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wolfdogstinkus

Tamiya quick drive buggy upgrade

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Just did a quick conversion on a new Tamiya quick drive buggy.. This was a thundershot originally and it had the bearing-less front wheels..

I fixed that by drilling out the plastic uprights and fitting an axle from the later car that accepts 1150 bearings .

I haven't fixed the wheels, just drilled the upright to accept the 5mm axle..so I can use 1150 bearings on the front..

So this is your starting point,

paXmCwm.jpg

 

Rip all this out,, 

Servo, circuit board, on/off switch and charge port..

ZVSk8BD.jpg

This circuit board was working, so I labeled all the wires and de-soldered them..

This one's from 1988

IvmmpRW.jpg

Fit a standard 1/10 servo with tabs trimmed off. I had to relocate the wire exit on the servo, but I just cut a hole, moved the wires and hot-glued it exiting the bottom plate of the servo.

cwqcXYM.jpg

There are 2 plastic clips to hold the servo in, but I used a blob of hot glue as well, just to make sure it won't come loose without force.

Then we have a 2.4Ghz receiver, and a brushed Hobbywing ESC..  switch has been hot-glued in place, so the old pins on the top tray may need trimming to fit, I believe that they held the original switch in place.

Fcj6MAX.jpg

 

Bottom shot

IPqAHTJ.jpg

 

Need a bigger capacity battery, or another one the same..

You can also see the standard Tamiya servo saver..  (from a Tamiya kit, not from this model)

Servo saver holes drilled out to 3mm to fit the 5mm brass ball connectors. (4x brass ball connectors)

Then some 3mm threaded rod,(I cut a M3 50mm machine screw down to size), these connect the servo to the wheels.

Another servo shot!!!.. I had to trim a few mm off the servo hole to stop it binding.

pfob3Sb.jpg

You can make out the rough edge nearest the brass balls.. not much needed removed, I could have messed around with servo savers for a better fitting one . 

Not touched the gearbox yet, just soldered the wires from the ESC directly to the motor., However there do seem to be some changes to the gearbox in the later cars I have..

 

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1 hour ago, lupogtiboy said:

Nice conversion! I did something similar to a QD Thunder Shot, but fitted an EZRUN brushless motor, this thing is quick! 

46001: QD Thunder Shot from lupogtiboy showroom, EZRUN QD Thundershot - Tamiya RC & Radio Control Cars (tamiyaclub.com)

That's my other thread. Lol.

Except it's a Thunder dragon, I thought this deserved its own thread for someone looking to restore/ modernise an old model .

I have the EZRUN motor in the Thunder dragon, easily over 40mph on 3s lipo, and it hardly ever breaks..

 

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Is that the Ezrun 2030? They are amazingly powerful for the size.

I've been absolutely loving my QD Pumpkin, it is a joy to drive. I will try one of these at some point, I just need to find a reasonably priced  QD Thunder Dragon.

 

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On 5/14/2021 at 8:48 AM, Nikko85 said:

Is that the Ezrun 2030? They are amazingly powerful for the size.

I've been absolutely loving my QD Pumpkin, it is a joy to drive. I will try one of these at some point, I just need to find a reasonably priced  QD Thunder Dragon.

 

Yes, tiny little can ,7800kv and takes 3s without complaining..

Decent little motors..

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Nice, I've just been running mine with the 9.6 V NiMH - lasts for ages and much more top speed than the size and AA batteries would suggest. I do sometimes wonder if there's a 24XX that would work better, but fast enough for me.

I have been looking at the QD buggy series, but I've just picked up two Taiyo 1/14 cars that are getting the hobby grade treatment, as well as a few Radio Shack trucks which I keep getting for silly low money. A nice Thunder Dragon is still on my watch list however - I'd probably stick to the 8 x AA batteries.

 

 

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I've tried a few of the larger 2430/2435 size cans and I can't get them in a high enough KV rating, or ones that handle 3s lipo.

So far, the little 2030 EZRUN motor has out-performed every one I've tried.

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On 6/29/2021 at 4:05 PM, wolfdogstinkus said:

I've tried a few of the larger 2430/2435 size cans and I can't get them in a high enough KV rating, or ones that handle 3s lipo.

So far, the little 2030 EZRUN motor has out-performed every one I've tried.

Great, I've just picked up one for my Tandy Off Roader too. I was debating a larger one, but those 2030 seem to work so well.

Although I've not picked up any QD buggies yet, it will be a Thunder Dragon when I do.

 

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