BIGWIG AND BOOMERANG ...... HELP

[swanny(2)]

I HAVE JUST OBTAINED A BUILT BIGWIG THAT HASN'T RUN SINCE 98(APPARENTLY)AND A BOOMERANG IN BITS(COMPLETELY!). I AM A COMPLETE NOVICE!!!!! ANY TIPS ON WHAT TO DO BEFORE I RUN IT? LUBRICATION,BEARINGS ETC. IT HAS A DEMON MODIFIED QUAD 18T MOTOR ON IT BUT ORIGINAL SPEED CONTROLER. "MODELSHOP MAN" TELLS ME THIS IS NOT GOOD. ANY HELP AND OR ADVICE WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. CHEERS SWANNY

[WillyChang]

If you don't know where/who it came from originally, then the best thing is to completely dismantle - clean - rebuild. Degrease and relubricate everything, especially inside the gearboxes. Hopefully you'll have got the manuals with the cars so rebuilding shouldn't be too hard.

Ideally these cars should be FULLY ballraced; ideal time to do it is when you're rebuilding (to save another complete teardown). BBs are so cheap these days its silly not to do it - you'll save a lot of wear and tear on gears & shafts in the long run.

Kit's MSC can handle pretty hot motors... as long as you run in a BIG AREA and never use the low/medium speeds for any extended period. An 18T-quad isn't all that "hot" anyway - but open it up and check its condition too; worn motors draw more current than they need to. I'd wouldn't run this on 8.4V either, just stick to 7.2V.

[DJTheo]

Bigwigs were mostly ballraced and usually people didnt go into the trouble of opening the gearboxes, so you will propably find BBs in the gearboxes at least.

Also the original compination of Technigold and 8.4V is very nice

http://www.vintagetamiyarc.com/

[WillyChang]

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Bigwigs were mostly ballraced and usually people didnt go into the trouble of opening the gearboxes, so you will propably find BBs in the gearboxes at least.

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Oooh... have heard of "TA04PRO" cars being sold with bushings minus all its blue beauties, so nothing can surprise much these days...

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Also the original compination of Technigold and 8.4V is very nice

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No mention of the original 540VZ... Swanny?

[swanny(2)]

I HAVE JUST LOOKED THROUGH MY BOX OF BITS AND FOUND TWO MOTORS BOTH SAY"MABUCHI" ON THE BLACK PLASTIC END. ONE HAS 380 ONE 540 MARKED IN TIP-EX ON THE SIDE BUT NO OTHER OFFICIAL LOOKING INFO.

I HAVE BEEN SPENDING MONEY (I HOPE WISELY) I BOUGHT A NEW BATTERY A SAKURA 7.2V 1900 MAH AND A SLOW CHARGER.

I HAVE BEEN INFORMED a forward and reverse, fully waterproof Mtroniks Sonik3 SportRV15 IS WHAT I NEED TO RUN THE DEMON MOTOR. IT COSTS £40 IS IT WORTH IT OR SHOULD I TRY TO REINSTATE ORIGINAL MOTOR?

CHEERS SWANNY PS THANX FOR YOUR INTREST AND HELP!!!!!!

[swanny(2)]

Edited by - swanny on 23 Oct 2002 14:45:28

[WillyChang]

quote:

I HAVE JUST LOOKED THROUGH MY BOX OF BITS AND FOUND TWO MOTORS BOTH SAY"MABUCHI" ON THE BLACK PLASTIC END. ONE HAS 380 ONE 540 MARKED IN TIP-EX ON THE SIDE BUT NO OTHER OFFICIAL LOOKING INFO.

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Are they physically the same size?

Becoz the Mabuchi 380 (aprox 1" dia, 2" long) is a lot smaller than the 540 (approx 1.5" dia, 3" long).

The 540 "silvercan" is the standard kit motor for the Boomerang; the Bigwig kit came with Tamiya's special TechniGold motor (same physical size).

Most Tamiya cars take the 540-size, only the very early & beginner cars use the 380.

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I HAVE BEEN SPENDING MONEY (I HOPE WISELY) I BOUGHT A NEW BATTERY A SAKURA 7.2V 1900 MAH AND A SLOW CHARGER.

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Well, you do need batteries if you don't already have some.

As for slow charger, I think they went out of fashion a long time ago. Kiddies today can't bear to wait overnight charge just to play 5 mins... can get budget peak-detect quick chargers today quite cheaply, they work well.

quote:

I HAVE BEEN INFORMED a forward and reverse, fully waterproof Mtroniks Sonik3 SportRV15 IS WHAT I NEED TO RUN THE DEMON MOTOR. IT COSTS £40 IS IT WORTH IT OR SHOULD I TRY TO REINSTATE ORIGINAL MOTOR?

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You already got a radio with 2 servos??

You didn't say...

If so why not clean-degrease-rebuild the car, put the 540 motor in and put the mechanical speed control back in too. Get used to it before trying the "Demon"... if the MSC is in good nick you shouldn't have too many problems - just don't drive slow, or in small spaces.

Just bear in mind that the Bigwig is nearly old enough to get its own driver's licence (18yo!!), parts are hard to get (albeit some bits are shared with the Boomerang) so some caution is recommended.

[WillyChang]

Oh... pls find that "CAPSLOCK" key on your keyboard.

There is a reason its there... no need to shout, we're all pals here.