Is the orignal Blackfoot any good?

[Gonze]

Hi all, i have seen an orignal blackfoot on ebay for a cheapish price and am just wondering are they any good compared to the newer models now availble on the market. Also are they easy to get parts for.

cheers

Gonze

[kingeddie]

the origional blackfoot was a poor mans monster beetle, basicly the same chassis but with friction dampers and without the gold/chrome wheels. some parts are a bit scarce but with the exeption of the drivetrain they are pretty indistructable. the gear box is poor and the half shafts dont last long, but you can easily retro fit a king blackfoot or bushdevil gearbox and rear suspension, this is stronger and easyer to get bits for. i run a 15x2 in mine and have had no probs with kbf box.

[Shodog]

The Black Foot was released about two months before the Monster Beetle. So really the Black Foot is not necesarily the poor mans Monster Beetle. It's really that the Monster Beetle is a bit upscale and if I remember correctly wasn't much more expensive.

As for getting a Black Foot, I say go for it. Used parts are plentiful and cheap on ebay. The gear boxes are suspect but if properly shimmed and not abused will last a decent amount of time.

Doing a King Black Foot rear end switch is more difficult and expensive than you might think. Your better off buying a King Black Foot and putting a Black Foot or Monster Beetle body on it

Now are Black Foots as good as whats out today? I say no, but generally cars of today are better runners than vintage ones. Running a vintage car compared to ones today reminds you just how far R/C engineering has come.

Jim

[jimbo858]

just getting back into this r/c stuff to restore my old Blackfoot.came across this old post and thought I'd add my little tidbits of observations. I can't compare my old Blackfoot or Super Blackfoot to the new Blackfoot Extreme. But, Jim's right. the differences between the Blackfoot and the Super Blackfoot were like night and day. I can only imagine the difference between the the two old Blackfoots and the newest version.

BTW, I just got both of them running this past weekend. The old Blackfoot I had from when I was younger (which was about 20yrs ago). the Super Blackfoot I just got off of ebay. On both trucks I've replaced or added, tamiya CVA shocks, venom 21t motor, esc, and just rebuilt each of the gear boxes.

What strikes me is the difference in the steering between these two old trucks. the SBF seems to oversteer all the time. and the front wheels on the SBF seem to always lift off the ground when I first accelerate hard.

The BF is the complete opposite. understeers all the time and I think it's just alittle bit faster than the SBF? I dunno. I haven't had a chance to run the two against each other yet.

[backtomyroots]

Gonze: Watch this video - that should make your decision for you I think []

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/moviecomment.asp?id=1184&uid=12

Personally I wish a re-release would come out - I would buy 4 of them !

[Shodog]

quote:Originally posted by backtomyroots

Gonze: Watch this video - that should make your decision for you I think []

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I am pretty sure that Gonze is long gonze from the site.

[backtomyroots]

oops, good call. I must learn to take the time to check the "posted" dates [:0]

[jimbo858]

just curious... does anyone know what years each of these were sold? you know the first and last years that each of these models were sold?

Blackfoot

Super Blackfoot

King Blackfoot

Blackfoot Extreme

[Chupa1uk]

I received a Blackfoot for Christmas when it first came out, and I must say it was not the cheap mans version of the Monster Beetle, it was because it came out before the Monster Beetle (I later bought the Monster Beetle shell when my Brother smashed my Blackfoot under my dads car!).

I have run the Blackfoot on and off since I got it way back in the 80's and although I have had a few minor problems, it doesnt half take some serious punishment. I have recently started to restore it again and have had to replace the rear suspension holders as they had snapped where the screws hold the suspension on. I have also added an Acto Power motor, which is probably too powerful for the blackfoot gearbox, so may switch back to the stock 540 and save the Acto as fancy a new car (maybe a Madbull??), its an addictive hobby!

As mentioned, the blackfoot can take a lot of punishment and took it all over the country when I used to go on holiday with parents. Im not the best driver and I have seen some pretty bad smashes, and have only ever had to replace a front steering mount before now! Although I have need a few new MSC's (have 4 spares now just in case!) and a few turned and lost screws.

Its up and running again now, with Monster Beetle shell (still stripping the many many years of paint from the Blackfoot, I used to just paint over it again and again, so many layerrs! LOL!) and I am loving it again! Gave it a great soaking in some deeper than expected puddles the other night! LOL!

Anyway, just thought I would just mention it for anyone looking to buy one.

Cheers,

Andy

[jimbo858]

hey Chupa1uk, got any pic's?

[Chupa1uk]

Hi,

Actually I have just set up a photobucket;

http://photobucket.com/albums/c85/Chupa1uk/Monster%20Beetle/

There are also LED lights under the rear cowel above the number plate, pic will be added.

Blackfoot shell now stripped and in the garage with primer drying!

Cheers,

Andy