Losi XX and a donor Kinwald

[mwg]

I am in the process of restoring my childhood XX (red on the left) - crica 1993?

My original XX has a little crash damage and I bought the Kinwald XX on the right as a parts donor.

I thought I would share a few pictures along the way.

[DerbyDan]

Hi mwg - A nice pair of XXs you have there, so cool that you still have your original car, I wish I still had my original Losi Double X.... to this day it was the best off road buggy that I've owned, certainly the off road car I had most success with.

Welcome to the board by the way... I presume you are the same 'mwg' that posted on Oople about a front bulkhead for a XX??

[mwg]

Hi mwg - A nice pair of XXs you have there, so cool that you still have your original car, I wish I still had my original Losi Double X.... to this day it was the best off road buggy that I've owned, certainly the off road car I had most success with.

Welcome to the board by the way... I presume you are the same 'mwg' that posted on Oople about a front bulkhead for a XX??

That's right - the very same!

Do you know how much different the Kinwald is to my original?

[slapshot1979]

Front shock tower
grafite chassis and arms and other parts.
"blue" painted springs all around
Blue motor plate
rear hubs and pivot block
CVD shafts
X-cellerator body
hardened turnbuckles
some Blue hardware
your original may of maynot have bearings and the KW does
what have I missed?

looks like you have the meat and potatos of a kinwald minus some of the bling

Appears to have the incorrect rear hubs for a KW. need closer pictures.
other losi guys will chime in Im sure

[Moggie XL]

I can tell you a bit about the car as it was mine.It started as a Kinwald but in the UK nobody ran CR rear end so the old style was fitted on this car,it has kinwald shock tower and lightened motor plate.It also has hydra drive fitted instead of a double disc slipper because I liked it more.

[mwg]

Thanks - it is real tidy!

[mwg]

Can anybody recommend a replacement turnbuckle tool for cable/toe adjustment?

[DerbyDan]

Can anybody recommend a replacement turnbuckle tool for cable/toe adjustment?

Do you just mean a suitable spanner to do the adjustment or the actual turnbuckles themselves??

I believe this is the proper tool for the titanium turnbuckles on the Kinwald car;

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXY851&P=8

Unfortunately, Tower Hobbies is a US based supplier so will cost a fair bit in postage for you.... it might be cheaper/quicker to take your turnbuckle to a local motor factors & see if they have any suitable 'ignition' spanners that will do the trick - they even might have a multi-tool that will have a spanner that will do the turnbuckles on your original XX.... both turnbuckles will be an imperial size rather than metric but I can't remember off hand the sizes

[mwg]

Thanks - I think I have found a small spanner that meets the requirement - for the Kindwald turnbuckles at least.

[mwg]

My XX is now rebuilt and shaken down. I took the best parts (with the least play) from each car but retained my original XX chassis.

I was a little disappointed with how slow she seemed on grass. Maybe that's the consequence of a 20yr/old brushed motor!

The remaining problems are a fair amount of play in the front wheels (a lot!) and a servo which doesn't return to centre fully after a right turn.

I also have my original XX wheels (with discs) that I will keep for racing.

The question is now whether I persevere with the XX (go brushless, new shocks, etc) or upgrade to a new 22?

[JK Racing]

upgrade the XX, its more satisfying to run a vintage against modern cars

my 22 sits in my pitbox while I run my RC10 Goldie and JRX2

[slapshot1979]

Yup JK is right. upgrade stuff not ntire car.

just my 2c

[DerbyDan]

Looking good

Whether you run your XX or not I guess depends upon how much the car means to you sentimentally - as the car will deteriate the more you run it, although a decent re-build & clean should get it shelf worthy again in no time.

I'm having so much fun racing my XX & I get a real sense of satisfaction pitching it up agianst the more modern buggies.... I also think that for someone who hasn't raced in a long while the XX may even be easier to drive, the TLR22s that I've seen running (in both mid motor & rear motor layouts) have looked quite a handfull - except in the expert (team drivers) hands of the likes of Darren Bloomfield etc.

Your car is probably a little slow due to the old battery pack & a motor that has gone 'soft'. I would say try & get hold of a new set of electrics - radio, brushless motor & speed control (a sensored ESC & 10.5 motor would be an ideal starting point IMO) a LiPo battery & a new charger to charge it up on (its worth noting that most LiPo hardcase batteries are too thick/tall to tuck in at the back of the battery slot in the chassis - so you will either need to find a suitably small battery or modify the chassis )

Oh & I i've just spotted that the bottom of you front shocks are mounted on the front of the wishbone when they should slide down into the slot/gap just behind in the wishbone/arm itself

[mwg]

Nice spot! Thanks.

I think the best way to get sentlemental about this car is to race it. I will shake it down next Tuesday as is and then look at going Brushless and Lipo thereafter.

I'm currently rebuilding the front steering - the donor Kinwald had slightly different mounts on and servo was not returning to centre properly following a left turn.

[DerbyDan]

You going to try it over at Moulton? Perhaps i'll try & get over there myself.

Did you ever race this car before... I only ask as those white 'Tamiya' battery connectors are normally the first thing you need to change as any reasonable current drain will cause them to get hot & melt.... I had this happen with my completely standard Hornet when I first started racing it! I soon went to 'Deans' plugs..... I now run the 'Corally' banana type but its easier to get the polarity wrong with these.