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Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 5:26 am
by CAT3K
I don't know if any of you spotted this poor CAT on ebay a few weeks ago? Well i felt so sorry for it that i bought it.. I'm a sucker for punishment i know..

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The bad taste continued under that shell. The stickers are everywhere!

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I quickly stripped the stickers off to see what i really had to work with.


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Does anyone know if this is an aftermarket chassis or has the previous owner dyed it? Looking at the last picture there appear to be blotches under the belt so i'm thinking dyed but if anyone knows different please let me know.

I've yet to strip the car so no doubt there will be a few horrors yet, but i like a challenge :lol:

Paul.

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 6:23 am
by DerbyDan
Ha ha - I was watching that on the 'bay' - whilst it was super-low price-wise I thought it would be worth a punt, but as it was a pick-up only auction I gave it a miss.

Underneath that hideous bodyshell this ProCat actually looks like it would clean up rather well? - I would suggest that the red on the chassis is paint - I don't think fibreglass takes dye that well?

Glad its gone to a good home - i'm sure you'll do it proud!

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 7:24 am
by GJW
was watching auction also, how much did you pick it up for? looks pretty good :)

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:11 am
by RedScampi
That looks more than decent! That hummer shell would have put me off for sure. I hope you're going to bury it somewhere or toss it in the recycle bin. :)

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 10:47 am
by CAT3K
DerbyDan wrote:Ha ha - I was watching that on the 'bay' - whilst it was super-low price-wise I thought it would be worth a punt, but as it was a pick-up only auction I gave it a miss.

Underneath that hideous bodyshell this ProCat actually looks like it would clean up rather well? - I would suggest that the red on the chassis is paint - I don't think fibreglass takes dye that well?

Glad its gone to a good home - i'm sure you'll do it proud!
He actually posted it to me, took him 2 weeks to get around to it but hey, that's ebay for you. I just gave the chassis a rub with some alcohol wipes and it's been painted yes, hopefully it comes off clean, but the paint on the underside seems to be hiding some superglue.
GJW wrote:was watching auction also, how much did you pick it up for? looks pretty good :)
I ended up winning it for £36.99, so not too bad.
RedScampi wrote:That looks more than decent! That hummer shell would have put me off for sure. I hope you're going to bury it somewhere or toss it in the recycle bin. :)


I hate throwing shells out.. but this one probably deserves a burial at sea :lol:

Paul.

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 11:36 am
by moozo
I also was watching this auction.....as said before glad its gone to a good home

Paul i had a procat with a dyed chassis in pink colour think this was fibreglass looked pretty well really mate

Mick

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:36 pm
by top cat mike
Nice find. I was trying to convince the seller to post worldwide but he just would not change his mind. I am scratching my head over the ae stickers on the wheels.
Can't wait to see the finished product

Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2011 1:43 pm
by kaszal
Not bad for £37. Sure it needs work (yuk) but all the parts look original.

Would like to see it restored in all it's glory!

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:07 am
by carlosblr
I also want to see resurrect ProCAT

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:07 am
by CAT3K
Well i stripped the buggy and mechanically it's perfect :D Everything is in great condition pretty much. Almost everything is stock except the front diff, i'm not sure of it's the original with some fences added or an aftermarket diff.


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The only real issues are cosmetic, a lot of the plastics have silver paint on them but it's coming off pretty easily. The chassis is the biggest problem.. underneath the paint, the chassis seems to have a lot of glue or residue from something and it won't shift.

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I've got a few options i think. Sand it down best i can and make sure it's the underside, or perhaps do the vinyl sheet trick or repaint. I also thought of ordering a new chassis kit from Fibre-lyte but i'd really like it be as stock as possible, so i'll probably hold out for an original chassis if i can't get this one looking good.

Paul.

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 5:15 am
by kaszal
Interesting pulley fences.

Would acetone dissolve the residue on the chassis?

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:44 am
by john73
Hi Paul

Hope you can get the chassis clean because it looks original, no extra holes drilled or the battery trays filed smooth.

As a last resort it might be worth contacting a company the produces fibreglass products and asking what chemicals they could recommend to clean the chassis.

Hope this helps

John

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 5:26 am
by CAT3K
Well i've been hard at the chassis with some very fine sand paper and it did the trick :D

It was hard getting all the touches of red out of the corners, but with some persistance and my dremel (what would i do without it? :lol:) It's done.

Here's are some pics of the progression and the final result

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Next on my "to do" list is the shocks, which are quite badly corroded.

Paul.

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 5:51 am
by Lonestar
In all fairness this is coming up more than decent for a GBP40 CAT!!!! :shock:

Re: Poor CAT

Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:50 am
by CNA75
Lonestar wrote:In all fairness this is coming up more than decent for a GBP40 CAT!!!! :shock:
Have to agree! It's starting to look seriously good...