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I picked this vintage Tamiya Hornet out of a classifieds ad. It came with the original box, manual, MRC catalog, spares, Parma Cyclone II, charger, and a Futaba Magnum Jr. The buggy wasn't in bad shape, but was a lil dusty and rusty sitting around over the last 20+ years. It had Wild One tires but the original tires/wheels were in the box. I also found a full set of bearings in the box, not in the buggy for some odd reason.



No that's not a glare. That's white spray paint on the tire.

I started with a complete teardown to clean and rebuild everything. I had enough new spare screws in the box to replace almost all of them which was a plus since most of the screws on the Hornet were corroded.





Dirt was falling out with every screw removed.

All the metal parts needed some love so I gave em a little.



A quick cleanup, some sanding with 800 grit paper and a lil Mother's polish.





The ad showed a pic of this Parma Cyclone II in the box. When I got it home, to my disappointment, I saw that it wasn't new in box. It was in decent shape though, just a little dirty. I'll clean it and throw it up on the lathe later.

I sprayed the faces of the original 3 piece wheels pure white and the centers black. Helps them look less plasticy and a little more realistic.



The rear shocks were rough and the springs were rusty.



They cleaned up well enough.

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@tamiyadan
I will be using a re-re body but will do a different livery. Never been a big fan of boxart. You're right about the transistor opening, didn't notice that. I won't be using the MSC though...

I lettered the tires as usual with a Sharpie paint pen. Quick and easy and makes a model stand out.



Front end is nice and clean now. Using the old logo Futaba S148 servo that came with the car, still working well.



Chassis complete. Body next.

Done. All vintage and original except for re-re body. I used the remainder of a can of Tamiya yellow and period correct decals from my collection to finish off this budget resto.

Looks good SD. Have a look at this link about halfway down. Pretty cool motor for your Hornet.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3023&hilit=igarashi

1300GT wrote:Looks good SD. Have a look at this link about halfway down. Pretty cool motor for your Hornet.
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3023&hilit=igarashi

Man, you're right. Would go perfectly.

Man! This is great.... these sort of projects are often the most satisfying - a real budget build but with everything just 'happening' to be available or to hand to turn this old Hornet into a real looker & performer

DerbyDan wrote:Man! This is great.... these sort of projects are often the most satisfying - a real budget build but with everything just 'happening' to be available or to hand to turn this old Hornet into a real looker & performer

Agreed! Great project and result. After building a re-re that ended up being too nice to run, I took on a similar project with an early original broken beater that needed some love. I went ultra-low budget build only replacing broken parts with some re-re replacements, a quick clean/rebuild followed by the addition of period-correct radio, motor and MSC that I had laying around since the 80's. Its a blast to drive just like the one I had back then.

Man, I love this! I have much love for the Grasshopper/Hornet series. You've inspired me to do my own budget restoration of a Grasshopper chassis I've had sitting in a box. Question for you, what did you use to clean up the plastic?

SMOKE-DOG wrote: ↑Mon Jul 27, 2015 10:22 am Done. All vintage and original except for re-re body. I used the remainder of a can of Tamiya yellow and period correct decals from my collection to finish off this budget resto.

This is a spectacular restoration! My first car was a Hornet... You are inspiring me to get another one!