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Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 9:38 am
by Mad Racer
The Turbo Optima was my first proper racing buggy. ( After a few Tamiya's)
So i got this sorry T/Optima and stripped it down totally. Cleaned & hand polished all the Alloy. Rebuilt the drive train with new internals. Painted up a new Re po body set.
Added some period correct Alloy wheels with Tamiya Spike studded tires . A new Le Mans motor was sourced. New sway Bar set.
Not 100% shelf queen but i love the clean looks of it.
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 2:40 pm
by Coelacanth
Nice resto, Mark...how about some more pics showing off the polished aluminum? You gotta showcase the results of all that elbow-grease & hard work!
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 3:11 pm
by slow_jun
Kinda brings back the memories, had one just like that,was given to me by my high school pal. Had to sell it to fund my mid se then. Those were the days...
Nice rig...looks expensive
cant afford me one of those now...kyosho is a bit pricey nowadays...
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sat Sep 24, 2011 4:46 pm
by GJW
one of your nicest, still not sure about the wheel's. is she coming out for a run on saturaday?
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2011 10:27 am
by breck
Man I love these buggies!! Great job on the restore
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:01 pm
by Mad Racer
Thanks Guys.
I'm not sure about the wheels too. But they are period correct.
No Gary this is my shelfer . I do use the Body shell on my runner chassis which has the belt drive conversion.
It did take a very long time to hand buff the alloy i must say. One day i will buy a buffer.
Prices are slowly going up on these i think.
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 10:18 pm
by Lowgear
What wheels are those? They look like the Phoenix ones but the holes appear to be slightly different.
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 8:27 pm
by caesar
Love this car....
My first real rc car was a Turbo Optima, unfortunately it's life ended when the mechanical speed control jammed and was run over by a mobile mechanic van.
This car is definitely on my short list of wanted cars.
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:56 am
by madweazl
Any pictures of the restoration process?
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2011 12:27 pm
by Coelacanth
madweazl wrote:Any pictures of the restoration process?
This thread covers a resto of my original Optima that I bought new back in the mid-80's, and upgraded with the Gold Celebration chassis, shocks, sideguards, motor guard, and pretty much everything else to make it a gold Turbo Optima.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=16938
Re: Turbo Optima/ Shelf Queen.
Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2011 11:18 am
by Mad Racer
No Sorry didn't bother to take pics of the transformation .
It was in a very sorry state.
It actually started life as a Optima Pro.