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OlesTA

How to drive a vintage Tamiya?

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Hi

I just restored an original Hornet. It has a mechanical speed controller and everything works great. The only things that is not original is the Battery tray, rear tires and the flysky receiver. 

I just tested it yesterday and it drives well, but what is the best way to stop these vintage models? If i push in reveverse it obviously does not brake, but hits reveverse witch leads to full out of control spinn. 

Any tips? 

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19 minutes ago, OlesTA said:

Hi

I just restored an original Hornet. It has a mechanical speed controller and everything works great. The only things that is not original is the Battery tray, rear tires and the flysky receiver. 

I just tested it yesterday and it drives well, but what is the best way to stop these vintage models? If i push in reveverse it obviously does not brake, but hits reveverse witch leads to full out of control spinn. 

Any tips? 

the only way to really overcome this would to be to fit a modern esc, hobbywing do a really cheap one which would be ideal. i think the model number is a 1060. this would work with your current electronics and motor, and would give you brake, as well as reverse seperatly. 

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/271379/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIyMSejsfd8wIVbvx3Ch3KCAlREAQYASABEgI9AfD_BwE

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Don't brake! :lol:

Even if you put in an ESC (a great improvement for any runner), 2wd cars are still unstable on the brakes.

I think there were some mechanical speed controllers that had a braking circuit back in the day, but would be quite hard to find now.

I remember my first Tamiya, going straught into reverse on the street outside. The tyres did not last long... B)

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35 minutes ago, OlesTA said:

Hi

I just restored an original Hornet. It has a mechanical speed controller and everything works great. The only things that is not original is the Battery tray, rear tires and the flysky receiver. 

I just tested it yesterday and it drives well, but what is the best way to stop these vintage models? If i push in reveverse it obviously does not brake, but hits reveverse witch leads to full out of control spinn. 

Any tips? 

Given that the tires are a primary wear-and-tear item, and the kit never came with an original receiver anyway, your hornet is all completely original, except for the battery tray, which is AWESOME. Give yourself some credit :)

Like @catman79 said, the best way to have braking is to switch the mechanical speed controller with a hobbywing 1060 brushed esc. It will make your throttle a whole lot smoother as well. Good thing about the 1060 is that it comes with all the tamiya connectors installed, so it's pretty much plug and play.

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18 minutes ago, sosidge said:

Don't brake! :lol:

Even if you put in an ESC (a great improvement for any runner), 2wd cars are still unstable on the brakes.

I think there were some mechanical speed controllers that had a braking circuit back in the day, but would be quite hard to find now.

I remember my first Tamiya, going straught into reverse on the street outside. The tyres did not last long... B)

This is it right? I remember the same but it isn't ideal for tyres

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Thanks guys! I have a 1060 in my Tt01 it is really good. I plan to keep this as an original and only drive occationally. My original restored Super Manta Ray also has MSC but as it has 4x4 and runs/breaks much bretter. I was suprised of how difficult RWD was to stop. 

So, in conclution: don't brake! 😅

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39 minutes ago, OlesTA said:

Thanks guys! I have a 1060 in my Tt01 it is really good. I plan to keep this as an original and only drive occationally. My original restored Super Manta Ray also has MSC but as it has 4x4 and runs/breaks much bretter. I was suprised of how difficult RWD was to stop. 

So, in conclution: don't brake! 😅

Try running an old Group C or F103 car on a super tight twisty track !! 😂😂 My old Novak GT7 esc used to have an ABS function for RWD cars and it worked great, it would pulse the breaks but with longer intervals so it wouldn't spin. 

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I have one M38 in a display case with original mechanical speed controller and configuration.  Even so the receiver is 2.4GHz so I don’t accidentally crash due to glitching.

The ones I drive all have modern ESC’s.  

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The best way to drive it is to buy a ReRe and drive that.

If you want to keep driving the vintage, and want to keep using an MSC, you could upgrade to a Tamiya #50054, which has a EMF brake.

Terry

 

 

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It's just a different technique or driving style because there are no brakes. The magnets will slow the motor down naturally, but not as quickly as brakes, so you just have to let off the gas a lot earlier before a corner. And try to resist the urge to pull back and accidentally reverse it.

I'm only comfortable running my vintage MSC cars in wide open areas, and even then I'm a bit wary. Even though the radio is 2.4GHz and there's no glitching, there's always a chance they'll go haywire. If the Rx loses power for any reason, the servos will stay in the last position, which means if the throttle servo is on full tilt, that's where it'll stay until it crashes into something or flips over.

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5 minutes ago, El Gecko said:

It's just a different technique or driving style because there are no brakes. The magnets will slow the motor down naturally, but not as quickly as brakes, so you just have to let off the gas a lot earlier before a corner. And try to resist the urge to pull back and accidentally reverse it.

I'm only comfortable running my vintage MSC cars in wide open areas, and even then I'm a bit wary. Even though the radio is 2.4GHz and there's no glitching, there's always a chance they'll go haywire. If the Rx loses power for any reason, the servos will stay in the last position, which means if the throttle servo is on full tilt, that's where it'll stay until it crashes into something or flips over.

Most 2.4ghz sets will failsafe to neutral, or might even have an adjustable failsafe position. If it goes crazy when you lose signal I'd check the settings.

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5 hours ago, sosidge said:

Most 2.4ghz sets will failsafe to neutral, or might even have an adjustable failsafe position. If it goes crazy when you lose signal I'd check the settings.

