Vintage controller - battery leak

[Willow959 2]

Hello all, it’s my first post so please excuse me if I have posted in the wrong section!  In a nutshell I need advise on my first restoration as I found my old cars in the loft - a 959 Rothmans, a madcap, a Ford Focus Ralley car and a grasshopper 2.   All are pretty busted up so my first just is to test the electrics, however all 3 controllers had batteries in for about 20 years and now look like the attached - any idea where I can buy new connectors from?

thanks so much!!

mark 

[Willy iine 18806]

I would just sand them down and use metal polish at the end.. keep original parts as much as possible.     But this is just me.  

[Willow959 2]

That was my thought but a few just snapped off! 😔

[SuperChamp82 743]

Controllers are best replaced if acid damaged - normally plenty around depending on what you’ve got ? 

It’s usually cheaper than stamping new connectors yourself + more likely to work if acid has been fuming the innards for years …

Far bigger expense ahead restoring a 959 😂

[tamiya_1971 615]

A pic of the 959 would be great!

[94eg! 834]

Try Barkeeper's friend, water and a toothbrush. It's powdered oxcylic acid and is really good at cleaning metals with no effect on plastic. I believe I used it to clean leaking battery crust out of an old cassette recorder and it worked.

Just make sure to clean it all out with soapy water when you're done. Fully dry before putting batteries in to test.

[Willow959 2]

17 hours ago, SuperChamp82 said:

Controllers are best replaced if acid damaged - normally plenty around depending on what you’ve got ? 

It’s usually cheaper than stamping new connectors yourself + more likely to work if acid has been fuming the innards for years …

Far bigger expense ahead restoring a 959 😂

So buy a new (used) controller off eBay then? 

[Willow959 2]

11 hours ago, 94eg! said:

Try Barkeeper's friend, water and a toothbrush. It's powdered oxcylic acid and is really good at cleaning metals with no effect on plastic. I believe I used it to clean leaking battery crust out of an old cassette recorder and it worked.

Just make sure to clean it all out with soapy water when you're done. Fully dry before putting batteries in to test.

Will give this a go on one of them!

[Willow959 2]

16 hours ago, tamiya_1971 said:

A pic of the 959 would be great!

Here you go, along with a donor car…. No idea where to start tbf!

[94eg! 834]

57 minutes ago, Willow959 said:

Will give this a go on one of them!

This stuff works amazing for cleaning metals. Takes rust of steel, and cleans up aluminum as well. It's also very inexpensive.

Just be careful and don't let it soak real long. Always best to start off slowly by scrubbing for 20 seconds, then rinsing. Repeat until you're comfortable working with the product on the given material.

[tamiya_1971 615]

Looks great!  The challenge now will be to locate the parts you need for repair/replacement if the donor car doesn't have it. I'd start with a good cleaning and checking out all the plastic parts after for cracks, wear, etc.  I don't know a lot about them other than I do know I've always wanted one. 

A non-Tamiya body can be sourced from team blue groove (along with the interior and wing):  https://teambluegroove.com/collections/tamiya/products/tbg-porsche-959-body-fits-hpi-cup-racer-switch

Reproduction decals from mciracing: https://mciracing.ca/products/1-12th-tam-58059-porsche-959-decals

 

[Willow959 2]

15 hours ago, 94eg! said:

Try Barkeeper's friend, water and a toothbrush. It's powdered oxcylic acid and is really good at cleaning metals with no effect on plastic. I believe I used it to clean leaking battery crust out of an old cassette recorder and it worked.

Just make sure to clean it all out with soapy water when you're done. Fully dry before putting batteries in to test.

Purchased!! 

[Willow959 2]

11 minutes ago, tamiya_1971 said:

Looks great!  The challenge now will be to locate the parts you need for repair/replacement if the donor car doesn't have it. I'd start with a good cleaning and checking out all the plastic parts after for cracks, wear, etc.  I don't know a lot about them other than I do know I've always wanted one. 

