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Frog restoration/ maintenance tips

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Hi everybody-

I recently got my Frog out of storage- it hasn't run since 1989. I'm feeling waves of nostaglia and want to get it running again. If I can find them, I'll post pictures I took in 1988 of me proudly holding my freshly completed Frog!

I'd forgotten how much I'd modified it- Thorp differential, Tekin ESC/BEC, Trinity motor, ball bearings all around. I still can't recall how I could afford to buy all this stuff as a 16 year old!

I would really appreciate advice on what to clean, lube, and replace. I'm thinking at the minimum I need to disassemble and lube the gearbox and Thorp diff, replace the oil-filled shocks, lube the rear trailing arm attachments and the ball bearings.

The chassis and wheels have yellowed with age. Any parts I need to consider replacing?

Thanks!

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Simple clean and re grease should suffice however be wary of the black plastic parts as they become very brittle with age but reissue parts are a direct replacement. Look forward to the pictures

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I think you need to know that the original Frog has been re-issued, with some very minor changes. This means that all replacement parts are easily available and cheap. If you still have your manual you just need to look at the last pages to find the parts list.

No need to replace the oil filled shocks unless they are leaking, just replace the oil and they should be fine. Yellowed parts wont affect performance, so you really should replace them only if you're concerned about how it looks. Ball bearings, rear arm attachments and tranny should be checked and lubed as well as you mentionned.

Now show us some pics!! :D

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Thanks. Pulled it out last night and everything works! Even the Tamiya 7.2V "racing pack"! I think I will dissamble everything. I am missing some screws.

I still have the original box, blister packs (opened obviously), three motors, and mechanical speed control. I even have the original sales receipt ($109.00 plus $4 shipping) from August 1988. I guess I was somewhat anal even back then. Frustratingly, I cannot find my owner's manual.

Pictures from 1988 will be forthcoming- I think they're at my parent's house in another state.

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[...]

Pictures from 1988 will be forthcoming- I think they're at my parent's house in another state.

Old photos are awesome! It will be really nice to have a chance to have a look at those. :)

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Pics would be good! I wish I had pics from BITD with my Frog. I've kept mine in similar order, with the box and opened blisters, and spare screws in colour coded Tupperware containers.

Things to check:

1. Check for wear in the pressed aluminium suspension parts front and back. These wear out before the plastic parts and cause slop, especially in the front end. Don't overtighten the radius arm nylock nuts as this binds the front suspension and causes wear.

2. Use minimal lubrication in the suspension, especially around the trailing arms. A drop of thin oil or spray oil is all that's needed. These areas attract lots of dirt which causes premature wear.

3. Pack the hexagonal driveshafts with molybdenum grease, and make sure the rubber drive shaft boots are in good condition and keep a good seal around the cups with zip ties. Rubber parts dry out with age, replace the boots if they have dried out. If these are not lubricated enough, or dirt gets in, they will wear out very quickly. You can replace them with the universal shaft hopup #53908.

4. Although it's tempting to use newer wheels/tires, the original tires are much better for rougher ground. There is a lot of give in the stock tires, they make up for the lack of suspension travel and effectively form part of the suspension of this car. The tires are easy to get after kits that use them were re-issued.

5. The trailing rear suspension of the Frog is too stiff. Use thinner damper oil, or piston with larger holes, and change to a softer spring if you can. You could probably ditch the rebound wafer on the piston too. The re-issue Frog dampers are a direct bolt-on, but effectively aren't much better than the original units due to the poor suspension geometry.

6. The Frog front suspension is too bouncy. If you don't want to go the route of installing an aftermarket shock tower to fit oil dampers, use friction damper grease or AW grease on the transverse spring buttons inside the chassis to add a bit of damping.

- James

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