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Hi all!

While waiting for some parts to arrive - my Brat is out of action - I got bored and decided to dig out a rather old vehicle of mine.

Behold: the Tamiya QuickDrive Trailmaster!

2q3i.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

This was my first, proper hobby-grade R/C car back from 2001, although I was too young to properly understand R/C cars back then ;)

Surprisingly, it practically all works fine. Unbelievably, the battery in the transmitter still works, despite not being used in ages while still connected. However, the battery I had for the car back in 2001 was a little 9.6v NiCD from GP (not a well known brand) and sadly it doesn't work anymore. I believe I may have left it connected to the car for a long time without usage, and it just doesn't charge properly. However, I was able to get my standard 6 cell NiMH pack to work with it, with a little improvisation:

kxk.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

Not practical, but it worked. Right, time for some driving!

q5vh.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

6tg8.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

Excuse the quality of the shots, they're frames from a video I took on my phone and they never tend to come out too well...

This thing is fun to drive, but the harsh truth is that it's pretty rubbish. Tires aren't glued, and have very little grip with wheel, let alone the ground. The stock servo seems to like turning to the left more than the right, not sure why that is but taking it apart to have a look should fix that. Also, the motor in it is only a little 280 sized thing and is very slow. I'd say it does 15 mph max on a full charge, on tarmac.

But, this was never intended to be a high end car. It really was a basic as you could get back in 2001. I intend to get a new battery like my old one, so that it'll fit in the car and not have to be taped on :P

So, does anyone else have one of these/still have one of these? And has anyone had any luck trying to upgrade it? I'm not sure it's actually possible due to how it's built, but feel free to discuss the QD range here :lol:

Cheers,

Mack

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GP are a well respected battery maker actually! :)

It's cool that you've got it running again - I'm not sure about the battery taped to the side with sellotape though - can't see that lasting very long!

The problem with the quick drive stuff is that you can't really do anything to it... you could always glue the tyres yourself though.

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@Gruntfuggly I've never really heard of GP in R/C though :P

I probably will glue the tires. Might give some *extra* traction.

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If it has the same motor as the qd monster beetle, it can be up-graded to brushless, see the link in my sig.

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@Sayer What do you mean?

It looks an awful lot like the TXT-1 (just a smaller and more toyish version) - unless you meant my double post?

chicago2003_tamiya_txt1.jpg

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Got my Nephew a QD Wrangler for his 3rd birthday and got a QD Clod myself. :D

Those QD remotes are the only 'decent' ones I know of that fits little kids hands.

Just got to have one in ones T collection (also got a boys 4wd racer B) )

DSC00684.jpg

needs some paint maybe this summer.

replaced the electronics

DSC00968.jpg

and the missing batt. lid got fixed with some creative plastic carding

DSC01184.jpg

to bad the oil shocks are so expensive and hard to locate

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Mackiatoe, the front wheels need swapping left to right as the tyres are the wrong around (sorry, it's a pet hate of mine).

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And swap the rears too for more traction B)

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If it has the same motor as the qd monster beetle, it can be up-graded to brushless, see the link in my sig.

Thanks for the tips wolfdog :)

It looks an awful lot like the TXT-1 (just a smaller and more toyish version) - unless you meant my double post?

Hmmm, it does. I don't know a huge ammount about the origins of the body of this thing, so hey ;)

Got my Nephew a QD Wrangler for his 3rd birthday and got a QD Clod myself. :D

Those QD remotes are the only 'decent' ones I know of that fits little kids hands.

Just got to have one in ones T collection (also got a boys 4wd racer B) )

(picture)

needs some paint maybe this summer.

replaced the electronics

(picture)

and the missing batt. lid got fixed with some creative plastic carding

(picture)

to bad the oil shocks are so expensive and hard to locate

Nice vehicle you have there. I'll have to take it apart a bit more and have a look inside.

Mackiatoe, the front wheels need swapping left to right as the tyres are the wrong around (sorry, it's a pet hate of mine).

Ahh yes, I remember this. Took the wheels off to have a look at their construction and must have put them on backwards.

Cheers,

Mack

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Ages ago I bought my kid brother a QD Ford Focus rally car. He smashed the shell to bits so it was replaced with a Honda S2000 shell from HPI which is surprisingly still in excellent condition. I guess his driving must have improved!

The only mods I did to the chassis were to replace all the plastic bushings with proper bearings. With the tiny little QD motor this makes a significant difference to performance and runtimes I can assure you!

Not a chassis I have any great interest in owning myself, but nonetheless a good one for kids and poor drivers to get started on if they can't be trusted with a full hobby-grade car IMNSHO.

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The only mods I did to the chassis were to replace all the plastic bushings with proper bearings. With the tiny little QD motor this makes a significant difference to performance and runtimes I can assure you!

Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to dig out some spare ball bearings and see how they work.

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+1 on the bearings, did that too

DSC00672.jpg

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+1 on the bearings, did that too

Put some old ones that I had spare in it, and seems to have improved slightly.

Have a look at this .GIF that I made ;)

2f4ve.gifvia Imgflip GIF Maker

Plus these extra shots. Not sure why, but this actually quite a lot of fun to drive.

qz2w.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

yuwa.pngUploaded with ImageShack.com

Photos are a little low-quality to save on people's bandwidth :)

Cheers,

Mack

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Oh, the thread came back alive :o

 

Better post a picture of my dusty shelfer (ballraced QD-Willy with oil-shocks and 3530mm BL outrunner):

WillyLights.JPG

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Sorry to dissapoint you but Willy isnt a QD, it is a real (RC kit) car. ;)

(Ah except for the lazy then it could be an XB :P)

 

Thats a lot of light on that rollbar B)

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