My old Optima Mid Custom with a few mods...

[OMC-Mikey]

Hello, I joined up as I've been reading some of the threads on the Kyosho board and was amazed at the info and knowledge!

I bought an Optima Mid Custom in about 1988 and ran it for a couple of yrs then left it.

Fast forward to 2012 and I bought a Maverick rock crawler for a laugh which it was £120 all in.

I then decided to find my old OMC, cleaned it, built it and put the receiver, ESC and servo on it as the 1980's Futaba plug was very slightly different (anyone explain why?) and it ran, very well!

Upshot is that I have rediscovered my love of tinkering with the car and have bought a load of stuff both original and modern.

I have just modded the front end by inverting the front wishbones and using a longer stroke shock:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360622767205?var=630101171902&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

£4.35/$6.50 delivered!

[OMC-Mikey]

I'm using the servo, ESC and receiver from a Maverick rock crawler which is responsible for getting me back into my OMC after 21yrs!

I'll buy new stuff and put the Mav stuff back on the Mav then sell it...rock crawling is not for me.

I didn't want to use the servo from the mav but the connector from my 80's Futaba servo is different to the Mav receiver...just a little extra plastic lug. What gives?? anyone know why?

I have bought a 60A ESC, 9T brushless motor and a 6000mA Lipo but can't use it as the charger has not arrived.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130932983886?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290907898889?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190832377772?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Still have a lot to do, mainly tidying up but it will be a working car that will have a hard life but give a ton of fun...just like 21yrs ago (",)

[OMC-Mikey]

I'm pretty good mechanically/electrically but I'm a bit confused by a couple of things:

1. Why do some brushed motors have capacitors across the poles and some don't...a case in point is my own Le Mans 240st??

2. Pinion gears...does less T eeth mean a faster top end but at the cost of battery life? And a higher T oothed pinion give quicker accel. and longer batt. life?

Thanks.

Mike.

[Coelacanth]

I like your choice of ESC & motor; I chose a Leopard 12T for my build, though. 9T is a lot of oomph...

I found the Leopard electronics in my car very nice and smooth, the fan was almost silent too. So far as I can tell, those are some nice electronics at a very affordable price.

[OMC-Mikey]

Wow, an endorsement indeed! I haven't used a brushless motor before and don't really know what I'm looking for.

I'm thinking of putting all the old stuff like the motor, MSC, radio, receiver, etc. on the Bay of E as I reckon it is better in the hands of a proper restorer.

Back on the ESC/motor thing, I have this in my eBay watch list:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/290934512216?var=590137161255&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

How mental would that be in my car? Would I be over doing it? I have seen vids on Youtube where the cars just wheelie constantly which looks really boring.

Also, will that motor shaft fit my pinions?

Thanks.

Mike.

[Coelacanth]

That's for a 1/5 scale car. You want to put that into an Optima Mid? You'll probably melt your gears. That could probably power a lawnmower.

The lower the "T" rating of a motor, generally the more powerful it is. I probably wouldn't go lower than about a 10T or 11T in these old cars. Going stupid fast *is* pretty boring, if all you're doing is high-speed runs down the street and a tap on the trigger makes your car flip over...it's uncontrollable. Uncontrollable & too much power = smash-up derby.

[OMC-Mikey]

...Thought as much. I'll see how I go on with what I got.

I must say, I am looking at that Land Jump that the Japanese guy has got up on eBay at the minute and wondering how challenging it would be to convert it to brushless. I am not a fan of I/C motors in RC cars.

I'd keep the engine back so if ever I sold it then it would be whole.

Just something about the way it looks. Probably a shame to use it which would result in damage.

Mike.