Frog Jumper 3662 Posted July 12, 2018 I'll try and snap a couple more pix tonight... Terry Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamiya80sBuggyFan 14 Posted July 13, 2018 On 6/28/2018 at 3:51 PM, DrewZ said: I can appreciate the strength and smooth operation of a shiny new MIP dif but alas, the $60 price tag would put this Brat Basher over budget. The 'screw mod' appeals to me because it's a simple solution to an age old problem. Here's the M2.5 tap in action. I got it from Hobby Etc on Amazon for $8: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006O4H18 If you've ever tapped threads before, you know it's important to cut only a few threads at a time, and reverse frequently to allow the chips to escape. Then the other side gets drilled out to 2.5mm so the screw will slide through it easily. As you can see, these are re-release Frog drive shaft parts. I had friends with Blackfoots back in the day and those hex shaped drive shafts were always trouble! I set it fairly tight. At this point you can feel the bevel gears working which makes one appreciate the smoothness that a ball dif would provide. Nevertheless, no more slipping gears! Am I right in thinking that this mod locks the Diff? I would have thought that would be a bad thing for a racing buggy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewZ 188 Posted July 13, 2018 28 minutes ago, Tamiya80sBuggyFan said: Am I right in thinking that this mod locks the Diff? I would have thought that would be a bad thing for a racing buggy? Actually, it doesn't lock the dif unless you want it to. The screw slides through the first cup and threads into the one on the other side. So that first cup sliding on the screw allows the differential to function normally. You can even adjust it a little bit to be tighter or looser depending on your preferences. If you 'over-tighten' it, it becomes a locked dif. My backyard track is so small that I like to 'steer with the throttle' so a tighter dif works for me. But you can set it to be only just tight enough to hold the 'gear sandwich' together so the gears don't slip, but the dif still works easily. It's no MIP ball dif, for sure. But you can take any old slipping gearbox and make it usable again for cheap with this mod. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tamiya80sBuggyFan 14 Posted July 13, 2018 32 minutes ago, DrewZ said: Actually, it doesn't lock the dif unless you want it to. The screw slides through the first cup and threads into the one on the other side. So that first cup sliding on the screw allows the differential to function normally. You can even adjust it a little bit to be tighter or looser depending on your preferences. If you 'over-tighten' it, it becomes a locked dif. My backyard track is so small that I like to 'steer with the throttle' so a tighter dif works for me. But you can set it to be only just tight enough to hold the 'gear sandwich' together so the gears don't slip, but the dif still works easily. It's no MIP ball dif, for sure. But you can take any old slipping gearbox and make it usable again for cheap with this mod. That's brilliant! IV not got a Frog in my collection. Mostly because of the bad things I'd read about the gearbox issue. But have always liked the way it looks. Maybe I'll get one now and try this out! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewZ 188 Posted July 13, 2018 5 minutes ago, Tamiya80sBuggyFan said: That's brilliant! All credit goes to @oldfrogshot ! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tizer 606 Posted July 29, 2018 On 7/11/2018 at 7:57 PM, Badcrumble said: The 3D printed ones may or may not stand up to heavy abuse - the material isn’t the same as standard kit from Tamiya, however, isn’t tinkering and fixing part of the charm?! It's actually stronger than any vintage Tamiya part It's laser sintered nylon, so it's actually a solid piece of plastic. For a shocktower however I think it will have a bit too much flex, as the nylon is quite soft in this shape. Maybe a little brace between the left/right will help.@DrewZ That Brat is flying nicely over the jumps Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewZ 188 Posted December 11, 2018 How about this for a fun, low cost project? Buy a new frame on ebay for $4, paint it, and then proceed to disassemble and reassemble your entire car! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yogi-bear 2321 Posted December 13, 2018 On 12/12/2018 at 1:40 AM, DrewZ said: How about this for a fun, low cost project? Buy a new frame on ebay for $4, paint it, and then proceed to disassemble and reassemble your entire car! that is a nice look Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewZ 188 Posted December 14, 2018 20 hours ago, yogi-bear said: that is a nice look Thanks - it's Duplicolor wheel 'coating': https://duplicolor.com/product/wheel-coating They say it resists cracking, flaking and peeling... I will put that to the test :-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yogi-bear 2321 Posted December 14, 2018 3 hours ago, DrewZ said: Thanks - it's Duplicolor wheel 'coating': https://duplicolor.com/product/wheel-coating They say it resists cracking, flaking and peeling... I will put that to the test :-) awesome, I can even get that in Australia. I've 2 old frog and 1 old brat to restore at some stage, so that paint is looking like the ticket. I was thinking initially black paint, but that gold is pretty good looking. The bronze doesn't look too bad either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewZ 188 Posted December 17, 2018 This old ORV is really growing on me. It's everything I hoped it would be and more. Gave it some low cost upgrades... Fresh silver can motor with cool gold sticker (from a Fox kit, I believe) HobbyWing Quicrun 1060 ESC Black shocks instead of yellow (swapped from a Blitzer) New servo saver Gold chassis 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
yogi-bear 2321 Posted December 17, 2018 so when do we get a video of it in action? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites