Problemchild 2149 Posted March 27, 2020 Saw an NDF-01 Nitro Thunder on the bay and made a cheeky offer it’s on its way from Central Europe to the U.K. and got some replacement parts on the way too as it seems the bottom of the car are the worst I’ll strip it down, work out how it works and then reassemble and give it a really good tidy up can’t wait JJ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted March 27, 2020 Love these cars and in my humble opinion they are vastly underrated as runners. They do tend to bottom out a bit but otherwise very good. I have the complete set in my collection (plus a few extras!). Parts are pretty much still available but factory painted bodies are thin on the ground. The unpainted shells are still easily got. The usual items that break on these are: Engine pullcord, easily got but nearly always broken The fuel nipple on the top of the fuel tank snaps off easily, be very careful pulling old tubing off! The rubber O-rings on the suspension break down and will probably need replacing The springs that the above o-ring goes through can get damaged if the car has a hit at high speed. Missing screws! They are a pain to strip and lots of bits tend to be missing or left off. Look forward to more pictures. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 27, 2020 Thanks - great info im not gonna be running it but it will get nicely tidied up JJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 28, 2020 I have to say it’s in excellent condition bar scratches on the bottom, the rest of the car looks great I’ve not done anything on it today bar hang it with brothers and sisters JJ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 Here are some pics of some of the details of this car and there is only a little bit of damage But overall this NDF-01 is a bit of a beast thing like the upper and lower arms are like nothing I’ve seen on a tamiya before Plan is to strip completely and replace the tired chassis and engine plate got new old stock chassis and what may be a repro part? starting point remove fuel tank and tidy all that up all in good order - just needs stripping and cleaning and reassembling then I was able to remove the exhaust system which is only held on by the rear support and a spring that goes all the way round the engine (Seen here just under the cooling fins) Again it just needed a clean and Tidy This leaves this side of the car with only the engine in place JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 The other side of the car is the servos and radio gear this is the throttle / brake servo (I’ll talk about the brake system in a bit) the 2 x servos and the rub for the radio gear are all part of a sort of servo deck so easy to remove and clean it all up and here with the servo deck removed with all that out the way I was able to remove the deck that covers the front and rear prop shafts and then remove the central bulkheads that hold the main drive cog and the brake system The brake is metal bar top right actuated by the throttle servo (which also actuated the throttle valve) the 2 central bulkheads removed allow the whole central shaft to be removed and the engine plate to be unscrewed from the chassis from left to right we have... prop shaft to front diff bearing for front central bulkhead Drive gear brake disk bearing for rear Central bulkhead prop shaft to rear diff in the rear central bulkhead is where the braking system is this consists a shaft with a cam on it that is linked to the servo (runs top to bottom) this cam pushes a small piston (just visible) then there are 2 brake plates that the brake disk fits between (only 1 fitted in this pic but you can see the wear surface) and here are all the parts JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted March 31, 2020 Looking good so far. Which part did you think is repro? I dont know of any NDF parts about that are being reproduced. If you need any single parts rather than whole parts sprues ask me as I may have them. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 Oh cool - thank you I’ve just ordered the bottom black scoop thing and front bumper air filter on its way the metal engine plate doesn’t look OEM JJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted March 31, 2020 Yes that pretty much gets destroyed doesn't it! I would say its OEM, certainly looks ok and has the right sticker etc. NDF parts are plentiful generally so wouldnt be much money in reproductions yet. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 The parts I’m buying are cheap enough tyres - are front and back the same size? JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted March 31, 2020 3 hours ago, Problemchild said: The parts I’m buying are cheap enough tyres - are front and back the same size? JJ Yes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 Done some more work today engine cleaned up and ready to mount on the brand new aluminium engine plate And the new chassis and bringing the 2 together Then I removed the front suspension - this can be done just by removing the 2 pins then the whole front end (excluding front diff) sort of folds off. the front is held together by a large spring I cleaned up the upper and lower arms and cleaned the UJs and the bearings then re-oiled with high speed sewing machine oil. then the front diff just comes out with 2 screws each side and clean with a toothbrush and transfer into new chassis JJ 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 The rear set up is a bit harder to remove 2 x 35mm threaded screws, 2 x screws and a massive long one that goes through a metal pipe hold the back end on (2 x 35mm already removed) the black section holds metal pins for the bottom arms and the red bits for the top arms. (you can see better above) And then removing the 3 screws the other end and it all comes off remove the suspension and toe arms and I split the back end into 3 parts I put the middle section in the sonic cleaner and cleaned the other bits with the toothbrush and cleaned up the bearings and UJs and re-oiled. once cleaned I reassembled it all on the new chassis and with a few spare mins reinstalled the body mounts JJ 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted March 31, 2020 1 hour ago, acprc said: Yes And if I was to start this car - I’m guessing I need a glow plug device? any info around this would be great JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtbkym01 3946 Posted April 1, 2020 Wow, pillow ball front end, cool. yep you’d need a glow igniter. These are available generally in a “Nitro starter kit” which will include an igniter, fuel bottle, glow plug wrench and a couple other tools. I would also look at a spare glow plug or 2. As for fuel, I’m not sure what’s available where you are but I’d imagine a 15 - 16% mix would be sufficient, @acprc will be able to be more specific I’m sure. Welcome to the world of Nitro 😎 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted April 1, 2020 Yep as @mtbkym01 mentions a nitro starter kit is a good starting point until you know what you need otherwise. Any 16% fuel will be fine, it doesn't need anything with a higher content. I tend to use OS A3 and A8 plugs for my runners, they are reliable and work well. The A8 is what I use nearly all of the time but in colder weather swap to the hotter A3 plugs. I would also get some after run oil. You remove the glow plug and put a few drops into the cylinder to help stop condensation/damage between runs. One more tip, never leave fuel in the tank, run the car till it is used up. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mtbkym01 3946 Posted April 1, 2020 This little buggy has be really intrigued, i love the fact that it’s got PBS, just like my 1/8 Mugen stuff 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted April 1, 2020 Just now, mtbkym01 said: This little buggy has be really intrigued, i love the fact that it’s got PBS, just like my 1/8 Mugen stuff Very much underrated in my opinion. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted April 1, 2020 im loving it im not going to be running it much tbh I just want to start it any guides on starting and tuning? JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted April 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Problemchild said: im loving it im not going to be running it much tbh I just want to start it any guides on starting and tuning? JJ Reset everything back to standard and follow the manual. It should have everything you need. You wont need to break the car in. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted April 1, 2020 I don’t have a manual - only the PDF https://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/ndf01.pdf JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted April 1, 2020 Any links to fuels and starter kits much appreciated JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Problemchild 2149 Posted April 1, 2020 On 3/31/2020 at 9:57 AM, acprc said: Looking good so far. Which part did you think is repro? I dont know of any NDF parts about that are being reproduced. If you need any single parts rather than whole parts sprues ask me as I may have them. Hey - I’m after the big o-ring on the front of the car? not looked on eBay yet and tbh I prob have one in the plumbing box but do you have one? JJ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted April 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Problemchild said: I don’t have a manual - only the PDF https://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcmanual/ndf01.pdf JJ Hi, yes these have two manuals a Maintenance one (the one in the link) and an Operations manual. Tamiya don't list the second one but I have a copy here. I will try and scan some of the more important bits. There are about 8 pages worth having. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
acprc 1442 Posted April 1, 2020 46 minutes ago, Problemchild said: Hey - I’m after the big o-ring on the front of the car? not looked on eBay yet and tbh I prob have one in the plumbing box but do you have one? JJ I will check but I dont think so, they nearly always need replacing as they perish. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites