834b Delta-ish racer

[dinglem]

When I first posted up pictures of my bog standard 834b, which i gained in a trade and by my own admission is absolutely lovely, a couple of people pointed out it wouldn't be long until i built another more modified version to race.

Turns out I immediately got the itch, and they were absolutely right.

I have set about gathering up parts for a racer, based around the Delta-converted cars I have seen on here/online. I really like the low-slung rear shock set-ups on them. To top it off a guy who lives very close to me and who raced several 834b's bitd raided his old stash and has put together a pile of his spares for me which pretty much represent the bare bones of a car. Add to that the odds and sods i have gathered and it is almost getting towards the potential for a complete build.

The rims will be switched for some of my Dadmod Yoke alloys that he turned for me back in the 80's so that will open up a host of 2inch tyres for me, plus will look pretty epic too. Bodyshell - undecided at this stage as if i am honest all of the available 834b shells look a bit (a lot!) fugly for my tastes.... i might have to freestyle it if i can find something period correct and suitable but from another manufacturer - something i used to do a lot back in my racing years.

The main items I am missing are the lower seal-type parts of the new front shocks... the bits that fit into the lower barrel. If all else fails i can get some turned-up and threaded to match those in the rears. My father will enjoy that challenge in fact. I am wondering whether the ones from the later purplish 870c shocks may fit? Anybody know?

Then there is the Delta slipper. That is the main bit I would like to locate really. I can do without, but i will be keeping my eyes open so if anybody happens to have one sat idle in their box of goodies then please let me know!

I would also like the Hot Trick rear suspension retainers/wires for the trailing arms, and the final item on my wish-list is the alloy PK upper chain guide/tensioner.

If anybody can help with any of these parts then please do fire me a PM.

Anyway here is what I have so far.....

[shodog]

Some great looking parts in your collection. Parts for those shocks are hard to find.

[dinglem]

Do the shocks have any similarities with the slightly later purple 870c units? They do look quite close... am just wondering whether the missing parts can be scavanged from a purple pair? Pretty sure we can copy the pair of lower screw in parts on the rears to complete the fronts if not.

Having seen the front suspension action on the standard car i am massively keen to run twin shocks on my racer car(!)

[Dadio]

This is going to be epic Fugly body's on 834b's is kind of part of the charm

[1300GT]

What's that hot up at the top of the first picture? The long fluffy black thing?

Looking forward to this build.

[shodog]

I can take a look for some damper parts but they might not be pretty.

[dinglem]

I can take a look for some damper parts but they might not be pretty.

That would be awesome, thank you. Pretty isn't top of my list, as this is to be raced!

[dinglem]

Little progress with the Delta build. I am planning to run this so it is being built to my own specs rather than sticking to what may be considered the norm....

Quick carpet mock-up looks as follows.

I have had some fun trying to locate the correct screw sizes for the rear Delta bar - even with the proper instructions sheet they have been hard to find, in the Uk at least, but i got there in the end - with plenty of help from Mike. I have the upper ones and the correct bearings for the rear trailing arm mounts now. Just waiting on the screws to attach the bar to the main chassis plate now.

The motor i have sourced is quite an early and pretty lovely Kyosho-based slot brush Trinity 'E' (for Enduro.... it still has the ID sticker on the endbell) so a 19Double.

I have a few left-field options hopefully going on to this. I ditched the gold Delta shock idea and am instead going to fit a set of 1986 Brimod shocks all round. Just wanting to give it a UK twist, and i am also considering a set of four rebuildable 1986 Brimod UJ's for it. These may work as the shaft lengths can be adjusted as they come completely apart. Not tried them yet but that is what i am looking at.

Now.... the bodyshell is where things get very interesting. I wanted to find something a little different for this car, and have now sourced a pair of options. Still undecided which to go for.

The first is called a Cheetah Dogfighter and was in fact a 1986 Robbe option. Not sure how much trimming will be required but it is so bad, it is good!! Paint is pretty wild and with a bit of sticker scorcery it should look pretty good.

Option 2 is even more unusual. Over in Europe there was a German guy by the name of Wolfgang Petermann who specialized in making scratch-built cars which he ran at a high level. He was popular at the 86 Euros and famously built a front wheel drive CAT which he entered into the 87 Worlds in Romsey. He always ran the same bodyshell on his cars which i am reliably informed he pulled himself - known as the Petermann 'Wolf'. It looked much like the typical 834b shell, which it was clearly based upon, but he also grafted on a swept-up rear end and added an air scoop on the roof plus a few other subtle changes. Long story short but quite remarkably three of these shells popped up (I think it was in Sweden - can't recall now) and nobody seemed to know what they were - except me! - so i bought two of them and have had the one sprayed up in true day-glo 80's style. I have never seen this shell before apart from in the various Petermann car pictures i have amassed. Anybody else? I am assuming it will make for a good fit on to my build, but again, i haven't actually tried it yet. Both shells arrived from the painters this afternoon.

Still deciding on the esc, but i have several '84-'86 options too pick over, plus i am also hoping to use a set of the rims my father turned bitd.

[dinglem]

Forgot to mention, I am on the look out for a Hot Trick rear plate thingie that attaches to the rear of the gearbox if anybody might be able to help? I am aware it doesn't really work with the stumpy Delta chassis but it will work for what i have planned.....

I'm also after a PK upper chain tensioner, again if anybody happens to have one stuffed down the back of their sofa...?!

[Dadio]

Really liking the Peterman body , love the side window shape , makes it look really different .

[dinglem]

Another massive find was an original Delta slipper clutch, thanks to a very helpful and generous member on this very forum - RC10resto, AKA Brian, who took the time to thoroughly check the item he had available to see it was all intact. In fact he contacted me with the item saying it might be available and was absolutely fabulous throughout the deal. A rare gem and a key part to my build.

ESC-wise, I am considering the Demon options I have available to me, from very early 2C's from 81-82, to an '84 2DH (pretty cool but bulky), to an '85 Demon King or even an '86 ProKing. All will work and fit the timeframe well, so it might come down to the practicalities of actually getting it to fit into the car effectively, and looking right. Other options include a CS Rocket, an early Laser, early Nosram, a super-cool pre-Nosram '86 Marfet complete with additional monster FET heatsinks and the left-field choice is a Victor Engineering all bells and whistles VIC-4A which was their range-topping model. I am struggling to find accurate dating info on the Victor however, although I have seen them fitted to early RC10's. The Classic-RC site states a release date of 1985 which would certainly work. Shodog would have been the man to ask... I have found an old post of his which states the paperwork which came with his Victor was dated October 1985 so that is good enough for me, but i would still like to see said paperwork.

What I am really after for that though is the additional Victor heatsinks if anybody can help? (Again - this is where i would have been messaging shodog as I bet any money he would have been able to assist).

Anyway - plenty of things for me to mull over there.

[dinglem]

Few more parts going on to the mock-up build now, and some subtle trimming and stickering for the Cheetah Dogfighter bodyshell. The rear bar and shocks sit within the bodyshell which is cool, although part of me does think i could dramatically lower it by having them stick through the shell. Undecided. It would certainly look a lot less slab-sided if it was lowered and trimmed, but at the same time the lack of pokey-hole-ness is also kind of nice...

Starting to look a little more like a buggy now, although lots more left to do.