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I was finally able to run this thing today for the first time, and it was really nice. I had to mix and match some parts from other cars in order to get proper length tie rods in front, and I temporarily stole the rear shocks (which have very little oil and improper springs) from the Optima I just b...

What are your plans for a motor? I'd think something between a 13.5T and a 10T would be good, and you can dial down the punch if necessary. Running tall, heavy tires means the motor will need to work a bit harder to spin them, which you'll be freeing the stress up a bit by down-sizing the pinion to...

That looks mean doesn't it? Nice job. I've been thinking of building something similar, but I'll base it on a 4wd chassis. Trick is that I have really nice Robbe Planeta 500 motor with integrated planetary gearbox that (from memory) is about 3.7:1 ratio. I used this in a 2m electric soarer many yea...

I think I have all of these parts except for the tires, which seem always to rot and cave in on these for some reason. Actually, I have an entire Big Brute chassis that I'm never going to do anything with. PM me if you are interested and maybe we can work something out.

This car carries a lot of clues that a previous owner was not very mechanically inclined, but I think that may have been what saved it. Maybe he couldn't deal with the maintenance and lost interest, then it sat in a box for 27 years until getting thrown on Ebay. It's too bad some parts got lost alon...

Had a run on my track yesterday, soon there'll be two, hopefully more to follow. http://youtu.be/oSFC90xOfQ4 This video makes the handling and jumping attitude look to be not as far off from a modern buggy as one might expect. The Scorpion is from before my time (I am an original-Ultima era guy), b...

Thanks guys!

Is the metal final pinion a Turbo part?

I took a closer look at the rear gearbox and it is the correct belt drive conversion one, however the idler is missing. I think this is something I can make though.

I've always had "a thing" for rear-motored Optimas for some reason, but have never owned one until now. Some of you may have watched an idiot pay too much for an incomplete Turbo Optima chassis recently on Ebay...That guy was me. I figure that the belt drive conversion, gold shocks, sway b...

Thanks for the links.

Looks like I'll be bustin' out the Greased Lightning to remove some anodizing...

Are those Bullet Racing Products narrow front wheels on the white MID?

BTW, a bit of Comet powder on a wet washcloth works pretty great to get old Optima wheels white again.

I haven't run it yet. I'm trying to find some turnbuckles and rear shocks.

Anyone know where to buy turnbuckles in various lengths?

Well, something disappointing happened. I went to dink around with the Crawltima some more and noticed that both of the front wheels had self-distructed in the following manner (this car has not been run yet): http://www.mcdonaldindustries.com/james/Broken%20wheel%202.jpg http://www.mcdonaldindustri...

If they end up re-re-ing the original Optima, do you guys think they'll make it belt drive?

I've always been sorta fascinated by these. How are they to run?