Triumph chassis

[Champ85]

Found what I think was a great buy on everyone's favorite auction site. Paid $112.50 + $15 shipping for this. No idea how I got it for so cheap. The last one in similar condition went for over $220! I am extremely pleased.

It's brand new built, never had radio gear or a motor installed. Perfect manual, perfect decals, original body, original wing, no missing parts from what I can tell.

Ever since Kyosho introduced this I've wanted one. The double belt drive is cool for a 2wd buggy!

Fairly certain main chassis plate and upper plate is FRP, not carbon fiber. Shock towers are glass fiber reinforced plastic, I think.

[Percymon]

A great find, and a steal at that price - enjoy!

[RichieRich]

Score!!! Nice job. Great car to play with too.

[kyosho_collector]

Nice score, that was a real steal! I was actually watching that auction and meant to put in a bid, but somehow I missed the ending, and was suprised to see what it went for! Glad to see it ended up with someone here!

[Champ85]

Spent the afternoon today taking it apart. Only a couple screws need replacing due to stripped threads (at the very end of the screw) by the original builder, and one of the plastic nuts that holds the top of the shock to the tower had split. I'll likely replace all four with metal nyloc nuts anyway as the plastic nuts are cheapo. I took the diff apart to see how clean it was, and it seems in fine shape. Slipper discs and spur gear are in perfect condition as are the belts. Gold shocks are in fine shape and don't seem like they need a rebuild, I'm going to leave them alone.

The chassis and top plate are not sealed with CA. Should they be? I keep finding conflicting info about what they are made of. Did the Triumph come with FRP or graphite chassis plates? Not sure if sealing with CA is the right thing to do or not.

[kyosho_collector]

According to the description in a Tower Hobbies catalog I have from 1994, it is a "graphite double deck chassis". I will scan and post it later tonight when I get a chance. But I also notice your box says "FRP chassis" so I would think that is more accurate, since that's coming from Kyosho, not the distributor.

[RichieRich]

I think FRP is just generic. The F can be glass or carbon or other material. I've always wondered myself if it was some sort of carbon composite.

[Champ85]

Hi guys, thanks. Looking at the face and edge of the Triumph chassis and top plates, they do not look like woven carbon fiber like, say, the Tamiya Avante 2011 chassis. On the other hand, the Triumph chassis and top plate do not look like the Tamiya Sand Scorcher/Buggy Champ chassis plate, which is made out of fiberglass, either. And you are right - FRP, at least according to Wikipedia, can refer to a multitude of materials, not just one type, so I'm thinking the chassis on the Triumph is some sort of carbon fiber reinforced plastic or resin. Not woven, like the Avante 2011, but definitely not made out of fiberglass, either. So in a way, both the box (which says "FRP") and the Kyosho parts description for TM-24 (which says "graphite") are correct.

Therefore, I think I will be using CA to seal the edges when I get around to building, but it won't be anytime soon.