Terra Scorcher runner build

[Algernonny 0]

I bought the following Terra Scorcher of *bay about a month ago as a bit of fun to rebuild with my son and have some summer running out of it.

It had a few useful mods such as a Technigold fitted, vanquish lightweight wheels (good front, shot back), uj's all round and an alloy a5 part.

It came with a mix of servos and RX, but had lost a few of its ballraces along the way. Also several screw are missing/mixed up and the screw heads are pretty messed up all round. I have downloaded a copy of the build instructions and will work my way through this to collect new/modified/hop-ups ready to build. Watch out for a running report of the rebuild to a modified runner along the way , together with list of parts and the costs

Please note, this won't be any sort of shelf queen, and the body finish won't be particularly tasteful once my ten year son has got his hands on the Kamtech baja that is on its way...

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions to make a strong and reliable runner out this project then please post here.

Next stage: strip down and [dishwasher] clean to be posted here.

AlG

[Wez-li 1556]

I saw this one on fleebay, think you got a decent deal, especially when you consider the Technigold and vanquish wheels.

Will keep an eye on your thread

[Algernonny 0]

This Stage: Strip and Clean

I gave my ten year son a few tools and plenty of takeaway boxes and after a little instruction left him to the strip down. In between xbox and a few waterfights over the Easter holidays he managed to get it to pieces, didn't lose anything, and sort of understood what each part did. We then loaded most of the plastic parts into the dishwasher to get them clean and ready for the rebuild:

Chassis and gearbox/diffs all clean and boxed up. No real damage, just need a few extra 850 bearings that were missing and lots of new screws.

I was thinking of new alloy dampers but these look like they should be OK with new seals and rods.

The blue suspension arms have some whitening, probably due to impacts, but feel strong enough.

All brass ball joints are worn and sloppy. I tried some new plastic adjusters, but it appears to be the brass balls themselves that are worn so a new set will be added to the build list.

As per previous post, front tyres and [rare???] white vanquish wheels are excellent, probably brand new, but the rears are completely shot, even the wheels rim edges badly worn down. I am not sure what to do at this stage. I cannot find any new or better vanquish rear wheels in white to match the front, so might buy a set of runner wheels for now and see what comes up over time (although trying to avoid this becoming to nice to bash...).

Finally the body which is is finished in a very lurid lipstick pink pearl. The outside looks OK, but inside it was covered in old masking tape. I have ordered a Kamtec Baja, but we might try and resurrect this body by reinforcing the underside and then painting the lexan outside.

So, costs this far are one dishwasher tab and five takeaway boxes left over from last weeks Chinese

Next Stage: A big buying spree

[Gruntfuggly 520]

Apparently you can put the blue parts in boiling water for a bit (or heat them up with a hairdryer) and it will remove the whitening...

[Algernonny 0]

Apparently you can put the blue parts in boiling water for a bit (or heat them up with a hairdryer) and it will remove the whitening...

Many Thanks Gruntfuggly I will try that.

Al

[Algernonny 0]

This Stage: Collecting Parts

I decided to sort out the basics first to start on the rebuild - screws, tyres, CPA parts, bearings. So, with the Build Instructions to hand I went online (Vintage Tamiya parts and 'that'bay), then to my local RC shop (Swindon Model Shop), then my local fastener shop (Great Western fasteners) and ended up with the following:

I bought a B and C screw set and a damper repair set from Vintage-tamiyaparts, arrived within 48 hours

Also my local RC shop had a storage bin of Tamiya screws and oddments that provided a set of suspension pivot pins after much searching.

Finally, my fastener place provided socket head stainless M3 screw and associated washers and nylocs.

Also from my model shop came the necessary shock oil (500cps), gearbox lube and threadlock to keep it all together.

I didn't need a complete bearing set for the TS, so picked a set of something else from RCbearings that gave me just the three 850s and a handful of new 1150s that I will use to replace the worn wheel bearings.

I want to get some proper Tamiya tyres to match the fronts with the Vanquish wheels, but in the meantime bought these. They feel pretty soft so time will tell how durable they are. I might also need new alloy hexs as the current plastic ones are split.

Costs of this stage:

Stainless fasteners £10

Bearings £7

B and C screws and damper kit: £13

RC shop build consumables, plastic adjusters and suspension pins: £15

Tyres £10

I have also been considering the electrical and control of this and as I want something that my son can control speedwise and also charge up safely on his own then I have decided to be fairly conservative with brushed motor and MAH batteries. Hopefully the following will arrive before the weekend :

Motor: Ansmann Launcher 19x2

ESC: Viper RV12

RC: Core 2.4

Batteries: Couple of Vapextech 3700

Next Stage: Time to build (I hope...)

[Gruntfuggly 520]

A 19T motor in the TS would make it quite quick - why not use an old stock motor if you want to start with something he can control?

[Algernonny 0]

A 19T motor in the TS would make it quite quick - why not use an old stock motor if you want to start with something he can control?

I might do that, and I have the original Technigold, although one of the connector tabs has broken off so would need a fix.