1st Post And Super Champ Restore

[Jeeves]

Hi,

This is my first post; I've been lurking a while getting good info from here but thought I should say hello! I'm another 30 something that has fallen back into the hobby; I found my old grasshopper at my Mum's just over a year ago and since restoring that I've bought a DB-01 Durga and have restored a Monster Beetle (please see my showroom for details) - I know what all those posts about leaving your wallet at the door mean now!

Anyway a couple of months ago I was looking at RC stuff on the Internet at work and a colleague walked past, spotted what I was doing and mentioned that he used to race rc as a kid. He then said that he had a box of stuff in his attic and that I could have it if I wanted. He thought there was some Hotshot parts and a few other bits in it. About a month later he brought the box in and turned out it contained a bit more than he thought!!

I couldnt believe my luck to be honest; Id been thinking about finding and restoring an SRB-type model for a while and then I just get given one!! Ive given him a token amount for it, but not much, I think he was happy for it to go to a good home!!

Ive started work on the Champ, so far Ive stripped and cleaned all of the parts, Ive done some polishing but havent gone too crazy with it, just getting stuff shiny but not too worried about a mirror finish, and Ive also painted some of the alloy in silver to freshen it up. There are some strange holes drilled into the gear box casings (which I assume was some kind of weight lightening attempt or other bodge) which Ive decided to leave as it adds a bit of character. The shell is an aftermarket lexan one (anyone know who the maker is, and of the chassis?) which Ive decided to use rather than track down an original. Ive stripped it using Nitro fuel but this just uncovered some bad fogging. I had a go at painting the inside last night anyway but the fogging looks poo so am going to paint outside too. Im going for a matt black stealth look so wont put any lacquer on, should be ok as I doubt Ill run it very often. Ive bought bearings and a stainless screw kit and Im waiting for a wheel/tyre set, front bumper, and decals to be delivered. Im considering getting an alloy chassis + topdeck from Awesome Alloys when they are available or maybe sticking with the chassis I've got (any suggestions welcome!) then Ill start putting it all back together!

I'll post some more pics soon,

Cheers

Jeeves

[dazaa]

Hi,

This is my first post; I've been lurking a while getting good info from here but thought I should say hello! I'm another 30 something that has fallen back into the hobby; I found my old grasshopper at my Mum's just over a year ago and since restoring that I've bought a DB-01 Durga and have restored a Monster Beetle (please see my showroom for details) - I know what all those posts about leaving your wallet at the door mean now!

Anyway a couple of months ago I was looking at RC stuff on the Internet at work and a colleague walked past, spotted what I was doing and mentioned that he used to race rc as a kid. He then said that he had a box of stuff in his attic and that I could have it if I wanted. He thought there was some Hotshot parts and a few other bits in it. About a month later he brought the box in and turned out it contained a bit more than he thought!!

I couldnt believe my luck to be honest; Id been thinking about finding and restoring an SRB-type model for a while and then I just get given one!! Ive given him a token amount for it, but not much, I think he was happy for it to go to a good home!!

Ive started work on the Champ, so far Ive stripped and cleaned all of the parts, Ive done some polishing but havent gone too crazy with it, just getting stuff shiny but not too worried about a mirror finish, and Ive also painted some of the alloy in silver to freshen it up. There are some strange holes drilled into the gear box casings (which I assume was some kind of weight lightening attempt or other bodge) which Ive decided to leave as it adds a bit of character. The shell is an aftermarket lexan one (anyone know who the maker is, and of the chassis?) which Ive decided to use rather than track down an original. Ive stripped it using Nitro fuel but this just uncovered some bad fogging. I had a go at painting the inside last night anyway but the fogging looks poo so am going to paint outside too. Im going for a matt black stealth look so wont put any lacquer on, should be ok as I doubt Ill run it very often. Ive bought bearings and a stainless screw kit and Im waiting for a wheel/tyre set, front bumper, and decals to be delivered. Im considering getting an alloy chassis + topdeck from Awesome Alloys when they are available or maybe sticking with the chassis I've got (any suggestions welcome!) then Ill start putting it all back together!

I'll post some more pics soon,

Cheers

Jeeves

WOW what a great find. That chassis looks to be somthing like a crp hop up, very rare and worth quite abit I would think, definatly keep it! Personally I would have kept the body as it was....looked really nice in the pictures. Will you be changing the old tires for new ones? If so I am interested in buying the old ones as I need a used set for my superchamp. Funny enough I got hold of a fogged up lexan rough rider body and painted it black on the outside, it has a matt finish but not a rough or deep matt finish just enough to keep a smooth finish. Suppose with some sanding it could come out really nice....feel like redoing mine now.....

