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Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:43 am
by Lavigna
This is a Kyosho FW04 Superten w/ an OS FS 4 cycle engine. It's owned by my brother in law. It has been sitting for a very long time, and he finally gave it to me to do a rebuild. I don't know much about the Superten series, but I have been doing a lot of research over the last couple of weeks. This example, although very dirty and grimy, has a lot of nice upgrades, and seems in very nice condition underneath the dirt. I have never owned/operated a RC 4 cycle engine. I am excited to hear it run.

I have always thought the Superten was a great looking car. I love the staggered wheels & tires. The most obvious thing this car needs is new rubber.

Here are pictures showing the condition I received it. The tear down has begun. Can anyone tell me what chassis this car has. In all the searching I have done online, I have not seen another example like it. Any help and suggestions are welcome. I have a lot more questions on the car, but will bring those up as I get to them in the rebuild.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 4:31 am
by EvolutionRevolution
Isn't the chassis the optional Kyosho hardened aluminium chassis? Should have "Kyosho" on it somewhere... Otherwise, various manufacturers made similar chassis, gold ano means it could be made by Cross (who made a lot of option parts for this and other Kyosho cars).

Hard bits for this chassis are the wheels and tires. The tires are shared with other Kyosho "big" 1/10 cars, but the wheels are unique to the FW-04 and very, very hard to find for a decent price these days.

Another problem are suitable bodies. Those for the FW-03 are too wide; the FW-04 uses 220 mm wide bodies.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2018 9:17 pm
by klavy69
Nice!

even nicer is the 4 stroker! I've always wanted one to run myself and wished I had acted when nitro was the in thing. Can't say I've ever seen one on a touring car though...keep updates coming please :wink:

Todd

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Tue Apr 17, 2018 6:48 am
by NomadRacer
Very cool! That would be a rebuild I'd love to do.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:40 pm
by Incredible_Serious
lavigna wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:43 am The most obvious thing this car needs is new rubber.
Hey mate, was going through some stuff to put up for sale, and found a New In Pack set of Kyosho 92684-30 K-ZERO Wide Slick Tire #30. Would they be of use to you? Only wheels I have that might fit them is a set of Tamiya 1:8 TGX Porsche 911 GT1 rear wheels.... but I've never taken the tyres out of the pack to check.

Let me know if you need a photo....


Alex

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 2:37 pm
by Lavigna
Incredible_Serious wrote: Sat Apr 28, 2018 10:40 pm
lavigna wrote: Sun Apr 15, 2018 3:43 am The most obvious thing this car needs is new rubber. Please let me know if you have tires available.
Hey mate, was going through some stuff to put up for sale, and found a New In Pack set of Kyosho 92684-30 K-ZERO Wide Slick Tire #30. Would they be of use to you? Only wheels I have that might fit them is a set of Tamiya 1:8 TGX Porsche 911 GT1 rear wheels.... but I've never taken the tyres out of the pack to check.

Let me know if you need a photo....


Alex
Alex,

I believe that is the correct size for the rear. I am sending you a PM. Thanks.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Wed Jan 23, 2019 1:23 am
by Lavigna
I have finally started this rebuild. I wanted to finish my Kyosho XRT build first, but now I should be able to focus on this.

I have managed to find a few wanted parts, but I still have a pretty long list of parts I am hunting.

Disassembly has gone quick, and I was pleasantly surprised by the condition of everything. I also found some hidden upgrades, like coated aluminum differential housings and internals.

Thanks previously to Alex, I have a new pair (not pictured) of rear tires. I am still looking for a front set #92683.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 8:58 pm
by Lavigna
This is the condition of the fuel tank after a quick cleaning. It is yellowed, and has several stress marks.

Does anyone know if the hydrogen peroxide whitening treatment would work on this material? Or any other ideas on bringing the color back closer to what it was originally?

If anyone knows where a new fuel tank is available, please let me know. Thanks.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:33 am
by Lavigna
Well, the day after my last post I found this NIP fuel tank. I'm pretty stoked because after a year of looking at Superten parts, I have never seen a FW04 fuel tank come up for sale, especially NIP!

There's a pretty drastic difference between the whiteness of the two. I never would have got the old tank to look half as good.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Fri Feb 08, 2019 12:21 pm
by coxbros1
Coolest nitro on road i've seen. That 4 stroke and fan!

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Wed May 01, 2019 11:04 pm
by Lavigna
Work is back on track with this build. I have a few choice parts on the way for it as well. What was originally going to be a simple rebuild has ramped up to a pro level build full of additional upgrades. More to come on this.

The chassis, which I found out is made by CROSS, had some scratches on the bottom. I managed to sand and polish them out. I plan on having the chassis re-anodized.

The factory finish on the exhaust pipe was looking pretty bad. It's a very rare unit made by FORM. I stripped the wrinkle paint and gave it a raw satin finish. I am not sure what finish or color I will settle on for it.

I tore down the engine and cleaned and surfaced all parts. I will be swapping out a few pieces on the engine. I am waiting on those parts before I can rebuild. This engine has amazing quality. Very impressive unit.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Wed May 08, 2019 3:09 am
by Lavigna
Uh Oh! Look what followed me home today!

Another FW04 Superten. This unit doesn't have the 4 cycle engine, but it appears to be hardly used. I will likely be swapping some of the parts from this one as I rebuild both.

I'm excited about the body as well. It should look great once painted and mounted.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2022 7:17 pm
by Lavigna
I have been hunting parts for this build for the past few years. I recently found these uber rare Five Stars lower arms. Many thanks to John Cook for all his help in finding many of these pieces.

The gold Cross drives (second pair not shown) are also a big find. Once I finally get some parts anodized, I should be able to actually start building.

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 9:21 pm
by Lavigna
I had a go at modifying the upper front arms. I cut out the rib and added a carbon fiber stiffener. I just wanted to do something for a different look. Thoughts?

Re: Kyosho Superten FW04 - Rebuild

Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 10:44 am
by radioactivity
I really like the contrast of the CF.
You have an excellent blend from original finish to the completed part. Very nice OEM appearance.

I've always had some difficulty in trying to get a nice finish on parts (nylon ish) after modding.
The flat/satin look is spot on. Media blasting?
And, will you or did you bond the two pieces or is it cosmetic?
The devil is in the details....

Chuck