68 said:

Had a bit of a look see today at changing the steering.......ouchy spendy!

  Yeah, like real cars, expensive cars run expensive parts.    

Are you planning to get a new body for it?  I was doing some research on repo bodies.  With decals and all (including driver figure), it was well over $100.. so I spent a little more and ordered a NIP factory body set.  But at least you can buy ala carte as needed with repo.

[Pablo68]

32 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

  Yeah, like real cars, expensive cars run expensive parts.    

Are you planning to get a new body for it?  I was doing some research on repo bodies.  With decals and all (including driver figure), it was well over $100.. so I spent a little more and ordered a NIP factory body set.  But at least you can buy ala carte as needed with repo.

I'll probably run it with the body it has for now. I kinda like em like that. Maybe do a shelf body for it down the track.

[bRIBEGuy]

Nice score!

[Exit13]

It’s nice. I’d love to get my hands on one again. Back in 88 had had two of them. One was NIB until my friend told me about “this new thing called eBay” back in 2000. Sadly I don’t even know what I did with the one I built and ran. But I will live thru you for now with your Avante!

[matman]

On 26 February 2022 at 3:28 PM, Pablo68 said:

I never really wanted one before. I know how many people over the decades would have crawled across broken glass for one, but I checked them out and thought meh.
 

Recently however I thought, I think I might want one, and started looking. I found the one in the pics and picked it up for about 242 of your great British pounds, which from what I've been seeing lately is a good score.

Not entirely sure which edition it is though. The steering is the original set up, the motor is from the 2011 version, everything else could be from just about any edition really. I may eventually change the steering to the later set-up, seems to have less links in it.

Body is good, wing is beat up but it should be fine for occasional running.

@moffman Looks like your one lol . 

Nice Avante  @Pablo68 , are you going to run it ?.  2011 model , so it should be good to run .

[Pablo68]

1 hour ago, matman said:

@moffman Looks like your one lol . 

Nice Avante  @Pablo68 , are you going to run it ?.  2011 model , so it should be good to run .

Yeah yeah, a few times at least.
 

[Willy iine]

2 hours ago, Pablo68 said:

Yeah yeah, a few times at least.
 

I finished building mine late last night and and drove it around this morning a couple of times to set up the car.  I'd like to hear your experience and opinion when you do get around to driving yours.    

 

[moffman]

19 hours ago, Pablo68 said:

Yeah yeah, a few times at least.
 

I would almost certainly say it was a 2011 avante looking at the front uprights and the shocks! but even a used one that's a brilliant price👍 the hop-ups for them have increased in price simply because they are discontinued but you never know with tamiya it's quite possible they could make a re-appearance?

[Pablo68]

On 3/3/2022 at 5:36 PM, moffman said:

I would almost certainly say it was a 2011 avante looking at the front uprights and the shocks! but even a used one that's a brilliant price👍 the hop-ups for them have increased in price simply because they are discontinued but you never know with tamiya it's quite possible they could make a re-appearance?

Here's hoping!!
Actually one fly in the ointment, one of the cam-lock nuts was missing, but that's on me for being a dopey ****** when I picked it up. I'll possibly run it with standard wheel nuts anyway.

[moffman]

9 hours ago, Pablo68 said:

Here's hoping!!
Actually one fly in the ointment, one of the cam-lock nuts was missing, but that's on me for being a dopey ****** when I picked it up. I'll possibly run it with standard wheel nuts anyway.

I'm not sure but aren't they just a standard tamiya lock nut? 

[Pablo68]

5 hours ago, moffman said:

I'm not sure but aren't they just a standard tamiya lock nut? 

Tamiya standard lock nuts do fit. The Avante series also had these big round disks with a thread in the middle and cams to lock them on the outside.

[Willy iine]

@Pablo68  These, right?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/132687668533?epid=1778692715&hash=item1ee4cd2535:g:gWIAAOSwh49bhKYB

 

[Pablo68]

6 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

@Pablo68  These, right?

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/132687668533?epid=1778692715&hash=item1ee4cd2535:g:gWIAAOSwh49bhKYB

 

Hmmm, yes that's them, thx!

[Willy iine]

Just now, Pablo68 said:

Hmmm, yes that's them, thx!

Awesome, no problem.   Now your car is whole!  

[WillyChang]

1 hour ago, Willy iine said:

Now your car is whole!

