Hits me like a Blitzer Beetle.

[Collin 1956]

Hi fellas,
this evening a mate came by with a box of old stuff to throw away, at the bottom of the box was a bug, a Beetle! He gave it to me and I did not say no. ****, I just finished the Losi XXX and did not wantet to get into the next construction site. So what shall I do? A No-budget-trashcan-racer with a cheap chinese brushless unit.  

Well, I dont know nothing about the Blitzer but the chassis looks like the Stadium Blitzer, right? Anything special I should mention about this model? Well guys, let me know what you think about this lost soul.

 

[Frog Jumper 3656]

Too bad Austria isn't closer to the beach...  The Blitzers do very well in the sand...

Terry

 

[Collin 1956]

Sandpits, we have some Sandpits 

[max69vk 708]

Stadium Blitzer, Blitzer Beetle and Stadium Thunder all have identical chassis. The only differences between them are the shells fitted, wheel colour (SB-White, BB-Orange, ST-Yellow), the Stadium Thunder also had a red gearbox + front end.

Looking at the shell it has no holes for wing mirrors & only one bonnet hole which suggests its a vintage MK1 Blitzer Beetle, either way it's going to be great for some cheap thrills! 

[Collin 1956]

Oh great! Always liked the Stadium Blitzer a lot!

Exactly, it should be a fun project. I can do all I want and how I want, no need for tears If I cut the shell or paint it in funny colours or put on some extra gadgets,... mainly it should be done with low financial cost.

By now I striped the Beetle and put the plastic parts into the dishwasher. All in all the parts are in good condition. The front guard does have a crack and the resistor from the old mechanic controller melted the gearbox and a bit of the upper chassis part. Is there a reason to care about this?

Anyway, even if it will be a low cost project, are there any neuralgic spots or any must have hop-ups? I really like to run my model hard.

[markbt73 5311]

You got it for free; I would say see how long you can go without spending any money on it. Make it a challenge to yourself. You can only use parts you already have, leftover paint, etc., and see how long you can keep it up...

[ThunderDragonCy 7873]

AMPRO Engineering have just this week released some 3d printed front braces for the Blitzer. Search on YouTube for the installation videos. Other than that I don't know much about these, but if it runs and it was free you Can't really lose. Does it have bearings throughout? 

[Collin 1956]

I did read the AMPRO topic these days and yes, those braces make sense. I like em. Mark, you are right, It will be a challange. Unfortunitly I do not have any other Tamiya models except my Nitro TR-15T and this means no spares, only some damper o-rings. But lets see, I am a great chef, cooking with only basic ingrediences.

#1 problem, the resistor melted the gearbox. I´d love to replace the whole part but that will cost 15€ and I dont know where to get nice used one. Non of my mates do with RC, so I dont have a community here in Vienna, only the TC-Clan.

First idear:  finding the propper material, milling out the melted part, using epoxy-glue and filling the hole. Then reshaping the gearbox. 

Second idear: leave it like it is.

[Phil5556 136]

I'd like a free Blitzer

I quite fancy something 2wd and these look like fun. And I live next to the beach.

[schuultzie51 14]

11 hours ago, Collin said:

Second idear: leave it like it is

Looks like the gearbox is still sealed from the outside despite the damage... so maybe no function is lost!

Blitzers are fun to work on, i'm fixing mine up here:

 

[Gruntfuggly 562]

The gearbox is bulletproof, so stick brushless + Lipo in it and then just replace parts as they break. You'll probably need a supply of dogbones, but they're peanuts from ebay...

[Collin 1956]

Front and chassis is back together. All looks fine by now. Looks like I can bring it back on the road with no investment, only a new battery. Maybe I am going NiMh first because I have this controller and the LRP motor. Maybe worth a try. Later on I can still go Lipo, for shure.

About the gearbox, the sealing surface is still okay on the inner side around the hole. I´ll possibly put on some red sealing silicon. But I have to do something with the hole. I´ll mix some epoxy with some black plastik dust and fill it up with that paste. Badly I dont have any broken parts to file them down to powder. Also I´l cut a piece of fiber to bring some strengh to the upper deck with the two mounting holes.

 

 

[Collin 1956]

Oh boy, little by little I do understand the appeal of this simple Tamiya models, its really charming and a lot of fun.

I have a bit of fiber from another project and I´ll cut out a plate like the cardboard. This will be screwed together on 4 points and does have the grip around the ribs. That will give me a better feeling.

This little friend was already in use. Do anyone of you knows this motor? It's LRP brand. Anyway, I ordered a brushless combo at GoolRC because of the reason, that NiMh batteries arent really cheap and I already have some LiPos which fits in. Definitly most economic (and funnier ) solution.

Well, chassis is nearly done, soon I´ll concentrate about the shell. I do have some half full spraycans and some glitter-powder. Going the Disco-way-of-life? We´ll see...

 

[Collin 1956]

Hi ho, Modellorinos!

Done for now,... and what about tomorrow?! 

Well, I think thats a nice solution. After all I decided that two mounting points are enough. The clamp around the rib is tight enough to keep it stable. No messing around with epoxy, simple recyceling of a bit fiber-plate.

