Tecnacraft legacy

[Damen]

Hi everyone-

I introduced myself over in the "Welcome" section, but that has run its course, so I'm kicking off a thread over here.

Recap: My name is Damen and I'm the oldest son of the founder/owner/machinist of Tecnacraft, Steve Hattori. Steve closed his machine shop, Salinas Valley Precision, in 2011 and there were some Tecnacraft parts in the storage room. I threw them in a box that I just recently re-discovered, and then found this forum, which seems to have some Tecnacraft interest.

I know very little about RC cars (I was 8 when Tecnacraft was sold to Joe Goodwin and moved back east) and am not involved with them at all, so I thought I would start going through the box and posting up what I find that may be of interest to people here. I don't want to violate any forum rules, so let's please not turn this into a B/S/T thread.

I have a small collection of titanium tie-rods, but I'm not sure which make/model they were originally designed for, as they were all labeled differently, with only part numbers and a short description. Here's 2 that were labeled "PN 17-06L On-road center steer":



What kind of car would these go on? It also looks like some cars have more than 2 tie rods- is that the case? If so, what would the rest of the "set" look like for these.

I asked Steve why he started making titanium tie-rods in the first place; he said the kit tie-rods were such junk and having to constantly replace them was pretty annoying, and the strength/weight/corrosive properties of titanium sounded good.

If you have any Tecnacraft early history questions, let me know.

damen

[littleVETTE]

if it's only 2 rods it's more than likely for an on-road car. that's all they needed. and if it's 6 rods it'll more than likely be for buggies, trucks, and touring cars. i don't think tecnacraft made any touring car rods.

[shodog]

What Steve said was true, the stock 4/40 all thread rods were weak. Tecnacraft along with many othes made replacements that were a lot stronge.

Sorry if this comes off negative but I hope the purpose of your posts are to give us insight as to what Tecnacraft made and not to glean information off of the vast knowledge base here in order to better hawk what's left over on eBay

[ChisaiKuso]

Sorry if this comes off negative but I hope the purpose of your posts are to give us insight as to what Tecnacraft made and not to glean information off of the vast knowledge base here in order to better hawk what's left over on eBay

I think Damen made pretty clear the purpose of his posts and the limited knowledge he has about the hobby. (As quoted below...)

I know very little about RC cars (I was 8 when Tecnacraft was sold to Joe Goodwin and moved back east) and am not involved with them at all, so I thought I would start going through the box and posting up what I find that may be of interest to people here.

What kind of car would these go on? It also looks like some cars have more than 2 tie rods- is that the case? If so, what would the rest of the "set" look like for these.

Personally I don't understand why you want to sell this stuff. The parts you have are what remains of your father's legendary company. I can tell you that back in the day I raced at sponsored levels of competition, and whenever possible I always used Tecnacraft components on my cars. In all my years of racing I only had one Tecnacraft turnbuckle fail, and that was only because of an impact with a wall during an "insane speed run" event. In my opinion your father's parts had no equal when it came to strength, quality, and beauty. Other than that broken turnbuckle I still have every Tecnacraft part I ever purchased and raced with. Isn't the historical and/or sentimental value of these parts worth more to you than the few hundred dollars you might get selling them to people here or on eBay?

[askbob]

Not sure why anyone is assuming he's planning to sell them already? If the guy has no interest in RC, don't know if a box of threaded rods would hold any sentimental value.

[DennisM]

Assumption is the mother of all ......

I´m not sure what say about this - But where, why and if anyone decides to sell whatever, shouldn´t be a big concern or issue, as long as the B/S/T rules are obeyed.

What I would like, is to follow this topic and learn a bit of RC history from whomever feeling like contributing in a possitive way.

Heck, people are selling Javelins right under my nose on various auction sites, without asking me first

[highwayracer]

hello Damen,

I agree with all on this board regarding the quality of your father's products. Even to this day, if I can build a car with Tecnacraft turn buckles, I will. I have a small stash that I've kept and obtained throughout the years.

I have a dealer catalog from 1994 and I don't see that particular part number listed. It's possible that these items were released after 1994. Do you have any other part numbers?

An interesting note...on my catalogs, there are 2 sets of addresses:


1335 B Dayton Sterrt
Salinas, California 93901
(408) 422-74##

and

200 Meadow View Dr.
Grayson, GA 30221
(404) 995-15##

I'll keep going through my archives to see if I find anything else. Here's a scan of one of my ads. BTW, I was able to break one of the rods, can you send me your address so I can get the free replacement

Regards,
Roger

[shodog]

In the 7 years I've been on RC10talk I've seen quite a few times where new members join only to ask what something is worth or what is it they have only to turn around and use that information gained at our expense in their descrptions on eBay.

