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ddaenen1

Giving an old Frog a new life

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Since the Hotshot is now finished and the Astute restoration is going to be one that will take much longer than expected, i needed a new project and after a long search i found one :) This Frog that i picked up on a local 2nd hand website deserves a new life.

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From the decals of the shell i would say it's the re-release but i am not sure if the shell was replaced. The rest seems older. As with most of my restorations, i am going for box-art with that difference that i spotted Parma rear damper upgrades some time ago on a dutch forum and since this one came without rear dampers, it seemed like the right thing to do so they are on their way to me :).

Frog%20dempers.JPG

Furtermore, it is missing the rear shafts so i am considering installing upgrade #53908 universal shafts. also needs bearings on the wheels which have been ordered.

I stripped the car yesterday and all in all, all parts seem in fairly ok shape except for the kingpins, which seem to have been replaced by home-made versions. Need to check if the TA04 versions fit on it as i have these in my stash.

In terms of motors, i am running out of vintage ones (i knew i shouldn't have gotten rid of that other Technigold <_< ) except for an Acto Formula but i am not sure that is the right choice for a Frog so i'll probably go for a tin can and the TEU101BK that i still have around.

For the rest, it will get a new body and new decals and also the rims will require replacing where the tires are still quite good.

To be continued...

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The torque tuned motor is a nice choice for the frog, a bit more pep over the silver can but nothing too silly (sport tuned is too much in a lightweight frog, esp a vintage one IMO)

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Hmmm, so you are saying the Acto Formula is too much, right? Then i guess a re-release acto power pink also is over the top. Now that you mention it, i still have a sport tuned also which came out of my Avante 2K1. Didn't think too much about the performance of the Sport Tuned compared to the tin can in the 2K1 though. But i would like to stay era-correct to be honest.

Maybe i should scan the web for another Technipower like i have in my Hornet. we'll see.

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Keep an eye out for the matching front oil shocks, they were also sold by You-G and Trinity, same parts.

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The FRP bumper support not being black makes me think it must be vintage with a re-re body.

There are plenty of differences between the new and old, so it is easy to tell up close.

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Wanted to start assembling the chassis again today. First set-back. I noticed that the front H1 part is missing a piece. Funny thing though, it looks like it has been cut off and not broken off.

IMG-20140609-00452.jpg

So i am stuck in step 1 of the manual already without this part. Unless anybody here has one spare, another order needs to go out today and in the mean time, i will concentrate on the gearbox. Not expecting too much trouble there as all looking in very good shape when i stripped the car.

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Cleaned and rebuilt the gearbox today. Went quite well and all parts in good shape, even the alu gear. Had to go in my stash of screws though as the wrong ones were used to hold the gearbox together. And also encountered challenge number 2. I noticed that on the right steering knuckle, the stepped screws have been replaced by normal ones so i am missing these too. Anyone has a couple of those stepscrews (BD2 in the manual) which he can part from?

So now i am completely stuck. Time to order some parts i guess. :mellow:

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I was missing a step screw as well. Hobby shop in Perth (3000km from me) had nine, so i bought 4 - cost me $4 :)

If you get stuck looking local let me know.

I've actually seriously considered buying a re-re to cannibalise and then eBay what I don't need. Borderline if actually better value than buying the spares themselves even without selling everything. Getting $50-$60 for the shocks and driveshafts that I don't need would be key.

I'm missing much more than you - wheels and tyres for a start. All plastics are 100% though!

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So my step BD2 screws arrived today, they are Brass. I can't recall what the vintage vs re-re ones are actually, I know some screws are different. Will check these later.

The store still has 5 of them left. I also now have 7 in total.

Let me know if you'd like me to help.

I am missing a gearbox cover (C tree part 12) and do not have a suitable pinion and spur pair. Either need a 19t pinion, or either 18/50 or 16/52 pairing.

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Thanks for the offer Cplus. I did some research and found out that the the 3x8 step screw of the CW-01 chassis is exactly the same as the frog and these are locally available. Still haven't ordered them yet as i am still looking what other parts i may need and i want to place as few as possible orders to have combined shipping.

