To restore or not to restore???

[amx73]

What is the thought process on wether or not you chose to restore a car? I recently picked up a nice RC10 of ebay(from lexus-5) and it has alot of cool rare parts, and is very nice condition. If doing a "shelf queen" do you typically source NIP parts, and build it? Me personally, I'm not a" scratch free", "no dirt" kinda R/C guy. I don't beat the piss out of my cars either!

If I want a show piece, should hunt Ebay till an un-opened/never run Team Car comes along, suck it up, and buy it?? Or do I dump a bunch of money into an already nice car to make it perfect?

Jake

PS I also bought 3xJRX2's to build one nice runner, and the rest for parts.

[RedScampi]

I think you have really answered your own question. If you're not particularly worried about shelfers being perfect it would be a waste of money to make them that way. There are a lot of factors to consider: Budget. How much do you have to put into the car? Purpose. what is the car going to be used for? Originality. Anyone can buy up nip parts and bolt them onto an original car but at what point does the car become a different vehicle altogether? If you replace every part on a car, don't you then have a completely different car? And isn't that pile of parts you just took off, actually the original car? But it all boils down to what makes you happy. At what point do you get the most satisfaction out of a car?

[scr8p]

my thought process usually starts with................ do i really need another car i'm never gonna finish?

[amx73]

Then I should just build modified runners. That way I can take them out for a spin...cus if they sit on a shelf, I'm just going to end up selling them on Ebay!

[DerbyDan]

PS I also bought 3xJRX2's to build one nice runner, and the rest for parts.

Cool - post up some pics in the Losi section - I'm loving the JRX2s at the moment

[amx73]

PS I also bought 3xJRX2's to build one nice runner, and the rest for parts.

Cool - post up some pics in the Losi section - I'm loving the JRX2s at the moment

I will!! Only recieved one of the three. Need to look them all over and pick the best parts, and go from there.

[rangerg]

Just like me - if it sits on the shelf too long, I Ebay it. I tend to want to restore another one rather than look at them or even run them.

[amx73]

Just like me - if it sits on the shelf too long, I Ebay it. I tend to want to restore another one rather than look at them or even run them.

Ditto!! I like wrenching on them, not watching them collect dust!!!

[amx73]

I will build 2-3 different cars, JRX2's and RC10's...try them out, and see what I like best.

[tamiyadan]

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[PBR Allstar]

I just can't get into the shelfer thing, I like having racers. Granted, my cars nowadays stay pretty nice as I only ever run them at the track. I do have a couple slashes for me that boy to beat the piss out of.

[amx73]

After doing some thinking, the car I posted pictures of will remain mostly untouched. I'm going to put a Stealth back in it and leave it at that. I will build the RPM car from all new parts! But, use a runner chassis so it won't be a "queeny"!!

Then, like any good old schooler, beat the piss out of it against the B4!!!

[Lonestar]

my thought process usually starts with................ do i really need another car i'm never gonna finish?

Same here... except I'm serious about it... and I still buy the car anyway

My problem is that I buy cars that look ok on pictures, that I can afford, and I think they just need a good cleaning to make decent runners... then I take them apart, and guess what, I find out why I could afford them - they need a full rehaul, and by the time I've replaced all parts with nib ones it's costed me more than buying the right car in the first place.

My advice is: buy the cars you really want to have in your collection, as close as possible to the shape you want them in your "end-state" vision. A full rehaul with new parts always take way more time and money than initially planned, and if the plan was to make a runner out of that project, by the time you've dumped $200 in nib parts and countless hours for it, you don't have the heart to beat the crap out of it on the track anymore and it ends up gathering dust on the shelf...

"vintage" rc cars is a weird process... I've been into it since 1998 when I bought my first Monster Beetles and Samurais with my first salaries, and I still haven't found the sweet spot yet between NiB's, runners, restorations, and the rest.

Paul

[amx73]

I guess I should take the same approach with rc cars as I do with my real cars. Build them nice enough to show on occasion, and enjoy running/driving them. If it breaks, oh well that's why there's tools!

Jake