On most receivers of any type (2.4GHz, 27MHz, 75MHz, etc), if the Rx loses power, the servos lose power. There is no capacitor in the Rx, so there's no power left in the circuit to return the servos to center. Receiver failsafes are only intended to return to neutral in the event of radio signal loss or LOW battery, and will not function at all if the Rx does not have power.

On an ESC, if there is no power to the Rx or ESC, there is no chance of putting any power to the motor whatsoever. The ESC is the failsafe, since it automatically returns to zero during a power loss. With an ESC, if the Rx loses power, the car will just stop.

With an MSC, if the throttle servo loses power, it is stuck there in that position until power is returned, or until the arm is moved by hand. So if the throttle is pegged at 100%, and the Rx loses power, the servos freeze in their positions and the main motor and battery will stay at 100% until the car crashes into something. Because the Rx and servos have no juice to return to center.

Like when your MSC car is on the bench and you forget that a battery is plugged into it, and you slightly nudge the MSC arm and the car drives off the table :lol:

(even though the Rx was not installed)

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It’s admittedly an old school view but I miss the way old sets occasionally used to ‘twitch’ with signal interference 

It was only noticeable on the steering servo but added an extra frisson of excitement when cornering at speed 😂

All my old cars therefore have period correct, vintage RC and no incidents to date - and we live on the outskirts of a large city before any wag asks if home is Greenland …

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On 10/22/2021 at 10:30 AM, sosidge said:

Most 2.4ghz sets will failsafe to neutral, or might even have an adjustable failsafe position. If it goes crazy when you lose signal I'd check the settings.

Yeah, I was going to say... no meaning running 2.4GHz if no fail safe and completely glitch free.   I use several Spektrum radios (including my current DX5Pro-2021) and an old Futaba (4PKS-R) I run my on-roaders with and never had either of them glitch once..

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Jamming it in reverse was def how we stopped them back in the day lol or coasting down to a sane speed.  I can still see my Blackfoot in my minds eye, the back end ducking down as I hit the gas.  Or my Hornet spinning its rear wheels coming to a stop by jamming it in reverse.

Hah those were the days.

I agree with others get a ESC.   If you want some nice speed pick up a Kyosho 240ST motor on eBay.

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12 hours ago, JeffSpicoli said:

Jamming it in reverse was def how we stopped them back in the day lol or coasting down to a sane speed.  I can still see my Blackfoot in my minds eye, the back end ducking down as I hit the gas.  Or my Hornet spinning its rear wheels coming to a stop by jamming it in reverse.

Yes . I remember this with my first Scorcher to do 180 'handbrake' turns

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Mechanical speed control you dab on reverse or hard reverse then hard lock one way, as it starts to slide opposite lock to stop it doing 180 degrees. Give it a go, very easy.  Non of this perfect straight line braking malarkey.   😉
 

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On 10/22/2021 at 9:39 AM, OlesTA said:

Thanks guys! I have a 1060 in my Tt01 it is really good. I plan to keep this as an original and only drive occationally. My original restored Super Manta Ray also has MSC but as it has 4x4 and runs/breaks much bretter. I was suprised of how difficult RWD was to stop. 

So, in conclution: don't brake! 😅

Yeah, don't bother. Hornets are virtually indestructible and spares are cheap. Alternatively, find a friend with a car and go bashing with them, as that way you can use theirs as a brake.

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On 12/23/2021 at 10:54 PM, JeffSpicoli said:

Jamming it in reverse was def how we stopped them back in the day lol or coasting down to a sane speed.  I can still see my Blackfoot in my minds eye, the back end ducking down as I hit the gas.  Or my Hornet spinning its rear wheels coming to a stop by jamming it in reverse.

Hah those were the days.

I agree with others get a ESC.   If you want some nice speed pick up a Kyosho 240ST motor on eBay.

You have to remove the fuse from the circuit, though, or switching from full forward to full reverse will blow it in fairly short order.

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When I first got my Sand scorcher back in about 82 or 83 slamming it into reverse and doing handbrake turns with it was the way to go. Mind you we also used to take speed bumps flat out to see how far we could jump !

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How to drive a vintage Tamiya? Like you stole it! Look guys these are toys, they are meant to be driven. I rebuilt a King cab for my son, he drives it as a kid should. The smile on his face is worth more than any part. Why the Kingcab and not some Traxxas? To share something just like I had and did at his age.

 

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10 hours ago, GTodd said:

How to drive a vintage Tamiya? Like you stole it! Look guys these are toys, they are meant to be driven. 

A word of warning - older plastics can be brittle. I have an old original Sand Rover, and I snapped the entire front bumper off by picking it up carelessly. Older cars need to be treated a little bit more gently - no big jumps, try to avoid shocks to the drivetrain like suddenly going into reverse at high speed.

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4 hours ago, c64orinoco said:

A word of warning - older plastics can be brittle. I have an old original Sand Rover, and I snapped the entire front bumper off by picking it up carelessly. Older cars need to be treated a little bit more gently - no big jumps, try to avoid shocks to the drivetrain like suddenly going into reverse at high speed.

+1.  How cars were preserved (or just stored in the back of the attic or shed behind all other junk) affect how worn plastic and rubber parts are from just age.

There is a HUGE difference between a NIB 40yr old chassis and one that was built and placed next to a window or non-HVAC controlled shed.. and the chemicals people use to wash the bodies, etc etc.. yikes.  I've seen my share of horribly kept M38's.. but I was able to successfully restore them using various replacement parts.

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Things break, lords knows I’ve broken most of them. Boiling helps restore the plastic. Sure don’t drive the 935 or 934. For the majority of the models out there you can get 3d repros or a rere part.

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