Yet another Optima Mid SE Restoration

[Supercell]

Hi All, I'm new to this board and have been reading lots of the Optima Mid posts here getting inspiration for my own build. There is a lot of great info here. I have started restoring an SE and had a question about the belt covers.

I have original belt covers, but the manual says these should be sealed with the tape kit as well as the original locktite. Was the formulation different back then? The stuff I have seems to be very runny and does not harden in contact with oxygen. Is anyone doing this anymore or are you just sticking these down with strips of the 3M extreme double sided foam tape? (I have this already). I've also fabricated a replacement for the foam at the rear pivot block out of single sided foam insulation that looks nearly identical to the original foam pieces.

Also, has anyone found a suitable replacement for the rubber belt cover that goes over the motor at the rear lower side of the upper belt cover? I have been considering fabbing something up out of battery foam, but thought I'd check here first to see if anyone had any ideas or had a line on an original one.

Thanks in advance!

[alcyon]

Just use the 3M tape for the belt covers, and use selleys silicone sealant for any gaps you see especially at the extreme front and rears of the belt covers. As for the area above the motor joining to the rear gearbox, your idea is the way to go. I only use a thick double sided tape then I seal the exposed edges with the silicone. The threadlock method in the manual doesn't work at all.

[Coelacanth]

Here's a trick I used to clean up my silicone chain guide cover application. This is for an Optima, which just has smoked acrylic cover strips, with a plastic thingy at either end to hold them down...but no double-sided tape or anything else to really seal them in and prevent dust from entering the chain guides & gearboxes.

Once the guides are in place and held down (double-sided tape, hold-downs, whatever), apply strips of masking tape to either side of the guide covers. Then apply silicone sealant in between the tape strips. As soon as you've applied the silicone, remove the tape strips. Now you have nice, clean lines for your guide covers' seals.

This post should explain better:

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=21530&start=79

[Supercell]

Thanks for the pro tips! Really like the idea of the masking tape - nice clean lines as I was a bit worried about the mess with silicone sealant. I think at this point all I'm really missing are the rubber belt cover piece and the silver wheels (only have white).

Most of the car is going to be new or like new. Shock towers and upper chassis plate are from Fiberlyte. I've even sourced the parts to rebuild the platinums so hopefully they will hold oil. Any recommendations on the best oil viscosity for the original plats minus whatever weight is shed with a modern ESC and vintage style lipo? I've got the black (medium) springs on them currently.

Should be a nice build when I get finished, almost a crime against humanity to run it after this.