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New to TamiyaClub - want to restore my 1986 SuperShot

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Hi there, I just joined this forum! My name is Jason and I live in Los Angeles, CA. I built a Tamiya Supershot when I was a kid, that I just pulled out of a closet it has been in for quite some time. It is in nice shape, all original, and was not used a whole lot, and was never abused. It is kinda dirty and dusty though.

I would love to get this awesome RC car going again! It clearly needs tires, as they are cracked on the edges. And I assume I need to replace the shock oil (I remember that they had oil in them) I am certain I will need some sort of new batteries as well? I linked some photos here of everything I have (batteries, charger, controller, car):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29798110@N05/albums/72157664007448265

Where do I begin to restore this great car? What do i need to do - is there a guide somewhere here? A couple quick searches of "supershot restoration" and the like yielded limited results that were more specific regarding removal or repair of certain parts. I am looking for more of "how to" and "what to do" to get it running type guidance.

Thanks in advance for any assistance! It is greatly appreciated!

Best, Jason

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You could pull the whole thing apart and give it a good clean, you could fill a bucket with dishwashing liquid and place all the plastic parts for a good clean, i think anything non electronic is good to be put in the bucket, the harder stuff to clean you can use a toothbrush, see what's broken or not and look for parts. Re grease both gearboxes, change wheels and tires for new look.

If you want more efficient use of power you could change the old MSC for a new ESC such as the hobbywing Brushed esc on ebay, which can also run the more powerful lipo batteries.

Check to see if your motor still works, first try turning it on the old way with a battery and see if it all starts up, if not disconnect the motor and hook it up to a battery to see if it still spins, if not you could replace it with another standard or modifed 540 brushed motor or could look for the powerful original Technipower motor that came with the Supershot.

If you still have your manual you can follow that to put it all back together again, and of course re oil your shocks, this can all be bought off ebay.

I currently restoring a supershot and absolutely love them. Also check to see if your transmitter still works, if not you can always get one off ebay for around $30 with a receiver. And see how well your wheels turn once turned on, if not so good you steering servo might need replacing, they can be bought off ebay.

If you change to esc, get another technipower or use yours if it still works, and use a 2s lipo, it will fly:))

Good luck.

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Welcome!

It is a noble thing you do. Putting any old RC car back is service is a beautiful thing!! Great fun too.

I do not know of any guide to the process, every project is different, and yours looks like a dream project!

If tyres are history, then you should still be able to get them new, as this car was re-released in 2012. If they are just a little stiff from age, then they can be rejuvenated, I rub mine in peanut oil and seal them up in a zip lock bag for a few weeks.

Shock oil, as you say will need replacing, hopefully enough of the old stuff will still be in there to keep o-rings and things supple, if not, they too can be pretty easily replaced.

If you do not have the original manual you can find a digital version on Tamiyaclub.com, cause if it were me I would probably strip it back to the last screw, clean it up as I put it back together. Not entirely necessary, especially as you know the history of the car, but still good fun.

Minimum you should do after being in the closet for so long would be to pull out the drive train and clean/re-oil bearings, clean/re-grease gear train.

Assuming it had the manual speed controller in it, it will definitely benefit from a good clean and re-lubricating, if you are planning on running it, you could even update to the electronic speed controller as per the 2012 re-release, much smoother, more economical and reliable. If you would prefer to stick with the period setup, the speed controller will definitely benefit from regular cleaning and lubricating.

The batteries will probably be history, or at least pretty poor, so here you need to make a decision, you can still get a nicad similar to what you had, assuming your charger still works you are good to go. However.... Your charger is a good old fashion timed version, it will just keep pushing current into the battery until the timer stops it. It will let you over charge a battery without even blinking. So, you could get a new charger, a modern 4 button charger will be cheap and simple, but you then have the capacity to charge Lipo or nimh batteries, both of which will give you better runtimes.

Nicads will work, nimh will give you higher capacity therefore longer runtimes, both of these are simple to own and maintain. You run them til the car starts to go slow then you rest/recharge them and do it all again.

