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Cambo6

Grasshopper restoration

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Hi all,

I'm after some advice on a restoration of Grasshopper from my childhood.  It has sat in a box for 30 years or so and is need of some TLC.  I now have young sons who I'm keen to get into RC so hoping this will fire their interest in it.

I'd welcome any advice on bringing the car back to it's prime but specifically:

What battery should I buy for it?  I'm totally out of touch here so (UK) links to batteries and chargers would be great.  Will they be compatible?

The shell is pretty beaten up so is it just best to buy a new one?  I'm keen to keep it as original as possible but want it to look good.

Are there any upgrades you would recommend? I was thinking about a slightly bigger motor and better bearings.  I don't want to radically overhaul it as I want it to be as standard as possible.

Any thoughts very welcome!

IMG_1168.jpg

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When I rebuild my Frog a few years back I found a lot of the plastic had become brittle and broke easily. I ended up replacing most of my car with ReRe parts. Save yourself the same headache and buy a new ReRe Grasshopper.

For your original, clean it up and put it on a shelf.

Terry

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Thanks Terry. I had had this thought actually.  Maybe it's just easier and I'll be less precious about it if it gets trashed!

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I'd go the same route (re-re for a carefree basher with the kids) and keep your original not just for the shelf, but runnable, so you can have the occasional light cruise with it.

If I made pure shelfers out of my old cars, I wouldn't have anything to run! I completely understand the impulse to preserve, but it's usually outweighed by my desire to drive :lol:

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13 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

I'd go the same route (re-re for a carefree basher with the kids) and keep your original not just for the shelf, but runnable, so you can have the occasional light cruise with it.

If I made pure shelfers out of my old cars, I wouldn't have anything to run! I completely understand the impulse to preserve, but it's usually outweighed by my desire to drive :lol:

This^^^

My Shelf Queen shelf is empty as all my Shelf Queens are in various stages of mods, re-builds, waiting for the next drive, etc...

I tend to use "Shelf Queen" as a phrase to mean any car that I would cry over if it broke...

Terry

  

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34 minutes ago, Cambo6 said:

Thanks Terry. I had had this thought actually.  Maybe it's just easier and I'll be less precious about it if it gets trashed!

Wow, taking a closer look at the chassis on my PC, it is really nice and clean.

With some searching and patience, you can fine Original GH parts to replace things like your front bumper.  Tires might be harder to replace - they don't age well.  The ReRe ties are exactly like the original (well I think they are slightly different but you won't notice).  And you could get a ReRe body.  AFAIK, there is no difference b/w the OG body and the ReRe body, except maybe badging on the inside.  And there are 3rd party manufacturer's that make clones of the Original decals...

And then I would get a ReRe GH and drive the living daylights out of that!

Hopefully some of the GH/Hornet experts will pop up...

Terry

 

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2 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

I tend to use "Shelf Queen" as a phrase to mean any car that I would cry over if it broke...

If this is the criteria, that means all my cars are shelf queens! :lol:

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I’d slap a new battery in that car, upgrade to a 540 motor (and 18T pinion) and why not make you life easier with an Electronic Speed Control. If you want it to look sharp (I know I did with 84. G hopper) you can easily pick up a new body and decals. Granted everything I just said it probably close to buying a re re. But i do love driving the vintage buggies. Someone about the feel and and the vibe. The economics of  money on a vintage car equal to or in excess of a re re really doesn’t bother me. 
To answer what battery , I know size (length) really does matter with a g hopper. The battery (iMah) on the left is probably a cheap laughable battery to most people here but it fits the g Hopper amazing. The one on the right doesn’t fit at all. The one in the middle is tight but it will work. 
fnjBVPZ.png

note the difference in lengths of these three. You need the smallest one for a g hopper IMO.  

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Just be a little bit careful, especially with a bigger motor. Old cars have really brittle plastic and the slightest mishap can cause fatal damage. Just don't expect an aged car to be able to handle a full-on bash session.

