Super Champ Build / Restoration

[SuperChamp82]

Evening all,

I've waited 35 years to do this and am finally going to buy an original SC - either NIB if the money is right or a restoration build in whatever state best suits the asking price.

I first hacked together an SC in 82 as a clumsy kid and have longed to do a proper job l ever since !

It was also a really fun project with my Dad and a shelf queen able to tour the garden on dry days would be a lovely memory with my kids given he's long passed.

My questions for you guys really boil down to appetite for hop ups ?

My gut says to keep everything stock but that's really impractical for the occasional run - esp the radio gear.

At the moment I'm considering aluminium chassis upgrades, a stainless steel screw set and a modern ESC / motor / radio. Query which motor if not stock silver can ? 

I'll also buy vintage spares in the usual forged metal stress points prone to cracks. 

What do you think ? Is that about right ?

I'll keep all the stock items, plus box / manual etc, and likely run a spare body for the odd trip outside.

Im buying this as a passionate collector rather than investor so all views very welcome

[graemevw]

Whether its cars, motorcycles or radio control, I loathe stainless screw sets, especially when swapped out to allen bolts

 

Personally id leave it bone stock except for an esc.

I guess I could be talked into some period hop ups (or recreations of).

[t3garett]

Just my 2 cents... as said previously steer away from stainless screw sets with btr (allen imprint) heads. Most of the ss screw sets you ll find are poor quality stainless steel and the machining on the thread and mold on the head usualy give problems later on (hex imprint on head fowling and making screw very difficult to remove and thread disintergrating). If you fear rust on the threads just use a dab of grease, if its merely esthetics well.... you ll have to make do with tamiya. 

Hope you find a nice sc

[SuperChamp82]

Thanks guys - much appreciated. I'll ditch the screw set. 

What ESC / motors do you guys run on vintage kit like this ?

This one will largely sit on the shelf - with only the occasional dry day run with my kids.

[Fuijo]

I have a Super Champ sitting on the shelf NIB, waiting for me to pluck up the courage (and choose colours etc), to build.

 

In the meantime, purely in the interests of research, I've run my Fighting Buggy at the beach a couple of times.

The first time was with the stock silver can motor and Nickel battery, as I assume most of us generation-X born-again RC car fans have also done. It was very beautiful to watch, and gave a good nostaligia fix.

But at the same time, it's obvious how much peformance has improved over the years, and it's clearly not as quick as it seemed when I was only 4ft tall. So I ran it, thought "that was very pleasant", and put it back

in its box.

The second time, it ran a Sport Tuned motor and a 2s LiPo, with the smaller pinion. That was over a week ago, and I still haven't wiped the stupid grin off my face.

See the "What have you done today?" thread, page 640, for the pics (of the car, not my stupid grin).

 

In time, I'll find out if the Super Champ gives the same joy as the FB.

I think it will.

[SuperChamp82]

Thanks @Fuijo - that's exactly what I wanted.

Sounds like a Sport Tuned is the way forward ! 

What size was the pinion you ran ? And what ESC did you drop in ?

[Fuijo]

The pinion was 15 teeth (included in the kit), and the ESC was also in the kit, a Tamiya TEU105BK.

 

EDIT: ..And a cheapy LiPo alarm, because that ESC has no LiPo cut-off.

[Shodog]

The kit problem items with the Superchamp are the rear bumper and a chassis that flexes something fierce.  If you love your body , buy an aluminum chassis.  Otherwise you'll eventually break the body.

i run my rough rider like I stole it so I've had to beef up the chassis to take the beatings. 

 

[Fuijo]

@Shodog, Do you have an example of a good Super Champ/Fighting Buggy alloy chassis?

So far the ones I've seen cover the gap at the sides, between body and chassis, which I assume is to give the chassis some rigidity. However, that's exactly where I want to stick my fingers

to spread the body enough to lift it over the upper deck. And as far as I can tell reinforement isn't needed there, certainly on the Fighting Buggy, as the top deck already does that job.

Also, the only area the SC chassis isn't stiff enough is forward of the upper deck, where all the chassis I've seen so far don't have the reinforcing bends.

 

This one for example doesn't have any reinforcement at all, and seems actually worse than the standard one. As when it bends it will stay bent.

http://www.pargustore.com/tamiya-super-champ-fighting-buggy-2014-alloy-chassis-3t-cnc.html

And this one has reinforcement where it isn't needed, and no reinforcement where it is needed.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tamiya-Custom-Super-Champ-Chassis-Plate-Sand-Scorcher-Rough-Rider-/132293460156?hash=item1ecd4e00bc:m:mtCPw8bDRMY83o489hwCAIw

 

[Shodog]

Those aluminum chassis are more than sufficient to stop the flex. Their thick and they don't bend.  I can imagine if you ran one straight into a wall at speed you might bend it but you won't under the normal course of running even if you decide to go for big air like the picture I posted above. 

[Fuijo]

Ok, thanks. I think I might have a go at making my own in that case, as simply making a flat plate thicker (and also heavier) is not a soloution that sits well with me.

[Static Age]

Motor wise I have a Tamiya GT tuned with a 15T pinion, goes very well. 

My other highly modified super champ has a technigold with a 17T pinion, I have the thorp spur gear adapter.

The chassis can be stiffened up a lot by fitting alloy nerf bars, they also look very cool.

[Fuijo]

Nerf bars are a good idea, and I do like the way they look. I'll look in to that thanks.

I dug out my vintage SC body last night, and looking at it next to a reissue body it feels very hard and as brittle as an eggshell. To be honest, I don't think I dare run the car

with it at all, because it feels like even rolling it on sand is quite likely to damage it (because there's always pebbles, shells, driftwood etc) long before chassis-flex is an issue.

So I'll keep the vintage shell for display and just run it with reissue bodies, which at around 12 euros a pop, look very cheap compared with alloy chassis plates, and wont weigh

down that lovely light front-end that I like so much.