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Nice find!

How many of them do they use in the chassis? 4 as well?

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Just as a bit of assistance. The step screws on the original and very first reissue are gold in colour. Shortly after first issue they became silver.

I have lots of parts for these so give me a list of what you want and I'll try and help.

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My original ones from the car and the ones I purchases for $1 are both gold!

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Just as a bit of assistance. The step screws on the original and very first reissue are gold in colour. Shortly after first issue they became silver.

I have lots of parts for these so give me a list of what you want and I'll try and help.

So i am puzzled now because the ones on mine are dark-ish, not really black. Let's see which colour the ones are that i ordered.

In any case, i bumped into another small issue. The Parma dampers i bought have a tube connecting the both which means i would need to cut up the body which is something i don't really want to do. I don't really understand the function of this tube so i am wondering if i can also use them without the tube by close the tube holes. Otherwise i still may move back to original dampers.

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The original screws do tarnish and will corrode. The correct colour is the gold.

Regards the tube that is needed and links the oil left to right. I didn't like em on mine and found they leaked big time.

The best set up I had was for a mono shock across the top but looks better on the brat. Doesn't look right imo on the frog. Did work well though.

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The original screws do tarnish and will corrode. The correct colour is the gold.

Regards the tube that is needed and links the oil left to right. I didn't like em on mine and found they leaked big time.

The best set up I had was for a mono shock across the top but looks better on the brat. Doesn't look right imo on the frog. Did work well though.

Well, i thought buying the Parma damper set for my Frog resto was the right thing to do but now i am considering getting the original dampers afterall. You don't have a spare set available by any chance?

For the rest i am only missing the second antenne and i have noticed hat the front wheels have some cracks in them but that will have to wait since i already ordered all the other stuff i need for the restoration.If you have a spare antenna and some decent front wheels, i am interested :)

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Since i had been travelling alot for work lately, not much time to work on the Frog. All parts have come in except for the universals so over the weekend, i made some progress.

IMG-20140622-00463.jpg

I have mounted the sport tuned for now but i have no clue how the TEU101BK will react to that so i may swap it for a tin can again. Now not much for me to do then wait for the universals to arrive. During the re-building, it became clear to me that the person who has actually built or re-built this Frog before i bought it obviously didn't put much effort in it. Almost all fasteners were not the original ones, parts were wrongly assembled and so on...

Did notice i don't have a spare receiver anymore so i need to think on which transmitter i want to hook this one up and find a receiver before i can tidy up the cables.

And then ofcourse there is the decision about the dampers. I now have spent that money on the Parma dampers but i regret it now due to the setup with the connection tube. Maybe i can get my hands on a used set.

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Are you keen on vintage dampers or re-re ones?

If you're keen on re-re it might just sway my indecision over buying a re-re kit to break up for the few key parts I need (namely, body, wheels & tyres plus some very minor plastic parts)

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Are you keen on vintage dampers or re-re ones?

If you're keen on re-re it might just sway my indecision over buying a re-re kit to break up for the few key parts I need (namely, body, wheels & tyres plus some very minor plastic parts)

Mine is re-re, so much i am sure of so of course i would settle for re-re dampers.

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Well, as you have noticed ( or maybe not) i haven't been active on TC in the past weeks. Fact is that i changed jobs and i have been travelling the past weeks as part of my company induction. With that, also had no time to work further on the Frog until today :)

Received the damper kit 2 weeks ago so i thought i'd start with that only to find out a ran out of 3mm e-clips :unsure: What a bummer. So i did the only thing left to do was finishing the driver body so here we are!

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All in all, not my best paint job but i have noticed my vision is starting to get blury. I guess time to get glasses.

e-clips will be ordered today and i hope i can get the dampers done and installed next weekend.

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Assembled the dampers today. Almost there. Only need to build in the receiver and get a new body, wing and paint. Decals are already in. Pictures coming up soon.

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