XR311 restore help/hints please.

[Andyfish2000]

Well, 1st post on a newly found website in a newly restored hobby!!!![]

At 33, I have decided to go back to my teenage years and start running a Tamiya car again, but whilst on the hunt for a bargain classic to run, I thought I would try and restore an old XR311 that has been in the loft for over 10 years now, and it was old when I was given it back then.  So, I am after some helpfull hints if you have any?  What is worth spending time over, and what is not?  WHat is the best way to clean it up?  Should I try and modify any components or can it be left as it is.  It has what I assume is the original motor in it and also mechanical 2 speed controller.  For now I will leave them in, but if I upgrade what should I put in instead.  Please bear in mind when answering that I intend to do this on a budget!

I will hopefully post a photo tomorrow of what it looks like now.

Thanks in advance!

Andy

[pleiku68]

Welcome to the Club...A budget...lol..Wrong hobbie..Just kidding

 First get your manual..If you don't have one down load here at the site...Take the car apart and clean it up..re-grease everyting acording to the instructions..I assume you have your servo's installed...You will probably need a new battery. and replace the batteries in the receiver.You will also have a small 4 double A pack that works the servo's that may need replacing but they are cheep....Check the motor with a dry cell and see if it runs after you remove it from the truck..The two speed speed controll if not all burned will be good for starters...If you need parts the original will be hard to find parts for but try ebay...There was a Re-issue a few years back not sure what parts will fit the original..Anyway good luck...

[KEV THE REV]

There are spares for XR311 on Ebay now. If you do a search for Tamiya Cheetah  and also XR311 you will find a good selection of drive parts ,etc.If the plastic suspension torsion bar rods have snapped ,then this may be the biggest obstacle to completeing your rebuild,as they are very hard to find.It should be obvious if they are broken as the car will just lay on the ground with no ground clearance or suspension.Most of the chassis parts are similar to the re-re version ,with some differences ie:- the battery set up,as the later car uses the std stick type battery as opposed to the smaller old 6v one, good luck with the rebuild , they are fun to run [H]

[Andyfish2000]

Thanks guys for the comments.

Plieku68, LOL, I know the budget will never be enough, but hey better than nothing!  Unfortunately I have no decent radio as can be seen from the photos below.

The following photos show what I am starting with.  Plan on doing a couple of boot fairs this weekend to see what I find.  Also keeping an eye on e-bay, but not going to rush into anything.  I've got a guy at work who has an original rough rider, but me talking about it has made him want to get it out of loft and run it again, rather than give it to me....shame!

 

Andy