Top Cat restoration (highwayracer)

[highwayracer]

hello All,

I picked up a Top Cat last year on ebay and I finally have the time to begin the restoration. Overall, the car was in decent condition and there was minimal wear on most of the plastic parts. Unfortunately, there were some deep scratches in the chassis as well as some damage to the rear.

I do have a question on the front end. I noticed that the front sits rather high. In the instruction manual, it states that you can modify the height by drilling holes in the bulkhead and adding a screw to limit the suspension travel. Has anyone done this yet? Does ths weaken the suspension components?

Regards,
Roger

[naushad]

Yes it does...I've found the front end to be particularly fragile.

With regards to the chassis if you feel comfortable you could try to smooth down to reduced the battle scars although with a relatively thin chassis it could weaken it.

I've done this to kyosho chassis after anodising

[highwayracer]

Yes it does...I've found the front end to be particularly fragile.

With regards to the chassis if you feel comfortable you could try to smooth down to reduced the battle scars although with a relatively thin chassis it could weaken it.

I've done this to kyosho chassis after anodising

Thank you for the feedback.

Since this will be on the shelf, I will add a thin spacer to the arm to reduce the height. I guess I could add the spacer to the inside of the shock as well. The car looks very fragile. It's obvious that weight reduction was a big part of the design.

As for the chassis, I've began the scratch removal process and there's only 1 large large scratch remaining (under the rear bulkhead). I'll see how much deeper I can go before it begins to compormise the chassis.

Regards,
Roger

[Bormac]

Nice to see you with a Topcat roger.

I have plenty of the componants (top pivot) where you drill the hole for your front height adjustability. I'd be happy to send you a pair (and no this does not weaken it in any way).

[Coelacanth]

I do have a question on the front end. I noticed that the front sits rather high. In the instruction manual, it states that you can modify the height by drilling holes in the bulkhead and adding a screw to limit the suspension travel. Has anyone done this yet?

I'm not sure how the shocks work with Schumachers, but with Kyoshos, the shock fully-extended length helps determine the ride height. Of course, mounting the shocks in different places on shock towers & control arms also affects ride height, but sometimes you can simply adjust shock travel (and thus, ride height) by changing the ball-ends of the shocks, or even installing plastic spacers inside the shocks, below the piston plunger part, so that the shock shafts won't extend as far. Lastly, you could use shorter shock bodies & shock shafts to change ride height, as those parts factor in the shock fully-extended length measurement.

For me, the easiest way I adjusted ride height & shock lengths was done by adding 5mm spacers inside the shocks and longer or shorter ball-cups on the ends of the shafts. These methods don't require any drilling or repositioning of the shocks.

[highwayracer]

Nice to see you with a Topcat roger.

I have plenty of the componants (top pivot) where you drill the hole for your front height adjustability. I'd be happy to send you a pair (and no this does not weaken it in any way).

Thanks Jason...I'll try lowering the front using shock spacers.

I've been looking for one since joining the board. Recently, I've been seeing such nice examples (especially the polished chassis) that I decided to begin the restoration.

Regards,
Roger

[highwayracer]

For me, the easiest way I adjusted ride height & shock lengths was done by adding 5mm spacers inside the shocks and longer or shorter ball-cups on the ends of the shafts. These methods don't require any drilling or repositioning of the shocks.

That exactly what I'll be doing. I need to rebuild the shocks anyway...so I just need to figure out the size of the spacer.

From what I can see, the Kyosho golds are nicer than the Top Cat shocks.

[DerbyDan]

Congrats - this looks to be a nice complete car & 'ripe' for a little restoration!

The front end on these cars were not easy to get set-up correctly - which is why I'd like to have another go (now I'm older & more experienced) at racing a TopCat. I thinks Jason suggested that he thinks the ratio given by the rockers/angles is too high, effectively amplifying shock adjustments.

