Old Mud Blaster Restoration

[Jack in Norfolk]

Greetings fellow RC enthusiasts,

I ordered a Tamiya Mud Blaster from Tower Hobbies a loooooong time ago. Probably some time in the late 80s. I found it in my storage unit the other day and I'd like to try to bring it back to life. At present, I am without the radio. It had a Futaba Attack 76 mHz radio when it was new. The servos and receiver are still there. So I am trying to find a cheap radio that will work. I still have the battery pack, but am assuming that it is dead. I can't find the charger either. I am going to head to the local hobby shop tomorrow and see what I can do.

When I was a kid, I remember wanting to get a better "dog bones" set up as mine always seemed to round out. I also wanted a faster motor and an electronic speed control. I was encouraged to see that some of this stuff is still available on the web. I also saw that the Mudblaster has been re-released. Do they sell the parts bags individually still, or do you have to buy the whole truck?

I am excited to get this thing running again. Any help is much appreciated.

Thanks,

-Jack

[MAD RACER]

I restored a old Mud Blaster and was quite easy with the Brat & Frog re re. Never new the Mud Blaster was re re though. The red chassis going for some serious coin on the bay lately.

I used a limited edition chrome Brat shell but couldn't find a decent priced Mud Blaster decal sheet so went for the re re Brat stickers and customized with shocks, brackets and big chrome wheels. . Have a re re Frog dog bone set up in the rear too.

[GregM]

Nice truck, and welcome to TC!

You can use the dogbones, axles and diff cups from the re-release Frog and Subaru Brat. There are lots of compatible parts, while some other are unique to the F-150-Blackfoot/Monster Beetle/Mud Blaser.

The gearbox is often considered being rather weak, so you might want to stay with the kit motor or a Tamiya Sport Tuned. The ESC will give you better control than the old MSC.

The Mud Blaster II sits on a whole different WT-01 chassis. Most parts aren't compatible at all.

See this thread for more information about the Blackfoot "family":

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=72669&p=533028

[mheald]

Enjoy it man! I love the Mudblaster so much. It's such a poor performer, rolls easily, has a shocking gearbox and looks odd, but it's wonderful for all those little features IMO I've got a NIB one waiting to be built at some point soon. But I doubt I'll dare run that, just display it.

I've always loved the colour scheme, so 70's.

[skip665]

I am restoring a Mud Blaster - the shell is a bit battered but savable - however it was missing a few key gearbox components - motor mount, motor cover and on dismantling I discovered the counter gear is toast... I am now resto-modding it with the gearbox from my deceased Bush Devil - its coming together nicely and should make for a decent gentle runner when finished

[Percymon]

Welcome Jack - nice little project you have there.

The build manuals (with part numbers at the back) for the re-released Brat can be downloaded here..

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/subaru_brat.pdf

and for the Frog here..

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/subaru_brat.pdf

Once you know which parts you will need to replace/repair then there are plenty of online sellers globally, either through eBay or websites.

HK based..

www.stellamodels.net

www.rcmart.com

Japan based

www.banzaihobby.com very cheap pricesm and SAL shipping is cheap and normally 10-14 days delivery

http://jasons-store.highwire.com/

UK based

www.vintage-tamiyaparts.com

www.modelsport.co.uk

www.tamiyaparts.co.uk

eBay sellers

europro75 / Tony's Tamiya Parts

victor101

the-bitz-store

Any queries/questiosn during the rebuild then just shout out, plenty of folks here ready to help

[mheald]

Welcome Jack - nice little project you have there.

The build manuals (with part numbers at the back) for the re-released Brat can be downloaded here..

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/subaru_brat.pdf

and for the Frog here..

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/subaru_brat.pdf

Once you know which parts you will need to replace/repair then there are plenty of online sellers globally, either through eBay or websites.

HK based..

www.stellamodels.net

www.rcmart.com

Japan based

www.banzaihobby.com very cheap pricesm and SAL shipping is cheap and normally 10-14 days delivery

http://jasons-store.highwire.com/

UK based

www.vintage-tamiyaparts.com

www.modelsport.co.uk

www.tamiyaparts.co.uk

eBay sellers

europro75 / Tony's Tamiya Parts

victor101

the-bitz-store

Any queries/questiosn during the rebuild then just shout out, plenty of folks here ready to help

Boom look at that, proof if ever that this is the most helpful forum on earth! I should have added in a welcome too, I was carried away with Mudblaster memories and didn't notice the post count...so...welcome to the forum fella!

[Jack in Norfolk]

You guys are fantastic! Mad Racer- that truck is beautiful! Skip- looks like you have a good project under way! Thank you all for the welcome and the loads of great info!!

-Jack

[skip665]

Dont forget to post pictures Jack

Just as a note - I trial fitted the Bush Devil gearbox and the original Mud Blaster front arms last night and the track is just too different for me to leave alone - so some sort of hybrid BD/MB front end will have to be done...

I really should start a proper thread for this... lol

[Jack in Norfolk]

Ok, made some progress tonight. New radio, new receiver, new servos. Drove it for the first time in over 15 years! Even got on the track for a bit. Lots of work left to do. Will get a few pictures up soon!

[sidewaysdave69]

dare I say it but the mud blaster is the nicest looking out of the blackfoot and the monster beetle. I always wanted one of the 3 then a couple of years ago I got a beetle and was so disappointed with it.

but if it was for the shelf it would be a mud blaster

[Jack in Norfolk]

I'm just now getting back to this. I can't believe its been two years. So, I appreciate the advice on sticking with a stock or Tamiya tuned motor. (Its funny, I have received the same advice about not pushing the motor in my full scale subaru any further for fear of grenading the tranny:))

Is there a particular set of bearings that I should look into using, or a particular set to avoid? I saw quite a few on the Bay.

As far as oil shocks, should I just use the ones from the Super Beetle?

Thank you.

[mongoose1983]

I'm just now getting back to this. I can't believe its been two years. So, I appreciate the advice on sticking with a stock or Tamiya tuned motor. (Its funny, I have received the same advice about not pushing the motor in my full scale subaru any further for fear of grenading the tranny:))

Is there a particular set of bearings that I should look into using, or a particular set to avoid? I saw quite a few on the Bay.

As far as oil shocks, should I just use the ones from the Super Beetle?

Thank you.

Ansmann shocks are cheap and great performers if you want some bang for the buck. Other than that, any bearings would do, but I'm sure most RCers here will tell you rubber-sealed bearings are the best. Well, they work great and last far longer than all the rest. Good luck with the truck. Those Mud Blasters are awesome!

[moffman]

I just restored a original mud blaster over the Xmas holidays and like mheald I love it because it's poor performance and quirkiness! I managed to get it about 98% original (only decals were repo's) very good one's at that but a slight word of warning never sell it because I have no idea why but they don't sell for much I spent a small fortune on restoring mine and I decided to part with it to make way for a new RC thinking its an original it should sell well (not!) It went for absolute peanuts I was gutted because it was such a perfect example! Live and learn!!

[Jack in Norfolk]

I restored a old Mud Blaster and was quite easy with the Brat & Frog re re. Never new the Mud Blaster was re re though. The red chassis going for some serious coin on the bay lately.

I used a limited edition chrome Brat shell but couldn't find a decent priced Mud Blaster decal sheet so went for the re re Brat stickers and customized with shocks, brackets and big chrome wheels. . Have a re re Frog dog bone set up in the rear too.

Mad Racer- what shocks did you use, and which motor are you running?

Thank you.

[Frog Jumper]

Lots of good info here about the "ORV" chassis, ie the Brat/Frog/Blackfoot/Beetle/Blaster cars...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77100

Terry