Return Of The Sand Scorcher

[Snakehands]

Hi all,

Just returning to this hobby after a 'short' break, and wanted to introduce myself by way of an interesting story:

Back in 1980, when I was about 15, I bought a Sand Scorcher as my first RC car. I was blown away by the fact that someone had actually made an off-road RC Baja Beetle. The best thing about it was the body, with all its beautiful detailing. Being, I discovered, no good at painting (I tried to paint the driver first) I got one of my mates to finish the body up like the box art. I think I paid him £10 and he even supplied the paint! Loved building and running it this buggy, but hated having to charge the battery (I could only afford one!) and replacing the AAs. Anyway, things moved on and it sat on a shelf for about ten year before I sold it to a mate, who never actually paid me the money (£50)!

Fast forward to November last year and I was at a car boot sale when I noticed a box of RC gear. Had a rummage and found what turned out to be a ThunderShot AND a Sand Scorcher. The SS had no body, but I instantly recognized the running gear as that of an SRB. I picked it up for a closer look and on inspecting the radio box (complete with original gear) I found my name scratch in the corner!

I'd found my old Sand Scorcher! The body was missing and rear bumper/cage broken, but all the running gear was there and very clean. The original driver (badly painted by me) was there along with the nose cone. When I asked the guy how much he wanted, he said 'a tenner for the lot'! Not having a clue about the popularity of vintage RC I didn't buy it straightaway, but after about half and hour I went back to find the box still there, so bought it for old time's sake more than anything else. Got home and was amazes to google the true value and historical significance of this kit.

So it's restoration time. I think the body will be the most challenging item to sort, might have to think about a non original one. Looking at some of the pictures on this site, I've noticed quite a few non original rear bumpers. Anyone know where some of these can be bought from? My searches have drawn a blank thus far.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and share my story.

[KEV THE REV]

Hi all,

In 1980, when I was about 15, I bought a Sand Scorcher. I was blown away by the fact that someone had actually make on off-road RC Beetle. The best thing about it was the body. Being **** at painting (I tried to paint the driver first) I got one of my mates to finish the body up like the box art. I think I paid him 10 and he even supplied the paint! Loved building and running it, but hated having to charge the battery (I could only afford one!) and replacing the AAs. Anyway, things moved on and it sat on a shelf for about ten year before I sold it to a mate, who never actually pain me the money!

Fast forward to November last year and I was at a car boot sale when I noticed a box of RC gear. Had a rummage and found what turned out to be a ThunderShot AND a Sand Scorcher. The SS had no body, but I instantly recognized the running gear. Picked it up for a closer look and on inspecting the radio box (complete with original gear) I found my name scratch in the corner!

I'd found my old Sand Scorcher! The body was missing and rear bumper/cage broken, but all the running gear was there and very clean. The original driver (badly painted by me) was there along with the nose cone. When I asked the guy how much, he said 'a tenner for the lot'! Not having a clue about the popularity of vintage RC, I didn't buy it straight away, but after about half and hour I went back to find the box still there so bought it for old time's sake more than anything else.

Got home and was amazes to googled the true value and historical significance of the kit. So it's restoration time. I think the body will be the most challenging item to sort, might have to think about a non original one. Looking at some of the pictures on this site, I've noticed quite a few non original rear bumpers. Anyone know where some of these can be bought from? My searches have draw a blank thus far.

Anyway, just wanted to say hi and share my story.

Welcome to the club, thats a great Scorcher story - maybe it was meant to be yours and yours alone .Best of all is, it has led you to this site , the home of the Scorcher .If you can't find an original Scorcher shell then you can buy a Tamiya Blitzer Beetle one (closest match to a Scorcher shell ) from Ebay and with some light mods you can mount it to a Scorcher chassis very easily (but you will need to buy an original rear body clip or fabricate your own one .Some people use a magnetic style of atatchment by bonding a magnet to the body (no screws show) and a magnet to the roll bar , with the front body mount you can still attach the body as normal ( I think you need to drill a fresh hole in the body for this) The alloy rear cages are usually custom made and can be found here or on Ebay, or you can buy an old original plastic one on Ebay .Post up some pics along with all the other RC stuff you got

[bfst24]

great story.

wish i could find my orig rough rider and superchamp.

or my optima mid.had a look through the whole kyosho showroom a few days ago, incase it might be there.

dont forget to post some pics in your showroom.

