Vintage CAT XLS for the race track.

[Bormac]

Back in the day I used to watch these cars go round my club track with envy. I ended up buying a used CAT XL from a fellow racer back then and this car served me well. It made driving in stock a breeze.

All these years later I wanted to build up another CAT for the race track but this time I opted to go with the XLS version (those chrome rims really look ace in action).

This build has taken me a while as I wanted it to be as period correct as I could get it. Lots of mods went into this build which includes alloy diff centres, WASP slipper assembly, saddle pack chassis, ball raced alloy steering levers and more. The concept was to build and fit out a CAT in similar fashion to what would have been back in the late part of the 1980's.

For this I wanted to go with 1700 cells, brushed motor and esc, FET servo and 2.0" kit standard full spiked tyres. Over time I have sourced a pile of old cells so I thought I'd give some Sanyo SCRC's a go. With limited room in this chassis I opted for an old Hitec 1802N brushed esc. It's a pretty simple unit but I think it should be ok with the power plant I want to use. Not wanting to shred the drive train I have bolted in an old kyosho 'Super Stock 20' motor for the time being. These motors were never on the cutting edge back then but it was an obvious choice to motor this thing around gently. It's taken me a while but I have a nice Ko Propo FET servo with booster box plus an AM EX5 radio set to steer this thing around.

These cars look really hot sporting the chrome rims but also the tall spike kit tyres. Schumacher still make these and I have a set of yellow compound fitted up to the car.

This build was never an attempt to take on the pointy end of competition but rather a chance to truly experience these cars as they were. I don't want to demolish this car nor blow people away down the straight. I do intend to set this car down on a couple of different tracks and see how much fun it can be.

At some stage I will have more pics of the action track side.

Cheers-Jason

[CAT3K]

Very cool Jason Is the rear shock mount an MMS item? I'm sure I've seen a similar one before.

Paul.

[Bormac]

Hi Paul. Yeah I think it is. I've come across a few of these over the years. They are a rugged alloy construction and pretty tough.

[Synchrocnc]

Very nice indeed, I like the mods you have done and as you say they are all of the period when they were raced, I remember racing with 1700 SCE cells which were great until they failed, I bet young people these days can't comprehend the small capacity figures!

Good luck racing.

Alan

[alsoli]

Following the vintage meeting this weekend in Sydney - your XLS went extremely well Jason.

It's great to see such good builds being used at the track, just a shame I couldn't get in front of you with my Procat

[Groomi]

No body pics in this thread? SHame, it's one of the best I've seen - really suits the car.

[Lonestar]

That is super sweet

Now all we need is videos

Great job, thanks for sharing!

Paul

[Bormac]

I raced this car just a couple of days ago at the 2013 vintage Castle Hill 2 day meeting and it was simply insane! I swapped the esc out for a Tekin FX PRO, Spektrum receiver, 540 silver can motor and 5100mah lipo saddle packs.
The car was actually very quick and was surprisingly easy to drive even with those kit standard type tyres.
I have photos plus there is video somewhere. Give me a few days to sort all that out.