Race Modified; Mardave Meteor Project

[DerbyDan]

I've now replaced the OG CAT spec Schumacher shocks with a set of the excellent reproduction Kyosho Option House gold shocks from Mayonnaise RC (from Hong Kong) - which I must say look great in gold to match the chassis & stripes on the bodyshell;







..... & here's a You Tube video clip of the Meteor during a testing run session at my local indoor off road buggy club (run with the Schumacher shocks)

[youtube]A04GsLsi2hI&feature[/youtube]

[Turkbot]

That is bloody brilliant!!!

While I still had a Nikko RC car, my cousin had a meteor... I was so jealous!!

[DerbyDan]

That is bloody brilliant!!!

While I still had a Nikko RC car, my cousin had a meteor... I was so jealous!!

Thank you!

Was your cousin living in the US too - I'm amazed to think that any Meteor's made it across 'the pond'. Mardave was such a small UK company & I'm sure they were never distributed to North America? PS; loving your pair of BIG6s!!

[Trackingz]

congratulations on build of the month and the result at revival i marsheld your race and must say your mardave meteor looked epic

[DerbyDan]

congratulations on build of the month and the result at revival i marsheld your race and must say your mardave meteor looked epic

Thanks veeza!.... if you were marshalling my final with the Meteor then I presume I was racing with you in the previous race with my Losi XX?

So the weekend of the 30th & 31st July - I competed in the (now) annual Iconic R/C 'Vintage Revival' - held this year in aid of Parkinson UK - an event which I would imagine is our equivalent of the VONATS?

The Sat was the 2wd day & had entered my Losi XX into the 94~98 class & the Modified Meteor into the 84~88 class - The Meteor had only done a few shakedown runs at my local indoor club (as captured in the YouTube clip above) but performed faultlessly all day..... I didn't even make many adjustments to the suspension - just raised it a touch all round! One little mod that I did carry out as a result of my little test session at the Silverstone track - was to fit a little wedge (made from some sloped Lego bricks) beneath the motor - this helped support the motor as it seemed that after a heavy landing off a ramp - the 'slap' of the chassis would force the heavy motor to bend my home-made motor plate... taking the gearbox housing with it - leaving it with quite an alarming 'twist'!

Anyway to cut a story short... the old Mardave finished 2nd in its class - which mean't that I had qualified for the 'grand final' or Race of Champions as its called where the top two cars from each class get to race each other - the start is handicapped by means of where the cars start the final from around the track - the older cars effectively getting a head start over the new (presumably faster) newer cars. In the final I managed to overhaul the two Kyosho Scorpions that started ahead of us in the older class & kept everyone else bar two very accomplished drivers behind me to finish the race 3rd overall

In action;



& picking up my little 'pot' & surprise bottle of champagne!

[DerbyDan]

Well - sorry guys I forgot this thread even existed.... but since my 'runner/racer' version of the Mardave Meteor is currently entered into this months Car of the month competition I though it best to update the story to where we are now!

Up until now this thread seems to have been following the intended build for a shelf-queen car based on a whole bunch of new parts (including a NIP chassis) & basing the whole build on the heavily modified car of Greg Halliday car that was the subject of a series of magazine articles in the UK mag Radio Race Car International between 1988 & 1990.

However, over time I've collected a few more parts (including another very beaten up car) - enough to build a runner version of the shelf car..... something that I've always found quite tantalising since its always one thing to build a dream car just to look at - but to actually experience how it drives is something that I think I find more fun!

So below is a collection of photos of the car that I've built from the 'best of the rest' parts & is going to run at this years Vintage Revival meeting to be held at the end of this month - the car is fitted with a 13.5 brushless motor controlled by a Hobbywing V2 120amp esc - the idea that the 'mild' 13.5 motor shouldn't put too much strain on the gearbox (which has no slipper) from a standing start or accelerating from low speeds - but can have timing dialled in to obtain a bit more top-end.

Home-made bumper made from plastic nylon sheet (shape based on the magazing car) - also inboard mounted steering bellcranks to minimise bumpsteer & lots of weight to get that front end 'turned-in'


Close up of rear end showing aluminium motor mount - that I drew up (along with the shocktower/rear chassis brace bracket) on CAD, had waterjet cut & folded. This is intended to dissipate heat away from the motor into the chassis - a common problem Bitd was that the heat from the motor mounted directly to the plastic gearbox would cause it to 'warp' so much that it would force the pinion out of mesh with the spur causing it [the spur] to get chewed up in the process. Photo also shows the Fibrelyte cut rear shock tower - again cut to my supplied CAD file


Bodyshell fitted is the one that I sprayed up for Penguin Custom Bodies ebay advert - but now trimmed at the back to suit the custom shock tower - which unlike the original does not provide a fixing for the body - a second 'front' body post is used to mount the body at the rear...


Long wheelbase chassis is just one simple folded piece of aluminium.


Side profile - the body that suits the LWB chassis is actually quite sleek looking IMO








Hobbywing speedo mounted onto custom-made rear chassis brace - rounded Core LiPo sits across the chassis beneath.

[clm]

Looks great, although that large white space on the side almost cries out for a pinstripe or some other type of decorative embellishment

[Coelacanth]

Or a number or something, I agree.

[Welshy40]

Very nice, makes me remember Kristian Wiles protoype Mardave Cobra, great drive. Mardave made simple cars at a cheap and cheerful price plus looked after their customers which was great as well. The Meteor made a lot of people take note and sold a lot due to the simplicity but it also performed well.

[DerbyDan]

Just to update this thread/build (& to add some gratuitous photos) .... Back in January earlier this year I raced my LWB Meteor at the Brett Davis memorial race meeting. Brett Davis was a prominent & popular racer (& vintage R/C fan), but was also well known for being the creator & operator of the characterised car in the 90s children's TV series called 'Brum' - being quite 'typically British' - I'm not sure if the TV series reached overseas, but the series was based around a vintage car called (you've guessed it) Brum who lives in a car museum but has a mind of his own & gets up to all sorts of adventures! Brett built the models used in the series, some were purely static whilst other's were mechanised & operated by Radio Control. Unfortunately Brett passed away last year & the meeting was held in his honour, it raised money for the hospice who looked after him.

Having booked in, I decided to paint a new bodyshell - in honour of Brett I painted it in the yellow & red to follow the colours of Brum.





One of the original 'Brum' models/probs from the TV series was brought along for us to have a look at



....& to end a great day of vintage racing I came away with a TQ & win for the Meteor in its age category

[dinglem]

Car looks great, and is a fantastic tribute to Brett.

I have a 4 page article on 'Brum' here from Radio Race Car magazine, November 1991 edition. I'll have to scan it.

[cunawarit]

I miss buggies like this, all new models are so complex! I like the idea of a super basic club racer, sure you give up performance but make it up with easy maintenance.

Come on Mardave, re-release the Cobra The club scene needs it.