[RA1028]

That SS worth a million $ to you. I can't believe you didn't buy it at first. You are lucky there was no TC members come across in that half an hour

[Wrecked]

Holy moly what a story, LUCKY LUCKY you!!! What I wouldn't give to have my old Hornet back...

[loaded]

And my old Boomerang ;-)

[Miggers]

Excellent story with a brilliant outcome.

I wish I could find my old Boomer and especially my Optima Mid Custom in that way.

My Optima went to Crewe around seven years ago after sitting in my mate's model shop in Alsager for a few months.

It was in box art colours with the yellow wheels on.

So if that rings a bell,or you indeed still have it tucked away gathering dust and mold in your shed or attic then give me a shout.

Mark

[Snakehands]

Hi again, guys and thanks for the warm welcome and info. I have now (as of last night) got around to stripping the SS down.

On closer inspection?

1. UJ's are a bit worn, I think. Not sure how much play there was in them 30 years ago!

2. The bumper is the black one. A bit scuffed in the underside and on the plastic end pieces. Not guilty, as I only ran it on the grass.

3. Motor rear plastic cover has a bit broken off. The bit is still there and can be glued.

4. Rear cage is broken (right side upper horizontal) and the antenna lug has been snapped off.

5. All original radio stuff is in the radio box, but no battery or charger. Radio box is in good condition.

6. Original Tx is there.

7. The motor won't come out. Is it safe to knock it out with a dowel?

8. One front wheel missing.

9. Tyres all worn. Ordered a new set of tyres and rims from eBay.

10. All metal parts have lost their luster.

11. Upper right suspension arm has a chip missing where it goes on the bar. All four bars are slightly bent.

So clearly it has been run on a hard surface like tarmac.

All in all, not bad for a tenner!

The ThunderShot is only good for spares I think. Tyres are all warn and deformed and the rims are scuffed. Still has all the radio gear and a Tx. Front mono-shock is missing. Both from wheel adapter (i think that's what they're called) are missing. Basically, it's dirty and knocked about a bit...like my last GF!

[28yoKid]

Cool story. Please post before and after pics when you are done! Maybe a family Heirloom now??!

Good luck with it!

[loaded]

Enjoy the restoration. If it were me, I would replace all irrepairable parts with used parts of original origin, including the tyres. You can knock the motor out with a dowel, they are pretty tough. It is amazing what can be done to broken plastic parts with a combination of good glueing if necessary, polishing and painting and it is much more a test of skills than simply replacing it with a new one.

As to metal parts, polishing them is for some people, painting them with a silver paint is for others. I have done both with some spectacular results, but there are pros and cons.

Good luck and don't forget to photograph it NOW and throughout the process.

Paul.

[Snakehands]

Enjoy the restoration. If it were me, I would replace all irrepairable parts with used parts of original origin, including the tyres. You can knock the motor out with a dowel, they are pretty tough. It is amazing what can be done to broken plastic parts with a combination of good glueing if necessary, polishing and painting and it is much more a test of skills than simply replacing it with a new one.

As to metal parts, polishing them is for some people, painting them with a silver paint is for others. I have done both with some spectacular results, but there are pros and cons.

Good luck and don't forget to photograph it NOW and throughout the process.

Paul.

Thanks for that. I was under the impression the repro tyres were identical? Interesting what you say about painting the metal, I'll have to do some research on that.

Just been doing some more stripping and I've found a rounded grub on the rear upper right suspension arm. Looks like I'll have to drill it, unless anyone can suggest an easier option.

Still can't believe I have it back after all this time.

Anyway, pictures to follow.

