Mardave Meteor Help required

[Schmule]

Hi there - I'm hoping someone might be able to help me.

Before I start, I should mention that I have NO idea about building RC cars. Taking it apart would lead me to believe I'd learn fairly quickly, because I think it looks relatively basic in its design, but I'm not technical, so I could be wrong, hence me being on here!!

I have an original Mardave Meteor, which I think is in fairly good condition, and I'm looking to replace any suspect parts and get it running again so I can use it with my kids.
I would say it's not been used since I was around 13-14 (I'm now 40!) yet the battery hasn't corroded, the suspension still works etc etc.
I have photo's of it, and having taken it apart, it would appear to be complete and all the bits are clean and with a little TLC, should scrub up ok.


My question is a few fold:

What is the best motor to fit to it - I'm not convinced the one I have works as I think that was why I stopped using it
Is it worth my while to replace the suspension?
I don't have the original remote control unit - could anyone recommend a good unit? I don't like the trigger/gun types, preferring the traditional type.
Is it likely I'd have to replace any of the other original parts? The tyres are ropey to say the least and very flat, so I would definately need these.

I would love to get this back up and running, and am falling on the helpfullness of the forum members for anyone to give me advice as to the best place to start, and whether there are things I should look out for. I have tried to attach some images to whet the appetite of those of you who are interested in what I think is a model quite fondly thought of.

Thank you in advance.

Nick George - Mardave Meteor Owner and clueless

[Dadio]

Hi and welcome to the forum .
I'll start with the obvious , yes you will need tyres , 30 year old rubber won't last 5min , next I'd replace all the bearings that you can with new ones .
A replacement motor really opens up a big can of worms , modern motors ,electronic speed controllers and battery's have really made a huge leap in performance so we really need to ask
1 how much speed do you want
2 how much extra power can the gearbox cope with
3 how long a run time do you want
4 budget
If you just want a replacement brushed motor comparable to what it originally had then a conservative 21-27 turn motor would suit it well and would work with your existing mechanical speed controller and nicad or NiMH 7.2v battery's .
However as I mentioned things have moved on .
The modern brushless motors are more efficient ,cooler running and potentially vastly more powerful but also need a brushless ESC ( electronic speed controller ) .
Battery's have also moved on , back in the day you got about 5 min run time , now with lipo batterys 30+ min is easy to obtain .
If you wanted to go brushless then a 17 turn refered to as a 17.5t motor and ESC combo would be a little more speed than with a brushed motor but not excessive and you could use lipo batterys and run for 30+ min per battery .
Unfortunately running old school brushed motors on lipo batterys causes heat build up that they were never designed for so you would have to stop every 4 or 5 min to let it cool down and you'd be better off with nicad or NiMH batterys , also the mechanical speed controller would burn out .

[Schmule]

Dadio,
Many thanks for your reply. I’m really grateful for your time.
I would have to say that I’d prefer run time over speed - I’m thinking that modern parts would probably give me enough speed for the kids to not wreck it in the first five minutes!!

So...... to next address that I really don’t understand much of what you’ve written, which I’m sure is simple enough, but I’m worried that I’m going to be a bit of a drain on peoples’ generosity on here......

I’m reckoning I’ll need most of the parts within this car, and would appreciate an honest opinion when I ask the question....... would I be better off buying a new car, building it with instructions, safe in the knowledge that all the bits are there and hopefully I’ll learn a bit more and then attack The Meteor in the future?!?!

Budget isn’t too much of an issue although I don’t really want to spend hundreds and hundreds if the kids lose interest, so if a new car is the way to go, what would be your recommendation for a good solid car that I can rag around outside?

I’m really grateful for your taking the time to reply to me. Sorry for being such a novice and thank you in advance for any help or advice you can give me. Happy to spend a few quid. Would prefer a old style remote (not the gun type) and would favour a balance of speed and longevity in terms of the battery. If the advice is b*gger off and that I’d be better off speaking to a shop then I understand!! I’m willing to learn but am realistic in my abilities and prepared to not let nostalgia rule the head.

Thanks again for your time

[Dadio]

I and many other forum members here also took a big break and had to catch up on all the new tech , many people were kind enough to me in explaining it all and I'm very happy to help you " share and enjoy" .
If your planning on enjoying the hobby with your kids then a new modern car with a brushless motor is probably a good way to go , the modern cars are a lot tougher and will have readily available spare parts when you need them .
For kids who are likely to be more heavy handed then a short course truck is a good option as they tend to have more sturdy bumpers and a fully enclosing body ,there are way to many on the market for me to start throwing out names and my main interest is in vintage cars so I'm not the greatest person to ask , have a surf and look for a style of car you like the look of then maybe I can help narrow it down a bit .
Brushed and Brushless motors .
In the old days motors used brushes running on rotating contacts to switch on and off the spinning magnetic field windings inside the motor , these brushes were inefficient conductors , generating heat and sapping power .
Modern brushless motors use a permanent magnet as the spinning core and the magnetic field windings are static and switched on and off by the speed controller ,it has no brushes and as such is mutch more efficient .
The best option with your Metior would be to restore it in a period fashion with an old school brushed motor , it's probably got more sentimental value than financial value , good ones sell for £60 to £90 but prices will probably go up in time , yours seems very complete and in standard form and that probably puts it at the higher end of that scale .
I fly as well so I like a stick transmitter for that and the trigger and wheel type for cars so it keeps them separate in my mind , are you looking for a transmitter that is compatible with the recieiver in the car ? Or upgrading to a modern 2.4g radio ?