 

The spray session will be good fun but I am still not in the mood. Next week then... 

 

Some issues, the dogbones are moving a lot in axial direction. I put a piece of an earplug inside the wheel axle joint. Its fine now. Once in a time I´ll investe in nice CV joints. The front shockers does look nice but the seems to be way too long. You see the massive toe-in? I have some old Tamiya shocks but I think they are also too long. Can anyone give me the measure of the spring/rod/cylinder for the front? Maybe I can manage something out of the few bits I have left...

Well, all in all It was a funny but quick rebuilt.

[Collin 1956]

Oi mates, I have a plan about the front dampers. I´ll cut the aloy ones. The cylinder does have a full body thread, so it´s easy to cut it on the lathe. What I really need are some measurements. Can anyone confirm this?

Spring rear/front: 54/37mm
Rod rear/front: 46/33mm
Cylinder oil camber (inside!) rear/front: 32/23mm
Cylinder without caps rear/front: 37/29mm

Please have a look in your spare box, I got this measures from the building plan, scaled in photoshop.

 

[Man1c M0nk3y 563]

12 hours ago, Collin said:

Hi ho, Modellorinos!

Done for now,... and what about tomorrow?! 

Well, I think thats a nice solution. After all I decided that two mounting points are enough. The clamp around the rib is tight enough to keep it stable. No messing around with epoxy, simple recyceling of a bit fiber-plate.

 

The spray session will be good fun but I am still not in the mood. Next week then... 

 

Some issues, the dogbones are moving a lot in axial direction. I put a piece of an earplug inside the wheel axle joint. Its fine now. Once in a time I´ll investe in nice CV joints. The front shockers does look nice but the seems to be way too long. You see the massive toe-in? I have some old Tamiya shocks but I think they are also too long. Can anyone give me the measure of the spring/rod/cylinder for the front? Maybe I can manage something out of the few bits I have left...

Well, all in all It was a funny but quick rebuilt.

Nice work on the carbon plate/brace. 

Is there not enough thread left on the steering rods to correct the toe?

Have a look on Tamiya for a manual to check they are the right length. 

[Collin 1956]

Thanks, I like the brace too. I am wondering if it would make sense for any other Blitzer, would it? Its the right lenght of the rods. The shockers are too long. The Beetle is about 2cm to high on thefront. If they would be a bit shorter the tyres will be in a line. This is why I ask for the right damper measures...

[taffer 948]

Put spacers in internally to restrict damper length?

[Collin 1956]

I have already tried this last night, but the body of the cylinder is the point, its too long! The CVA mini seems to be really short...

U see!

Or maybe I am wrong with all my thoughts.

[taffer 948]

maybe someone will swap you your alloy ones for the proper cva2 shocks?

[Collin 1956]

Maybe yea! Maybe no.

Dont know, somehow I like the alloy ones. With the CVA Shocker I have the problem, that I dont have any of those little bushes which looks like a hat. So it have to be a real nice complete kit.

Honestly I like this blue yellow shockers, they should stay.

[schuultzie51 14]

Wow, that carbon plate looks great!

You should be able to fix your toe in problem by adjusting (shortening) the steer rod lengths by a few millimeters. I also suggest swapping/flipping upside-down the front steering arms so that the ball connector is on the bottom. This will get rid of crazy "bump steer", greatly improving handling. Just search blitzer bump steer on the forum for more details (many members have made the switch). 

The aftermarket front shocks I purchased are also 5-10mm longer than the original CVA shocks... causing the same front lift issue... I ended up getting tires with a smaller circumfrence for the front to correct the odd ride angle. Longer shocks on the rear would also help... meaning more overall ground clearance for off-road stuff. There is also a second hole on the rear suspension arms that I have played around with by mounting the rear shocks to that... I have no idea if this is a sound solution... but it also would balance out the lift on your blitzer. Lastly, I also experimented with adding a spacer between the front shock tower and the chassis plate you screw it onto. If you add a few millimeters of your carbon plate between the two (with longer screws), this in turn will lower the front ride height as well. 

Lots of options! This should be a fun ride with the cheap brushless/lipo!!!

[Collin 1956]

Thanks for the advice with the steering mod, sounds good to me. It is true, you pointet up a lot of possibilities. Definitly I want to go lower on the front and I´ll see what I can get out of the aloy dampers. On friday I have access to a lathe.

Well, about the weak spots of the Blitzer chassis, I think I spotted one more.

Rear damper, upper mount. I´ll get a piece of aloy pipe and cut in a slot, as you can see on the drawing. I´ll push it over the mounting point, thats it, no big voodoo but the usual way I fix this kind of problems on plastic, also knowen from a type of gear boxes on my Losi. Together with the Ampro braces it will become a solid thing,... soon!

 

[Collin 1956]

About the steering mod, you simply swap left/right upright, right? How about the clearance on this spot? Any idears?

[max69vk 708]

1 hour ago, Collin said:

About the steering mod, you simply swap left/right upright, right? How about the clearance on this spot? Any idears?

Grind the end of the hub pin down so it doesn't protrude, it'll give you just enough clearance.