Lipo will have a higher voltage giving slightly higher speed, and higher capacity again, meaning longer runtimes, but you need to take a bit more care with them. The cells do not have a metal case like nicad and nimh, so they do not like been chucked around. They will also die if you over discharge them, in this situation the standard tamiya electronic speed controller will not help, its low voltage cutoff is for LiFe batteries and is too low for lipo. (LiFe is another option, but at 3v per cell they are either too high a voltage or to low a voltage for mot applications). If you look after them lipo batteries are great, just ditch them if they puff up.

Assuming your radio still works, and KO were pretty reliable, my EXii from back in the day still works faultlessly, you should be good to go with just some fresh AA's.

I envy you, a Supershot has yet to cross my project desk.

Good luck!!

Cristian..

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Where I am more a fan of the Hotshot per my name and fetish,the SuperShot being the big brother has always been an envy of mine. I have one built and should put one on the road too.

I can't agree more with everyone, first thing to do is strip it all the way down. That is not going to be as easy if you don't have a good manual to go by to put it back together, so make sure you get yourself either a good downloaded size or something readable via the computer screen as non subscribed members on TamiyaClub do not garner the larger size pages where you can see what screw goes where with confidence.

In the sake of keeping vintage things vintage, well, you could go crazy and get all the items you need if you search and spend on eBay, but from my perspective it is simple. I would pull the motor if it is the kit supplied Techni series and put it up in the "museum" shelf, replace with even a modern silver can and you could be quite happy with the speed and such. The tires may or may not last you, if you plan on running this long, plan on buying some re re rubber as it is fairly easy to get, either from Tamiya themselves or many sellers on eBay. One of my favorite kit breaker sellers is in CA, called NitroMaster and they have sales that wave on and off and prices are really good in my opinion.

Electrics, well the batteries are museum pieces as is the battery charger, DO NOT throw away the clear lexan piece in the shape of a battery, it is made by Tamiya and you can see that in the double star logo, it came with the originals, not on the re re, another museum piece. All that type of thing adds provenance as they say in the antique world.

On the oils and grease, well, don't use the old black grease you may have once before, go with the newer stuff, Tamiya Ceramic or if you like to save money, go to the auto supply store and buy some Permatex White Lithium grease in a GIANT tube for the same price.
Cleaning bearings and such and relubricating them is going to be key, you want to find out why you parked this car, if it was a bad bearing, they are so cheap now vs back then that you simply toss them and get new ones.

If you have any questions you want to direct to me personally, feel free, have torn into at least 20 of these class of cars over the years and have amassed some spares, obviously more Hotshot spares than others, but still, they are brothers.

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Gentlemen, thank you so much for all of this valuable information! i am so glad I asked here!

I have thoroughly read all posts and I definitely intend to start with a strip down and cleaning, as this the first step recommended by everybody. Another forum member, percymon, has been kind enough to write me a message with great information as well, and send me a PDF of the manual. I know I still have mine somewhere, the question is . . . where?! lol. This PDF will assist me in tearing down and rebuilding after a thorough cleaning.

As suggested by kasparov, I do intend to attempt to charge the battery I have with the timer, and just give the whole thing a quick go, to see if all still works which I expect it to. Then I will have a better idea if I will need replacement parts.

Once I get it all stripped down and cleaned, I will re-post, with photos, and probably have a bunch of more questions. I definitely would like to try to keep it all original, and I know that I didn't stop using it because it stopped working, I probably just got into something else different, being a 14 or 15 year old at the time. lol. So then it say for many years . . .

Onwards to get it running again!

Thanks so much!

Jason

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Jason,

Good for you, can I drop some more hints??? I would not use anything more powerful or cheap or what have you to clean the plastic parts wit than DAWN Dish liquid detergent. It is my stand by and hasn't done me wrong all these years. Others can leave a film or not take all the grease off etc. Another lesson I have learned somewhat the hard way is to clean the greasy parts LAST. I usually wipe the grease out with some old cloth rags then start with the cleaning with old or new, whatever you fancy, toothbrushes, DON"T USE HARD BRISTLES, go for soft or medium. We used medium in our mouths all these years, instead of throwing out the worn brushes, I kept them and repurposed them. I just make it known to all my guests to NOT use any toothbrush they didn't bring with them as who knows what was on it last. :D

Now, onto the metal bits, since you are in CA, I can't vouch for any of the chemical cleaners you may have for purchase at the auto store, so I can't be a perfect help there. I have had some large success with NON Chlorinated Brake parts cleaner in an aerosol can. I simply spray it into an old prescription bottle and let it sit a day or more. My rule of thumb is, if the bottle doesn't "bulge or bubble" it ought to be safe on the metal parts for the car and the bottle lids are very liquid and air tight too. I have used the spray to get some very nasty grease off plastic gears, but I always worry that I am going to accelerate the brittle factor of 30 plus year old gears, so I am careful at best if I do that and I make sure to let any parts blasted thoroughly air out or off gas.

