Hopped-up Grasshopper

[Dangerseeker 162]

Well, I am back into the RC Hobby after quite some time (built my car kits when Christopher Lambert roamed the Highlands on the silverscreen). We (my brother, some friends and me) worked on and raced The Ninja, BigWig, Toyota Celica, Super Sabre, Monster Beetle, Hotshot II and a few other models. Was a great time, but somehow sometimes spare time was short and the cars were sold or left on the shelves. I kept the Super Sabre and the Monster Beetle that are in acceptable shape but need some visceral and cosmetic surgery.

Anyhow, I decided to revive the RC-Thing and return with a simple kit that could also be driven by the kids. Because I always liked the Grasshopper I decided to go for it, the re-re model was still available. For a short period, after getting some info here at the forum, I seriously thought about the Mad Bull, however, as much as I like Truggies, I did not like the looks of the machine, somehow the tires do not fit the cars' body optically and it always reminds me of a childrens' toy.

So the Grasshopper was purchased. As I gathered more and more info on todays and yesterdays RC cars I also found those sometimes amazing after-marked and hop-up parts that were not very common around here in the old days.

So I decided to make the "comeback"-kit special and pick up as much upgrades as possible, provided the price was reasonable.

Here is what I got (mostly on ebay) for the Grasshopper (ballbearings not shown, but purchased):

The Mabuchi RS540SH is a remnant of the Super Sabre, but still working and thus replaced the weak 380. Alu dampers are Carson-brand and I also got longer ones for the rear.

And I almost forgot the bumper:

[Dangerseeker 162]

1st Step:

Front shock arms were removed. Used a "multifunction tool" similar to the Dremel-ones, then fixed the alu arms and this was quite some task. Those Hot Trick guys privided screws and lock-nuts that did not fit my tools (and I am quite well equipped) - incredible. So I had to use two pliers to fix the part. The photo demonstrates that it worked out:

[Dangerseeker 162]

2nd Step: Gearbox

Quite easy to assemble. I was generous with the grease and used half of a Tamiya ceramic grease tube on the Grasshoppers' small gearbox.

The Manual tells me to use a 18T pinion gear with a 540 Motor. I do not know for sure and I can only estimate based on my experience with the 540 motors but the 540 with a 18T pinion gear will not be the most agile couple on the block. Please correct me if I am wrong on that one, I did not do the math here, just estimating.

Thus, I decided to go for a 16T one that I found in my spare parts box (alu pinion, but ok for the beginning, I will exchange it later for a steel pinion gear).

In the 16T-case an adjustable motor mount came in Handy. Installation was no big deal, however, the provided screws were too short, so I took the screws that came with the car:

540 mounted, looks faulty, have to check - managed to fix it in the meantime

direct view inside the gearbox - helps a lot adjusting gear mesh

[Dangerseeker 162]

3rd Step: Adjustable axle mount

On my quest for upgrade parts I stumbled over the JunFac Axle Mount, however, it was sold out and absolutely unavailable. The substitution I found on ebay is of high Quality and fits the car perfectly. Piece of cake to install.

and

next step will be the alu side bars, I hope I find some time at the weekend...

I will be back as the building progresses...

[Dangerseeker 162]

small Step:

put the tires and wheels together. When I searched for "heavy duty" steering rods for the Grasshopper I found a so called Basic Upgrade kit from Team CRP, it includes: #1604, 2158, 4103 and 4104. The foam motor cover, however, desintegrated due to senescence.

The "triple chrome plated plastic wheels" were in perfect condition and according to Team CRP "are as strong and durable as any aluminum wheel on the market and only half the weight" Whatever!

Here is what the tires look like:

The Basic tires are all right and the chrome wheels make them shine a little bit, but I would prefer the Subaru Brat tires. Brat tires, however, will be $50+ so I am looking for alternatives...

That's it for today. I will return as the Project progresses or the one or the other hop-up part emerges.

[Dangerseeker 162]

4th step:

i got the you-g side nerf bars to exchange the original plastic ones. attaching the bars was no big deal, everything fitted well.





and






the next step will be installing the sway bar and the dampers...

[Dangerseeker 162]

5th step:

The sway bar and the dampers. The sway bar is a You-G rear stabilizer set for Hornet, and this was the Problem. SInce the item was produced for the Hornet it did not fit the Grassopper chassis. Generally both cars use the same chassis, but the gearbox is attached differently. So I had to attach one part of the stabilizer set directly to the Grasshopper's "bathtub" (Drilling was necessary):



With the part attached,the rest of the build was quite undemanding. Quesion remains: is the sway bar beneficial for the Grasshopper? Anyway,I could install the dampers without any further delay.




I attached the Hornet's damper mounts and used 2x Gmade JunFac Aluminum Shock Damper Brace to tighten the damper arms together. Looks quite cool in my opininon, but comes with a price: I will have to cut away parts of the Grasshopper's body to fit on the new damper mounts.



and



The test runs will show whether the damper position is well chosen.