A non-Tamiya body can be sourced from team blue groove (along with the interior and wing):  https://teambluegroove.com/collections/tamiya/products/tbg-porsche-959-body-fits-hpi-cup-racer-switch

Reproduction decals from mciracing: https://mciracing.ca/products/1-12th-tam-58059-porsche-959-decals

 

Fantastic!!! Just a shame they didn’t re-release… not sure how well the plastic will have held up over 20 years…. Will be brittle im sure!!

[94eg! 834]

Here's an example of Barkeeper's friend on a 1997 aluminum intake manifold I practiced on several years ago.  The right half was done in 3 sections with just water and a toothbrush.  The 2 far right sections were scrubbed 3 times each.  The more goldish section was either scrubbed once or twice (I think twice). The entire left half was not cleaned so still looks grey.

This photo is inside a garage with the doors open on a cloudy day.  The other manifold I did completely looks normal silver in the garage. But when you take it outside it looks crazy bright in the sun.

To me it's better than polishing cause I love the untouched cast texture combined with the brightness.

 

[Willow959 2]

1 hour ago, 94eg! said:

Here's an example of Barkeeper's friend on a 1997 aluminum intake manifold I practiced on several years ago.  The right half was done in 3 sections with just water and a toothbrush.  The 2 far right sections were scrubbed 3 times each.  The more goldish section was either scrubbed once or twice (I think twice). The entire left half was not cleaned so still looks grey.

This photo is inside a garage with the doors open on a cloudy day.  The other manifold I did completely looks normal silver in the garage. But when you take it outside it looks crazy bright in the sun.

To me it's better than polishing cause I love the untouched cast texture combined with the brightness.

 

That’s absolutely superb work, credit to you! 

[SuperChamp82 743]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:04 PM, Willow959 said:

So buy a new (used) controller off eBay then? 

Yes - other’s suggestions might work to a degree on the battery contacts 

But you’ll normally find acid damage fumes have migrated onto the boards and internal joints - at which point you’ll either need to be adept at testing electronics (and have talent / patience with a soldering iron replacing components) or will have wasted hours / cost blunting your enthusiasm …

Depending on your set, a nearly new replacement can be as low as $50 / £40 / €40 👍

[SuperChamp82 743]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:08 PM, Willow959 said:

Here you go, along with a donor car…. No idea where to start tbf!

That’s a superb project !

Agree that finding parts will be a time consuming / expensive challenge but you’ve got a great (and valuable / rare) start point 👍

Carefully strip it all right down to screws, give everything a good clean (ideally in a cheap ultrasonic cleaner)and take stock / sharing pics in the Vintage or Builds fora on here 

People are normally eager to help with the rare restorations - and will either sell parts at pretty much cost or put you in touch with others who might 

Have fun + good luck !

PS The oil tubes on the dampers might not come off and - if so - leave them for now 

Aftermarket replacements are available but they’re not the same - and new Tamiya originals are Hens’ Teeth 🙄

[Willow959 2]

On 8/10/2022 at 6:53 PM, SuperChamp82 said:

That’s a superb project !

Agree that finding parts will be a time consuming / expensive challenge but you’ve got a great (and valuable / rare) start point 👍

Carefully strip it all right down to screws, give everything a good clean (ideally in a cheap ultrasonic cleaner)and take stock / sharing pics in the Vintage or Builds fora on here 

People are normally eager to help with the rare restorations - and will either sell parts at pretty much cost or put you in touch with others who might 

Have fun + good luck !

PS The oil tubes on the dampers might not come off and - if so - leave them for now 

Aftermarket replacements are available but they’re not the same - and new Tamiya originals are Hens’ Teeth 🙄

Thank you! I’m genuinely excited, and thanks for the suggestions - just need to find the space in the garage!!! 

[tamiya_1971 615]

On 8/11/2022 at 3:47 PM, Willow959 said:

Thank you! I’m genuinely excited, and thanks for the suggestions - just need to find the space in the garage!!! 

For such a sweet project, you rent a room if you have to!

[JeffSpicoli 1363]

You can easily clean this up with vinegar, q-tips, or the like.   I had to do this with a battery tray for a Nikon camera where AA batteries damaged the coils in the tray.

It worked pretty well.  

Good luck! 

[gavin67890 12]

Might be of help.

[Willow959 2]

12 hours ago, gavin67890 said:

Might be of help.

Fantastic thanks!!