Vintage Stadium Blitzer needs upgrades

[07LowRider 18]

Looking to upgrade my 25+ year old stadium blitzer. It’s all stock at the moment. I do have foam filled street tires. Looking to upgrade to ESC and possibly faster motor without breaking the bank. Maybe suspension and steering as well as the oil filled shocks seem to be shot and the alignment is way off. Probably need some good ball bearings as well. And go!

[rwordenjr 1890]

Welcome and that's a lovely looking truck! I would get a Hobby Wing 1060 ESC ($20ish) to pair with a Tamiya Sport Tuned ($20ish)  or Torque Tuned motor ($20ish). Those motors are perfect for these trucks. You can get faster but it can get squirly to control especially when paired with a Lipo battery. For steering, I'd get the DT02 turnbuckle set which fits on this chassis. Shocks, the stock ones work pretty good, just seek out a new set of them. 

[07LowRider 18]

Just got the same ESC you recommended for my midnight pumpkin. Would I need to do anything to the gears with the sport tuned motor?  I use nimh batteries. 

[rwordenjr 1890]

2 hours ago, 07LowRider said:

Just got the same ESC you recommended for my midnight pumpkin. Would I need to do anything to the gears with the sport tuned motor?  I use nimh batteries. 

No, you would not. Just line up the pinion with the spur and you’re good to go. 

[07LowRider 18]

Same pinion or would I need a new one

[rwordenjr 1890]

32 minutes ago, 07LowRider said:

Same pinion or would I need a new one

Same! 

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

For shocks, pull those apart and see what needs replacing. The plastic oil filled shocks work pretty well, just get new oil and you probably need o rings and seals, but you'll be able to rebuild those to be as good as new. I wouldn't bother with alloy shocks, if you buy cheap ones they won't perform as well as those plastic ones, and decent ones are really expensive which isn't worth it.

It may be worth looking at a new servo too, for about USD13 you can get a decent metal gear servo which will be faster and stronger. I like the JX 4409MG for mine, but buy better for my race cars. Maybe a new servo saver too, look at 51000 which is tamiyas high torque one. There are cheaper ones (those $6 purchases add up quick! I'm being serious, buy a few turnbuckles, servo saver, eyes, ball ends and you can be at $50 before you know it) but i haven't used any to know which work well.

[07LowRider 18]

Do you have any sites that sell the seals and o-rings?  What type of oil because I know some are softer than others?

[07LowRider 18]

What is the difference between the torque tuned and sport tuned motor?

[Juictetin 10]

Hi I have just upgraded mine. The CVA shocks should be fine if you disassemble and rebuild, use some new oil, I use 50wt HPI oil in mine and they are perfect.

I have a Sport Tuned motor in mine and it is plenty quick enough for a 25 year old car. I have the standard 13 tooth pinion but have swapped it for a R W Racing steel one. One thing though, as the shaft on the Sport Tuned is quite short the pinion doesn't fully reach the spur gear even positioned right at the end of the shaft. Hopefully it will be okay.

You can also do this simple mod that eliminates any bump steer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cihE4BGFfA

They are great fun for bashing but I have found that the plastics on the car being so old are very fragile and things break often!

[78Triumph 2610]

I run a 7.5T brushless in my blitzer beetle, with lipo.  It's my favorite car to run.  The gearbox handles brushless fine. 

[Killajb 1546]

Not a "must have" but certainly a consideration for the Blitzer chassis is some bracing at the weakest points.  I've added some steel angle bracket (bought from local hardware store for about $5) and covered with carbon fiber look sticker to add some flair.  I could notice quite a bit more chassis stiffness during jumps or turning left-right at speed.  I also added some weight to the front end to balance things out a bit.  The results was a much more smooth and stable car that can put power down without wheelies and broken rear license plates..

[Killajb 1546]

[rwordenjr 1890]

12 hours ago, 78Triumph said:

I run a 7.5T brushless in my blitzer beetle, with lipo.  It's my favorite car to run.  The gearbox handles brushless fine. 

Just a steel pinion with stock gearbox ? That must fly ! 

[Jonathon Gillham 4607]

20 hours ago, 07LowRider said:

Do you have any sites that sell the seals and o-rings?  What type of oil because I know some are softer than others?

Check the manual for part numbers, they are probably 3mm o rings but I'm not sure of the seals. Any of the usual shops will stock them, I just bought a bunch from rcmart. Where are you based? If in the UK tonystamiyaparts on ebay, or modelsport or fusion, if in the US then try amain or tqrcracing. They are standard parts though so they should be easy to find.

Oil, any brand silicon oil will work. I use Losi oil cos I bought packs with a bunch of different weights. The kit oil is mlst likely Tamiya 400cst yellow oil, that is usually fine.

19 hours ago, 07LowRider said:

What is the difference between the torque tuned and sport tuned motor?

 

19 hours ago, 07LowRider said:

What is the difference between the torque tuned and sport tuned motor?

The Sport Tuned is a bit faster so if I was buying one I would buy a sport tuned. Neither are crazy fast though, but they will work with most ESC.

If you want to stay brushed, buy a Hobbywing 1060 and Superstock motor, or go for a cheap brushless combo. The Trackstar 80a Turbo ESC and 13.5T motor is great value for money. And you can make it mental fast with a program card

[TartanSpartan 4]

3 hours ago, Killajb said:

Not a "must have" but certainly a consideration for the Blitzer chassis is some bracing at the weakest points.  I've added some steel angle bracket (bought from local hardware store for about $5) and covered with carbon fiber look sticker to add some flair.  I could notice quite a bit more chassis stiffness during jumps or turning left-right at speed.  I also added some weight to the front end to balance things out a bit.  The results was a much more smooth and stable car that can put power down without wheelies and broken rear license plates..

Hi what did you use as a weight in the front that works and is a good size ?

[Otis311 196]

The weights look like simple stick on weights. You can see them (small black rectangles) adhered to the top of the front bulkhead and sides of the tub toward the front. Those are nice black ones, I'm used to plain oxidized gray.

[Falcon#5 594]

1 hour ago, Otis311 said:

The weights look like simple stick on weights. You can see them (small black rectangles) adhered to the top of the front bulkhead and sides of the tub toward the front. Those are nice black ones, I'm used to plain oxidized gray.

Could they be painted 1:1 wheel weights?

[78Triumph 2610]

11 hours ago, rwordenjr said:

Just a steel pinion with stock gearbox ? That must fly ! 

Yep, I've had no issues with the gearbox at all.  Its very fast!

[Killajb 1546]

I bought the weights at my local hobby store.  They come in packs of 10-20 with double-sided tape already applied to one  side.  

Edited June 18, 2020 by Killajb

[Killajb 1546]

As for how much weight to add..  I used a small digital scale to weigh the front vs the rear and added weight up front to even things out a bit.  I tried to add the weight to places where :

- weight was central to the chassis to aid in balance

- the weights would adhere and not peel off during use 

-where support structures on the frame would absorb the extra load

 

I added a pair of weights and then did a "drop test" to see how the suspension reacted, then went outside to test at speed doing slalom style driving.  Ended up adding a fair bit (10 5 gram weights in total). As well, I had to firm up the front suspension spring tension to get a level chassis when doing a "drop test", but the results were what I wanted.  Driving around, it feels very planted, no excessive squat during acceleration and turning left-right  full lock at high speeds is possible with much less body roll.  

The car is heavier now, sure.. but jumps are much more stable.  I run a 20T brushed black can (from a Kyosho readyset) and a Hobbywing 1060esc on 2s.  Haven't had a need to try 3s as speed for me is plenty.