My very first RC... The Tamiya Grasshopper...

[hondaman]

I have been looking around and decided I would share one of my completed re-builds. I decided to give my old Grasshopper to my nephew last christmas but I couldn't just hand it over in the condition it was in so I decided to re-build it. In went a few new parts and a cleaned up a few of the vintage hop ups on it. Well here it is.

As the car when I pulled it out of a box:


And here it is all done:













Here is a breakdown of what is part of this build:
CRP Front Shock conversion kit (not the FX-10 kit you see now a-days)
CRP HD steering kit
CRP ball bearings throughout
Hornet rear shocks
Silvercan 540 Tamiya motor
Tamiya 104BK ESC
Vintage Futaba Magnum Sport
Proline knobby tires front and rear
Custom decals

Nothing crazy but it is pretty stout for a first RC. I just need to build another car for my brother so he can play with his own and not my nephew's car.. That's what this Christmas is for.

[vwjuice]

It looks pretty good with all those hop-ups on there. I'm not too sure about the one certain decal though. I think that one should be removed and burned.

[rccars4sal]

That is a hard core grasshopper. All the best stuff of the day on there and a 540 to boot.

[j-sou]

The G-hopper was my first hobby-grade too! As a kid I completely destroyed mine so many times and brought it back to life again and again. Glad to see other people giving it respect these days That's why I've got a few in my collection today!

Really cool you re-built it to pass on too!!

[GoMachV]

Grasshoppers and hornets rock!

My buddy got a grasshopper, I convinced my parents to get me a hornet cause it was faster. My buddy got a black motor and soon I was begging for a bigger motor. Parents said no cause I got the car with the bigger motor already.

And thus it began.

[markbt73]

Yup, Grasshopper was my first, too. Mowed lawns and walked dogs all summer long to pay for it. It got wrecked, rebuilt, chopped up, turned into a truck, then into a stock car, then rebuilt as a buggy again... love those things. I had that CRP shock setup, too. I still remember how nervous I was chopping off those shock towers, knowing I didn't have enough money to buy a new chassis if I screwed it up...

Restoration looks great! Hope your nephew appreciates it. Real piece of history, there.

[j-sou]

My buddy got a grasshopper, I convinced my parents to get me a hornet cause it was faster. My buddy got a black motor and soon I was begging for a bigger motor. Parents said no cause I got the car with the bigger motor already.

And thus it began.

My neighbor got a Hornet too, but by then I had foam's and a Race Prep Dyno Stock

I still remember how nervous I was chopping off those shock towers, knowing I didn't have enough money to buy a new chassis if I screwed it up...

X2! I was stoked to find one of those shock kits more recently for one of my current Grasshoppers. Good memories

[rccars4sal]

My 2nd hobby grade rc was a hornet. And, like above,, I thrashed it time and again. Used to race my friend who had both a frog and a royal ripper. My hornet ended with some kind of aftermarket body, paddle mud tires, similar front shock kit as this grasshopper,, but mine kept the plastic towers , adjustable steering rods,, and the adjustable motor mount. Much fun running that thing. Back then ball bearings were like 4 or 8 bucks each!

I like the way this grasshopper has turned out. Cars like that make me think twice about driving them though. Its too nice to beat up!

[hondaman]

It looks pretty good with all those hop-ups on there. I'm not too sure about the one certain decal though. I think that one should be removed and burned.

Haha.. I just couldn't bring myself to put one of those other guys decal on this one... It just quite didn't feel right putting one of those "vee dub" decals on it... I felt like the whole car would burn if I did.. But thanks for the good comments!

Oh and by the way, don't tell anyone but I did learn to drive stick in a bug.. So easy because you hardly need to put in the clutch to get it in gear..

That is a hard core grasshopper. All the best stuff of the day on there and a 540 to boot.

Thanks!! Yea my nephew got a nice little starter car for him to grown with like I did.. It has been passed down from me to my brother and now to my nephew.. I would have dropped in a 380 but I dumped that so long ago and the 540 was easy to find..

The G-hopper was my first hobby-grade too! As a kid I completely destroyed mine so many times and brought it back to life again and again. Glad to see other people giving it respect these days That's why I've got a few in my collection today!

Really cool you re-built it to pass on too!!

Yup.. I know what you mean.. I beat that to hell but it kept coming back for more... I am glad I was able to pass it on.. It brought back so many good memories that I thought it should bring my nephew some smile like it did for me and my brother..

Grasshoppers and hornets rock!

