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Tudorp

Hard to find parts.

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I have another question because I am curious. I find myself feeling like I am driving on egg shells, worried about breaking the aging, brittle plastic on my original (SWB) Wild Willy. I beat the snot out of it back in it's day, but now that parts are difficult to replace on it, find myself scared to run it hard. The question is, What is the most concern of yours of breaking concerning parts on your vintage RC? 

I would guess on the original Wild Willy, it would be the part that makes it the most distinguished, and the most subject to breaking is the front Willys M38 Grill. A close 2nd would be the front suspension control arms. 

 

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The M38 servo saver is a close second 

Good question re hard to find bits but it’s maybe better anchored in price ?

Lots of stuff often felt legitimately impossible to find 20 years ago - because we were all still anchored in hobby shops, networks and clubs

These days we can pretty much get whatever we want online ... and often with only a minor wait - it just costs whatever the seller thinks you’ll pay 🙄

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I found a NOS M38 grill about 20 years ago when I restored my WW for the 2nd time then. Yes, it was much more difficult before the internet, but even now, the original grills are tough to find.  I never had an issue with the servo saver on mine. In fact, I have 2 extra of those from parts lots I bought many years ago. I have two spare sets of suspension control arms and  front spindles for mine now. Every so often you see those pop up as NOS, but starting to get few and far between now too.  I have heard that the lid for the tub chassis is a sought after part these days. That, I don't fully understand. What have people done with their lids? I have two spares of those also, and have heard that they are a rare find.. lol. 

 

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M38 grille isn't that easy to break, it's pretty well protected with bumper... you'll need to hit winch directly whilst missing the bumper. :) don't lend it to clueless dolts to drive. 

Is the radiator behind there?

When repairing (piecing & gluing them back together) them it's good to drill the 2 winch holes thru into the radiator, cut 2 short pieces of styrene tube (3mm ID) to fit between grille & radiator. Bolt the winch on from back of radiator; might need longer screws.

One of mine is missing the whole right fender. :blink:

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On 1/12/2020 at 8:50 AM, Tudorp said:

starting to get few and far between now too.  I have heard that the lid for the tub chassis is a sought after part these days. That, I don't fully understand. What have people done with their lids? I have two spares of those also, and have heard that they are a rare find.. lol.

 

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Each ball is a rare part. We are all hippos. The gameboard is eBay.

As the years pass, you have to hammer the lever harder and harder, until the whole table is shaking. That's what is happening in vintage RC now, compared to what it was like 21 years ago when I joined eBay :D Back then, vintage parts were so plentiful, some collectors had swimming pools filled with them, surrounded by beautiful girls in bikinis basking in their glow by the poolside...

Not quite. But there were certainly plenty of crabby old hobby shop owners with dusty cardboard boxes out the back, filled with old parts, who would eye you suspiciously if you asked about them...

Invest in a few extra spares if you can. If you like driving your cars vintage (and why shouldn't we - most 1:1 car collectors drive their cars original. Otherwise, what's the point of vintage enthusiasm?) - then have a few backup parts.

If I know I have more than 1 of something, I'm happy to use it. Because I know there's at least one more spare left in the world. I do have a few spares though, where it's unclear to me if another exists as I haven't seen one come up in 10+ years. Those items are ones I am reluctant to open and use - for the sake of history.

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Original Sand Rover spur-gear A. My new White Whale. It's downright scary driving this thing with an original speed controller, even with a clapped-out silvercan 540 because I'm scared of just stripping all the teeth of that one chipped gear.

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2 hours ago, c64orinoco said:

Original Sand Rover spur-gear A. My new White Whale. It's downright scary driving this thing with an original speed controller, even with a clapped-out silvercan 540 because I'm scared of just stripping all the teeth of that one chipped gear.

that's the one with the silly uncovered gearbox isn't it?

have you come across this? Some kind soul Noodle12/BenjaminArnold has shared these plans on Thingiverse...

gear https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3237733

and... a cover for the box!! :P https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3324892

How's that, Ishmael?

 

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Rarity is fine but it doesn’t always drive cost or the affordability of running vintage kit 

The Sand Rover gear is a good one 

I do like @WillyChang cases if you run your SR regularly - but, if you do, it’s silly to think they won’t prompt flaws elsewhere - likely by over stressing the rear axle with rigidity that was never intended ...

And, let’s be honest, the odds of (even open) plastic drive gear outliving those front suspension tops are pretty low in the first place 🙄

Having run a boxed built 70s / 80s garage biannually for the last 4 years, the truth is you can’t win gents 

Shelfers wither if not carefully maintained and daily runners suffer from archaic design - so the best you can do is to shoot the gap, and run your best occasionally 

So, for me, @Hibernaculum is spot on re keeping kits stock and just investing in period spares for runners with well known weak spots 

Whether you also buy NOS spares for NIB kits you’ve yet to build is a diff question ?

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21 hours ago, WillyChang said:

that's the one with the silly uncovered gearbox isn't it?

have you come across this? Some kind soul Noodle12/BenjaminArnold has shared these plans on Thingiverse...

gear https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3237733

and... a cover for the box!! :P https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3324892

How's that, Ishmael?

 

Excellent thanks for those links, I have access to some decent 3D printers at work.

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1 hour ago, c64orinoco said:

Excellent thanks for those links, I have access to some decent 3D printers at work.

Oh you do? Sweet, lmk how you make out.

I tried downloading the Gears files and when my interwebs finally worked there seems to be a bunch of them... did the fella try making a few versions with different toothcount? What's the original teeth? Looks like he's designed a motormount with slotted screwhole for mesh adjustment too.

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