Good luck with the project. Was there an acoms charger in the acoms box? I would also like to buy it if there was.

dazaa

[Jeeves]

Yeah very pleased with the find

I'll definitely keep the chassis if it's unusual, means I can get building sooner too!

The photos make the shell look better than it was! It was pretty bad in the flesh, the yellow speckles you can see on the pic are on the outside of the shell, inside was rough too. I've given it a couple of coats of black on the outside tonight and it's starting to look good so I'm happy.

You can have the tyres for postage if you want them, the spikey bits have worn on the rears (2 pairs of them) and the fronts have some paint on them, not sure what I'm going to do with the charger yet. PM me your details if you want the tyres.

Jeeves

[KEV THE REV]

There's some great stuff in there , and worth quite a bit too .Should be a nice build

[TA-Mark]

Great find! Are you going to run it or display it? If you run it, a differential does wonders to the handling.

[Live Steam Mad]

Hi, how did you get that gearbox looking so nice? Can you tell us the procedures and materials and tools used?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Jeeves]

Thanks for the comments!

Great find! Are you going to run it or display it? If you run it, a differential does wonders to the handling.

I'll build it to run it but won't be thrashing it, I've got the Durga for that! I guess I'll see how it goes without a diff first.

how did you get that gearbox looking so nice? Can you tell us the procedures and materials and tools used?

Pretty simple really; I degreased with some parts cleaner then scrubbed in warm soapy water, air dried and spray painted a few thin coats of Halfords Silver! I did all of the painted parts like that and they've come up quite nice. Didn't really fancy grinding and polishing everything

[Live Steam Mad]

Thanks for the comments!

I'll build it to run it but won't be thrashing it, I've got the Durga for that! I guess I'll see how it goes without a diff first.

Pretty simple really; I degreased with some parts cleaner then scrubbed in warm soapy water, air dried and spray painted a few thin coats of Halfords Silver! I did all of the painted parts like that and they've come up quite nice. Didn't really fancy grinding and polishing everything

Halfords Silver That would explain the finish then. I never thought to paint it!

I have to say that it looks very nice indeed.

Might try that method myself sometime.

I do believe that the MK1 SRB gearboxes were produced "in the raw" as it were, and that MK2 SRB gearcases had casting paint on them. Just my own guesswork based on that you can clean up MK1's to almost new but you can't on MK2 without sometimes damaging the finish, when merely rubbing with White Spirit and a soft cloth (it goes darker when you apply too much pressure). Don't know about SuperChamp ones though, I've never owned one.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[retroman]

Welcome aboard, and nice find!! You found your Super Champ the same way I got my Blazing Blazer. It just goes to show, that they are still in peoples attics, and not on ebay for silly money

Hope you enjoy your project. I have a bit of a Super Champ fetish myself!

[Jeeves]

Welcome aboard, and nice find!! You found your Super Champ the same way I got my Blazing Blazer. It just goes to show, that they are still in peoples attics, and not on ebay for silly money

Hope you enjoy your project. I have a bit of a Super Champ fetish myself!

Thanks for the welcome!

It does make you wonder how many are still stashed away and how to get hold of them

Bit of an update - I've finished painting the body on the outside and it's come up pretty well, not sure how long the paint would last if I was running it a lot but it'll do! I'm really looking forward to getting it decaled up and sat on the buggy, I wasn't sure about it originally but I like it now it's painted

Apart from something for window netting I think I've got everything I need to get started so will get cracking tomorrow morning (or maybe tonight!)

Cheers

Jeeves

[retroman]

Glad to see that it's coming on nicely! Just out of interest...What's that bodyshell from??

I say build as a runner. I personally think that the Super Champ drives better than the other SRB's, and the stock chassis has been fine on mine. When you build the rear suspension, and mono shock, make sure that you do fit the band stoppers, and cable ties, to hold the rear arms from dropping to far, and start with a little tension on the rear spring. If you don't, it will roll, and wind up on it's roof! Trust me, I found this out the hard way........ Luckily I had my runner body on it when it flipped!

My avatar picture is my Super Champ, getting thrashed at a motocross track

[Jeeves]

Glad to see that it's coming on nicely! Just out of interest...What's that bodyshell from??

No idea what the shell is, hoping someone on here can tell me. I assumed it was an aftermarket lexan shell for the Super Champ but not sure.

