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Robert5000

Kyosho Gallop Mk2 as a vintage racer?

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Knowing next to nothing about Kyosho except that I love their re releases I need some of your collective wisdom. 

I've been fascinated by the Gallop Mk2 for years and I currently have a NIB on its way to me. What I'd like to do is to use it as a vintage racer. Is this feasible? I'm not looking to be competitive on any scale, I'm just after enjoyment. 

Will any parts from the re released Optima or Turbo Optima fit the Gallop, or am I destined to pour money into ebay when something inevitably breaks? 

Any insight or wild guess is highly appreciated! 

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I have a Progress (sister model with Lexan body) that I bought last year and have been restoring. Haven't had a chance to run it yet, but I'm itching to find out how it drives. It seems reasonably robust, but I would worry about scarcity of parts if something does break. The Optima was a clean-sheet-of-paper new design and doesn't share any parts with the Progress/Gallop, except maybe the chain.

The tires are also odd-sized; the wheels are different diameter front and rear, so I'm not sure where you'd find replacement tires. Scorpion re-release rear wheels should work, but the fronts have a one-way bearing in the hub (at least on the Progress, not sure if they changed that for the Gallop), so I don't know what other wheels would fit the front.

Dynamically, I think it's probably pretty good; the suspension is stiff by modern standards, but it has a lot less slop than comtemporary Tamiya cars. Four wheel steering should make it turn better than a Hotshot, but it's probably not as nimble as an Optima. The battery sits high in the chassis too, which makes for a high CG. I would be careful of traction-rolling it.

I don't know how well it would fare in vintage racing, but it does make me wish there was an "exhibition class" at vintage races: no timing or lap counting, just cool old cars going around the track as fast (or as gently) as the drivers see fit, for bragging rights. That would be fun.

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3 hours ago, markbt73 said:

I have a Progress (sister model with Lexan body) that I bought last year and have been restoring. Haven't had a chance to run it yet, but I'm itching to find out how it drives. It seems reasonably robust, but I would worry about scarcity of parts if something does break. The Optima was a clean-sheet-of-paper new design and doesn't share any parts with the Progress/Gallop, except maybe the chain.

The tires are also odd-sized; the wheels are different diameter front and rear, so I'm not sure where you'd find replacement tires. Scorpion re-release rear wheels should work, but the fronts have a one-way bearing in the hub (at least on the Progress, not sure if they changed that for the Gallop), so I don't know what other wheels would fit the front.

Dynamically, I think it's probably pretty good; the suspension is stiff by modern standards, but it has a lot less slop than comtemporary Tamiya cars. Four wheel steering should make it turn better than a Hotshot, but it's probably not as nimble as an Optima. The battery sits high in the chassis too, which makes for a high CG. I would be careful of traction-rolling it.

Knowing myself, particularly my driving skills, it's not a question of if parts break but when. Enthusiasm and poor judgement has a tendency to get the better of me when I'm on the track. So the scarcity of parts will probably become a hurdle pretty fast. Not that I break a lot of parts, but it would only make sense for the hard to source parts to be the first casualty :) 

 

3 hours ago, markbt73 said:

I don't know how well it would fare in vintage racing, but it does make me wish there was an "exhibition class" at vintage races: no timing or lap counting, just cool old cars going around the track as fast (or as gently) as the drivers see fit, for bragging rights. That would be fun.

From my understanding this was how the first Iconic gatherings were in the UK. And something I strive to remember everytime I run my cars, focusing on the kick I get out of running these old things more than how to be faster. Had I been an excellent driver who was competitive I'd probably be chasing all the minimal gains out there though. 

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5 hours ago, markbt73 said:

I have a Progress (sister model with Lexan body) that I bought last year and have been restoring. Haven't had a chance to run it yet, but I'm itching to find out how it drives. It seems reasonably robust, but I would worry about scarcity of parts if something does break. The Optima was a clean-sheet-of-paper new design and doesn't share any parts with the Progress/Gallop, except maybe the chain.

The tires are also odd-sized; the wheels are different diameter front and rear, so I'm not sure where you'd find replacement tires. Scorpion re-release rear wheels should work, but the fronts have a one-way bearing in the hub (at least on the Progress, not sure if they changed that for the Gallop), so I don't know what other wheels would fit the front.

Dynamically, I think it's probably pretty good; the suspension is stiff by modern standards, but it has a lot less slop than comtemporary Tamiya cars. Four wheel steering should make it turn better than a Hotshot, but it's probably not as nimble as an Optima. The battery sits high in the chassis too, which makes for a high CG. I would be careful of traction-rolling it.

I don't know how well it would fare in vintage racing, but it does make me wish there was an "exhibition class" at vintage races: no timing or lap counting, just cool old cars going around the track as fast (or as gently) as the drivers see fit, for bragging rights. That would be fun.

Enjoy that car. I bought one back when Tower was selling it for $79 bucks. I was intrigued by the 4ws at the time but apparently didn't have the patience for it for some reason and sold it. Man I wish I still had it. :(

 

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21 minutes ago, tamiya_1971 said:

Enjoy that car. I bought one back when Tower was selling it for $79 bucks. I was intrigued by the 4ws at the time but apparently didn't have the patience for it for some reason and sold it. Man I wish I still had it. :(

 

I've wnated one ever since I was a kid and the Sears outlet store near my house was selling Cox-branded Gallops for about the same amount. I paid... more than that for this one. Got into a bit of a bidding war, and ended up nabbing it for just under $300. Still a decent deal, though, I think.

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1 hour ago, markbt73 said:

I've wnated one ever since I was a kid and the Sears outlet store near my house was selling Cox-branded Gallops for about the same amount. I paid... more than that for this one. Got into a bit of a bidding war, and ended up nabbing it for just under $300. Still a decent deal, though, I think.

Ah! Mine was the Cox Progress. I would have loved to have seen one at a Sears Outlet. Parents went there frequently when I was a kid. That’s where I saved up and bought the Sears Atari 2600 clone.  
 

$300 seems reasonable to me. 

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