[KEV THE REV]

Thanks for that. I was under the impression the repro tyres were identical? Interesting what you say about painting the metal, I'll have to do some research on that.

Just been doing some more stripping and I've found a rounded grub on the rear upper right suspension arm. Looks like I'll have to drill it, unless anyone can suggest an easier option.

Still can't believe I have it back after all this time.

Anyway, pictures to follow.

The grub screw might be eased out with a slightly oversized allen key , or torx key , or allen driver / torx driver .You can spray / soak the grub screw with WD-40 or try some light heat on it to free it up before using the keys - persist with it as drilling would be the last option I would say and could prove the arm irrepairable if it doesn't work out.The GH tyres are good to replace old SS ones , they are the up to date re-release versions .The broken plastic parts can be glued ,but its all according to the future use you are going to give it as to weather they last or not , especially the rear cage.The front axle pins can be straightened out to be re-useable with no problem .I too have polished and painted SRB parts on different cars , depending on how qxidised the parts are they can sometimes turn out better with painting than polishing but must be very clean and grease/ oil free.I use Ford Moondust silver to paint SRB parts - the black bumper should be kept safe and not run if it is an original black bumper as it is quite rare

[Snakehands]

Thanks again, Kev. Is the black bumper valuable even with the scuffing? Looking again at the rear bumper, I think I might be able to salvage that with epoxy. I'll take some photos tomorrow.

[HunterZero]

Thanks again, Kev. Is the black bumper valuable even with the scuffing?

Yes.

Any unbroken SRB bumper is worth a fair bit of money, even with a bit of scuffing, although an as-new one will still command the highest price. Black ones are worth a premium over the grey ones, as they're from the very earliest run of the kit, and are quite rare.

You might be able to remove some of the scratches or at least reduce their appearance using some car cut/polish, or with Novus plastic polish. Could even try some fine grit sandpaper, then refinish afterwards with polish.

Note that a few key Scorcher parts like the front suspension towers went through some minor changes over the production run of the kit.

- James

[Snakehands]

Here are some pictures. Comments and advice most welcome!

[rc-martin]

JEEEZ!! You put it back down and left it?????

Glad it was still there for you when you returned. What a bargain as well, i still have my original Sand Scorcher from 1983 and even though it is basically a pile of scrap, it is priceless to me.

Enjoy the rebuild.

[Snakehands]

Well, in my defense, back in November I had no real interest in this hobby, it was just something I did when I was a kid. Now, however, I have an almost uncontrollable desire to resort this car.

[WillyChang]

i vote you DO NOT REPAINT the driver figure

[loaded]

I agree with Willy. Just use Mr Muscle foam oven cleaner/Easyoff to clean it really nice and deep.

Paul.

[Snakehands]

i vote you DO NOT REPAINT the driver figure

I vote I DO NOT repaint the driver too. I'll get someone else to do it.

[billg4]

I vote do not repaint

instead

leave as is to remind you, and anyone who sees it that it was your first R/C from 1980

Could prove quite the conversation piece

[casethejoint]

I vote I DO NOT repaint the driver too. I'll get someone else to do it.

No! You can't do that, your original painted driver is part of that cars soul.

I also vote you leave it as is....

You might want to put ballraces in it this time though - I see it still has the bushes (keep the original bushes though).

[Snakehands]

Hehee, okay, I'll leave the driver alone. But maybe I should 'finish' the paint job off...just a little. The face could do with a little work, for example.

[Snakehands]

Update on the strip down:

1. The grub just refuses to move after lubing and heating. Haven't got an oversize allen key , or torx key of the right size. Suggestions on a suitable size most welcome.

2. I'm worried that if I tap out the motor, that it won't go back in.

I'm in two minds as to whether I should go further. I really would like to split the gearbox and fit ballraces though. Might have to put it to a vote, like the driver's paint.

Some good news though: after another good rummage in the box, I found the second indicator light. So the nose cone is now only missing the number plate...and the rest of the body....

[mymonsterbeetleisbroken]

That is an awesome find, what are the chances!!!