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jonboy1

Barneys Incredibly Brilliant Hotshot 2 Restoration (not by Barney)

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Hmmmm

-_-

One was not intending to do a resto thread for the amusement and gratification of Messers @barneys66 but he has since provided gifts, sorrow, song and apparently the dancing girls are en-route, so I have succumbed, albeit grudgingly and with little enthusiasm.

So - here's some pics of it at Abode Barney (note the very expensive cowhide rug - I dream of being able to afford a Maccy D's cheeseburger and Barney has literally the whole cow on his spare room floor.)

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Yup - woohoo - looks ok.

Next up - some pics of it finished.

Stay tooned.

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I likes pictures I do.

That hide means a lot to me - I hunted, wrestled, married, ate, wore and slept on that thing whilst backpacking through Norwich.  Tough times.

Is it finished yet JJ..?

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14 hours ago, barneys66 said:

I likes pictures I do.

That hide means a lot to me - I hunted, wrestled, married, ate, wore and slept on that thing whilst backpacking through Norwich.  Tough times.

Is it finished yet JJ..?

that explains the musty smell on the Hotshot.....

No, it isn't finished. Now stop pestering me kid!

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Right - I suppose I'd better get this done and out of the way.

:P

I've been a bit lax with the camera I'm afraid, so I'll have to paint pictures with words :unsure:

I got the Hotshot 2 stripped apart last week, put all the plastic bits in a big bucket of hot soapy water and all the metal bits in a degreaser (the electric bits went in an ice cream tub (pre-emptied - Mrs. Jon has drummed it into my head NEVER to put anything in her ice cream again....)

Some scrubbing and washing and drying later, I got dressed and fetched the bits out of their cleaning solutions and it they all looked good, rough, but good.

First job was some repair to the chassis tub. It was rather scraped and battered, so a lot of sanding to remove all the gouges and scratches was required, followed by more sanding through various grades to get it silky smooth and shiny.

I've shown it next to the unrestored bumper plate to give an idea of the condition:

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As you can see - there is plenty more to do!

I thought I'd give myself a break from polishing at this point, so grabbed the electrical bits and bobs, took them all apart and a thorough clean. The servos and their horns etc are all good and ready to go back, but some knucklehead cut the antenna so I'll have to replace that and the battery connector wires from the speed controller are looking somewhat sorry, so they will get some attention/replacement too.

I'll try and remember to take some pics tonight of all that stuff.

That's all for now!

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I really like the HS2  and Jons work is a joy to behold.

I will be watching this thread with great interest 💥

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Again, I have been lax with taking "before" pictures, but I have been making progress!

A few bits were ordered and have now been received; some screws (the ones that hold the upper chassis to the bottom,) resistor cover and resistor mounting plate. This meant I could get the electrics all built up and in the chassis. The resistor itself was well past saving so I dug around my spares and found an original Tamiya imprinted one, so that has been donated to the cause. Didn't seem right to stick a new one on it. I am however going to have to take the radio gear apart again as I made a schoolboy error and mounted the speed controller 180 deg out so the long motor wire was at the back side of the chassis. I know, I know....:rolleyes:

I've not stuck the receiver down as I need to replace the antenna as well. The battery wires will get a make over too - but it took me an age to get the connector off so I decided enough was enough at that point and moved onto the gearboxes!

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The gearboxes were very straight forward and not very exciting so I didn't take any pictures of them going together. I've left the motor out at this point as it needs a bit of work (if Mr. Barney wants to use the one it came with - need to check with his highness)

The shocks were stripped and cleaned, tidied and put back together with new seals, oil and springs, one required a new shaft as it had got bent, which I have to say I've never seen before :huh:

The lower arms were next - they needed a reasonable amount of sanding and polishing to remove their battle scars, but have come up quite nicely I'm pleased to say. Everything went together with new bearings and all original hardware that had been cleaned up where possible or replaced with NOS items. 

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Next step will be to finish off the radio gear, paint the driver and then get the roll cage on!