I say build as a runner. I personally think that the Super Champ drives better than the other SRB's, and the stock chassis has been fine on mine. When you build the rear suspension, and mono shock, make sure that you do fit the band stoppers, and cable ties, to hold the rear arms from dropping to far, and start with a little tension on the rear spring. If you don't, it will roll, and wind up on it's roof! Trust me, I found this out the hard way........ Luckily I had my runner body on it when it flipped!

My avatar picture is my Super Champ, getting thrashed at a motocross track

Your Champ looks good, especially in action! Mine will definitely be run at some point, looking forward to seeing what it's like and thanks for the advice about the shock, I'll make sure I do it, won't stop me rolling it though

I started on the Champ last night, here are some pics of my progress:

This is the motor I'm using that also came in the box of stuff. It has SRM Racing SCORCHER 27T Timed on it and seems to work ok:

This is where I've got to:

Really enjoying putting it together, it's looking good too and so far have no leaks from the monoshock!

Cheers

Jeeves

[retroman]

I really have no idea what that shell is! Does look like it is designed for the SRB range though.

It's looking really good. Mine looked that clean.......Briefly!!

Keep us posted on the progress

[Jeeves]

Right well, I've pretty much finished! Couldn't stop myself ploughing ahead and getting it done I was enjoying it so much!

The rest of the chassis went together without any problems really, the steering took a bit of fiddling with but it seems ok testing it in the living room. I had a few issues with the body; it doesn't fit with the roll bar and rear guard so have removed them, also I think originally the top deck was supposed to be removed but I wanted to use it so I cut out a little slot in the body which I don't think looks too bad. I couldn't use the body posts so I've put a couple of bolts in instead for now and the decals didn't fit exactly but again I think look ok.

I'm chuffed with the way it's turned out, the decals really stand out on the matt black paint and I think the shape of the body is pretty cool! I'm a bit worried about running it now

Comments welcome!

Cheers

Jeeves

[retroman]

Nice Job!! That body really doesn't look out of place either. Go on, give it a run I love driving mine. One of my mates was a little dissapointed when mine left his King Cab for dust

Mine is about due a run, I'm planning on taking it to the next "Clumber Meet", and getting it dirty

If you are going to run it on Tarmac, I would suggest pulling the rear bands up a bit tighter, so that the rear wheels don't drop down so far. What happens is, the Super Gripper tyres really bight into the tarmac when cornering, and the car tries to come over the top of the wheel! Boing......It's on it's roof Just a friendly warning, as I found this out the hard way. Also it seems to help the steering a little, which is very poor on the old SRB's.

I would also suggest getting a battery pack made up for it, that resembles the old hump pack. That way you can have the battery mounted lower, running down the centre of the car, with the sixth cell coming up into the top deck, to hold it in place. I made mine up in about 5 minutes, using a pack of GP3300's that I used to use in my X-Ray touring car. Works a treat

Hope this helps

[loaded]

Excellent, a nice restoration without being pedantic. I like the silver auto paint, it works a treat, I have done black and silver auto 'halford' type of paint and it really is indistinguishable from the new finish of the metal.

A project to be proud of! Please run it though! Just one thing, I didn't catch where you got the decals from?

Paul.

[Jeeves]

Thanks for the comments!

If you are going to run it on Tarmac, I would suggest pulling the rear bands up a bit tighter, so that the rear wheels don't drop down so far. What happens is, the Super Gripper tyres really bight into the tarmac when cornering, and the car tries to come over the top of the wheel! Boing......It's on it's roof Just a friendly warning, as I found this out the hard way. Also it seems to help the steering a little, which is very poor on the old SRB's.

Will do Retroman, thanks for the advice again, I wasn't sure how tight to do them so I will pull them together a bit more and give it a test!

I would also suggest getting a battery pack made up for it, that resembles the old hump pack. That way you can have the battery mounted lower, running down the centre of the car, with the sixth cell coming up into the top deck, to hold it in place. I made mine up in about 5 minutes, using a pack of GP3300's that I used to use in my X-Ray touring car. Works a treat

Hmmm, I'll have to have a think about that one, not sure what's involved in making up a battery pack, don't you need a pretty hefty soldering iron?

Excellent, a nice restoration without being pedantic. I like the silver auto paint, it works a treat, I have done black and silver auto 'halford' type of paint and it really is indistinguishable from the new finish of the metal.

Thanks Paul, I'm too impatient to be pedantic! I'm really happy with the results

A project to be proud of! Please run it though!

