A few Sand Rover questions

[akemag]

Am a lucky SR owner now[8D] and i just wondered of what you think of putting a 540 in[}], since i got the mount with it. Is it pushing my luck with those old gears or[?] Also i noticed that the contact from the speedo is for the 6v battery. I have a male-male contact so i can use an ordinary 7.2v battery. Can this be a problem with the old speedo and 7.2v. In the end i dont wanna ruin my sweet SR.

[Toykid]

Hi

I have only the 380 in mine, then again it is a wanna be shelf queen. Bear in mind that the suspension of the SR is VERY basic so the faster you go the harder it will be to handle on all but the smoothest surfaces. I think a lot of guys have hopped up to a std 540 so it does seem like a good idea if you are running it. Some of the other guys recently had a thread regarding this have a read:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=17093

James.

[akemag]

Thanks for the advice. Do you or anyone else know more about having a 7.2v battery and the old variable resistance speedcontrol installed. Think i read something about it becomming very hot or so.[?]

[DJTheo]

You can improve a SR easily with some softer springs and rear dampers, here some more mods and video http://www.tamiyaclub.com/xforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=15279

Cheers

[akemag]

Looks like a better suspension setup than the original one. But i dont wanna "ruin" the original construction i guess since it´s my only one. Maybe i´ll take it a bit slower on those bumps just to make sure. Thanks anyway[^]

[kingeddie]

i run a 540 with the OE speed controll and its ok, ish. it gets hot but then they always did, oh and you might wanna ditch the fuse if it still has one. i did however have serious handling probs when i fitted this motor with std suspension, a quick easy fix if you dont want to make any un reversable mods is to put the rear bottom arms ontop instead of under the torsion bar, it gives mad camber and less ground clearance but does not tip so easy. i have shorter front springs and srb dampers at the back with the origional sr front springs over the piston part and no torsion bar. see moosy's clumber vid from 5/12/04 for a very quick glimps.

[akemag]

Thanks kingeddie. Not sure what to do. But this weekend i´ll take it out for it´s first testrun and see how it goes with the standard 380. Had a 380 in my Brat before i got a 540SD from a CanAm Lola, figured that the SR is lighter than the Brat, so perhaps it´s gonna be ok. Have a couple of old humpback batteries that im going to try to charge up too.

[Scorchio]

540 sprint with 7.2 humpbacks super champ speedo and full bearings was as far as I went with the SR back in 84/85 but returned to 540 as battery time droped alot, that car is so light! 540 was plenty for me. I had more problems with steering rod ball ends and front spring mountings than gears too.

[DJTheo]

quote:Originally posted by akemag

Thanks kingeddie. Not sure what to do. But this weekend i´ll take it out for it´s first testrun and see how it goes with the standard 380. Had a 380 in my Brat before i got a 540SD from a CanAm Lola, figured that the SR is lighter than the Brat, so perhaps it´s gonna be ok. Have a couple of old humpback batteries that im going to try to charge up too.

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You can always check the old Tamiya promo videos to see how it goes with the stock 380, surely not bad for some vintage feeling. Thing the biggest limiting factor will be the old cells.

Cheers

[akemag]

Looked at the old videos as DJTheo said and got ready for the first testdrive this weekend. Speed in the videos wasnt that bad. But then again they werent using some 20year old batteries. Let just say that the speed was "controllable"[8)]. I have a couple of new questions after this first short drive. The speedo got very hot and it seemed like it was more like on-off when i applied power. If i applied power with the wheels off the ground, the motor stopped fast like a little reverse was applied when the throttle was released. Going in reverse seemed better with more steps and more power also in the max throttle postition. I didnt use any lubricance on the speedo, maybee it´s bad current flow. Scorchio was right about the steering rod ball ends. They didnt "clip" on like i hoped. Thinking of buying a new pack in the old hump configuration so i can get it to move more than just rolling forward. Anyway was it great fun to drive a car that i wanted to have in the early eighties and it looked good with the Cowboy at the wheel. If i can get this things sorted out, it will be a frequent runner!

[tamiya monkey]

hi there can anyone assist as i have know got both a holiday buggy with 540 mount and a parejo both are made to fit hump back batteries but would like to run with newer 3000 nimh packs can i make the batteries myself in the hump back shape can anyone help in how to make batteries up as i havent got a clue where to start but dont want to start modifing chassis to fit newer packs in.

[kingeddie]

making your own packs is easy, best bet is to split one of your dead hump packs, that way you can see conection layout and even put new cells in old case. my msc also seems to have 'brake' effect, dont know why. as for the 'all or nothing' speed variation, this is normal after short use with 540 motor on that type of msc, i drive like that anyway so don't notice so much[]

[DJTheo]

Those stepless MSCs aren't very durable, also contact isn't very good, you coud try to bend the contacts a bit to improve the current flow and use Tamiya switch lubricant. Also if its reverse "section" is in better condition, you just need to reverse the channel on your TX as well as the motor wires.

Cheers

[akemag]

Thanks for your tips all. Reversing the channel and the wires o the motor should fix it. Good thinking!! Looking forward to a new testdrive this weekend. Wife is working, so i could devote both days without to much hassel... Tamiya monkey, hope you get your HB and your Pajero working with some new batteries soon.