Poor CAT

[CAT3K]

I don't know if any of you spotted this poor CAT on ebay a few weeks ago? Well i felt so sorry for it that i bought it.. I'm a sucker for punishment i know..





The bad taste continued under that shell. The stickers are everywhere!





I quickly stripped the stickers off to see what i really had to work with.






Does anyone know if this is an aftermarket chassis or has the previous owner dyed it? Looking at the last picture there appear to be blotches under the belt so i'm thinking dyed but if anyone knows different please let me know.

I've yet to strip the car so no doubt there will be a few horrors yet, but i like a challenge

Paul.

[DerbyDan]

Ha ha - I was watching that on the 'bay' - whilst it was super-low price-wise I thought it would be worth a punt, but as it was a pick-up only auction I gave it a miss.

Underneath that hideous bodyshell this ProCat actually looks like it would clean up rather well? - I would suggest that the red on the chassis is paint - I don't think fibreglass takes dye that well?

Glad its gone to a good home - i'm sure you'll do it proud!

[GJW]

was watching auction also, how much did you pick it up for? looks pretty good

[RedScampi]

That looks more than decent! That hummer shell would have put me off for sure. I hope you're going to bury it somewhere or toss it in the recycle bin.

[CAT3K]

Ha ha - I was watching that on the 'bay' - whilst it was super-low price-wise I thought it would be worth a punt, but as it was a pick-up only auction I gave it a miss.

Underneath that hideous bodyshell this ProCat actually looks like it would clean up rather well? - I would suggest that the red on the chassis is paint - I don't think fibreglass takes dye that well?

Glad its gone to a good home - i'm sure you'll do it proud!

He actually posted it to me, took him 2 weeks to get around to it but hey, that's ebay for you. I just gave the chassis a rub with some alcohol wipes and it's been painted yes, hopefully it comes off clean, but the paint on the underside seems to be hiding some superglue.

was watching auction also, how much did you pick it up for? looks pretty good

I ended up winning it for £36.99, so not too bad.

That looks more than decent! That hummer shell would have put me off for sure. I hope you're going to bury it somewhere or toss it in the recycle bin.

I hate throwing shells out.. but this one probably deserves a burial at sea

Paul.

[moozo]

I also was watching this auction.....as said before glad its gone to a good home

Paul i had a procat with a dyed chassis in pink colour think this was fibreglass looked pretty well really mate

Mick

[top cat mike]

Nice find. I was trying to convince the seller to post worldwide but he just would not change his mind. I am scratching my head over the ae stickers on the wheels.
Can't wait to see the finished product

[kaszal]

Not bad for £37. Sure it needs work (yuk) but all the parts look original.

Would like to see it restored in all it's glory!

[carlosblr]

I also want to see resurrect ProCAT

[CAT3K]

Well i stripped the buggy and mechanically it's perfect Everything is in great condition pretty much. Almost everything is stock except the front diff, i'm not sure of it's the original with some fences added or an aftermarket diff.





The only real issues are cosmetic, a lot of the plastics have silver paint on them but it's coming off pretty easily. The chassis is the biggest problem.. underneath the paint, the chassis seems to have a lot of glue or residue from something and it won't shift.



I've got a few options i think. Sand it down best i can and make sure it's the underside, or perhaps do the vinyl sheet trick or repaint. I also thought of ordering a new chassis kit from Fibre-lyte but i'd really like it be as stock as possible, so i'll probably hold out for an original chassis if i can't get this one looking good.

Paul.

[kaszal]

Interesting pulley fences.

Would acetone dissolve the residue on the chassis?

[john73]

Hi Paul

Hope you can get the chassis clean because it looks original, no extra holes drilled or the battery trays filed smooth.

As a last resort it might be worth contacting a company the produces fibreglass products and asking what chemicals they could recommend to clean the chassis.

Hope this helps

John

[CAT3K]

Well i've been hard at the chassis with some very fine sand paper and it did the trick

It was hard getting all the touches of red out of the corners, but with some persistance and my dremel (what would i do without it? ) It's done.

Here's are some pics of the progression and the final result









Next on my "to do" list is the shocks, which are quite badly corroded.

Paul.

[Lonestar]

In all fairness this is coming up more than decent for a GBP40 CAT!!!!

[CNA75]

In all fairness this is coming up more than decent for a GBP40 CAT!!!!

Have to agree! It's starting to look seriously good...