That should do it for now, if you find you are missing some screws, well I have more than a few loose ones around here :lol: , just call on me. Since we are both in the USA, cheaper shipping as a whole.

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Great tips Chris! Thanks so much - and also for the offer of extra screws if I find any missing! I definitely would like any tips you or any other forum members have - I am basically a total newb- I may have built this thing when I was 14, but tearing it down and restoring it is a whole other ball game!

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Looks like it's in pretty good shape. Like mentioned above, tear it apart, giver everything a good clean, replace bearings, etc, relube, reassemble.

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That does look like it's in fantastic shape!!! Scrubby scrubby that thing! Love Supershots and you have a beautiful old gal there :)

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Thanks guys! Yeah - she was never abused and really wasn't over used. I hope and expect that all that is needed are new tires, (or new tires and wheels), new batteries, and a good old cleaning and lube. With that in mind, I am wondering exactly what I will need for batteries - I have been referred to the Venom NiMh and wanted to know what you all thought of these? Also need to know what is a good charger.

Thanks!

Jason.

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Okay gentlemen - update! I haven't actually started the tear down project yet, but have done a lot of research and began parts collecting.

Through my research, I have come to the conclusion that I would like to keep my Supershot as original as possible, changing out only what is necessary to get her running again. Accordingly, I have ordered a few things from Nitro Master on ebay- front and rear Supershot tires (the spiked ones like original), some yellow (soft) damper oil, ceramic grease, AW grease, etc.

A question about the grease- earlier in the thread, Crash Cramer mentioned using ceramic grease. My owners manual and car originally only called for molybdenum grease. Is there anywhere I should use that grease at all, or not? Also, where do I use the AW grease, and where do I use the ceramic grease?

With respect to the bearings, what type of oil should I use on those?

Thanks!

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Jason,

Sounds like you are assembling all the needs to rebuild, great and you probably got it all nearly free as Nitro Master does a great sale off and on for the "basic" grease and tool lots.

Here is my suggestion on what grease to put where, Ceramic will go on ALL Internal gearbox places where plastic parts are concerned, lightly coated NOT globbed on, don't need tons for this basic gear diff to work and it will never be as stiff as a ball diff, so no use in wasting your grease. On the AW grease, I generally use JUST A TOUCH on metal to metal contact parts, basically dogbone ends and prop shaft ends where the prop shaft hex ends mate with the prop shaft itself, again INSIDE the gearbox area on those prop shaft parts through the thrust bearings would be a touch of ceramic grease. On the AW, it is rather sticky, so don't put more than a light, even coating on the ends of all those shafts.

Finally, I want you to look at this link to a post I made a LOOOOONG time ago to find out the fate of your car if you use MOLY grease on it at all anywhere:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=25418&sid=2640

Do NOT grease the screw pins at all if you want to keep the car's plastic alive, especially at the front arms area. There is a ray of hope, your Supershot would essentially be unaffected by replacing the arms front and rear because the re re parts are the last molding of the parts that the Supershot used from day one, as far as I know. I realize originallity is a key factor for you, but there are some things that can't be fixed easily with glue and epoxy and still look good.

All the preceding thoughts are simply MY opinion based on my experiences to date, good luck with this restoration.

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Hey Chris - thanks for your reply! I looked at that old post - that is crazy! I don’t want that to happen to me! Its funny because if you look at the reissue Hot Shot, they provide Molybdenum AND ceramic grease in the kit. If you go through the manual, different parts call for different grease. I read somewhere that the moly is for metal to metal? But you are indicating not to use it at all, and if it is bad for the parts I definitely do not want to use it! I do plan to run this car, so I definitely want to get it right.

Also, for bearings, I plan to put some oil on em. Whats good?
Thanks!

