Turbo Optima mid SE

[radioactivity]

Thanks Doug

I took a leap of faith that you would not mind me plagiarizing your work

Oh, and glad I could help with the previsualization.
Seeing this post reminds me that among the nearly 100 RC's in the collection,,, I don't have a single green one.

Not only did I not have another pure green, let alone a fluorescent lime green RC, but I couldn't seem to find a TOMSE in bright green on the web.
There was a shade of purple that came in second, the green won out.

Chuck

[radioactivity]

Thanks James

Great build! BITD we had one Kyosho guy at our track who ran an Ultima and Optima then Optima Mid, did pretty well. Was it the Optima Mid that came with the gold shocks and the Turbo had the platinum?

From the little I know of Kyosho's it looks to me as though platinum shocks came on the Turbo Ultima, Turbo Optima Mid SE and the Turbo Rocky.
There may have been others. They also came standalone as Option House items.

Chuck

[ChocoTaco73]

From the little I know of Kyosho's it looks to me as though platinum shocks came on the Turbo Ultima, Turbo Optima Mid SE and the Turbo Rocky.
There may have been others. They also came standalone as Option House items.

Chuck

Gotcha, thanks! I actually had golds on my RC10 and platinums on my Schumacher CAT XL way back when. Always thought the golds felt better and the adjustability of the platinums were a bit gimmicky but they were definitely better than stock Shumachers lol

[XLR8]

...that among the nearly 100 RC's in the collection,

Wow

This can happen if you lack motivation to sell any of them. However, the way things are going, I may need to liquidate the collection so that I can buy groceries.

Not to drift off topic but I have always been a big fan of the KZ's Eddie Lawson raced bitd. I really want to paint an RC10 in these colors some day (replica bike photo courtesy of the web).

[radioactivity]

Doug

Maybe that lime green (Kawasaki Green) was stuck in my subconscious for all these years and that pic of the motorcycle just jogged it to the surface.

The guy (skipstr) that originally introduced me to racing RC cars 35 years ago painted his RC10s Kawi Green. He also had at least one green Kawi motorcycle.
He was and still is a great person, racer and I still think of him as a friend.

Thanks for the memory
Chuck

[Frankentruck]

That is an awesome Kaw. I'm fond of most bikes in Kawasaki green though. I'm tempted to repaint my R1100S that color.

[coxbros1]

Doug

Maybe that lime green (Kawasaki Green) was stuck in my subconscious for all these years and that pic of the motorcycle just jogged it to the surface.

The guy (skipstr) that originally introduced me to racing RC cars 35 years ago painted his RC10s Kawi Green. He also had at least one green Kawi motorcycle.
He was and still is a great person, racer and I still think of him as a friend.

Thanks for the memory
Chuck

He is still painting all his cars green, lol

[radioactivity]

One step backwards two steps forward.
Took the car apart.

After building the diffs with new gear diffs I finally decided to open the two new ball diff packages. Just could not leave well enough alone again.
So I rebuilt both front and rear diffs with ball diffs.

The new gear portion of the rear diff housing that engages the center gear definitely helped with the somewhat loose fit I thought was due to the aluminum center gear being smaller.
There is quite a bit less backlash now in the rear trans.

The front pressure plate has a "blackened" finish that the diff balls ride on and was way more gritty feeling than the rear which ride on more conventional polished rings.
So off to sandpaper and polishing. They pressure plates eventually polished up very nicely, mirror-like. The steel is very hard however.
The front is now just as smooth as the rear diff, way better.
Should have taken pics of the front pressure plate in the process but forgot to.

The motor plate that I struggled with getting anodized wound up having a stripped screw and a few well worn holes too. Guess I should have checked that.
The brand new motor plate I got had a few light scratches to sand and polish out. The anodizing was a pita. Duralumin

Pics show new motor plate and threaded inserts in front housing.
Before making any more trans housing decision I'll wait to see what parts might pop up that could work from the new re-re.

Chuck

[Frankentruck]

If you want to salvage the motor plate with the stripped hole and have a tap in the right thread size, on an anvil you could use a hammer and pin punch (larger than the hole), or a ball peen hammer, to mushroom the hole closed a bit so there's material to re-thread with a tap. Just a thought.

[radioactivity]

If you want to salvage the motor plate with the stripped hole and have a tap in the right thread size, on an anvil you could use a hammer and pin punch (larger than the hole), or a ball peen hammer, to mushroom the hole closed a bit so there's material to re-thread with a tap. Just a thought.

Although beating it with a hammer might help work out some frustrations after spending hours sanding, polishing and anodizing,
I think I'll keep it as a reminder to look more carefully at used parts in the future. Hang it on the peg board where I can see it.
I do have a m4 tap but the head of an m4 screw is too large.
I initially was just going to put a nut on the backside of the one screw, it's just for the cover, but decided to start over with a new plate.

Chuck

[XLR8]

...
Before making any more trans housing decision I'll wait to see what parts might pop up that could work from the new re-re.
...

Thanks for the update Chuck.
I was thinking the same; I have a trans case that has the wing mount screw bosses broken off. I'd very much like to replace with a re-re case if possible.
I guess we'll have to wait for the new cars to arrive to see what parts are backward compatible. I'm guessing they've changed diff bearing sizes and with 48dp gears, the FDR might have changed as well (like the Optima). Add to that the new belt tensioner and the rear cases probably won't accept vintage internals. I hope I'm wrong about that or maybe there will be a workaround. From the photos, it looks like the belt is a different spec. (looks similar to Optima rere belt)

[GoMachV]

They said the belt is 1 tooth longer as well, meaning that tensioner must always have a bit of tension on the belt. Perhaps without it installed tho a stock belt will still work. I suspect this will be along the same lines as the ultima and optima where you end up needing the replace the whole thing to update it.

[radioactivity]

Well after a long wait it looks like some parts are coming available!
Saw a post from mikea96 and put in an order for some on Ebay.
Quick ship from Texas to Texas,
I was going to get the Wing Stay ＆ Bumper Set (OPTIMA Mid) OT268, but some purchased all 10 available before I could purchase.
Oh well next order probably.

Chuck

[radioactivity]

First opened the trans housing bag.

Front diff housing...

All mounting holes seem to line up with original chassis, front shock plate and front suspension plate.
The screw holes are intended for 3mm machine screws not the "self tapping" JIS of the past thankfully.
Outward appearance of the housing is very very similar but not an exact replica.

The bearing size in the new trans housing has been increased to 15mm OD, original bearing is14mm OD.
But the new bearing ID for the new diff is now 10mm. The original bearing ID is 8mm.
There does not appear to be a bearing that is 8mm ID and 15mm OD.

So I started hunting for shim material... aluminum, brass ????
I saw Tecno actually makes a plastic bearing adapter, but not in the correct size.
So lexan was a thought.
The very first piece I picked up was .5mm, voila!
Cut and trimmed a piece of lexan and the 8x14x4mm original bearing fits beautifully.
It is as snug and flush as the larger 15mm x 10mm bearing when seated!!

Chuck

[radioactivity]

Front housing similarities...

All attachment points in same locations.
Vintage ball/gear diffs will fit


Front housing differences...

On the outside
Recesses for flat head 3mm machine screws that join the 2 halves together.
Lower attachment point for front shock stay is shorter.
Molded bosses for upper deck are slightly different.
Small tab to help retain front portion of belt cover.

On the inside
15mm bearing recesses.
Tapered and recessed bosses where case screws join and help align the two halves.
Various molding marks look to be in somewhat different locations.

New case has bearings installed...

Chuck