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Wheels that have flanged bearings on either side follow the same principle. As long as the hole through the middle is drilled straight, flanged bearings on either side allow the wheel to slide onto the axle perfectly, regardless of the space between the bearings. That's essentially what I did to get a rare set of front aluminum wheels to mount on my OptiMutt car. The wheels were machined with recesses for a Standard/American bearing diameter, but I wanted to use Metric as everything else on the Kyoshos are Metric. So I used a drill-press to open up the holes to 8mm (I believe), drilled straight through. Then all I had to do was insert a 5 x 8mm flanged bearing on either side and slip the wheel onto the 5mm axle. Smooth as silk, they practically spin forever.

I popped the flanged bearings into the center gear and they fit well. Though there is a larger-than-I-thought gap in between the bearings inside the gear. But, if Mr. ED and Coelacanth say not to mind the gap, then I won't!

Here you can see how much taller the original bushing + 2 washers are than the 2 bearings stacked. I had to reuse the o-ring to keep the bearings in place.


Now more waiting...my new charger didn't come with XT60 or HXT connectors to charge anything so I'm waiting on a cable...waiting...
I supposed I can build my own by destroying one of the cables it did bring...

Nevermind the gap; the gap won't matter because the bearings on either end will carry the load of the gear spinning on the shaft, without moving inside the gap. The purpose of the spacer is when using non-flanged bushings or bearings, they can slip in and out of that gap. The bushing prevents them from doing this. With flanged bearings that won't slip inside, it's a non-issue.

It's done!
15T Brushed / 2S LiPo / ESC / Low Voltage Alarm


This thing is crazy fast!!!
Good thing I ordered that extra set of ball ends. 3 old ones cracked open when I rolled it.


Questions...
How do I lower the center of gravity? The shocks are already attached at the top-most holes of the tower and outer-most holes on the arm. It looks like I can shorten the shocks a little bit more by turning the shock end a few more times; but not much.

I'm reluctant to tighten these shock ends down more because I don't have extra and they're probably just as dry rotted as the other ball ends. I'm going to boil them as suggested, but if they're too far gone, is W5015 the part number I need? How about these? http://store.rc4wd.com/Aluminum-Mini-M3-Rod-End-with-Steel-Ball-1_p_637.html

I really don't want to pay an arm and leg for vintage golds (especially if I wreck one of these). Do any cheap modern shocks fit? Like the GPM stuff on AsiaTees?

I've never had an ESC before. I notice on this HiForce-320A, when I'm rolling backwards, I have to wait for the car to come to a complete stop before it lets me go forward again. Is this normal operation? FYI, I had to reverse the connections on the motor because it was spinning backwards.

Thanks again! This thing is so much fun!

DePingus wrote:It's done!
I've never had an ESC before. I notice on this HiForce-320A, when I'm rolling backwards, I have to wait for the car to come to a complete stop before it lets me go forward again. Is this normal operation?

Looking good, glad you're having fun with the restoration & modding! Most ESCs have an option to adjust reverse lockout, it's usually in the "Brake Reverse Type" section of your manual and ESC settings. For example with my Leopard Toro 60A ESC, I have the following options:

-Reverse Lockout (default): allow use of reverse only after ESC senses 2 seconds of neutral throttle (2 seconds is a long time)

-Forward/Brake Only: No reverse function

-Forward/Brake/Reverse: Reverse or forward is accessible at any time after the ESC brakes to zero motor RPM.

The last option is what you'll probably want to choose. It's still safe because the motor RPM will need to be zero before it can switch to forward or reverse, but you don't have to wait 2 seconds AFTER it goes to zero RPM.

Lowering: cut some higher shocktowers or/and put some O-rings under the piston inside the shock to reduce the travel and full-out length of the shock. You could also try stiffer and shorter springs. But first of all: those plastic black rings that are near the top ofyour shock and hold the spring in place. Make those go as high as posssible. Those are you ride-height adjusters
ESC: this is not normal. The delay is supposed to happen from FWD to reverse. Not from reverse to FWD. You need to switch the motorleads back and reverse the throttle (channel) on your radio. That way the throttle response will be correct and you can go from brake/reverse direct into FWD.

Thanks for the replies. I couldn't find a manual for the ESC. But I was able to discern that if I double tap the trigger I can get it to accelerate FWD while the car is still rolling in REV. I got the idea from the Atomik ESC manual. I'll switch the motor leads back to normal and flip the switch on the radio.

I assume these are the black rings you're talking about.

I've seen adjustable shock collars out there, but these are not them. The just sit there butted up against those little plastic nubs on the shock body. I had about another 5 turns on the shock end to go. So I shorted them that way and it actually made a difference.

I also learned that if I throttle hard FWD while rolling in REV I can do wheelies on asphalt!!!

Cut those hard tabs and your car will drop to a more suitable drive height.

And yes it will do wheelies, but it's not a great idea if you love your gears

and that the gears are not always cheap.

Thanks for the advice. I'll take it easy on the gears!

Regarding the underneath of your car. Kelron (what the chassis is made of) is fairly hard to scratch (kinda of slippery feeling too) yet is pretty flexible. it would take alot more of a beating than say an aluminum or graphite chassis before it showed any signs of wear. (at least imo)

This was an awesome post to find! I just resurected an Ultima II that was given to me. I'm deciding if I'll convert it to brushless. Right now its got a trinity monster motor, a hobbywing 1060 esc, running futaba radio and servo. I'll snap some pics of it later to add here. As well as another link to the Ultima II manual I found online, so there is more than one live link.