Buggy Champ Build

[PsychoAtom]

Just managed to start the build today and finished first 2 steps.

At the start, you will be opening screw bags B and C, tearing open both bubble packs, torsion bar bag etc.

STEP 1:

Someone was asking about the materials used for the gears - plastic for the final and counter gears (and spur gears later on). The drive shaft gear and gear shafts look like a combination of steel, carbon steel and brass?

The fit is very snug and it took some wiggling and ceramic grease to get the 1150 bearings into the gearcase.

In case you are looking in horror and thinking I've put AG Threadlock in the gears ... it's actually ZX-1 Extralube

Made in the UK!

7 screws to secure the 2 gearcases together - don't forget the threadlock this time.

Universal joints attached with 5mm grub screws - again don't forget the threadlock.

STEP 2:

On to the rear arms.

Takes a bit of adjusting to ensure you've used the right torsion bars for each side and to ensire the shafts are facing upwards to catch the grub screws during assembly.

[Origineelreclamebord]

Oh boy this is cool! Now I'm thinking to get me one of these as well!

[pastimesteve]

Thanks for doing this build thread PsychoAtom! Great job so far. I'm really enjoying the pictures.

[Badboy]

Awesome thread!!!

What does the body says on the inside?!!

Oh my, oh my!!

Can't wait!!!

But I have to!!!

Ohhhh... The Horror, the horror!!!

Badboy

[pagedm_f350]

Cool buddy, great to see this

Looking forward to more

[PsychoAtom]

... What does the body says on the inside?!! ...

It says ...

© 1979 • 2009 TAMIYA

58015 / 0979045-00

>PS<

[PsychoAtom]

STEP 3: Motor Attachment

Was thinking of putting in a brushless setup for this but decided to stick with all stock setup for this build.

You can twist the torsion bars inwards before attaching the torsion bar pipe to soften the suspension, although I did not do this.

The transparent motor cover looks brittle, so I did not tighten too much. The snap pins are used temporarily as guide pins to get the 5mm grub screws in place on the universals. The axles are 2 piece each vs. the original single unit shaft and wheel hubs (I think). The wheel hubs will be attached later towards the end of the build.

STEP 4: Spur Gear Attachment

You have 2 options for gearing ... 15/70 or 20/65 pinion/spur for low and high gear ratio respectively.

I've decided to go with high ratio setting for now.

STEP 5: Roll Bar Assembly

Buggy Champ comes with black rear cage and mounting screws for whip antenna

The pipe joints are individually numbered even though they are physically identical. I checked my SS and the original ones are not numbered like this. Not sure why this is so?

[Badboy]

Sweeeet!!!

Sorry to ruin your day but aren't the roll cage suppossed to be the otherway?

Badboy

[PsychoAtom]

Sweeeet!!!

Sorry to ruin your day but aren't the roll cage suppossed to be the otherway?

Badboy

Doh ... it's 12:30 am where I am now ... thanks for pointing out ...

[Wandy]

This is a great thread, well done mate the photos are superb. It might be simply the fact that I'm not that familiar with the original castings but those 2009 gearbox halves and wishbones look to be much better quality than the 1979 samples.

[PsychoAtom]

Ok ... after a cup of coffee ... here's the how the rollbar & rear cage should look for STEP 5 ...

I actually made 2 mistakes ... first I used the wrong cap screw ... 18mm instead of 22mm, then I put the rollbar in the opposite direction.

[lee1980]

Great build nice to see it, great photography to!

[skinned]

Thanks for doing this build thread PsychoAtom! Great job so far. I'm really enjoying the pictures.

x2

[Badboy]

PsychoAtom, I'm just happy to help you out!

Badboy

[pagedm_f350]

Cool, looks fun

[Cooltoys]

Great 1st build....

[Swarm]

Great to see this baby getting put together nice job so far.

But we need more more more

[lee1980]

Looking at the 2009 manual there is no call for silicone i can see like on gear cases etc? for waterproofness does that mean no longer needed as it seals better cause its a better casting maybe?

[Badboy]

Looking at the 2009 manual there is no call for silicone i can see like on gear cases etc? for waterproofness does that mean no longer needed as it seals better cause its a better casting maybe?

The edges looks 1000 times better than on the original...

I'll silicone mine to be shure, or maybe cut out an ol' bike inner tube as a rubber gasket(?) (is that what it's called?)

Badboy

[novaturbo]

Methinks i'll have to purchase one of these!

[PsychoAtom]

The edges looks 1000 times better than on the original...

I'll silicone mine to be shure, or maybe cut out an ol' bike inner tube as a rubber gasket(?) (is that what it's called?)

Badboy

I think you should apply silicone if you want to be 100% sure. holding the rear gearbox against backlighting, I can see light passing through.

[VagabondStarJXF]

Nice pics of the build so far. Thanks for posting them up. I'm more convinced now that once I've completed my Scorcher project I'll seriously consider getting myself one of these kits... or maybe two or three!

[mechplas]

This is a great build, thanks PsychoAtom for the nice close-ups.

I just received mine today......wait up....I want to start a build thread also!

[PsychoAtom]

Thanks for the encouragement guys!!!

It's great to see so many others who have received their kits and started building ... some have even finished their builds already! How do you guys find the time?

Probably not the fastest builder here but I finally managed to find some time again to continue my build today:

STEP 6 & 7 : Piston & Damper Assembly

The shocks look very high quality although I must admit this is the first time I am building SRB type shocks. These are the parts needed:

Lost an e-clip along the way, but there's 2 extra in the kit ... the short dampers are for the rear.

Completed all 4

STEP 8: Attaching Roll bar and rear dampers to gearbox

Rear cage fitted

I've decided to reverse the shocks as they seem to leak like the original

STEP 9: Attaching Chassis

Super glued the sides of the FRP first.

Attached, and threadlock on the 2 side cap screws.

Do not overtighten the middle cap screw into the well nut as this will be where the radio box will sit later.

[PsychoAtom]

STEP 10: Front Axle Assembly

The upper and lower arms are individually labelled LU, LL, RU, RL respectively so there is no chance of making mistakes.

Grub screw position is different (at the bottom) for the lower arms when compared to the RR.

STEP 11: Attaching uprights

These are the necessary parts.

STEP 12: Front suspension setup assembly complete

In this step, Tamiya provides an additional shim that was not included in the manual.

Front suspension assembly completed