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Bri80

Help needed Lunchbox ESC/Steering

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Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of advice. After about 25 years, i found out my Dad had kept my Lunchbox in his attic for all these years. So iv decided to try and fix it up to keep my son entertained.
Being a total beginner at this i tried, to source some parts on ebay. The original speed controller is damaged and the slow speeds on it don't work, so it goes from zero to full throttle only. Is it possible to fix these or not worth the hassle? I had read on here that a Hobbywing QuicRun 1060 is a good ESC to get, so i ordered one from ebay, but what came is a BDESC-S10E-RTR. This doesn't seem right, is this like a cheap chinese version? 
This ESC seems to work ok, except it only seems to have Forward-Brake-Reverse, whereas the Quicrun 1060 you can adjust to be Forward-Reverse, which id prefer as think it would be easier for my son (and its fun doing 180s on wet grass). It also seems really slow in reverse, does anyone have any experience of these ESC`s? am i missing something about programming it. Apologies if this is a stupid question. 
Also, can anyone recommend a steering upgrade? I know its never going to have sharp steering, but it struggles to turn right at all, the steering arm just seems  to twist without turning the wheels.  
Thanks
 

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If it's an original Lunch Box, it probably has a manual speed controller, or MSC. I don't personally think it's worth fixing it. Most people who still run those do so for nostalgic reasons, and not because they're any good.

Hobbywing 1060s are known for having a lot of cheap knockoffs, so it seems like you may have received one of those. I'd stick to well-known vendors if I was to buy things from eBay, especially common items like the 1060. ESCs in general tend to be slower in reverse than they are going forwards; it's designed that way.

About the steering, it sounds like your steering servo may be giving up, or your steering linkage is in bad shape. A picture would really help here. A video clip would help even more.

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1 hour ago, DeadMeat666 said:

If it's an original Lunch Box, it probably has a manual speed controller, or MSC. I don't personally think it's worth fixing it. Most people who still run those do so for nostalgic reasons, and not because they're any good.

Hobbywing 1060s are known for having a lot of cheap knockoffs, so it seems like you may have received one of those. I'd stick to well-known vendors if I was to buy things from eBay, especially common items like the 1060. ESCs in general tend to be slower in reverse than they are going forwards; it's designed that way.

About the steering, it sounds like your steering servo may be giving up, or your steering linkage is in bad shape. A picture would really help here. A video clip would help even more.

Ok, I thought a new ESC would probably be easier rather than fixing MSC. ah well lesson learned for me next time then. I'll buy from a more well known vendor next time then. 

The servo seems to turn to the left ok, but not the right, which makes it sound like the linkage maybe rather than servo. I'll try get some photos once get home. 

All the equipment is original from like 1994ish, so I should'nt be surprised lots needing fixed up. 

Any recommendations for batteries and chargers? Nothing too fancy needed. I saw overlander 3300nimh batteries, would they be ok for it? 

Cheers for the help. 

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Any NiMh batteries that have the same plug type as your esc would be the easiest to go for, since the Lunch Box has an oval compartment. 

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3 hours ago, DeadMeat666 said:

Any NiMh batteries that have the same plug type as your esc would be the easiest to go for, since the Lunch Box has an oval compartment. 

This is what I did for the new Clod and Lunchbox I bought last year, just bought the biggest NiMH I could get my hands on with a Tamiya plug.

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On 1/14/2021 at 9:18 AM, Bri80 said:

Ok, I thought a new ESC would probably be easier rather than fixing MSC. ah well lesson learned for me next time then. I'll buy from a more well known vendor next time then. 

The servo seems to turn to the left ok, but not the right, which makes it sound like the linkage maybe rather than servo. I'll try get some photos once get home. 

The Hobbywing 1060 that has been mentioned about a dozen times is not only easy and reliable, but also probably cheaper than trying to restore the MSC . 
Re: the servo. I guess just disconnect to troubleshoot. 
if it is bad it shouldn’t be a real expensive fix either 

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I've got a few of those 'knock-offs' ESC's , they do work ok , but only time will tell about reliability . The ESC is customiseable to a certain extent . There are small pull out plugs on the side of the ESC to locate into F&R only rather than brake and reverse , and I think the 'knock-offs' have them too .

