Jump to content
neverfollow

Astute restoration, with modifications

Recommended Posts

Grastens, Dave..thank you guys. Both of you have been a great help throughout this build. If I had more hands, I'd give you gents more thumbs up!

I was on the fence about the wing, I thought the Awesome! was a little pompous..lol. But it does fill the space nicely. I also thought since it's not 100% Astute, I'd do something different. Like the decal differences between an Avante and an Avante Black Special.

Who knows, maybe i'll change it in the future because the Awesome! decal fits the space properly.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

neverfollow why did you go for the kamtec body and not the *****?

just wondering as I need a new body for mines. after a disastrous paint job a few years ago. I was using Tamiya anodised aluminium and it turned to poo, so it ended up orange on the outside. thank god it wasn't a Tamiya body.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Not too sure what the ***** body is Dave. Went with Kamtec because I thought they were my only choice. It is a nice shell though I must say. Pretty much spot on with the Tamiya shell, besides the Kamtec being thicker and stronger.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Can't forget to thank Kontemax. Max, without your detailed write ups, I wouldn't of known where to start.

Additionally, Percymon and Jesse had some great info for me. Everyone so kind and willing to help.

I am very thankful to all, and I am so happy to be a member here at Tamiya Club.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Same decals I purchased for my Vantage body, and tbh I found them utter rubbish after 2 runs they are scrapping away revealing white underneath :( Ended up buying proper Tamiya Astute decals, but the whole car does look fabulous. Love the whole work that has went into this build :)

James

:)

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good to know, thanks James. Sourcing out original decals proved challenging to me, so I went with the easier option.

And thanks for your kind words!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Holy cow, who would have thought of all these upgrades to an Astute. I sure hope you find yourself a whole new set of tires and wheels as those are the things you can't get more of without spending a good amount of money. If you want to go old school, HPI stars would do the trick, have the hex fitting for the rears and the bearing mounts for the fronts and will use all 2" tires. You could go with some newer Tamiya 2WD wheels and tires too, just have to make sure the offsets will mesh and not foul against the uprights as well as getting those fronts with bearing mounts.

A&L are still in business??? I meant to get one a few years back for my Astute, but seemed I didn't have the same luck you did with contacting them, but mind you that is at least 5 years ago now. I have a full set of Robinson gears to go into my Astute runner, but I don't plan on running it too hard since I shattered my D parts that mount the rear arms to the chassis, bought alu replacements and will run it mildly, probably with a silver can when I rebuild it and will need to fit my Super Astute battery stay into my Astute chassis as well. Great looking Frankenstute you have built.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

How do you find the Manta Ray alloy steering cranks?

I have them, at the moment, on my astute build. The cranks themselves are not dead straight and to mount the cranks in the positions the astute requires the angle is pointing in. How do you find the steering angles on your car?

I've not been happy with mine so far.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you fellas for the kind words.

EddScott, I did notice what you mention, so I used a turn buckle between the two cranks to try to get it right. Seems ok, but I haven't really driven it yet. Just around my basement, but it seems like it will be ok.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

While looking over the build with a fine tooth comb, I noticed a small crack in the front D part, where it mounts to the front damper stays. So I replaced it, and reinforced it (hopefully). We'll see how this turns out.

New part

29368259-7EAA-4703-BEB1-73F00A42056B_zps

Front suspension removed

AC03BFC8-6459-43E3-9804-6BD819405FE9_zps

69F1EDE6-94E9-4B00-AA2A-7A7DF515D289_zps

D part removed

D2821034-3CC3-45B5-8197-CBE1AF82D2C1_zps

New D part ready for install

3DFB2171-1109-439C-969B-DBFF15168D7C_zps

Assembled with mounts for reinforcement

8778C731-DBE5-4E42-8520-F25AA676721F_zps

Turnbuckle installed to tie in the two points

722F1B7C-D5AE-4F63-9054-1350512EB7AD_zps

13D9C2E1-0C21-4A71-9CF7-04ECB27EA8C5_zps

Also tied in these two points to eliminate any torsional flex

7DA5CCE7-07CB-4653-979E-0D867EDEF129_zps

All done

4B74A69C-145B-4EB5-90D6-768C869CCA6C_zps

Can't wait til the weather here improves..I need to run the pants off of this guy and see how he does!

:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey Jesse, just weighed it now on a home scale. Not sure how accurate it is. But I got 2lbs or about .9 kilos

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

WOW! Very nice build lots of work in this Astute.

I watched the video of the car on the stand - I need to say you have too much brake dialed into the speed control, the brakes should only stop the wheels that fast if you push on the brakes. You will wear out the belt and top gear needlessly fast with that much nutural brake in the speed control.

Should be able to get 150 runs or so out of a belt and top gear with everything set correctly.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks Rusty, and yes you are correct. That motor and ESC came out of one of my touring cars and was set up accordingly. Since that video the "tuning" of the ESC has been changed, but thanks for noticing!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Let me know how it works for you, and if you have any issues. The is a racer running a LW equipped Astute in Australia - he is doing well with it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Well, I got to send my Astute on it's maiden run. Unfortunately, it wasn't pretty. Got about 10 minutes out of it before both rear control arm mounts cracked, and the slipper clutch had a melt down.

But I must say, it was fun to drive. I was running it on short grass and it accelerated and handled really well. It pulls the front wheels up at speed.

I put in an email to Darly at A&L, hopefully I can get the clipper clutch parts I need separately. I had new rear control arm mounts, so that's already been fixed.

Here's a couple of pics of the damage.

Here you can see how the spur gear melted to the clutch plate

1517D396-633C-4885-A150-9FD84B1741E5_zps

And also spit out the friction material

1A6CE332-00C8-497C-8AA2-1AF742F44F67_zps

Spur gear welded itself to the clutch plate

E6DB5085-1215-45B7-AA1A-0580CE22D91A_zps

6A59A7C4-C3C8-4EA6-91C7-B9717DAF86E0_zps

And the broken rear arm mounts

5DBA6519-024F-48BB-93A9-F0DE25F4B0B1_zps

A7BF997B-8D0E-4E41-9928-7CA46EA19E55_zps

118DA7D8-F8C5-447C-AC63-7162EF6B589C_zps

I was preparing to take video but that's going to have to put off until a later date.

Hope to have it back in action asap.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

OUCH OUCH OUCH. I don't remember who made them, but a few years ago I snapped up some Alu D parts for mounting the rear arms to the chassis. I hope you source some of those since that D tree isn't all to easy to find cheaply these days. I didn't have more than a stock motor in mine and it cracked those bits nearly identical to yours. I do need to motivate myself to getting mine back together and out on some dirt.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Use Madcap parts, they are perfect fit and are stronger.

I don't understand how did you melt the friction plates.

Max

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

118DA7D8-F8C5-447C-AC63-7162EF6B589C_zps

Notice how the cracks originate from the press nut mounting point which is the weak spot. This is always the way with Astute D1 parts. They were possibly already hairline cracked even from normal tightening so be very careful if you are using Astute D1's as replacement.

These guys are all spot on with their suggestions, either Pargu alloy or Madcap C1 parts if you have them. The Madcap C1 part is more robust and you can m3 tap thread into the part and use m3 x 10mm long counter sink screws (no press nuts required).

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice guys..I believe I may have replaced them with either super astute or mad cap mounts. I have a box of parts trees I collected during this build, and unfortunately I didn't do a good job labeling them. If the break again, I will definitely go the alloy route.

I think they were the only original parts of the car besides the chassis plate. So it was no surprise that the 25 year old plastic didn't hold up.

I'm assuming I didn't have the clutch set up tight enough, caused a lot of slip, and over heated it. Either that, or my ratio. Can you wise men tell me what ratio pinion/spur you're running?

Thanks!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

If you have an hot motor the gear ratio must be 1:10 or more.

Max

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

83T spur and 25T pinion give me a ratio of 3.32...is that correct? Maybe I should go with a smaller spur for less load/heat?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...