I have a 40-ish year old Sand Rover, and while I have run it to prove it still works, it's far too fragile to go bashing, jumping or (if there is an "old fogey" class) racing with.

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It’s true about the plastics. I recently started driving my 1984 grasshopper this year too. And I did break the chassis but when I searched eBay I was able to buy replacement chassis for US$16 so I bought two. I also bought one body for bashing and restored the 84 body to shelf queen status. 
P0RuEjS.jpg

 With a bashing chassis and a spare and a bashing body I feel like my grasshopper can take on the world!!

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Yeah the battery I found that fits nice is iMah 3000 NiMH. Keep In mind there are better batteries out there. But find me one that fits this good and I’ll be a buyer. I also went with the hobby wing 1060 speed control for US$20. I do feel like it’s garbage but it works fine 95% time and works way better than the manual speed control and it’s only 20 dollars. Good luck and here I am again taking on the world with my new chassis & body!!

NxjIpUn.jpg

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Personally, I would clean up the original, install new ball bearings and tires, buy a battery and take it out here and there. Also, buy a new one for the kids to beat on.

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Based om my personal experiences and those of many on here, I reckon you'll get your original GH running and very quickly decide you want it to be faster (see - you already want a bigger motor! You're on the slippery slope already! ;) ) which will mean better electrics, bearings, tyres, shocks and before you know it there's nothing left of the original and it's cost you twice as much as a new re-release would have.

If you look on Fusion Hobbies for example, you could get a Neo Fighter Buggy for £112 including bearings, which is only £24 more than a re-re Grasshopper - but is like light and day in terms of drivability and upgradability (trust me, you will start upgrading very soon - just hope you like blue anodising) and get yourself a Flysky transmitter/receiver for not a lot and off you go. 

That leaves you free to restore and look after your old Grasshopper and keep it looking lovely. As Terry said, your chassis looks really nice and I reckon the body just needs some gentle cleaning and polishing and would come up a treat. Grab a new set of tyres and you've got a shelf queen worthy of any self respecting shelf. :) 

From someone who restored a beloved childhood car, spending a small fortune in the process and then promptly had the electrics go nuts and plough straight into a kerb, crying uncontrollably isn't a great look for any grown man, so to me this makes sense and preserves dignity, which will be very useful when you have to explain that you aren't playing with toy cars to those that don't understand :) 

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8 hours ago, mike in pa said:

Personally, I would clean up the original, install new ball bearings and tires, buy a battery and take it out here and there. Also, buy a new one for the kids to beat on.

+1 on ^^^^this^^^^

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Thank you for all the advice and opinions.  It is really appreciated.  Special thanks to Exit13 for the specific Grasshopper support.

I have decided to do two things:

Restore the Grasshopper and get it running again.  It will not see too much heavy use I suspect but it'll be great to have it as a runner again.  My two boys will not be allowed anywhere near it! :D

As per Jonboy1's post I am going to pick up a new entry level buggy for the boys (and me!) to enjoy building and running together.  The Neo Fighter looks like a great option out of the box and for upgrading so I suspect I'll go down that route.  

Will update with a few pictures when I get the parts and get to work.

Cheers

 

 

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On 3/12/2021 at 11:38 AM, Cambo6 said:

Thank you for all the advice and opinions.  It is really appreciated.  Special thanks to Exit13 for the specific Grasshopper support.

I have decided to do two things:

Restore the Grasshopper and get it running again.  It will not see too much heavy use I suspect but it'll be great to have it as a runner again.  My two boys will not be allowed anywhere near it! :D

As per Jonboy1's post I am going to pick up a new entry level buggy for the boys (and me!) to enjoy building and running together.  The Neo Fighter looks like a great option out of the box and for upgrading so I suspect I'll go down that route.  

Will update with a few pictures when I get the parts and get to work.

Cheers

 

 

This sounds like a great plan overall. 
To me “light runner “ is always the best way to restore a vintage toy/RC. I appreciate making something old new again , but I hate seeing items that could work just sit. 

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