‘fraid not, that’s just the plastic bits... one would also need BE1 from Screwbag E to assemble the camlocks  specialized M2 caphead bolt 

[Willy iine]

8 hours ago, WillyChang said:

‘fraid not, that’s just the plastic bits... one would also need BE1 from Screwbag E to assemble the camlocks  specialized M2 caphead bolt 

Ideally yes, but I wouldn't worry about that.   This is the vintage thread, we can improvise parts we can't find especially since this is basically a 2x11 screw.  I would bore out the latch a little so it does not catch the thread and walla!  Does not need to be an exact match for something one can't see from the outside... I think.

One might not even need to bore it out.  

[Pablo68]

Ok,
I reassembled and changed up a few things on the car (pinion wrong way round, meshed too tight) changed the plug on the esc and a couple of my batteries, chucked in an Rx and it lives!
1st run, went for all of about five meters before not going and making a whiiijzzzzh sound. Hmmm, better check the pinion and spur again. Oh, it's also a centre diff, ok then, not sure if that is good or bad but whatever.
The screw in the centre diff came undone, ok I'll do it up again (in my mind I'm thinking, it's going to just come undone again) put the car back together. On that subject......

I wasn't expecting a lot out of this car, but my god it ranks right up there with the worst to work on. I'm not sure what Mr Hiroshi J Tamiya was thinking back in the day, this was supposed to be a racing buggy from memory, to compete with the Kyosho's and what have you's back then. One thing the other manufacturers were homing in on (albeit slowly) was ease of maintenance and set up adjustments. Gah!

Anywho, back together, lasted a little longer before whijzzzz time again. This time I looked at a manual, ahhh that's the problem, no spring washer. Actually it was there, but completely crushed flat. So, bend it back to close to being a spring washer, put some diff grease where it should be (there was none originally, bone dry) re-assemble so it feels nice and smooth and fairly tight, also put locktite on the screw that holds it all together.

I'll let youse all know tomorrow how it goes.

[Willy iine]

@Pablo68 good to hear you got your car running!  Yeah, that center diff is a hassle. I’m probably going to swap that unit out with a locked version off an Egress, maybe do a one way while at it.  

Enjoy your car!  

[Saito2]

By most accounts in the Egress world, running triple ball diffs is a preferred set-up although I've only run locked on an Egress. The one-way supposedly leads to dartiness which I figure that chassis has enough of naturally. I may give it a shot though. 

The center ball diff really isn't meant to be adjusted but rather just tightened down the whole way. I too, had issues with the screw backing out on mine (albeit in a Vanquish) in my long lost youth, but using threadlock on the cap screw fixed that. I always felt the center ball diff gave a smoothness to the driving experience : i.e. the feeling of an AWD Subaru vs a 4WD truck, locked in with a transfer case.

Part of the problem is Tamiya is not great about explaining how to do it up. The original Avante manual tells you nothing about tightness, nor adjustment. The 2011 Avante manual warns about not overtightening and the original Vanquish manual (same drivetrain as the Avante) has you gripping the center diff output with pliers and telling you to "firmly secure" the screw. Same diff, 3 different directions and nothing about adjustability or not. So, I firmly secure it with threadlock and usually don't have a problem after that,

[Willy iine]

1 hour ago, Saito2 said:

By most accounts in the Egress world, running triple ball diffs is a preferred set-up although I've only run locked on an Egress. The one-way supposedly leads to dartiness which I figure that chassis has enough of naturally. I may give it a shot though. 

The center ball diff really isn't meant to be adjusted but rather just tightened down the whole way. I too, had issues with the screw backing out on mine (albeit in a Vanquish) in my long lost youth, but using threadlock on the cap screw fixed that. I always felt the center ball diff gave a smoothness to the driving experience : i.e. the feeling of an AWD Subaru vs a 4WD truck, locked in with a transfer case.

Part of the problem is Tamiya is not great about explaining how to do it up. The original Avante manual tells you nothing about tightness, nor adjustment. The 2011 Avante manual warns about not overtightening and the original Vanquish manual (same drivetrain as the Avante) has you gripping the center diff output with pliers and telling you to "firmly secure" the screw. Same diff, 3 different directions and nothing about adjustability or not. So, I firmly secure it with threadlock and usually don't have a problem after that,

I tightened down my Avante's center diff all the way too.  I honestly could not feel enough advantage or benefit from the looser setup.  The car drives very well with that center diff basically locked.  

As for the one way on the Egress, it seemed fine for my driving, but who knows, I don't drive the car at the limit.   I use to race all the time on my on-road sedans in mod class with a one way and I pushed the car to the limits all the time so I might be familiar with the one way's behavior and have some level of expectation and handle of it.  Not sure, I'm pretty dumb, so.  

[Saito2]

28 minutes ago, Willy iine said:

I'm pretty dumb, so

I'm pretty sure that's my line.