My First Yokomo YR4-M2 Project

[LTO_Dave]

I finally picked up a Yokomo YR4-M2 a few weeks ago to eventually make into a drift car. I've never owned a Yokomo or a touring car before, and I know absolutely nothing about either.

The chassis is in excellent shape because it still has the thick chassis protector on it. And I think it has a magnesium motor mount also. This will be a slow build and I'm sure I'll be asking you guys for some help along the way.

[LTO_Dave]

I finally got around to doing a complete teardown and rebuild this weekend. Rebuilt diffs are smooth as glass, chassis is like-new thanks to the plastic film, and I cleaned up the magnesium motor mount and sprayed it with some Krylon satin clear. I also picked up a 190mm HPI Mitsubishi Eclipse body and Yokomo Twin Cam motor for it. After I locate a few small parts, it's done. The Parma foams are temporary until I buy a set of Yokomo Volk GT-V's to mimic my brother's real car.

[Charlie don't surf]

Very cool!

[proffesso]

very nice, im about to embark on a restore of my M, did you come across any problems? i was concerned about the magnesium parts, but yours cleaned up really nicely.

[LTO_Dave]

very nice, im about to embark on a restore of my M, did you come across any problems? i was concerned about the magnesium parts, but yours cleaned up really nicely.

No major problems, just little ones. The aluminum posts were a little pitted, but I polished them with some Wenol and a drill. I was worried about the motor mount at first. But I used a brillo pad to remove the heavy oxidization, then wet sanded it with 2000 grit before painting. I couldn't get into the grooves or around the raised logo that well, but it cleaned up ok. The ball ends were brittle and a few cracked, and one of the front shocks is leaking.

[jason_recliner]

That is a trick looking vehicle. Slightly off-topic - does a 4WD work well for drifting?

[Charlie don't surf]

Yup, they are all 4wd- otherwise you would never get a lap in running CPVC "tires"

[LTO_Dave]

With all these on-road Yokomo builds popping up, I became motivated and had some time today to add a few hop-ups that I've had for months.

These are the parts I've added:

- Integy M60 composite diffs front and rear
- Integy M60 composite diff pulleys front and rear
- Integy ultra-light spur
- Matrix Pro pinion
- Integy/TOP front aluminum C-hubs
- Team Suzuki aluminum arms that have been stripped and anno'd gunmetal/light black
- Yokomo blue aluminum chassis stand-offs
- Yokomo carbon servo saver brace
- Yokomo front bumper
- Had some small misc. parts like the battery posts, shock mounts, and upper deck shock mount anno'd black.

Some parts, including the shock bodies, were burnt during the anodizing process, so I have some Hammad Ghuman VLT RS4 shocks as replacements.

[Charlie don't surf]

Looking good! Who did the gunmetal anno for you?

[Woulves Baine]

Beautiful. I love it when someone has their own take on a project. I appreciate people wanting to do something pure - but the custom stuff I always find a bit more interesting. Nice!

[blackjap]

Nice Car!!!

[drbelleville]

That is really nice, Super clean! Will it be a shelfer or a runner? Makes me want to dust mine off and wheel it:) Is that an old PanaVise?

[Timmahhh]

Very nice! I raced a yr4m team car for a while until the tc3 came out. Very similar, but mine had the red mini shocks and I think a different top deck. I still have some old yokomo wheels laying around from it too.

[LTO_Dave]

That is really nice, Super clean! Will it be a shelfer or a runner? Makes me want to dust mine off and wheel it:) Is that an old PanaVise?

It will be a shelfer until I finish getting parts to build a set of shocks. I plan to run it lightly when finished, as I'm making it a replica of my brother's 1:1 Eagle Talon.

The stand is an old Lightning R/C Steady Lift (Jr. I think). I was lucky enough to find NIB on ebay for cheap a few years ago.

[Justjoe]

Which shocks do you plan to run. The little reds or the big bore US type?