neverfollow 599 Posted January 1, 2014 Well, as some here may know, I won a bid on Ebay for an Astute. Paid a pretty penny for it, thinking it didn't need much restoration. I want to run this vehicle and really enjoy it. But, as we all know, anything plastic that's 20+ years old, is going to be very weak as a runner. Especially since a majority of the parts were weak when new. So, with the help of our wise and helpful members, I started the restoration/modification process. My Astute is becoming a sort of Frankenstein with all of the parts I've been using. Modifications are as follows: New front and rear (to be installed) All new ball bearings A&L Lethal Weapon belt driven transmission Super Astute front lower control arms Stadium Blitzer front C hubs F103 carbon reinforced front uprights Dyna Storm turnbuckles for the tie rods and upper control arms Super Astute G4 part for supporting the front suspension (waiting on parts) TA-04 Pro steering linkage TA-04 Pro aluminum servo mounts Super Astute rear lower control arms Stadium Blitzer rear hubs DF-03 swing axles Hi-cap front and rear shocks Relocate battery position New Kamtec re-pro body (waiting on parts) Re-pro decals (waiting on parts) Tamiya servo saver (waiting on parts) Savox SC-1251 MG low profile digital metal gear steering servo Carbon fiber plate for a custom made upper deck (waiting on parts) Castle Mamba Max Pro 6700kv brushless system Venom hard case 2s 5000 MAH battery Replace as many original screws with black allen head screws as possible Avante ball end connectors to be used as upper control arms front and rear Well, without further delay, here are the pics I've taken so far. All were taken with my iphone, so please excuse the quality. Here it is, as pictured from ebay And when it came home Removed the MSC Astute vs. Super Astute control arms with Stadium Blitzer C hubs and F103 uprights A&L transmission installation Old transmission removed Side by side Mounted with new Super Astute lower control arms Astute vs. Super Astute lower arms With Astute rear hubs and links Stadium Blitzer rear hubs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 1, 2014 I must say, the A&L transmission really looks like it means business. Great quality of parts and hardware, easy assembly. Daryl at A&L was stellar. He contacted me immediately with the price and shipping quote, and I received it in less than a week. The instructions were kind of blurred, so I emailed Daryl. He quickly responded with the instructions in PDF form. A+ for Daryl. If I were to have any complaints, it would have to be the color of the transmission, but that's really splitting hairs. Ok, so here's more pics (glad dial up 56K modems are a thing of the past...lol) Here I'm making a template for the upper deck Aluminum posts to support it up front A little spacer to get it level So this was my first idea for the battery, when I had planned to use an 8.4v hump pack Spaced out servo to accommodate the battery But, that didn't work out as I desired, so back to the old drawing board Lipo battery mounted with the original Astute mount, with a small aluminum spacer to take up the height gap Here I added the little nubs to the chassis to keep the battery from moving about I know the battery is pretty much fixed in place now, so removal will be a challenge, but I don't plan to run it through more than 1 battery pack at each outing. I usually go with 3 or 4 vehicles to keep myself occupied Out with the old... In with the new.. Coming along The blue transmission case was really bothering me, so... I tried Mad Cap uprights from Team CRP, but they are flimsy compared to the F103 carbon reinforced pieces So the F103 uprights stay on Savox servo installed with TA-04 Pro aluminum servo mounts 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidewaysdave69 188 Posted January 1, 2014 man have you been busy! this thing is going to be mental when its finished. I am loving that lethal weapon gearbox, is it a "power clutch" one? when you look on the website it says the 108 and 208 both come without a power clutch, but there is $38 of a difference in price. what one did you go for? those super astute arms look much better than the stock ones. I will be watching this one to the end! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidewaysdave69 188 Posted January 1, 2014 lol, I would of painted it as well. do those front uprights have a shorter axle? 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 1, 2014 Thanks Dave! I went with the power clutch version. I noticed that as well, and mentioned it in my email to Daryl. The uprights are nearly identical. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 1, 2014 Here, I decided to make a support for the transmission to the chassis I reverse engineered the front sway bar so that I could retain it. Not sure how effective it will be For the rear upper control arms, I kept the original set up, with some modification to make them work. I'm a fan of the 80's Tamiya over engineering and wanted to keep it somewhat vintage I used the front control arm posts at the rear And the inner end of the original front upper arms because I needed the bushing for smooth movement A bit of a stretch for that link..we"ll see how long that stays on I put ball bearings in the steering linkage and then proceeded to replace the ball ends to eliminate any chances of slop in the steering And then the 20+ year old plastic cracked ;( Then I found that my TA-04 parts car had a nearly identical set up (Astute to the left) They sit a little higher, so I had to use shorter posts for my upper deck Here the body is on, and you can notice the body sits a little bit higher because of the upper deck posts (upper deck not on yet), but I don't think it's going to be a major issue More pics to come..as soon as I get more parts delivered! Thanks for stopping by to take a look! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Quandry 378 Posted January 1, 2014 Looks animal! that low height Savox is pretty interesting. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kontemax 1723 Posted January 2, 2014 Keep in mind that Re release Top Force has the same steering cranks. Max 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 2, 2014 Thanks Max. Actually, I have a great deal of thanking for you. Your Astute write up helped me a lot during this build. You wouldn't happen to know what tree from the top force the steering cranks are in, do you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kontemax 1723 Posted January 2, 2014 Thank you. I just finish to write the 3th part and now I'm working on the images of the article. Will post it very soon. Anyway the Top Force part with the steering cranks is the J Parts. On the Astute/Super Astute is the D Parts. Max Thanks Max. Actually, I have a great deal of thanking for you. Your Astute write up helped me a lot during this build.You wouldn't happen to know what tree from the top force the steering cranks are in, do you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thommo 1201 Posted January 2, 2014 Great thread and great job also, I'm really enjoying this too! Some outstanding ideas there along with the all important upgrades for an Astute runner. The Lethal Weapon trans and custom upper deck really take this build to a new level. I hope you do overcome the upper deck to body clearance issue, it would be great to see that work out for you. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ddaenen1 278 Posted January 2, 2014 Excellent stuff. Btw, did you know there are alu uprights available for the 103 so they should also fit the Astute. I have a pair on my Hornet. Edit: added a pic of my Hornet with the blue alu uprights 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Grastens 2795 Posted January 3, 2014 I love this thread already - a lot of neat ideas and new parts. That fan out back on the brushless motor looks menacing! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 5, 2014 Update: Today I installed the Dyna Storm turn buckles, Hi-Caps, rear tires, made some new upper control arms from Avante ball ends, and made some damper tower braces. This Frankenstein Astute is beginning to look like a 2wd Avante now, lol. So here's how it was after initially modding the front suspension Dyna Storm turn buckles Side by side Fitted The steering linkage before And after I had extra turn buckles from the set, so I proceeded to the rear of the vehicle Right side before And after Left side before And after Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 5, 2014 Last view of the original yellow dampers Letting the air bubbles out Mounted Made a damper brace with an extra turnbuckle Old rear damper Original vs. Hi-Cap Mounted Damper brace Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 5, 2014 I was looking at my Avante, and the gears started turning in my head..I wanted to somehow fit the upper arms to my Astute, and still retain the links in the rear. Re-used the original 4mm rods from the front and rear upper arms (with some slight shortening) and came up with this. From this To this I used the rubber bushings from the original dampers of my Avante to take up some space, and possibly cushion articulation And at the front (before) After And that's it for now...not bad for a Sunday morning I know I'm adding more weight to the chassis by adding all the metal parts, but this guy should have plenty of power, and I think I may need the weight to keep it controllable. Thanks for viewing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kontemax 1723 Posted January 6, 2014 If I can I would give you some advice about all the errors you are making (Imho) on your Astute. - You don't need the braces between top ends of all dampers. You are only adding weight and turning the body more and more difficoult to "extract". - You are putting braces where you don't need them in the rear suspension adding weight and making the car heavier. In the rear upper arms you don't need them. - You are not putting braces where you need it. You must make a brace between the rear upper arms or you will break the rear shock tower base. - You are using oversized and heavy upper arms. You should use 3 mm turnbuckles (better in titanium) and a 4 or 5 mm bal joints. Aluminum joints are heavy and will wear quickly and 4 mm upper arm rods are futile and oversized, too big, too thick. - You are making the wrong thing with your rear hubs. You added objects (damper bushings) between the rear hubs and rear