Turbo Rocky restoration

[Biz73]

I love those tires! That is a sweet looking buggy. I had never seen one before.

[MrChin]

Derek - yep, the Turbo Rocky really did come with some good options. After lots of cleaning I was left with a box of bits, so the reassembly begins...

[MrChin]

I love those tires! That is a sweet looking buggy. I had never seen one before.

I didn't see too many back in the day when they came out - pretty much everyone was racing either Optima Mids or Cat's at my local club at the time. I always liked my original Rocky, it performed pretty well in races for an entry level 4WD...although it had a habit of breaking left knuckle joints. The Turbo's don't come up often on eBay so felt I had to grab it when I saw one. It was never the best looking buggy though, so we'll see how it turns out when I get it finished with the body on, but I think it does have its charm plus a bit of a rarity factor these days. The tires are really hard to get, these are in ok shape, I saw a mint set sell on eBay a while ago for nearly £100 .

[coxbros1]

The exposed sprockets and chain is bitchn!....now i want a Rocky!

[MrChin]

Rear portion complete minus the shocks and 'offered up' to lower chassis plate, but not bolted in yet. The metal chassis was one of the key differences over the standard Rocky, which had a plastic tub chassis. I will post some pics of the Turbo next to my standard Rocky when this one is finished.

[Dadio]

You often hear about the broken steering linkage and you mention it in an early post , could you take some pictures ? I'd like to see how hard it would be to reproduce .

[MrChin]

You often hear about the broken steering linkage and you mention it in an early post , could you take some pictures ? I'd like to see how hard it would be to reproduce .

Hi - some pics below:

[Dadio]

Thanks , the two large holes next to each other are they for large ball studs ?

[MrChin]

Thanks , the two large holes next to each other are they for large ball studs ?

Yes - 2 ball joints for the steering linkage to the wheel knuckle joints. The smaller brass ball joint is for the steering servo arm.

Steering.JPG (21.49 KiB) Viewed 1918 times

Steering.JPG (21.49 KiB) Viewed 1918 times

[MrChin]

Front and rear shocks on, then both ends joined up. The parts on this car are in mostly really good shape, I think it benefited from being under a full size body (the RS200 body the previous owner had on it) rather than the standard buggy style shell. The platinum shocks are in great condition. The bumper lets the rest down a bit, its really scuffed up. Did some eBay hunting and managed to find a NIP one yesterday (was surprised to locate one actually), so hopefully that will arrive and lift the front end appearance. Also spotted a new Optima Mid anodized lower chassis plate so ordered that too as I'm planning on a light refresh for mine.

[Dadio]

Nice progress !
Looks like somebody is already 3d printing those steering linkages https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3d-printed-reproduction-of-RK-5-Kyosho-Rocky-Turbo-Rocky-steering-bellcrank/153820642410?hash=item23d06cbc6a:g:Ba8AAOSwNQReOLps
If it were me I might get one and use it to preserve the original .

[MrChin]

Nice progress !
Looks like somebody is already 3d printing those steering linkages https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3d-printed-reproduction-of-RK-5-Kyosho-Rocky-Turbo-Rocky-steering-bellcrank/153820642410?hash=item23d06cbc6a:g:Ba8AAOSwNQReOLps
If it were me I might get one and use it to preserve the original .

Thats a great find - thanks so much for that!

[MrChin]

Rolling chassis back in one piece now...body is next up

[rcmathguy]

Very nice job restoring this buggy. Fun to watch.

rcmathguy

[coxbros1]

Absolutely perfect!