bought a frog, don't know what to do with it

[officepizzaparty]

met up with a stranger and bought this frog today:

as the thread title suggests, I'm not sure what to do with it. under the very, uh, stylish body it is mint and looks like it was hardly ran. there is no rust, there are no scratches of any kind on the outside of the body or under the car. The motor is neat and not one I have seen in browsing the forums, but the rest of the electronics seem unremarkable.

Also please link me to some cool frogs! The more custom, the better

 

[GToddC5]

Dude, the motor is mint! It is the Tamiya 50189 RS-540SD Black Motor Sprint, more info here: https://tamiyabase.com/parts/851

People still get $100+ for a kinda crappy one, so hold on to it or sell it - but don't give it away.

Can you tell I love that motor?!? LOL

That Frog looks great man, what a nice restoration project that would make. I would fully restore it, because if you want to bash it about you'd be better off with a cheap re-release.

[El Gecko]

Good advice there. Make this one functional and complete, and drive it lightly, occasionally. Maybe update the electronics and tires, add what's missing etc. but I wouldn't go too crazy. Love the vintage character, although repainting the wheels and adding a wing would make it a lot nicer (also reverse the rollover flags so they're tilted toward the back).

And then of course, the re-release is for driving and bashing and turning into your own custom work of art.

So they can both be appreciated side by side for their unique differences, and you'll also be able to drive them back to back, to really get a feel for the effects your customizations are having as you build your masterpiece.

[Andreas W]

Looks like the previous owner had the same sticker sheet U had when I painted my Nikko Dictator matte black . 

 

I would as suggested resterende it, givebit a new shell + wheels/tyres and run it gently every now and then.

[Frog Jumper]

The plastic has likely become brittle with age.  Best practice is probably to clean it and display it.  Buy a re-release for driving.

If that is disappointing, sell the motor to recoup your money, and put it toward the re-re???

[jonboy1]

I'd agree with the others, it looks to be a lovely original example, with a seriously cool and rare motor. Strip it, clean it and enjoy rebuilding it. 

Part of me would be tempted to put a clear body on it with stickers, so you can see the lovely motor.

If you want a link to a custom Frog, may I submit my Frog Evo for your consideration:

 

[officepizzaparty]

That frog evo thread so awesome - I've decided to just do a quick cleanup/restore of this unit. It's kind of funny, I have always considered the Frog to be a bit ugly until I owned this myself. It looks much cooler in person! The suspension is far too stiff (binding?) so I ordered some parts to maybe remedy that without affecting the stock appearance of the car. I also ordered a body and sticker set, it will not be painted in box art. The one part I am having a tough time finding are the battery stays/ flag mounts since mine are cracked at the mounting points.

[Wooders28]

The only thing I hated on these, was the gearbox and drive shaft woes.

There's a get around fix for the diff -

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=24674&id=3142

But not sure about the hex driveshafts. I know they've swapped to dogbones on the rere.