Who the h*&@ is Leo?

I was head of the RC Car club in high school when I was a freshman. One day, this guy I knew approached me and said his uncle was selling a monster beetle. I was 15 years old at the time (1995). I always wanted a Blackfoot so when I came across this thing for sale I couldn't pass it up. The next day I met him when his mom picked him up, gave him $40 and walked back to my mom’s Tercel. I went home with a smile on my face and a monster beetle in the trunk.

How you see the shell is how I got it. He came this way from my friends uncle though I did add the striping to the outside and around the hood. I could never bear to actually stripped the body down and repaint it. As you can see, he did a nice job painting lettering it. I would imagine that the names on it are his kids but of course I can't be sure. It did come with all the electronics including a Futaba electronic speed control and Futaba Magnum Junior radio.

I still have electronics (in my sisters Super Hornet) but not in this car any longer. What it does have is 2 Futaba steering servos to assistant steering (equal length tie rods)and a Novak Hammer speed control with the stock white end bell motor. The Hammer, though overkill, has the current adjustment on it for off the line power. I have reduced it so that the motor has less of a load on the gears when the truck is stationary and then full throttle is applied. The receiver is a Tekin. It does now have a CRP front bumper and CRP supports for the Blackfoot body mounts (when it is in Blackfoot Mode).

The car never came with the pin spike tires which I always found odd since it really wasn't well used when I got it.

This car has gone through a number of clear Parma bodies ranging from a Ford Ranger Splash all the way through a Ford Aerostar van body. I do have an original super Blackfoot shell which this car also shares with my Subaru brat. In fact you can see the black foot body mounts still attached to the monster beetle. I find that the best place to store them is in fact on the monster beetle itself. This way there's no way they can get lost and it clears randomness out of my Blackfoot drawer. It did have a recent near death experience on a walk that my wife and I went on near the coast. Here's a link to my long-winded rant:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=71513&hl=

To summarize, I HATE mechanical speed controls.

I do have a set of NOS stock monster beetle decals and was looking at them wondering if I should restore this car but honestly the chassis is in excellent shape and the body looks great so I don't think this car will ever get a restoration. When I do drive it, it's typically with my King Blackfoot. This is one of my favorites to take to the beach with me.

Gopro BeelteCAM:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_bljZUPYPs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tB9xgiOPVag

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s4Djkh0ZQk

(if anyone can teach me how to add a link, i'd really appreciate it)

I did recently completely rebuild the transmission. After 20 years of driving, the differential gears finally decided to make more noise than me in a bad mood. Normally this truck has a silver can motor but I did go through a “put a race prep motor in everything I own” phase and I think that's where most of the wear and tear came from. Before I got my King Blackfoot (I got the KBF when I had a crash with the MB at the track, only to find that spares were almost impossible to find at the time) this was the truck that would race in the truck class at the local track. Unfortunately by the time I got into it, it was mostly dominated by Associated and Losi trucks. The Blackfoot didn't do well but it sure looked good buzzing around the track in a purple flamed Ford Ranger body.

I know there are a lot of Monster Beetle lovers out there. I do find them rather charming and have to say this is been a fantastic car and I'm glad that I've always had it. It's not perfect but that's ok. It has a story to tell.