Turbo Optima mid SE

[TheDiamondOne]

U dont need to think about the motor. Decision is crystal clear. 480s or bust.

[radioactivity]

Started to test fit the upper belt covers.
Ran into a difficulty trying to get the nuts on the screws that hold down the front of the top cover.
My fat fingers just can't hold the nuts in place while screwing the screw down, particularly the four front screws.
Probably brought this on myself by using stainless hardware.

While off the car, I installed the small lexan cover that goes on the bottom front of the upper deck with servo tape.
I screwed the four front screws and nuts down snug against the lexan cover and heated the nuts with a solder tip.
This melted the nuts into the lexan leaving a nice hexagonal recess to keep the nuts from spinning while tightening.
A bit of CA glue locks them in place.

Overall it doesn't seem like much but for me it makes installing the cover waaaay easier.

Chuck

[XLR8]

Looks great Chuck.
For me, the lexan belt covers are the worst parts on a vintage Mid. They're a hassle during assembly and difficult to create a dust-proof seal against the chassis plates.
The gasketed hard plastic covers on the re-re are an improvement.

[radioactivity]

Thanks Doug

I got to agree on the covers but I think I can do a reasonable job with at least the top cover now.
I had looked at going the re-re path on the top deck and upper cover. The top deck is somewhat different and to match the lower cover...
Not much room on the lower cover to be stuck down with double sided tape and I won't be drilling the chassis for the clamps.

I'm still trying to maintain a fairly "true to 1990" style with a few twists.
There still may be changes down the road, not finished yet.



Chuck

[radioactivity]

Started to place electronics.

My Novak 1 is pretty close to the correct time period, little older than the car but close enough.
It also fits fairly well and the wiring is basically headed in the correct direction.
I tried several other ESCs that I have but it was this or a Futaba MC230cr. The Futaba is better for size but 15 years newer, so the Novak.
I did opt for a new receiver because size and 2.4ghz.

I tried the Secraft turnbuckles suggested by Mwildmann.
I got both aluminum and stainless. I was half thinking to try and anodize the aluminum ones.
The raw aluminum look better and are slightly beefier in the center than the stainless but they are certainly weaker.

Some wiring to terminate, motor to install etc, etc.

Chuck

[coxbros1]

Started to place electronics.

My Novak 1 is pretty close to the correct time period, little older than the car but close enough.
It also fits fairly well and the wiring is basically headed in the correct direction.
I tried several other ESCs that I have but it was this or a Futaba MC230cr. The Futaba is better for size but 15 years newer, so the Novak.
I did opt for a new receiver because size and 2.4ghz.

I tried the Secraft turnbuckles suggested by Mwildmann.
I got both aluminum and stainless. I was half thinking to try and anodize the aluminum ones.
The raw aluminum look better and are slightly beefier in the center than the stainless but they are certainly weaker.

Some wiring to terminate, motor to install etc, etc.


optima65.JPG




optima64.JPG



Chuck

Looks great Chuck!...any chance of Marwan OT-66 tires?

[radioactivity]

Started to place electronics.

My Novak 1 is pretty close to the correct time period, little older than the car but close enough.
It also fits fairly well and the wiring is basically headed in the correct direction.
I tried several other ESCs that I have but it was this or a Futaba MC230cr. The Futaba is better for size but 15 years newer, so the Novak.
I did opt for a new receiver because size and 2.4ghz.

I tried the Secraft turnbuckles suggested by Mwildmann.
I got both aluminum and stainless. I was half thinking to try and anodize the aluminum ones.
The raw aluminum look better and are slightly beefier in the center than the stainless but they are certainly weaker.

Some wiring to terminate, motor to install etc, etc.


optima65.JPG




optima64.JPG



Chuck

Looks great Chuck!...any chance of Marwan OT-66 tires?

Don't know Derek, kinda liken' these tires right now.

Pretty sure, though, I've got a really nice 240st for the foreseeable future, unless a really nice 480s falls out of the clear blue sky.
At any rate the 240st is brand spankin' new and it is the motor the Turbo Optima Mid SE came with originally.
Nary a solder stain nor a scratch on the solder tabs. A virgin motor for sure.

Chuck

[coxbros1]

Started to place electronics.

My Novak 1 is pretty close to the correct time period, little older than the car but close enough.
It also fits fairly well and the wiring is basically headed in the correct direction.
I tried several other ESCs that I have but it was this or a Futaba MC230cr. The Futaba is better for size but 15 years newer, so the Novak.
I did opt for a new receiver because size and 2.4ghz.