upper arms reducing clearance to the rear dampers. When you will use the car the lower rear arms will flex and your upper arms will touch and ruine the rear damper cylinders. At contrary you must add clearance with smaller and thinner upper arms. You will add some more clearance making the rear tower brace and cutting away a piece of rear hubd where you screw the ball joint. - The double brace for the tranny will not work because the columns where you screwed them are too long and will flex. This is useless weight. - The top chassis plate is useless because the flexible chassis helps to have a "softer" car to drive. - At last you don't have the only brace you absolutely really need: The front brace. Without this brace your front end will break in 30 seconds, more or less. My two cents. Max Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 6, 2014 Max, I'm still waiting for the super astute g part for the front. I'm not worried about weight, the brushless set up in it will have more than enough power to make it go. Also, I do not race professionally. The upper arms work well in my Avante, why wouldn't they work well here? Also the Avante has the braces between the dampers. The lower deck has plenty of flex in it, I thought flex would be a bad thing. Guess we'll just have to wait and see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kontemax 1723 Posted January 6, 2014 I also not raced professionally my Astute but I used it a lot on the track and I can only give you my experience, expecially on the front brace: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/pictureframe.asp?t=n&id=img24_24102012042021_10.jpg and the rear brace http://www.tamiyaclub.com/pictureframe.asp?t=n&id=img24_24102012042021_7.jpg that are a must have if you want to save your Astute parts. And keep in mind the clearance with the rear shocks or you will quickly ruine the rear dampers. http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=116410&sid=24 http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=116641&sid=24 As I said my two cents. Max Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 6, 2014 Thanks again Max, much appreciated. I plan to fix the clearance issue at the rear dampers, and install the super astute g part up front. I have all of the mad cap front parts like you've installed, but just haven't installed them yet. I wanted to retain as much original astute as possible, even the wacky engineered rear upper arms. The brace at the rear upper arms looks easy enough to make, and makes a lot of sense to have. Thanks for that pointer. And I appreciate your 2 cents! Thanks again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jesse James 13 Posted January 13, 2014 Hey mate. Im loving this build. So many cool things happening to this astute. I never figured out that ta04 steering parts would work with it! For the tranny brace I actually made one from a flat piece and ran it across to the rear bulkhead. It also helps torsional rigidity of the rear end. Also be careful of the amount of dogbone plunge you get into the A&L out drives. I advise putting some o-rings on the rear shock shafts to help reduce/slow the up travel. If the suspension hits full up travel the dogbone will try and spread the outdrive apart and potentially break it Totally agree about Darryl and A&L. The tranny is awesome and Darryl is great to deal with Best battery holder for the car is the super astute one. I noticed you did the same thing I did and spaced the servo forward and ran a short servo. This gives plenty of clearance to run full stick lipo. Stick with the rear setup with the metal chassis posts, I ran the rear battery hold from the super astute and cracked 2 of them Good luck with it mate. Im enjoying all the interesting things ur doing to it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 14, 2014 Thanks Jesse! Your comments and advice are greatly appreciated. I do have a small o-ring in the diff out drives, and currently fitting the super astute battery holder. I'm almost done with the project. Just waiting on the servo saver (of all things), and the re-pro body. Can't wait to take this thing on its maiden run! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidewaysdave69 188 Posted January 14, 2014 those avante rod ends go really well with the hi-caps, I might have to steal your idea for mines is that lethal weapon gearbox plastic? I can see my astute getting some money spent on it after reading this thread. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
neverfollow 599 Posted January 15, 2014 Thanks Dave..the lethal weapon gearbox is plastic. I've done a couple of more things to it the other day, just haven't gotten around to posting them. I just put up a video on my YouTube channel, testing it out and the radio gear. Battery is weak, and you can still see the tires balloon. I have a feeling this franken-stute is going to be very quick. I'm glad I'm adding weight to it. Oh, and please don't mind my dogs barking in the background. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sidewaysdave69 188 Posted January 15, 2014 this thing is going to be mental! what about foam in your tyres might help with the ballooning. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites