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

So my turbo ultima didn't sell on ebay. That being the case I've decided to redo the old girl into something more interesting. I've uploaded a few photos to illustrate the idea I have in mind. I would love to hear everyone's thoughts on a mid motor turbo ultima.

Should I cut up the original chassis or have a carbon fiber deck made?
Any thoughts on a good esc/motor combo that won't grenade the gear box?
What body should I use? I'm thinking a RB6 body or Optima Mid body.
Should I have shock towers made out of carbon fiber?

Any other thoughts or comments? Am I a lunatic? Has anyone ever done this before?

I'd like to keep this bulid "Kyosho" as much as possible. Are there any parts off the modern RB6 I should be looking at adding to this buggy?

This buggy is basically 100% stock so once I get started there won't be any going back. So speak now or forever hold your peace!

There are two things to overcome.

First is the motor direction. If you using brushless it won't matter, but for an old brushed motor you need to change the timing to reflect the direction of rotation

Second is the toe and anti squat. When I did this I cut the rear bulkhead at the bottom to leave a piece resembling the rear bar. Those bars need to stay in place. You then mount the rest of the bulkhead to the rear bar instead of the front. I did it on a dirt oval setup, but you can see it here: scroll to page 3
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=32579

I've posted a picture before of a stock chassied ultima with the original body. In the back it had the optima mid gearbox and drive train.
I've looked into copying that design myself but didn't like the ultra short wheelbase you'd end up with.
And I also looked at turning around the original gearbox like you're planning. But the moter sits so low and close to the tranny it didn't work out.
In the end I used a stealth gearbox and graphite chassis.

I hope you do find a solution I can copy later

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=36711
Took me some time to find it back as I never updated my gallery

I'd say go for it, but that's because I dig mods a lot more than box-art restos. They're a lot more work but you'll have something unique and special when you're done.

As the guys already said, simply reversing the gearbox will result in the rear arms being toed out rather than in, which must be addressed. I went a different route to achieve the same end-result, converting an Optima Mid to a mid-motor RWD. In some ways it was probably easier than converting an Ultima to mid-motor, but everything's doable if you have the dedication to do it right.

For your electronics, I suggest you look into the same package I used with my OptiMutt build, which has plenty of power and is really nice and smooth; a 12T Leopard Toro ESC & motor combo...and it's very affordable, too.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/TORO-12T-Brushless-Motor-3in1-COMBO-leopard-60A-ESC-RC-CAR-TRUCK-1-10-3300KV-/221254602578

I'm currently building one of Mr. Ed's: Ultima mids. His kit is available at Shapeways.com....

Looking good mate, keep us updated.

I used Erik's quadra symmetry setup on the front of my ultima outlaw truck and so far so good, it certainly brings the front end out to the correct width, it just looks right so i've got another set for my rere on its way

Thanks
Am building with all sorts of "experiments". Front end is vintage Andy's RC wide track arms, modified RB6 uprights and knuckles, big bore shocks. Shock towers are repros of Trinity's "Joel Johnson" units

Thanks for your purchases guys. I really hope you will both enjoy your upgraded rides.

I recieved the new deck from Factory Works today . Looks like it will fit like a glove !

Here she is as a roller .....

Nice work! I'm interested to hear how it handles. You've turned a Turbo Ultima into a Mid RWD, while I turned a Turbo Optima Mid SE into a Mid RWD...different paths with the same destination.