Great Vigor Beagle-Optima Clone ebay find

[tim.sanderson]

front overdrive as standard option - nice. Didn't recall the optima had that... was prolly a $50 kyosho option

I'm 99.99% sure it came standard on the Turbo Optima. (I'm not sure about the first Optima though) When I took mine apart I realized it had it, too. I've never tried it though. I've only ran mine once, and I kept both pulleys on the same sprocket.

[ROH73]

The 18/19 front diff was standard on all the Optimas and Javelin. The belt drive conversion does not have something similar, however.

[Coelacanth]

The 18/19 front diff was standard on all the Optimas and Javelin. The belt drive conversion does not have something similar, however.

What he said.

[sgirouard]

Well I didn't take pictures of the rear tear down, but I will add some before the rebuild. Unfortunately, the final pinion isn't hardened, but it's still in good shape so no complaints.

One thing I forgot was how much fun these were to tear down and rebuild. I like it so much better than my JRX2 or any of the flat chassis cookie cutter design buggies.

[sgirouard]

Okay so Marc was kind enough to provide me with a new chain and 2 dogbones for the Beagle and here's the rebuild.

Had it all laid out and I actually have to give Great Vigor some credit. I just finished rebuilding a Turbo Optima and I'm not a big fan of the kyosho black screws, but I love the buggy. A couple of the components on the Beagle were definitely cheaper, such as the top radio deck (like a circuit board material) and the rear motor guard (thinner gage metal) BUT most of the other components, I found to be a higher quality material than Kyosho's, specifically the screws and how well the chassis rails went together.

The rear came together fairly well but I'm not 100% happy with the drive train. It doesn't feel smooth enough. When I used to race the optima, I had it where you could give the chain a tug and the wheels would spin for close to a minute. This one, not some much. Might have to tear it down again, but I wanted to get this build back up to post the pics.

Here it is coming along.

Like I said, I was really impressed with the chassis rails. They're a much brighter finish and frankly they feel stronger but not heavier than the Optima's. I was tempted on switching them, but I gotta keep the parts on the right buggy LOL.

Sorry for the clarity, my camera isn't great on close ups but here's what I meant about quality. Hardened Brass steering components versus the weaker aluminum on Kyosho's

Here she is put back together with a topless pic. The shocks are exact copies of Kyosho red but in silver...BUT again, the issue of going one step beyond Kyosho, notice the progressive springs on the rear.


Previous owner had a mechanical speed control and obviously had heat issues but the radio plate is still in good shape except for the cigarette burn

Definitely a "Unique" body. Kinda grows on you, like a fungus.




Now the decision. Do I keep her or let her go LOL.

[Coelacanth]

Looking good so far, Scott!