My buddy got a grasshopper, I convinced my parents to get me a hornet cause it was faster. My buddy got a black motor and soon I was begging for a bigger motor. Parents said no cause I got the car with the bigger motor already.

And thus it began.

I totally get that.. I had my hopper and a friend had a frog.. then I got a frog and he got an RC10 that bastard.. No fair jumping ahead.. So what did I do, bought a Blackfoot to run him over.. Then he got hop ups and I couldn't catch him anymore.. So I saved up and bought a Losi JRX-2.. Then we were on a closer playing field.. Then we both found girls and 1:1 cars and that was that..

Yup, Grasshopper was my first, too. Mowed lawns and walked dogs all summer long to pay for it. It got wrecked, rebuilt, chopped up, turned into a truck, then into a stock car, then rebuilt as a buggy again... love those things. I had that CRP shock setup, too. I still remember how nervous I was chopping off those shock towers, knowing I didn't have enough money to buy a new chassis if I screwed it up...

Restoration looks great! Hope your nephew appreciates it. Real piece of history, there.

Yea the shock install was a bit daunting but I had already broke one of the shock towers so this was how I got to fix it.. It was buy this kit for like $15 or buy a new chassis and pogo sticks.. Glad I made the better choice.. He loves it.. I was over there a couple weeks ago and all he wanted to do was play with it.. Ran that for a good long time.. I need to get my Blackfoot finished to play with him at the park..

[hondaman]

You know I just thought about something... The Grasshopper/Hornet seems to be an RC that everyone seems to rally around.. No one ever seems to have hated this little buggy.. No it wasn't the fastest or best handling, but most everybody loved theirs.. I just find it interesting that one of the worst handling not so fast buggies ever made could be one of the fondest RC memories people have.. You gotta love the little Hopper/Hornet.. I for one have to say that it was what brought me in to RC the first time, and it was what brought me back after 20 some years..

So to the little Grasshopper, I salute you!!



Shawn

[GoMachV]

I lost mine in a house fire a year and a half ago. It was melted beyond recognition, wish I could find the pic. When I found it, I grabbed the wheel and spun it...the diff still worked. I chuckled a little. Then in the dumpster it went

[vwjuice]

Haha.. I just couldn't bring myself to put one of those other guys decal on this one... It just quite didn't feel right putting one of those "vee dub" decals on it... I felt like the whole car would burn if I did.. But thanks for the good comments!

Oh and by the way, don't tell anyone but I did learn to drive stick in a bug.. So easy because you hardly need to put in the clutch to get it in gear..

Hey we don't burn up or leak oil. We mark our spot!

And you're welcome for the easy shifting. We like our Sticks like we like our women...... Loose and easy. Wait that's not right.

[vwjuice]

You know I just thought about something... The Grasshopper/Hornet seems to be an RC that everyone seems to rally around.. No one ever seems to have hated this little buggy.. No it wasn't the fastest or best handling, but most everybody loved theirs.. I just find it interesting that one of the worst handling not so fast buggies ever made could be one of the fondest RC memories people have.. You gotta love the little Hopper/Hornet.. I for one have to say that it was what brought me in to RC the first time, and it was what brought me back after 20 some years..

So to the little Grasshopper, I salute you!!
Shawn

It's because they looked good first of all. One of the better looking buggies ever made IMO. Plus they were pretty durable compared to others and they handled so bad that it seemed like they were faster than they were.

I lost mine in a house fire a year and a half ago. It was melted beyond recognition, wish I could find the pic. When I found it, I grabbed the wheel and spun it...the diff still worked. I chuckled a little. Then in the dumpster it went

I just lost mine in a house fire this past January. I just realized tonight when I went looking for it. Well I guess that means I need to order a new one from Tower Hobbies pretty soon.

[hondaman]

Haha.. I just couldn't bring myself to put one of those other guys decal on this one... It just quite didn't feel right putting one of those "vee dub" decals on it... I felt like the whole car would burn if I did.. But thanks for the good comments!

Oh and by the way, don't tell anyone but I did learn to drive stick in a bug.. So easy because you hardly need to put in the clutch to get it in gear..

Hey we don't burn up or leak oil. We mark our spot!

And you're welcome for the easy shifting. We like our Sticks like we like our women...... Loose and easy. Wait that's not right.

Well it sounds like VW's are like old men.. They need diapers when they get old.. Hmmm well "vee dubs" are easy.. There was this one time in the back of a bug........... Oh wait.... I thought we were talking about the Grasshopper?? Ok ok back on topic... Yea Grasshoppers are easy.... Wait... I'm all off topic now..

[vwjuice]

Dang rice beer gets you all screwed up!!