My first Optima

[Returning_Jim]

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 bars, and metal final pinion make it a reasonable deal though. It needs to be gone through and put into proper fettle, but it's generally in good shape and I'm happy to finally have one of these.

[notarex]

Looks like a great start, PM me a list of what you're missing and I'll see what I've got in my stash if you're interested. It will be nice to have another optima build to follow

Here's a link to the manual, it's been a big help in my builds: http://www.retromodelisme.com/manuel_page/139/turbo-optima-kyosho.html

[keithrc]

Nice buy by the looks of it, interesting how the steering servo is mounted. The front shock tower isn't right though, it shouldn't lean forward like that. The front upper pivots (the pieces that attach to the gearbox and the upper rods attach to) need to swap sides. You've been lucky to get one without damage to the front brace and lower guard.


Keith

[DennisM]

Congrats on Your first Optima -
Regarding the belt conversion, it´s only considered more valuable if it´s the correct conversion rear gearbox with the cutout and the white pulley.

Buying a new original chain and chain sprockets/diffs are more expensive than buying a belt and Optima Mid diffs.
For running purpose, I´d pick the belt conversion, original or not, over the chain any day.

Judging by the wheels, shock mounts, shocks, suspension arms and stabilizers I´d say that Yours were born as a Turbo.
Only "Turbo" thing missing, is the belly protection and perhaps the front UJ´s.

[Returning_Jim]

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.

[rccars4sal]

Your better off paying a bit more for an optima IMO. I just bought 2 turbos, 1 with a belt conversion,, dirt cheap both,, and they are ROUGH. The metal parts on mine are bent, coroded, stripped...but they are both turbo models with gold shocks, sway bars, ball bearings.... It looks like your car is in pretty good shape compared to mine!

[Coelacanth]

That's a pretty nice example there, as others said, you're lucky to find one with the belt conversion, hard final pinion and straight front skidplate, which is almost always bent from front-end collisions. The servo is indeed mounted weird, I wonder if that will even work once the proper top deck, W-brace, chain guides and other stuff is installed correctly. I personally wouldn't want to run the belt (or chain) open like that. As has been pointed out, the front camber links were installed the wrong way, this is why the front shock tower is angled forward. You'll also want to pay close attention to the front C-hubs and steering knuckle installation. The former have left & right side parts and aren't symmetrical; the latter can be accidentally mounted upside-down. Everything will still function but the steering geometry will be off. So pay close attention to that when rebuilding it, as the original owner seems to have made a few installation mistakes.

Buying a new original chain and chain sprockets/diffs are more expensive than buying a belt and Optima Mid diffs.
For running purpose, I´d pick the belt conversion, original or not, over the chain any day.

Actually, I think chains & sprockets are cheap compared to the price of even a single rear Optima Mid belt diff. Have you seen the prices on those lately?? $60+ just for one diff! I have a bag chock full of chain diffs, but relatively few Mid belt diffs...and those I scored in parts car & parts lots. I did find a Mid diff sprocket set a few years ago for $35 plus shipping, and that was just the sprocket halves, not the gears inside...and that was cheap!

I agree that a belt system is much better for a runner/racer, much less maintenance.

You already have the basis for a nice Optima build there. Looking forward to your resto progress.

[Returning_Jim]

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 along the way.

It's funny you mentioned the knuckles might be upside down...They are!

[Coelacanth]

It's funny you mentioned the knuckles might be upside down...They are!

I mentioned it because I made that mistake myself when restoring my original Optima after 20-odd years...

[EvolutionRevolution]

It's funny you mentioned the knuckles might be upside down...They are!

I mentioned it because I made that mistake myself when restoring my original Optima after 20-odd years...

What really doesn't help is that they are actually mounted upside down on some later cars...

[Returning_Jim]

Sorry for no updates on this one. I'd really like to fix this up, because it's one of my "dream cars" in the RC world, but after looking at the cost of everything on Ebay, I'm thinking I might have to sell it on...I don't know that I can afford to do what I want with it.

[Coelacanth]

What do you mean by the "cost of everything"? What all do you need to complete your Optima? If you like, PM me, I can probably help out with stuff like a top deck, W-shaped brace and I might even have chain guide spares. Indeed all of those items can cost quite a bit if bought individually. The car looks pretty complete, otherwise. You shouldn't have to sell your dream car, now that you finally got one.

[notarex]

Make a list of what you need. We can help, seriously.