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Next phase was to tidy up the wiring - the motor connectors had been replaced with a battery connector, so they came off and were replaced with the proper jobs. The battery connector (for the battery) was a bit sorry looking and the wires were of a braided insulation type that had been ravaged by time, so some red and black heatshrink were applied and a NOS battery connector installed. As mentioned last time, I had to take the speed controller assembly out and disassemble it as the black and red wires were the wrong way around to connect up with the battery. So once all this was sorted out, the receiver could be stuck in place, the wiring routed and the radio box could be "introduced" back to the top chassis. :) 

Following that, the access cover was polished back up and fitted, and then there was a load more polishing for the front and rear underguards and front bumper! After a chat with @barneys66 we decided some battle scares were ok (phew) so although it isn't perfect, it looks much nicer than it did. It will all get another polish before it's finished, I just wanted to check everything went ok, see how it looks and check in with the boss before it gets signed off.

The next job was the driver needed detailing and giving some life, and then protecting with the rollcage which surprisingly needed no work whatsoever. What did need some work was the metal cockpit roof - this looked ok at first glance, but then I realised a blooming great big dent in the vent :( Some gentle persuasion with a large hammeryR thing and some filing, sanding and polishing and it's pretty much gone - couldn't quite get it all, but it's better.

At this stage I sat back and admired what an awesome looking buggy this is - they really got it spot on with this one in my mind (I'm becoming increasingly jealous of Barney - not only does he have a very fine animal skin rug but a cracking HotShot 2!)

 

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Then I decided I really needed to see it with the wheels on....

So, I fitted the front bumper, cable tied the wires, repaired the hubs, stripped the wheels and tyres, cleaned them all up, repaired the rims, fitted the new tyres and popped them all together..... It looks fantastic!!! :wub:

But you will have to wait until the body is finished!!!:ph34r::P

 

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Sooooo I got a message back from Mr. Barney asking "is that a crack in the offside rear top strut mount?" 

to which I had to answer (after going home and checking) "yes, yes it is...."

If you re unfamiliar with how a Hotshot or Hotshot 2 goes together I can sum it up in one word: Complicatedly.

To get at the top mount both shocks have to be removed, the roll cage comes off, along with the rear battery cover. Then you can remove the top pins that hold the upper wishbones in place. Following that you remove the resistor holder which gives you access to the screw that holds the mount on. :wacko:

Anyway, once I finally had access to it I couldn't see a thing wrong with it!!! So I put the bolt back in and tightened it up and sure enough, there it was. So some plastic welding, filing, sanding, smoothing and polishing later, it's all fixed. Just got to put it all back together again now - yay!

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Before I do so though, I'm going to replace the wires for the battery as they look rubbish. Which means taking everything else apart! In for a penny etc - good job I charge by the hour eh?! ;) 

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Apologies for being very lax in the updates - lots been going on so I've not had much time for social...ness? ;)  (nothing new there then, says everyone) :lol:

So after putting it all back together I decided that I just couldn't leave the motor wires the incorrect colours and the battery leads just weren't going to cut it, so it all came apart again :mellow:

New Tamiya motor wires and battery wires were purchased and fitted and so much nicer they look too. The wheels went back on and a second set for running purposes were cleaned up and painted a controversial shade (Barney wanted it, I said no, he said yes, I said I'd think about it, he cried, I did it) - it's amazing how such a small thing as wire can make such a big difference to the look of things:

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I had a go at the original body but it had been painted on the outside with a large stick and bitumen (I may be exaggerating...) so the quality of the outer surface was always going to be questionable. I will still see if I can make a reasonable runner body out of it but for this a new body set and decals were ordered from the lovely, lovely people at Team Bluegroove and MCI Decals. They all arrived promptly and were introduced to Mr Scissors, Madam Snips and Senorita Spray Paint:

Laydees and Gents, I proudly present to you, "Barneys Incredibly Brilliant Hotshot 2 Not Restored By Barney"

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Thank you and goodnight xx

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Wubble. Gumph.  Kyuk.  JJ you rock.

The wheels worked tying in the body colour in my noggin, but admit they might be a garish in real life - might have to tone them down a touch; perhaps a more pastel, matt colour, or leave them for running after dark when unlikely to cause offence :ph34r:

Can't wait to get this one back (and an SRB back to JJ..)

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