Update a Thundershot

[NoRice 0]

I've been out of the RC world for 20 years but now I'm slowly getting back into it as my kids start to play with cheap RC cars and trucks. I am about to dust off my Thundershot from 1988. The last time it was used was 1991, mostly stock but with ball bearings, a Novak ESC and a Trinity Joel Johnson "Silver Dot" 17.5 T 37,000 RPM motor (If I remember correctly) and the stock 15T pinion which is worn and needs to be replaced. The two main upgrades were moved to an Associated RC10 street car which I no longer have, so I am left with no motor, the original speed control, and an old ACOMs controller setup. No batteries and no charger either. The car appears to be in good condition minus the one dog bone but I bought spares before retiring it so I should be good for parts. I intend to tear it all down for a better inspection to ensure there are no major issues before investing.

I'm looking for options to get this thing up and running (if it is worth it). Obviously I'm not racing but I think I don't want it to go back to being as slow as the original (that's why I did the upgrades in the first place). I'm learning the new lingo as I go as things like the RPMs for motors was what was listed way back and not kV. A brushless setup seems to be the way to go but I have no idea if the newer ESCs would work with my old ACOMs radio, and what motor kV rating (plus Lipo) would give me silimar or better performance than what I had way back. I've read that the brushless setups can trash your gears, and I've read that you need to reduce the pinion gear size... to be honest I'm a bit lost. Any help or suggestions would be appreciated, even if the advise is to just go purchase a new RTR setup.

Thanks,

NoRice (Mike)

[MAD RACER 570]

Nothing wrong with the Thunder Shot.

Tamiya Has Re Re them a few yrs ago.

KV is a rating for Brushless motors.

Brushed still use RPM .

In my Thunder Shot i use a Cheap Hobby Wing EZ Run 13t brushless combo with the 35 amp ESC. Brilliant for the T/Shot. Use a15t pinion i think but you will be in the ball park.

Very Cheap on e bay. Around $ $60 complete with motor and ESC.

The gears are fine.

Have Fun,

[RARECRX 0]

Haha.. You are in the same boat as myself. I have been reading this forum non-stop for like 3 days trying to catch up on 20 years as well. This new brushless/Lipo stuff is awesome.. Great run times, super smooth operation etc.. Not like before. I remember I had a modified Futaba FX-10 and I got a whopping 3-4 (if that) minutes out of her lol.. Now I hear they get like 20+ minutes easily run time with massive speed and reliability. How times have changed, in this case for the better.

[tonysmini 19]

Pick up the metal A5 part (the little bracket the front lower arm pins go through) as this is the chassis' only real weak spot.

Pargu on the bay sells them I think.

Or, you could try and make one.

[markbt73 6272]

First, congratulations on hanging on to your old stuff instead of getting rid of it like so many of us did. The things I sold or gave away or threw out... makes me sad to think about it now.

I have a Fire Dragon (same as T-shot with twin front shocks instead of monoshock) with a 12 turn Leopard brushless combo in it. (this one) Runs great, but you should replace the stock aluminum pinion with a steel one to reduce wear. It's a bit overgeared; I'm planning on going down to a 13 tooth pinion when I get a chance.

It will run just fine with regular old NiMH/NiCd batteries if you don't want to lay out the cash for Lipo batteries right away. I get 8-10 minutes of run time off a very old 1500mah NiCd pack, with more power and speed than the old brushed motors ever had. Replace the connector on the pack with a Deans connector to match the ESC, because the old white Tamiya connectors won't cut it.

You can use your old radio, but honestly, the new 2.4ghz radios are so inexpensive now that there's no reason not to get one, and every reason to: no crystals, no glitching, no interference, and no (or very short) antenna wire.

Good luck, and welcome back.

[commiedoor 18]

yeah , its hard to control your self now with all the advances with rc cars and gear .. i started out with my old original one owner ( me ) frog and now have 23 rc cars of all types , i have been collecting the ones i used to own but , wow , the prices !

any way i ended up with a heap of boomerang parts after a rebuild on one and decided to build a runner with a few modern touches ..

[NoRice 0]

I have a Fire Dragon (same as T-shot with twin front shocks instead of monoshock) with a 12 turn Leopard brushless combo in it. (this one) Runs great, but you should replace the stock aluminum pinion with a steel one to reduce wear. It's a bit overgeared; I'm planning on going down to a 13 tooth pinion when I get a chance.

It will run just fine with regular old NiMH/NiCd batteries if you don't want to lay out the cash for Lipo batteries right away. I get 8-10 minutes of run time off a very old 1500mah NiCd pack, with more power and speed than the old brushed motors ever had. Replace the connector on the pack with a Deans connector to match the ESC, because the old white Tamiya connectors won't cut it.

Thank you for all the assistance thus far. I have seen some reviews of the Leopard and I have concerns, but as you are running one I would assume it should be fine. Have you run one of these with a lipo setup? I fugure I'd invest in a lipo now as I have nothing to start with. It would appear that the Leopard has a better esc AMP rating so that might be a plus.

I know its more money but what are thoughts on the Novak Havoc Spec Brshls System 13.5t in comparison?