Of course it is desirable to have not only compression within the suspension but also droop from the ride height level to allow the wheels to remain contact with the ground over undulation/potholes etc. With the TopCat's front suspension it seemed you either got it sitting high on its stops or sagging too low with the chassis scraping the floor... of course even when you got the car's ride height just right, as soon as the car's electrics are removed - inc heavy battery & motor the car will be back up as far as the shocks allow.

For me i'd leave the shocks/suspension as Schumacher intended but add in some period electrics (or at least the batt & motor) so that it sits right on the shelf

P.S; Those big baloony front tyres can't be helping the ride-height issues?

P.P.S: Yes the Schumacher shocks are OK but not as smooth or consistant as Option House Golds - which is why they were a popular upgrade Bitd... that said the original shocks seemed to be good enough for the team guys around that time.

[highwayracer]

The size of those tires don't help The first thing i did after taking the pictures was to remove those. Luckily, they weren't glued and the wheels were in very good condition...a couple of cub rashes, but they can be polished out easily.

I did read Jason't post about the ratio...and I didn't understand it until now. I'm not sure if that was something Schumacher corrected before releasing the Cougar. The shocks feel very linear...no change of spring rate.

I found the first "short cut" taken by the previous owner. He didn't have any shock pistons, so he used a small plastic washer instead. It was nowhere near the correct size and there was a 1-2 mm gap between the piston and the side wall of the shock body.

I turned down some kyosho pistons (single notch) and they work very well. I'm pretty good at building shocks...but the fronts don't feel quite right to me. It feels like it's low on oil...but I know I built these correctly. Ieven feels this way when the shock is completely upright. I'm going to try some heavier oil (have 35 in there currenty) and see if it makes a difference.

I won't make any permanent changes to the car because I want to keep it as original as possible, but I may make some "reverse-able" changes. I will put the servo back in and that might help with the ride height.

[Bormac]

Hi Roger.
Schumacher didn't have that long to make changes to the Topcat front end as far as the rockers go. They did release some 'beefier' rockers but did not make any changes to the actual ratio which was disappointing. However, they still work and there are numerous other options that can tame this little kitty.

I'm after a set of the original dampers BTW and if you ever think of parting with yours for Option House units I would be interested.

I have various Topcat spares and I can help you out with some options should you ever wish to set it down on a race track. After years of messing around with my car I finally have it driving the way I like.

[highwayracer]

hey Jason,

I had a set of schumacher shocks (f&r) for years, but I wound up using them on another build. Ill go through my shock box to see if I have an extra set. Are you looking for all 4 (long and short)?

Regards,
Roger

[Bormac]

Hi Roger. I could use a pair of non plated rears if nothing else.

If you intend to drive your Topcat I'd be honoured to help you out with some upgrades that actually work. However if its going to sit on a shelf then the stock car is perfect as it is.

[highwayracer]

Well, I finished the restoration and I'm really happy with the results.

The first thing I did was replace the tires. I bought this set back in 1989-90...and never used it. I must have know back then that someday a Top Cat was going to find its way into my collection. It made a huge difference in the overall look of the car. The front end sits perfectly with the 50 weight oil.

I was able to remove all of the scratches on the chassis. It looked so good that I was actually thinking of polishing it, but it might be too much "bling" for a stock car. If I had some aluminum upgrades, then that would have been a different story.

The plastic parts were in really good condition with virtually no wear...except for the bumper and nose plate. I was able to re-resurface both and you can't tell that these were ever used.

One nice upgrade that came with the car was an aluminum gearbox with the heatsink on top. I like the way it blends in with the car...and you can't tell it's an aftermarket piece unless you're really familiar wth the Top Cat. The spur gear was pretty dirty when I got it, but it cleaned up really well. I just need to find some wing buttons.

This was a great project and I can't wait to work on the next one!! Thank you all for the suggestions throughout the build. I'll be restoring another one of these in the next few days.

Regards,
Roger

[Groomi]

That's turned out really well, Roger. Top marks.

What did you use to get rid of the scratches on the plastic parts? Same question about the chassis too I suppose!

[CAT3K]

That turned out great Are you goint to get a shell and paint her up?

Paul.