Ultima Pro Restoration

[terry.sc]

Got to be the worst ever ball diff design, using hard steel plates rather than separate replaceable diff washers. You need part WBD-1 to repair it. Unfortunate that teh rerelease parts don't fit unless you replace the whole gearbox which isn't cheap.

I didn't notice back then but the shock tower is different than stock. Not sure if that was a mistake or supposed to be an improvement. I'll try to use it as is but the link connection holes are a bit different, this will cause some different dynamics, the mounting holes to the bulkhead are correct. Not like I'll be going to any nationals anytime soon.

The top shock mount is the Kyosho standard tower for fitting gold shocks. The lower mount is a third party item, the bottom is shaped like the original Ultima alloy shock tower for the red shocks, made taller to fit gold shocks. The top is shaped like the JG towers, but the lower section is different on a JG mount.

[Swath]

Got to be the worst ever ball diff design, using hard steel plates rather than separate replaceable diff washers. You need part WBD-1 to repair it. Unfortunate that the rerelease parts don't fit unless you replace the whole gearbox which isn't cheap.

Can't argue with that assessment. I was looking at the breakdown drawings of the other designs and thought those with the washers was a great idea. I went with the simple expensive path and just bought the direct replacement.

[Swath]

Most parts will clean up and should be usable. In theory you could look at re-release parts but a lot of them aren't compatible with the original cars. A repro body is available from Boki Racing https://www.bokiracing.com/product-page/boki-kyosho-ultima-body-wing and the stickers from MCI https://mciracing.ca/products/1-10th-kyosho-ultima-pro-decals.

Be aware a lot of old electronics just stop working from just being old, the materials break down and metals corrode, but if you plug them in and they run there's no problem using them. The crystals can be a pain, it is hard to find them these days and as they are delicate so easy to break.

The body in the link you sent is for an Ultima II, not sure how different they are. The Ultima Pro has a mini wing underneath the big wing, that is the only real difference I see.

The stickers link is great, those look very good, I will buy a set from them.

All electronics fired up nicely, everything seems to be working as it should. Of course that was just the electronics alone on the work bench. Heck, even one of the old batteries charged up and functioned for my smoke test.

[terry.sc]

The body in the link you sent is for an Ultima II, not sure how different they are. The Ultima Pro has a mini wing underneath the big wing, that is the only real difference I see.

It's the same body, the mini wing is moulded into the bottom of the rear panel of the body. The Ultima II just cuts the back off the body to clear the speed control resistor.

[Swath]

The body in the link you sent is for an Ultima II, not sure how different they are. The Ultima Pro has a mini wing underneath the big wing, that is the only real difference I see.

It's the same body, the mini wing is moulded into the bottom of the rear panel of the body. The Ultima II just cuts the back off the body to clear the speed control resistor.

Upon closer inspection of the pics I see that now, thanks!

[Swath]

I still have a few critical bits to get in via snail mail. But it is nearing completion. I still have to build the shocks, I just wanted to get a fitment done to verify I have all the parts needed. I still need springs, the rears may be ok but I don't have the short fronts, the ones on there are a set of rears I cut a couple loops out of just for a dry run of things. I have not found a single front tire in my batch of crap! Kind of weird, they got misplaced somewhere, perhaps I need to revisit my shed.

The star tool by itself is the one that came with my kit back in the day. Interesting they still make and include them. The vintage one has no markings, the newer ones identify the size of each end.

Tires from the period:

[juicedcoupe]

Why not a set of modern 2.2 tires and wheels?

These wheels are from the re-re Turbo Scorpion, and the tires are Schumacher. The rears are 12mm hex and the fronts are regular bearing mount.

20241209_012259.jpg (66.49 KiB) Viewed 15 times

20241209_012259.jpg (66.49 KiB) Viewed 15 times

[Swath]

Why not a set of modern 2.2 tires and wheels?

These wheels are from the re-re Turbo Scorpion, and the tires are Schumacher. The rears are 12mm hex and the fronts are regular bearing mount.

20241209_012259.jpg

I'll be running it on a clay indoor track initially so I will put some modern tires on it designed for that. For sitting on the shelf it needs some of the knobbies.