As said previously the steering problem could be number of things - stripped splines on the servo or saver , handset out of trim ( check that the steering trim adjuster lever is set to centre  as it is possibly an easy fix without taking anything apart ) , servo saver set wrong to begin with and not centralised to the handset ( centralising the handset trim will show this provided the servo / saver aren't damaged ) . Yes - pics or video would be good

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The old MSC is probably gummed up on the main board where the wiper arms moves across the slow , medium , fast contacts . The wiper arm contacts are probably gummed up too . It could also be that the ceramic resistor is damaged and only allowing full current though . You can overhaul the MSC quite easily and then lube up the contacts with Tamiya switch lube to aid good electrical flow

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Hi, thanks for the responses, apologies been so long. only just got back around to trying to fix this. I ordered a Quicrun 1060 ESC and it seems to work great. Seems to work a lot better that the knock-off version i had. I looked at the steering. One of the steering arms looked bent (they seem very small diameter to start with), so i ordered new ones. But the ones that came seem to be a bigger diameter. I assume at maybe some point they increased the diameter of these to strengthen them. 
The problem i have now is that the new arm (with the black connector) doesn't fit onto the existing turnbuckles that were used for the old one (white connector).  I think the turnbuckles for the white connector are 4mm, and i need 5mm for the black ones.
Wheres the best place to get these (in the uk) ?  I saw i could order a tamiya servo saver kit 50100, but i cant confirm this will contain the correct part for what i need. 
Once again, apologies if this seems a daft question. im total novice at this. 
Thanks

IMG_20210129_171959485.jpg

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Yes ,the new 'ball end connectors' are 5mm . They won't fit the old ones as you have found out . The re-re upgraded ones use BB7 and BC2 fittings on the servo saver and steering uprights . The BC2 are 2mm bolts and the BB7 are ball connectors with an internal thread for the 2mm bolt . I have used stock 5mm ball connectors that screw into the uprights and servo saver and fit them into the existing holes - may need enlargement . The BB7 and BC2 fittings are in screw bags BB 9465656 & BC 9465657 or 5mm ball conns are 50592 on the 'Bay

 

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Kev thanks very much for this advice, that's brilliant. Parts ordered from eBay already. 

What sort of spray paint do you guys use. Do yous always use tamiya paint or are there other types just as good?

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I generally use Halfords sprays / primers / gloss . lacquer . I have used other brands but these are always good

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Thanks for all the advice. After 20+ years I finally got my lunchbox properly running again this weekend. What a laugh me and my son had with it. I'd forgotten just how much fun it was, especially on wet grass sliding about doing 180s, was worth every penny I spent fixing it up hearing him squeal with laughter. 

maybe I can convince the financial director (the missus) to let me buy something else....purely for my sons benefit, honest:D

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On 1/14/2021 at 8:08 AM, Bri80 said:

Hi all, I'm looking for a bit of advice. After about 25 years, i found out my Dad had kept my Lunchbox in his attic for all these years. So iv decided to try and fix it up to keep my son entertained.
Being a total beginner at this i tried, to source some parts on ebay. The original speed controller is damaged and the slow speeds on it don't work, so it goes from zero to full throttle only. Is it possible to fix these or not worth the hassle? I had read on here that a Hobbywing QuicRun 1060 is a good ESC to get, so i ordered one from ebay, but what came is a BDESC-S10E-RTR. This doesn't seem right, is this like a cheap chinese version? 
This ESC seems to work ok, except it only seems to have Forward-Brake-Reverse, whereas the Quicrun 1060 you can adjust to be Forward-Reverse, which id prefer as think it would be easier for my son (and its fun doing 180s on wet grass). It also seems really slow in reverse, does anyone have any experience of these ESC`s? am i missing something about programming it. Apologies if this is a stupid question. 
Also, can anyone recommend a steering upgrade? I know its never going to have sharp steering, but it struggles to turn right at all, the steering arm just seems  to twist without turning the wheels.  
Thanks
 

Yeah. All my 1060’s are slow as can be in reverse. I also fixed up my LB and am currently running it with modern ESC and modern radio. It’s all good. 

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On 2/7/2021 at 5:25 PM, Bri80 said:

Thanks for all the advice. After 20+ years I finally got my lunchbox properly running again this weekend. What a laugh me and my son had with it. I'd forgotten just how much fun it was, especially on wet grass sliding about doing 180s, was worth every penny I spent fixing it up hearing him squeal with laughter. 

maybe I can convince the financial director (the missus) to let me buy something else....purely for my sons benefit, honest:D

I'm glad Another lunchie/pumpkin is back on the road. I never owned a Tamiya back in first RC days back in the  80s. When I got my repro Pumpkin last year, I re discovered what I was missingirst time around.

Enjoy the wacky handling wheelie fun with the little one. 

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