I tried the Secraft turnbuckles suggested by Mwildmann.
I got both aluminum and stainless. I was half thinking to try and anodize the aluminum ones.
The raw aluminum look better and are slightly beefier in the center than the stainless but they are certainly weaker.

Some wiring to terminate, motor to install etc, etc.


optima65.JPG




optima64.JPG



Chuck

Looks great Chuck!...any chance of Marwan OT-66 tires?

Don't know Derek, kinda liken' these tires right now.

Pretty sure, though, I've got a really nice 240st for the foreseeable future, unless a really nice 480s falls out of the clear blue sky.
At any rate the 240st is brand spankin' new and it is the motor the Turbo Optima Mid SE came with originally.
Nary a solder stain nor a scratch on the solder tabs. A virgin motor for sure.


LeMans 240st.1.JPG


Le Mans 240st.2.JPG



Chuck

Actually the 240st is truly one of the all time greats!

[TheDiamondOne]

Charles, pound for pound one of best motors to every be bolted to an offroad car. Stay with it!

[radioactivity]

Memo to self- Always check your electronics before installing in your car!

After spending a lot of time getting the wiring trimmed, replaced, terminated and routed, I found the Novak1 was dead
So I got to install an esc twice.

I did have a super clean Novak T4 that is a slightly larger than the Novak1.
It just barely fits but you can slide a playing card between the heatsink and the upper deck.
Wire routing was the same so that was good.

Also temporarily installed the Le Mans 240st. Found out, I think, I need some oddball sized pinion. They are available on Ebay though.

Chuck

[radioactivity]

Anodizing failure
After anodizing the chassis with such good luck I thought I'd try the aluminum Secraft turnbuckles.

"I tried the Secraft turnbuckles suggested by Mwildmann.
I got both aluminum and stainless. I was half thinking to try and anodize the aluminum ones.
The raw aluminum looks better and are slightly beefier in the center than the stainless but they are certainly weaker."

The color is way too light and one turnbuckle apparently had a bad connection. The motor spacer plate (on the right) is correct color, for reference.
I actually only had them in the dye for maybe 5 minutes, a short time compared to the rest of the pieces but it looked like it took the dye.
I assumed the turnbuckles were 6061 but now I think more like a 7*** series alloy containing some copper.
Guess I'll strip them and try again.

I did polish the stainless turnbuckles and they clean up very nicely.

Also included a pic of my bussbar anode to show how I attached the turnbuckles to the power supply.

Chuck

[radioactivity]

Had yet another anodizing failure yesterday. Pretty much the same outcome as the last attempt.
But today I got a little closer to a good outcome. The motor plate is the correct color and shade.
Still need at least one more attempt to get good results.

The picture doesn't really show how much lighter the turnbuckles are.
The color is fine but they are too light.

What I did find, on a European hobby store site, was a better description of the aluminum turnbuckles alloy.
It turns out it is duralumin
I hate this aluminum alloy for anodizing. It isn't even anodizing like Kyosho's interpretation of the alloy.

I did order a set of Brass knuckle bushings. They are supposed to fit better.
On my "C" hubs the bushing isn't even close to the correct size, it is too small OD.
Causes a lot of unnecessary slop in the steering, don't know if this is a common problem with the new re-re Optoma mids or not.
The parts I used are the hub carrier from OT204 and OT 212 king pin flange pipe.

OT204.JPG (20.99 KiB) Viewed 671 times

OT204.JPG (20.99 KiB) Viewed 671 times

OT212.JPG (9.41 KiB) Viewed 671 times

OT212.JPG (9.41 KiB) Viewed 671 times

Chuck

[XLR8]

One man's failure is another man's victory. To my eye, ALL of the ano work you've done on this car looks spectacular!

I can imagine this car displayed in an art gallery. It's incredibly beautiful.

[radioactivity]

Was beginning to doubt my anodizing. So many things can go wrong.
So i grabbed a couple wing mounts and nose braces and off to polish/anodizing.
They turned out fine.
So I'm still blaming the duralumin.

Chuck

[radioactivity]

This is only a test

1. The stock springs have a tendency to rub the shock body
2. Stock springs are hard to find and pricey
3. Stock springs only come in hard, medium and soft
4. With the stock springs the shocks feel notchy
5. Hard to find short springs ( 1.3" )
6. Adapters look too bulky ( Can be shortened )

1. Potentially far more selections of springs ( the adapters are for 12mm )
2 .Wider selection of spring weights
3. Way smoother feel during compression
4. If the adapters are trimmed a beefier looking shock
5. No loss of shock stroke
6. No interference

NO Kyosho Shock Cups were harmed for this test!
The adapters slip over the platinum"s cups.

Not sure--- Opinions?

Chuck