I'll be running it at some point this weekend, it might snow which could make it interesting!

Just one thing, I didn't catch where you got the decals from?

Tamiyaclub!

Cheers

Jeeves

[mb_c11]

With that color scheme it looks like the Hornet's granddad

[Jeeves]

With that color scheme it looks like the Hornet's granddad

Ha! Excellent! I had noticed the similarity!

Took it for a bit of a run yesterday, despite tightening the rear bands I still managed to roll it pretty much every turn No damage done though, the roof takes the brunt of it. It was good fun, the suspension sems to take the bumps quite well, you can almost feel how heavy it is! I think the motor needs some attention, it seemed to pull away quite well then run out of steam really quickly, probably a good thing! I'll have to get it on a loose surface to really enjoy it!

Cheers

[retroman]

Glad you've run it Jeeves!

yeah, you can really feel the weight of all that pot metal when you drive one! That's part of the fun of the SRB range to me. They do behave better on a loose surface, and my Super Champ is definately nicer, and more stable to drive than my Sand Scorcher.

I have my Super Champ on the high ratio gear set. It's a little slugish to pull away, but will rip along at quite a speed once it's got going. I notice the weight of the thing more when I am trying to stop it!! I have to brake gently, or else the rear wheels lock, and then it spins out. Unfortunately you are a little limited to what will fit in the SRB gearbox casing, motor wise. I am currently working on an old Mabuchi silver can, that I have carefully dismantled, and rebuilt with a 15 turn armature. Currently spending some time running it in, and braking in the brushes, then it is destined for the Sand Scorcher. If it's a big improvement, I'll build another for the Super Champ

Don't forget, the quality of the cells you use can make a big difference to the performance. I'm using GP3300 NiMH in mine. The run time is excellent!

[Live Steam Mad]

Hmmm, I'll have to have a think about that one, not sure what's involved in making up a battery pack, don't you need a pretty hefty soldering iron?

About 40W minimum, I use 50W mains ( Antex ) iron with interchangeable tip system. I use the 6.3mm chisel tip for these type of jobs. Buy cells that have NOT been spot welded (had tags welded onto them like you find when you dismantle a stick pack), i.e. buy cells that not been modified. Make sure to keep the tip shiny. Get a soldering iron stand. If the tip isn't shiny, wipe the hot tip on the wet sponge on the stand. If it still isn't shiny, sand it with a coarse enough sandpaper to remove the oxidation, when cold. Tin the bit by melting solder onto the shiny bit. Use good solder like Deans Racing Solder (great flux content), never use solder without flux in it. Hint : solder flux gets exhausted after 30 seconds and becomes a lot less effective so wipe it off on the wet sponge and re-tin the bit. Then hold the tip against the top of the cell for 6 to 7 seconds and the molten solder will conduct the heat REALLY WELL. That's the secret to soldering. FAST heat transfer, and a lot of it, via as big a surface area as you can get away with. The bare tip won't do the job, it needs molten solder on it. The liquid transmits WAY more heat than the solid as the solid has little contact area, liquid moulds itself to the surface for maximum contact / heat transfer. Now melt some additional solder near to the tip with the iron still in place. You are aiming to solder for only a little over 10 seconds at the most otherwise heat will start to damage the NiMH cell. This operation tins the cell top just enough.

Then get some 14 AWG silicone wire and some battery bars and a battery jig. Strip the insulation on the wire for about 7mm or so and tin this section of the wire. Then put the wire on top of the cell and the iron tip on top of the wire and wait 6-7 seconds and wire will solder to the cell. Make sure the joint is bright not dull. Dull means mechanical weakness and electrical bad conductivity. Pull on the wire after cool down to make sure it's strongly joined to the cell.

After a few goes you will see that it's quite easy, just time consuming. I wish my late father would have taught me how to solder (or drive or indeed anything else would have been useful but I was ignored as a child...) but it took me many years to learn to solder well on my own (before the internet came along and pals helped me out).

Practice on some old mains flex and some old dead cells. Usual disclaimer. LOL.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[Jeeves]

Thanks for the info but a normal battery pack fits under the shell laterally so will stick with that. Good to know what's involved though so thanks again.

I've now fitted a Super Champ alloy chassis from Awesome Alloys, I'm really pleased and think it finishes it off nicely

Jeeves

[Live Steam Mad]

If it only helps encourage one person to be able to solder or to solder better then it will have been worth it

Nice chassis 8-)

Cheers,

Alistair G.