The next step however, will be attaching the steering servo and front arms...

[mynameisdannyowens 61]

Looking good!

Gotta say though that I wasn't impressed with the same sway bar when I fitted it to my GH2....

Basically it just stops the suspension from working as it's so rigid

You're doing a great job on this though

[Dangerseeker 162]

Looking good!

Gotta say though that I wasn't impressed with the same sway bar when I fitted it to my GH2....

Basically it just stops the suspension from working as it's so rigid

You're doing a great job on this though

Thanks! i guess that the sway bar if any, has more effect on the hornet/gh2 as the gearboxmount allows more freedom, than does the grasshoppers. well, the sway bar was inexpensive and at least its an optical asset

[Dangerseeker 162]

back to step 5:

I was not completely satisfied with the damper solution, so I tried a lot of different settings and finally found a solution I agreed with. I added an adjustable shock mount (JunFac SCX10) onto the adjustable axle Mount, where I attached the dampers. I had to move the sway bar mount upwards to attach the dampers with the result that thebars did not touch the axle any more.



and



and




final result:

There is not much space around the damper mount but just enough to fit in the shocks. Damper length is 85mm by the way. The system works well, at least on the dry-dock.

more to come....

[mynameisdannyowens 61]

Have you seen the Super Fly Hornet thread a d Pintopowers brilliant mods he sells?

If not a quick search will bring them up and I'm sure you'll like what you see!

[Dangerseeker 162]

Have you seen the Super Fly Hornet thread a d Pintopowers brilliant mods he sells?

If not a quick search will bring them up and I'm sure you'll like what you see!

i read the posts about building the super fly hornet and i saw some 3d printed parts on ebay, but i did not know about the variety of different mods he offers. thats indeed quality stuff there. i am thinking about the battery tray retainer -but i will see first how the original one performs

[mynameisdannyowens 61]

Front cantilever shock set up from him looks great in my opinion!

[Dangerseeker 162]

Front cantilever shock set up from him looks great in my opinion!

yes, indeed, looks awesome! too late for me though, alu shock arms already in place. but maybe i will get a hornet someday...

[Dangerseeker 162]

not much happening to the build as i am waiting for some parts to arrive.

in the meantime i got this color for the body:

green candy line

more to come...

[Terz1 745]

Great mods and great colour choice. I think it's the best colour for a grasshopper.

[XV Pilot 1936]

Indeed - it should look awesome in candy green!

[chevelle 997]

Yup that would be hopped-up looking forward to seeing some more bling on this thing

[Dangerseeker 162]

next step:

rear bumper from m&m:

and

this is how the bumper is mounted

installed the alumarms and knuckes as well

and

without any hassle

finally for today the front bumper:

and this is it how it look so far:

more to come...

[XV Pilot 1936]

It looks good with the blue and silver bits, but the two red braces at the back there don't quite fit with the rest of the colour scheme. How about perhaps polishing the anodising off so they match the silver bits, or spraying them black to match the bumper and plastic bits?

Otherwise, great job!

[Dangerseeker 162]

It looks good with the blue and silver bits, but the two red braces at the back there don't quite fit with the rest of the colour scheme. How about perhaps polishing the anodising off so they match the silver bits, or spraying them black to match the bumper and plastic bits?

Otherwise, great job!

Good point, i will try to polish the red anodising oft, by Chance i am in my way to a Hardware store, there i can pick up some equipment

[Terz1 745]

It's coming together really well. I'd like a set of those You-G side guards but have trouble finding them (UK), do they do them in silver?

Never seen one of those rear bumper either. No doubt this will look fantastic when finished.

[Percymon 2184]

Good point, i will try to polish the red anodising oft, by Chance i am in my way to a Hardware store, there i can pick up some equipment

You can remove the anodising with oven cleaner, comes off in a matter of minutes. Wash parts under tap water afterwards and then just a light polish if needed

[Dangerseeker 162]

You can remove the anodising with oven cleaner, comes off in a matter of minutes. Wash parts under tap water afterwards and then just a light polish if needed

Thanks for the advice, i once read about bathing the parts in NaOH solution, but oven cleaner sounds easier, will give it a try asap

[Dangerseeker 162]

It's coming together really well. I'd like a set of those You-G side guards but have trouble finding them (UK), do they do them in silver?

Never seen one of those rear bumper either. No doubt this will look fantastic when finished.

thank you! maybe this would be of interest:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tamiya-Aluminum-Nerf-Bar-Set-Pro-Track-Corp-Hornet-Grasshopper-Rock-Buster-/121922977581?hash=item1c632cff2d:g:LugAAOSwAuNW5Qd8

and

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-M-Fab-TR1010-Rear-Bumper-Nerf-Wing-for-Tamiya-Hornet-Grasshopper-NOS-/271777851423?hash=item3f4738e81f:g:B9kAAOSwstxU4lAO

quite expensive, though.