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Oh yea, forgot about the bearing oil. I have used Trinity branded oil for ages, still have a bottle I have been working with for some 20 years now, of course I don't run much so that is why I still have the oil. Here is a link to what I have used;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Trinity-4051-Royal-Oil-2oz-for-Bearing-or-Bushing-/262259156322?hash=item3d0fdd2562:g:6msAAOSwf-VWbbGi

and then, when/if you run out of that, I can tell you that you can't go wrong with Tri Flow, you can find it in the Bicycle dept, the gun dept of stores or online of course. It is liquid enough that you can transfer it to the micro oiler that Trinity sells or you can just drop it out of the eye dropper bottle if you like, up to you.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tri-Flow-21010TF-Superior-Lubricant-with-Teflon-2-Ounce-Drip-Bottle-/300941227394?hash=item46117eb582:g:HvAAAOSwPc9Wu2Rb

If Tri Flow is favored by gun folks for the moving parts of a gun that cycles through heat, I know it will work on your bearings. I have used that for years too. Come to think of it, it might be the oil that is in my original Trinity micro oiler right now as it looks like it has separated, all it takes is a quick shake or two and ready to go again.

The moly is just an old tech grease. If you went and bought the AW, then use the re re instructions and anywhere it states the moly goes, put the AW instead, but again, simply put, ceramic on all the plastic gears including the small metal bevels so that only one kind of grease is INSIDE the gearbox and then the AW on the output shafts if you like to call them that, EXTERNALLY, outside the gearbox, IE 3 surfaces.

Hope that helps, fell free to call on me anytime if you need, of course that is what these forums are for as well.

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Great -thanks for the links! I have some light hoppe's gun oil. I think that will likely suffice. I keep going back and forth with respect to the speed control. I really want to keep this car all original, but at the same time, I want to use it. Based on input from several forum members, it seems that most would switch to ESC and go with LiPo batteries. I was about to pull the trigger on some Duratrax Onyx 7.2V NiMh 5000mA batteries along with one of the Duratrax chargers. However, before investing over $100 in those items, I need to make up my mind.

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Yes Jason, I think the Hoppes will do fine.

Here is my two cents, THAT particular MSC is the most fiddly of the bunch EVER and since it is buried deep into the car's underbelly, you have just ONE time to get it right on the settings. TRUST me on that, it was never all that much fun when I was just bashing to have it out by a little bit as it just chewed up the resistors and well, THOSE are not growing on trees. I realize you have the SShot and not the HShot, and those 2 prong small rectangular resistors are a tad bit easier to locate since they were shared on some other cars, but they are just that, VINTAGE PARTS ONLY, not anything new being made.

My suggestion again stands on my own opinion and some experience in running, both in the late 80's at an indoor racetrack as well as the last few years with checking out my recent rebuilds. Use the STANDARD, IE cheapest Tamiya branded ESC you can get your hands on, and if you have a couple of different sized batteries that still work, get your practice in with that. The Tamiya ESC will fit inside there nicely and you won't be out more than say $20 or $30 bucks. Nitro Master often throws them out there cheaply, keep your eyes peeled on his auctions, things automatically revolve on and off sales.

As far as the chemical of the battery, well, again, I am old school, but logic dictates to me, get a charger that can handle several chemical type of battery, weather the charger is used or new, as long as it has a good track record and it works, then half your issue is solved, you can use batteries of different chemicals as long as the connectors to the ESC and battery will combine and then you can make more of your decision to finally adapt to one type of chemical for the battery over another.

Best of luck on that endeavor as I have yet to make up my mind on that subject.

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I think Mongoose has stated how to post photos into the forum from a 3rd party source many times. I will attempt my hand at it since I didn't do much forum stuff in my 10 year tenure until about a year ago. I use photobucket and essentially on that site I right click my image to copy it and then come over here to PASTE it into a conversation box and the next thing I know, the image pops up over here and I can write around it if I like. Hope that might help.

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I think Mongoose has stated how to post photos into the forum from a 3rd party source many times. I will attempt my hand at it since I didn't do much forum stuff in my 10 year tenure until about a year ago. I use photobucket and essentially on that site I right click my image to copy it and then come over here to PASTE it into a conversation box and the next thing I know, the image pops up over here and I can write around it if I like. Hope that might help.

Hi Chris!

Here's the how-to.

I'll send a message to you later with some news. :)

vMELcWI.jpg

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