AYK Pro Radiant
Posted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:02 pm
Well after lusting after the Pro Radiant bitd, I decided to have a go at sourcing one and so posted a wanted ad on RC10talk to see what might come up, if anything. I had looked over the Bay and seen a few had been sold in the past 18 months, in various states of disrepair. I already knew they didn’t come up for sale very often, and when they do they demand really high prices. I never saw one in the UK back when I was racing, so I wasn’t expecting too much.
To be contacted within a few hours of posting then, was quite a surprise! Best of all it was somebody who was considering selling a NIB and complete Pro Radiant kit, even including the instructions, racing tip sheets and original decals. I was surprised to see the racing sheets being dated from 1988, one from August and one from December, so I guess these date the kit pretty well.
I gave it a bit of thought and made an offer, which was thankfully accepted, so I now had my hands on a beautiful Pro Radiant which I could not wait to get building. I am not really a collector of ‘shelf’ cars… my hobby is racing, so this car will get used. I know I will take some value out of it just by building it, let along using it, but to me that is what it is there for.
I then managed to contact Steve Dunn – one of the brothers who made the Pro Radiant what it is, and threw a load of questions at him to see if he would be able to help me with some of the modifications he used and pioneered back then to make these cars really perform. He was very helpful and gave me a load of feedback. I set about sourcing some of the parts he suggested, including a CF saddle pack set-up, and also a spare pair of front upper wishbones.
I wanted the wishbones to enable me to carry out the Dunn’s front camber modification as was seen on all of their race cars, which involved cutting and splicing those rare and expensive orange wishbones using a pair of Losi turnbuckles on each side. Again, after just a few hours of hunting a complete set of the plastic kit items appeared before me online. I couldn’t believe my luck, so I now have a new kit and a complete set of spare wishbones, gearbox housings and various other plastic items as spares…. Ready for racing breakages! I am amazed at what I have managed to source in such a short space of time. Still looking for a saddle pack chassis though - can anybody help?
Once the kit is built I will add the front and rear roll-bars as per the Dunn mods, and I will also use their additional front chain idler which when combined with a repositioned rear idler served to eliminate the chain coming off the front gearbox sprocket during hard landings.
I will retain the original shell in the packet, and will instead go for a repro Boost shell which is what the Dunn brothers used bitd when using the saddle pack chassis conversion.
Although the original gold wheels now sell for up to $300 (!) when in mint condition, I must admit I don’t really like them. Back when we were racing we used to turn our own alloy rims for all of my cars, so we will do the same here and therefore can also keep the valuable originals in the box. I have also been lucky enough to stumble across a brand new black set of original Boost rims so they will get used also.
I still can’t get over the prices for everything associated with these cars. I knew they were rare, even back then… I wonder how many were actually sold and how many survive today? I think I only know of one still being actively raced in the Vintage series over in the UK.
One of the best looking and most distinctive and striking looking vintage cars in my opinion. Anyway – some pictures of the kit!
To be contacted within a few hours of posting then, was quite a surprise! Best of all it was somebody who was considering selling a NIB and complete Pro Radiant kit, even including the instructions, racing tip sheets and original decals. I was surprised to see the racing sheets being dated from 1988, one from August and one from December, so I guess these date the kit pretty well.
I gave it a bit of thought and made an offer, which was thankfully accepted, so I now had my hands on a beautiful Pro Radiant which I could not wait to get building. I am not really a collector of ‘shelf’ cars… my hobby is racing, so this car will get used. I know I will take some value out of it just by building it, let along using it, but to me that is what it is there for.
I then managed to contact Steve Dunn – one of the brothers who made the Pro Radiant what it is, and threw a load of questions at him to see if he would be able to help me with some of the modifications he used and pioneered back then to make these cars really perform. He was very helpful and gave me a load of feedback. I set about sourcing some of the parts he suggested, including a CF saddle pack set-up, and also a spare pair of front upper wishbones.
I wanted the wishbones to enable me to carry out the Dunn’s front camber modification as was seen on all of their race cars, which involved cutting and splicing those rare and expensive orange wishbones using a pair of Losi turnbuckles on each side. Again, after just a few hours of hunting a complete set of the plastic kit items appeared before me online. I couldn’t believe my luck, so I now have a new kit and a complete set of spare wishbones, gearbox housings and various other plastic items as spares…. Ready for racing breakages! I am amazed at what I have managed to source in such a short space of time. Still looking for a saddle pack chassis though - can anybody help?
Once the kit is built I will add the front and rear roll-bars as per the Dunn mods, and I will also use their additional front chain idler which when combined with a repositioned rear idler served to eliminate the chain coming off the front gearbox sprocket during hard landings.
I will retain the original shell in the packet, and will instead go for a repro Boost shell which is what the Dunn brothers used bitd when using the saddle pack chassis conversion.
Although the original gold wheels now sell for up to $300 (!) when in mint condition, I must admit I don’t really like them. Back when we were racing we used to turn our own alloy rims for all of my cars, so we will do the same here and therefore can also keep the valuable originals in the box. I have also been lucky enough to stumble across a brand new black set of original Boost rims so they will get used also.
I still can’t get over the prices for everything associated with these cars. I knew they were rare, even back then… I wonder how many were actually sold and how many survive today? I think I only know of one still being actively raced in the Vintage series over in the UK.
One of the best looking and most distinctive and striking looking vintage cars in my opinion. Anyway – some pictures of the kit!
