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You nailed it buddy The whole kit doesn't match, but that is definitely the suspension and transmission. So whoever built this, Took this Ra/Car suspension and rearend/trans, put it on this phenolic chassis. with Dynamic wheels and a Taipan engine and then finished by hand forming a one-off aluminum body and exhaust pipe sometime around 1969. You are the man! Thanks for the research. You did say it was an Ra/ Car from the beginning.

So now the question is------Restore and polish------or leave it the %$&# alone and admire the 47 year old patina. The transmission seems to shift smoothly. The engine does not turn over. I'm sure it's gummed up solid. I'll need to disassemble and soak it in something. Acetone should do the trick with no damage. The body doesn't have a scratch on it, but does have some dried decal residue from long gone decals. It does roll ok, but not as free and loose as I would like. The bushings or whatever it has in there could probably use a cleaning and a little oil.

Personally I’d probably use kerosene on the engine
Can’t speak for restore vs patina, but if it were mine I wouldn’t have time for restoration anyway

Ill try the kerosene. Thanks for your help with the research on this. I'm in no rush to do anything with it at the moment. It looks real nice sitting right where it's at. I have a couple projects to wrap up this week before I get around to messing with it.

Those universal joints on the rear axles sure are slick. Would have never thought of it.

Those universals are industry available couplings for motor shafts. They make them for different shaft sizes to drive various machinery. They look like they would work pretty well as long as you don't overdrive them. They do have a limited flex range.

jwscab wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2017 8:06 am Those universals are industry available couplings for motor shafts. They make them for different shaft sizes to drive various machinery. They look like they would work pretty well as long as you don't overdrive them. They do have a limited flex range.

Yeah seems like they'd be prone to "winding" and "un-winding" if, like you said, overdriven.

That car looks awesome. I couldn't keep myself from polishing up that body. Age-old patina notwithstanding, I'm not one to admire years of munk & funk. I prefer something to look more new, like it did WHEN it was new, originally. That's just me, though.

It's hard to believe those little wires for the upper & lower control arms would be up to the task, especially with such a heavy 1/8-scale car. It looks like they'd bend or fold with the smallest impact. The engineering is rudimentary but super-cool. It would be great having that on the shelf, it's a great conversation piece!

I'm with you buddy. I'm sitting here staring at it this morning and thinking the same thing I plan on contacting an rc car museum in southern California today. Hoping to pick their brain a little on restoration.

Romulus isn’t in Cali anymore, he relocated to PA I believe

Is the the same romulus from this forum?

He is on here but rarely posts. Romulus-10

Coelacanth wrote: ↑Tue Oct 31, 2017 11:06 am especially with such a heavy 1/8-scale car.

As the car sits I bet most of the weight is in the wheels and tires. Still doesn't effect a crashing situation though.

Rear tire/wheels are 12.3 oz each and the fronts are 8.1 oz each. If my math is right, that's 2lbs, 8.8 oz total weight for the wheels and tires. It definitely has some unsprung weight.

you might try using a hair dryer to heat up the engine
that some times gets the old caster oil loosened up
marty
get some old leather gloves