Opinion needed: TRF801XT

[burakol 462]

I may have an opportunity to get a built 801XT for $200. In full honesty, I don’t know anything about this model so I need some opinions.

1. Price - is the asking price reasonable? Seller claims he just built it but never installed any nitro engine whatsoever. He said he does have a conversion kit to go electric that he will include.

2. Parts availability - will there be enough parts to buy if i need to replace/fix something later?

3. Cost to own/run - i am just a casual backyard basher and I dont race and i usually done sell most of my stuff unless i really have to. For its current state, how much more investment do I need to put down to make it as an electric runner? Tires, esc, motor, pinion, etc.

4. Weak spots - I know TRF cars in general are robust, but is this true for this specific model? 

Thank you.

 

 

 

[BuggyGuy 1106]

Take it - doesn't look like it's been run, and these are great cars.

That's a good price too.

Spares can be a challenge but they do come up from time to time.

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

Tamiya USA closed these out at $99 for the kit a few years ago.  If you're specifically wanting a TRF801xt, then the price is fair since kits are no longer available from Tamiya.  They'll likely never get back into TRF 1/8 nitro buggies or truggies ever again.

The main weak point on the kit is the front arms.  They tended to break easily, but to remedy that some people reported success submerging the arms in boiling water for a period of time to relieve molded in stress in the parts.

I have a finished TRF801xt of my own and have bashed it with a brushless conversion running 4S LiPo.  It's durable and a joy to drive; you can really see the suspension working to keep those tires planted.  It steers nicely, and others have even increased steering by using 801x buggy knuckles instead.

I boiled the front arms, installed the hop up aluminum center braces, and bought a Monster RC brushless motor mount.  Those were the key mods/upgrades for me.  I used a Pro-Line Bulldog MBX6T Mugen body in place of the kit body, HobbyKing 120A SCT ESC w/ 1900kV 1/8 motor, Savox 1258TG clone servo, and a pair of 2S packs wired in series.

It'll be about a $500 build after adding everything to complete the basic kit.  Probably the most durable off-road kit you can get from Tamiya.

 

[burakol 462]

15 minutes ago, speedy_w_beans said:

Tamiya USA closed these out at $99 for the kit a few years ago.  If you're specifically wanting a TRF801xt, then the price is fair since kits are no longer available from Tamiya.  They'll likely never get back into TRF 1/8 nitro buggies or truggies ever again.

The main weak point on the kit is the front arms.  They tended to break easily, but to remedy that some people reported success submerging the arms in boiling water for a period of time to relieve molded in stress in the parts.

I have a finished TRF801xt of my own and have bashed it with a brushless conversion running 4S LiPo.  It's durable and a joy to drive; you can really see the suspension working to keep those tires planted.  It steers nicely, and others have even increased steering by using 801x buggy knuckles instead.

I boiled the front arms, installed the hop up aluminum center braces, and bought a Monster RC brushless motor mount.  Those were the key mods/upgrades for me.  I used a Pro-Line Bulldog MBX6T Mugen body in place of the kit body, HobbyKing 120A SCT ESC w/ 1900kV 1/8 motor, Savox 1258TG clone servo, and a pair of 2S packs wired in series.

It'll be about a $500 build after adding everything to complete the basic kit.  Probably the most durable off-road kit you can get from Tamiya.

 

This one already comes with the brushless conversion kit.. the battery tray, motor mount, and servo mount… i think for $200 shipped is a win. I might go ahead and give it a go. 

[burakol 462]

@speedy_w_beans I tried to read over your build process and it has been very informative. Unfortunately, the photo links are down so that’s a bummer. 
i really dont have any inclination nor want to buy an 801xt but i just thought it was a good deal that I couldn’t pass on. TBH i dont even know if i will get the chance to properly equip and run it as a basher since time and money is hard to come by lately…

[speedy_w_beans 4272]

Seems like a good deal given the motor mount and other items are included.

I think for the third time in 10 years my photo hosting went dead.  I just haven't made the time to re-host the photos and fix the links.  It's a time-consuming process with about 1500 photos to link again.