After restoring a few shelf queens CATS I thought it would be nice to do a CAT I could actually drive and perhaps enter in some vintage races. The criteria for this particular build was to not limit it to any purist vintage ideology rather a robust, functional and perhaps my version of the ultimate CAT. The search began for a low mileage model; it did not bother me whether it was a Procat or a normal CAT as long as it was reasonably complete. Imagine my luck when I saw Raul Garcia’s VONATS winning Procat for sale, a deal was quickly made and the car was on the way to Australia. For those that do not know, Raul is a Team Schumacher driver so his skills are right up there but the work that went into making the CAT a formidable vintage runner is something else too. Lots of careful thinking and engineering went into this car especially in addressing some of the weaknesses of the CAT. I had previously been following some of the modifications Raul had done to the car but after seeing his run in the VONATS on youtube I was sold….what a rocket!
The car as I received it
The car today!
Now I already had in mind what I wanted to do with my build, the dilemma was to preserve it as is or do I go ahead with the build? Most of the job was already done by Raul which was probably the more critical part of the build (robustness and functionality of the drive train). So the main reason for this route I took was the fact that I really like the looks of the original CATs….form over function perhaps? There was no way the standard ProCat chassis would fit under the original CAT shell so the decision was to go for Fibrelyte’s Carbon chassis for the XLS. Who could say no to some carbon goodness in their cars?
The list of mods include,
Trinity machine diff pulley at the front
Ceramic diff balls (f&r)
Bosscat front hubs
Lunsford turnbuckles all round
RPM ball connectors
Custom lay shaft with alloy pulleys
JC racing wheels
Bosscat rear Diff
Bosscat rear suspension plates
Alloy belt tensioners
Slipper clutch (I think this is a Schumacher option anyone knows?)
Traxxas Rulon pegs
Buds main belt (Orange)
Buds wing mount
Custom carbon steering arm
Fibrelyte carbon chassis and top plate
New bearings and trust bearings
Rear end
Front end
The eagle eye Schumacher enthusiast may recognize the shocks are different to that of the standard shocks. Now I may be wrong but I am pretty certain this was a Procat SE (the model between the std Procat and the Bosscat) at one stage in its life. I checked with Raul and he said that the shocks were standard and another tell tale sign were the motor plates which were black anodised before. I have not decided which side I would run the servo and may still change it to how it was orginally on the Procat. This was probably one of the most satisfying build to date everything is so smooth and free. It is by no means finished yet but it is pretty darn close to it......thanks for dropping by.
I have not driven in rc for sometime now let alone an EP buggy. I have plans to go for an overseas trip early Aug so perhaps later in the year (maybe when it is not so wet 
