RC10Talk - The Net's Largest Vintage R/C Community

Has anyone done some kind of hop up on a Tamiya buggy? I'm specifically wondering about swapping out the ESC and putting in a bigger brushless setup.

I was thinking a fast Hot Shot might fun and a fast Sand Scorcher would be fun too.

ive upgraded my buggy champ SRB here
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=15649

threw a slipper in to help with a faster motor, custom modded/made. fits perfect. threw a differential in also. i think it can handle a 17.5 brushless no problem..

hotshot is tough cause the internals are made of plastic... bearings would be needed, but i wouldnt go too fast.

The Hotshot gearboxes are ok with a little extra power but you can forget 5.5 brushless though. Plenty of guys over here run 13t EZrun kits and they go like stink! I run a 19 turn Komodo Dragon 'brushed' motor in my Supershot and it really gets along. Its ok on the flat but the biggest killer is on landings from jumps. The drivetrain doesnt respond well to the wheels spooling up and suddenly stopping on impact with landing. This I find chews the teeth on some of the internal gears pretty darn quickly.

They are a hell of a lot of fun to see going flat stick though

Very cool! I think my problem is I see something and want to make it 'better' right away.

Chris I think we all suffer from much the same affliction

Modding vintage cars is what the majority of us enjoy. Sure there are plenty of people that build to the manual keeping it all original but you'll find many more making changes or mods along the way when building a car to be driven.

Personaly, I think some folks 'taint' there builds a bit by going a little too modern where as I like to aim for period correct when and where I can (or sometimes stretching just over the line).

My Supershot was a perfect example. I tried to use parts that were around back when this car was still circulating the race scene back in the 80's. Kyosho Platinum shocks were used on all four corners and even period correct uni's upfront. The ballraced steering mod I did used bell cranks from an Avante/Egress. The end result was a car that still looked like a super shot but performed even better.

Wow, that looks awesome! What's the difference between the Super Shot, Hot Shot and Boomerang?

Hot shot was the first 4WD Tamiya released.
Super Shot was obviously the higher specced version released later.
Boomerang was a car which utilised the same gearboxes and other parts but was almost an entirely different car again.
Boomers had a better steering system too.

RC104ever wrote:Very cool! I think my problem is I see something and want to make it 'better' right away.

I like your way of thinking. You'll find there are a lot of us on this forum who love to do just that; upgrading those old vintage cars to eliminate or reduce the well-known flaws or weaknesses of the cars back in the day. Bullet-proofing them, as it were. For a shelf-queen this is probably unnecessary, but I think most of us want to drive these vintage cars, and they all had their flaws. And if one wants to put modern horsepower & electronics in those vintage cars, bullet-proofing them becomes a necessity!

Exactly! I have broken two front shock towers just bashing around my street or at the local school and so I ordered a set of aluminum towers from a member here, just waiting patiently for them to arrive now. Every other part that was original RC10 has been replaced with a modern or new part so I'm hoping it will take a lot more abuse. Last step will be to paint and get a new shell for it but for now, still using the very very old original, yellowed, scratched and banged up shell. But hey, it is sooooo much fun to tear it down, look at what went wrong and find a way to make it better. I haven't had this much fun in years.

I had a Tower Hobbies order show up yesterday (on my birthday no less) and it was the huge order of decal sheets I had purchased. Finally almost finished my son's runner and now looking at finishing my own. But I've got the itch to do something else other than the RC10 now so that's why I was looking at Tamiya's because I've always liked the way they look and figured they could be a lot of fun too.

My first rc car was a Fox. I loved that car. I ran the standard mechanical speed control in it with a stick radio but I had upgraded it to a Trinity Stock motor. Fast forward 25+ years and now I'm building a Fox back up again as a replacement for my long gone first one. While I'd love to keep the stick radio for nostalgia reasons, I can't find a 2.4ghz 2 channel stick anywhere and I don't know what it would take to convert an old stick radio over to 2.4. The original glitches too badly and takes away from the fun. I am not planning to use an old mechanical speed control anymore but I will keep it brushed. I have a GM Racing digital speed control and plan to run it on a good old 540 motor. The esc doesn't even have a heat sink and with a 540 isn't going to be worked hard so I don't have any concerns of it being enclosed with no airflow. If I were to run a faster motor it would probably only be a 27 turn stock motor at the most. I ran my JRX2 with a 19 turn Komodo Dragon but without a slipper clutch and it made short work of my diff gear. I don't want the same fate for the Fox gears.

It's going to be "neighborhood raced" against a few friend's Tamiya cars on a little dirt course we'll lay out at a subdivision park. Just like when we were kids. All will be using 540 motors to keep it even. So far we've got my Fox, a Frog, a Subaru Brat, a Grasshopper II, and a Hornet. It doesn't really sound all that fair to me but it should be fun!

Yep love modifing my Tamiya's.

My Hot Shot has a Full Metal upgrade suspension kit. Better shocks. Uni's all round. 13T Brushless.

Goes really well with better suspension set up. 2.2 wheels and good rubber. Alloy Front sway bar brackets.

fredswain wrote:
It's going to be "neighborhood raced" against a few friend's Tamiya cars on a little dirt course we'll lay out at a subdivision park. Just like when we were kids. All will be using 540 motors to keep it even. So far we've got my Fox, a Frog, a Subaru Brat, a Grasshopper II, and a Hornet. It doesn't really sound all that fair to me but it should be fun!

So jealous! I wish there were a few neighbourhood people who liked RC cars too and wanted to race just in a neighbourhood park. Would be so much fun.

fredswain wrote:While I'd love to keep the stick radio for nostalgia reasons, I can't find a 2.4ghz 2 channel stick anywhere and I don't know what it would take to convert an old stick radio over to 2.4.

Check it

http://www.modelflight.com.au/products/Spektrum_DX2M_2ch_2_stick_Surface_Radio_Tx_Only_DSM-8890-22.html

I love modding Tamiya's also. I have a rough rider that has a 17turn brushed motor. I feel the buggy is over powered even with this tame of a motor. A brushless would be overkill. In the sand it will throw a fat rooster tail



overall this chassis is very primitive driving. it will sure make you appreciate your RC10

Ya but the Rough Riders look just plain cool!