58020 restore project

[Daves956]

I wasn't planning on another project right now but a good friend found something in a garage sale he knew I'd like. The price was dirt low but it was a purchase of quite a bit of dirt. I'll start on it this weekend so the idea of everything running is way off again. It's just my opinion that in almost any condition it's worth the 50 bucks. Here's a couple of pictures

[dragnse7en]

Nice find. I saw the word "dirt" twice on your post - I'm sure w/ a little simple green and TLC the "after" pics would be a proud gem to look at

Having the drivers in there is a bonus too! Awesome grap-up!

[Daves956]

Nice find. I saw the word "dirt" twice on your post - I'm sure w/ a little simple green and TLC the "after" pics would be a proud gem to look at

Having the drivers in there is a bonus too! Awesome grap-up!

I haven't picked it up but my friend told me how filthy it is. i can see 2 good cracks in the black body but the good side of that is that they weren't repaired poorly. I've got a few pieces around from the BT50 for parts and I know where to get the vintage radio for it. The MSC and all the steering are there so that's a big plus. I'll know more tomorrow....later today.

If I were to have picked the next project myself, this would have been on the list so it's all good.

[Daves956]

After washing it off, I'm starting to see what was under all that filth. The electronics and what's left of the batteries are just trash. The MSC needs all new wires but it can be saved. The bodies will be a challenge but first I've still got more gunk to clean off. Tires are hard as rocks but the wheels aren't too beat up but all that can be saved. The 2 side pieces aren't there so that will be interesting, The old ones weren't removed by choice. There are little pieces left where they were attached. The diff and all those pieces look to be fine so no worries there. here's a small progress picture

[Daves956]

I chose this radio for it's age and condition. It's a Heathkit from the late 1970s and 100% there. There were somewhere around 9 inches of breaks and cracks in the front nose alone. Most weren't glued back together and the ones that were had to be rebroken to close up the gaps and all the glue removed. I got started on removing the rubber cement from the wheels and tires and softening them up again,

[bromvw]

Good start dave . It all looks repairable .Always liked the JPS livery .Hope i can have those clod wheels in the background

[Daves956]

Good start dave . It all looks repairable .Always liked the JPS livery .Hope i can have those clod wheels in the background

As far as I'm concerned their yours, just in the wrong location right now. I did see pin type tires and stock clods and kyosho wheels and chromes but smaller.

I never even mentioned what else was here

[bromvw]

As far as I'm concerned their yours, just in the wrong location right now. I did see pin type tires and stock clods and kyosho wheels and chromes but smaller.

I never even mentioned what else was here

That big set at the bottom of the pic - what are those ? IF their tamiya fitment count me in . If they will fit clod clod rims i'll take the lot lol

[charlie787b]

Jps shell look's a lot better,how do you soften up foam tyre's?

[Daves956]

Jps shell look's a lot better,how do you soften up foam tyre's?

I use pure silicone shock oil. They soak it up like a sponge and after months the ones on the BT are still soft and have a darker color to them. i've only done this with shelf queens since I don't have any runners with foam.

[Daves956]

More bits of joy. The lower deck bumper and mechanical deck have seen a lot of miles. The mechanical deck looks sandblasted where it was unprotected and it was farthest from the road. I'm going to try to make this one look good but without swapping out pretty much everything it's going to have flaws that can't be fixed.

I'm still working on the driver and front wing. It might have been better if they had been lost. Note the broken bumper that was in front of the wing. this one has taken a big impact

[Daves956]

A bit of progress. I'll be doing something about that helmet but it's starting to look like a car again.

[Daves956]

It's got mirrors and the rollbar section redone. These were completely missing and had to be fabricated. Luckily the mirrors are the same as the BT50. Mario's helmet is right for the period too. I sorted out the radio gear and after more cleaning I'll start on that.

[billg4]

light coat of FUTURE floor wax/cleaner stuff will dress that fiberglass right up and look almost new

Best part is if you need to remove it soak in windex for 24 hours

[Daves956]

On the fiberglass, I've got 9 coats of gloss coat. Each coat was sanded down before the next was added. This was just to fill in the deep scrapes and it really needed to just be replaced.

The tops of all the screws were pretty much gone and some that had come loose were really bent.

I was thinking about this one and It's not shelf queen material but not a runner either. I'm still deciding what to do with it.

The honest truth is that I've seen pinyatas that held up to this kind of beating a lot better.

I never mentioned that most of the batteries let go over time so cleanup on the mechanical deck has been really fun

[Daves956]

Ok, so now it's take out the transmitter and reciever batteries. Put it in a box full of bubble wrap and think of a place to put it.

I did a couple laps with it and it runs pretty good, really quiet.

[mongoose1983]

Ooooh, that vintage JPS formula sure looks GOOD!

[Flat_Out]

Nice find! I don't know a lot about this model's history, but it looks very similar to the chassis under the VW Golf Group2.

[Daves956]

this one was fun, more for the radio than the car. The old Heathkit is really cool and works good, but I got a Kraft and 2 more Futabas from that era when I got it so onward we go. I went over the car list and this one is leaving along with a couple more. I've done my part now it's up to somebody with more shelf space than I have.

[charlie787b]

pretty good transformation to how it looked when you got it,great job

[Daves956]

It does look better with the rear guards.

[Grastens]

Having recently visited this thread and looking at everything, I am simply astounded how well the restoration went. Excellent work; it must have been fun to have it run again!

[Daves956]

Thank you, I appreciate that. It helped to have the original manual and the BT50 to copy parts from.

[mongoose1983]

As I said before... that Formula is a TOTAL BEAUTY!!!