That may very well not be the case here and I like others would love to see what left over parts or items that never made it through development. If the intent is to sell, then provided if Damien meets the criteria set forth by the BST rules, would love to have the opportunity to see what is for sale.

The BST rules are I place for good reasons

[Damen]

Hi everyone-

**Warning- Long Post**

I'm sorry if I've offended anyone by my joining here, but I'll try to explain my position as clearly and honestly as possible. I'll then address everyone's questions/comments below. Apologies as well for the length of this post.

First off, I try my best to not keep a lot of stuff. Steve calls me "Mr. Ascetic" (which I had to look up). While I enjoy good memories as much as the next person, I'm happy to take a picture of something as a reminder, then donate or throw the item away.

Second, the box of Tecnacraft stuff I have was being thrown away. I live in Houston and I had flown to Monterey/Salinas specifically to help close up shop, and during the cleaning, my dad was just going to chuck it. "What use is this 20 year old RC paraphernalia?". I told him that perhaps someone into old RC cars might like it, and that I could probably find someone on the internet to take it. So he gave it to me to deal with instead of, literally, throwing it into the 2-car-garage-size dumpster that was sitting in the middle of the shop. I packed the box away in my old bedroom at my parent's house in California, and flew home.

I went back this year for the holidays, and happened upon the box. I shipped it down to Houston to deal with, and I'm now at the "perhaps someone into old RC cars might like it, and that I could probably find someone on the internet to take it" phase. I've since found out that the stuff has some value, so I am not going to give it away. However, I think it's really neat the amount of passion and respect there seems to be for the old company on here, so I'm also not interested in price gouging people. I would love for this stuff to go to people who really appreciate/enjoy the product, and at the same time might be able to get real use out of it. I don't fit into either of those categories.

Additionally, in light of the fact that people here seem interested in the company, I thought I could provide history/context/insight into Tecnacraft. While I was quite young at the time, I speak with my dad frequently, and enjoy talking about his machining business(es), so I'm happy to relay any questions that might come up here. Since he's incredibly smart with a fantastic memory, it would definitely be better if he were on this forum rather than me; unfortunately, he doesn't have the time to post on forums, therefore, you're stuck with me.

My degree is in electrical engineering, with an RF specialty, and I spend a lot of time/money racing (full-size) cars. I think RC cars are cool and interesting, but I don't have enough time to maintain it as another hobby.

What Steve said was true, the stock 4/40 all thread rods were weak. Tecnacraft along with many othes made replacements that were a lot stronge.

Sorry if this comes off negative but I hope the purpose of your posts are to give us insight as to what Tecnacraft made and not to glean information off of the vast knowledge base here in order to better hawk what's left over on eBay

I certainly will try to impart as much insight as possible, but all the information comes from Steve, so I have to know the right questions to ask. I'm an active member on other car forums and always enjoy discussing good products and companies, so I thought people here might like to see and discuss Tecnacraft stuff. My plan was to post pictures of what I have for people to see, and join in any friendly conversation that (hopefully) might be generated.

I definitely plan on getting rid of the stuff as well, but I don't know the best way to do it. I was actually hoping that you guys might know of a fair (to all parties) and agreeable way to do that. Like I said, I'm not interested in price gouging the community, but at the same time, the products are clearly not worthless. Any ideas?

Personally I don't understand why you want to sell this stuff. The parts you have are what remains of your father's legendary company. I can tell you that back in the day I raced at sponsored levels of competition, and whenever possible I always used Tecnacraft components on my cars. In all my years of racing I only had one Tecnacraft turnbuckle fail, and that was only because of an impact with a wall during an "insane speed run" event. In my opinion your father's parts had no equal when it came to strength, quality, and beauty. Other than that broken turnbuckle I still have every Tecnacraft part I ever purchased and raced with. Isn't the historical and/or sentimental value of these parts worth more to you than the few hundred dollars you might get selling them to people here or on eBay?

Thanks for the nice words about the product. I have quite a few things that Steve machined with/for me that are sentimental enough to keep, including a Tecnacraft wheel (one of the designs I really liked that I've had since the 90's). So I guess all the rest of the stuff isn't historical or sentimental enough for me to keep; I know there are people here that will enjoy it a lot more than me.

Assumption is the mother of all ......

I´m not sure what say about this - But where, why and if anyone decides to sell whatever, shouldn´t be a big concern or issue, as long as the B/S/T rules are obeyed.

What I would like, is to follow this topic and learn a bit of RC history from whomever feeling like contributing in a positive way.

Heck, people are selling Javelins right under my nose on various auction sites, without asking me first

Thanks, DennisM. The part of the quote I bolded is the sort of sentiment I was hoping to generate. On first pass, it seems I missed the mark.

hello Damen,

I agree with all on this board regarding the quality of your father's products. Even to this day, if I can build a car with Tecnacraft turn buckles, I will. I have a small stash that I've kept and obtained throughout the years.

I have a dealer catalog from 1994 and I don't see that particular part number listed. It's possible that these items were released after 1994. Do you have any other part numbers?

An interesting note...on my catalogs, there are 2 sets of addresses:


1335 B Dayton Sterrt
Salinas, California 93901
(408) 422-74##

and

200 Meadow View Dr.
Grayson, GA 30221
(404) 995-15##

I'll keep going through my archives to see if I find anything else. Here's a scan of one of my ads. BTW, I was able to break one of the rods, can you send me your address so I can get the free replacement

[attachment remitted for redundancy]

Regards,
Roger

Thank you for your great post, Roger! All the parts I have are most surely from 1993 (when Tecnacraft was sold to Joe Goodwin) and earlier, so I suppose it might have been delisted or out-of-production by 1994.

The Salinas, CA address is Steve's machine shop, and the birthplace of Tecnacraft. When Tecnacraft was sold, Joe moved the business to Georgia, hence the second address. The stuff I have came from deep within the bowels of storage at the Salinas address, where Steve ran Salinas Valley Precision until 2011.

What size is the Ti-Rod you broke? If you PM me a picture of it next to a ruler, I'll dig through to see if I have that size. I'd be happy to give it to you.

In the 7 years I've been on RC10talk I've seen quite a few times where new members join only to ask what something is worth or what is it they have only to turn around and use that information gained at our expense in their descrptions on eBay.

That may very well not be the case here and I like others would love to see what left over parts or items that never made it through development. If the intent is to sell, then provided if Damien meets the criteria set forth by the BST rules, would love to have the opportunity to see what is for sale.

The BST rules are I place for good reasons

I was hoping to foster a sort of symbiotic situation, rather than "gain at your expense", so I'm sorry that I've conjured up that feeling.

Again, sorry for the length of the thread. I was sad to see that I'd elicited some negative connotation, so I'm doing my best to turn it around.

damen

[GoMachV]

It's not you, it's us. We've seen so many people roll thru, use us for historical valuations and info, and never return. Like the museum guy on Pawn Stars we don't do "values" here . We would love to help with whatever we can, and in trade we would love to hear about the "good ole days" from the inside

[Charlie don't surf]

It's not you, it's us. We've seen so many people roll thru, use us for historical valuations and info, and never return. Like the museum guy on Pawn Stars we don't do "values" here . We would love to help with whatever we can, and in trade we would love to hear about the "good ole days" from the inside

Well said-

[ChisaiKuso]

I greatly respect your reply, Damen. It was well thought out and well written, and it gives the rest of us a much better idea of where you are coming from. Given my love for Tecnacraft products, perhaps I can offer some of the items you have a good home when the time is right for you to part with them. I will contact you about that at a later time.

By the way, the two turnbuckles that you posted a picture of would have been used for the steering links on a "wide" on-road pan car such as the RC10L.

[GoMachV]

Given my love for Tecnacraft products, perhaps I can offer some of the items you have a good home when the time is right for you to part with them. I will contact you about that at a later time.

I'm glad I'm not a moderator

[ChisaiKuso]

I'm glad I'm not a moderator

Why? I don't see my comment as a violation of forum rules. I understand that this is not the B/S/T forum, and that is exactly why I said I would contact the OP at a later time if he decides to part with his items. Other than that, I think my posts have made it pretty obvious that I really do love Tecnacraft's products.

(Note: If a moderator reading this feels that my previous comment is a violation of forum rules, please send me a PM with an explanation. I promise to edit my post as necessary.)

We've all derailed Damen's thread enough at this point. Let's get back on topic.

[DMAT]

its all in houston, that sounds like a day trip to me. Tecnacraft was most before my time but I always enjoy a quality product. I can thank askbob for inspiring me to do metal builds.

I could come take them off your hands if you'd like.