Hirobo Zerda refurb

[Lonestar]

Whoa, a running Zerda !!!



Very ballsy !!!

All my cars are runners , no shelf queens here ! Is there a good reason not to run a Zerda ?

well, no good reason really, other than preserving a rare beast... most rebuilds end up on the shelf and that's it! It's awesome you're running yours

Re the rear shocks, to each his own, I personnally think they ruin the fine lines of the car with that lightweight rollcage being totally swallowed by them visually, but, hey, if you like them it's good

(I think a set of re-re kyosho reds, or even reano-ed in black would look awesome instead... but that's more $$$)

[Dadio]

The perspective of the photo from the rear showing the shocks does exagerate the size of the shocks, if you look at the side view pictures they dont look so odd but i will look for some smaller ones , i wanted a set of gold ano shocks like RC10 ones but more modern , i found a cheap set for the front that should be fine but the length of the rears was hard to match up .
I started stripping the old decals last night and replacing them and its a night and day difference , considering they are on a frame not a body i did not expect such a lift .

[Dadio]

I found some replacement rear shocks , they should match the front ones that arrived today .

[Dadio]

The new rear shocks arrived and they fit well and are a match for the front ones , I've been swapping springs about to try and get a good set up , I still think the springs up front are a bit stiff but I have no softer ones that fit , I'm tempted to just add a little weight up front as that will help and might be good for the weight distribution as well , many people did a mid motor conversion bitd both for better weight distribution and to use a geared spur gear instead of the first belt off the motor so adding weight to the front won't be a bad thing , I don't want to do the mid motor conversion to this one .
I had to change my plans a bit for the motor , I had planned on running a brushed set up but my friend who I mostly drive with has just ordered a Schumacher CAT re re and is planning on running a brushless motor so I've stripped a mild non sensor brushless set up out of another car and fitted it , wow ! It really goes and the belt only slips a bit on breaking not under acceleration .

[threesheds]

Also bringing a zerda back to life. confused as to how the steering was originally set up, this ones been modded I think so that with shocks behind the axles the steering rods foul on the shocks. someone also modded the shock anchor points to be in front of axles. but they are replacements and not like original.
No radio plate or controls so bodging some 24ghz in. Runs ok but I'd like to restore the steering mech. any chance of a pic or two of the setup

[Dadio]

The steering in stock form like mine is very basic , just a servo saver directly attached to the servo and two track rods of unequal length out to the steering knuckles , classic Tamiya steering , I'll post some pictures but it's as simple as can be , I'd love to see some pictures of your car as well , the front shock towers are really flexible in stock form and were often modified for that reason.

[Dadio]

details of steering


its as simple as that !

[threesheds]

thanks for those pics, found most of a servo saver in a box of spares, but someone had fitted a twin arm and lever type servo saver which is ok but takes up most of the room for the steering servo, fixed it in with a small block of wood and some screws until I can find some ally to make some mounts or even a radio tray similar to your original. and the bit of garden wire linkage I have between the servo and steering isnt ideal.
Problem now is getting tyres to fit the non hex rims, or go for a hex conversion. More problems than I had with a 1967 mini
just not so heavy. carry on not so much modding as bodging I guess
pics of mine would not be pretty, but got it skating around the lounge floor. and dented a bit of furniture.

[Dadio]

The Kyosho Optima re release tyres are good fit but the rims won't fit, despite the similar friction ring type non hex fitting , the Kyosho axles are longer and the wheel is thicker at the axle hole so the Zerda axles are not long enough , I guess you could drill away some of the Kyosho wheels to fit but it's not ideal , the tyres go straight on though.

[Lonestar]

It's a lovely car, really... Steering systems sure have come a long way since then

[Dadio]

It's a really supprising chassis , considering it's late 1984/1985 and the rock'n city it's based on is 1983/1984 so contemporary with the Yokomo Dogfighter yz834b , it has a very modern suspension system with C hub carriers up front and adjustable camber all round , they started the use of fibre reinforced plastics for suspension components ,belt transmition , practically the only primitive thing is the steering that they clearly got from Tamiya .
Put it on a diet , use longer suspension arms , seal the diffs and add lube (quite easy to do with stock diffs) and have a spur gear with slipper and it's modern !

[Lonestar]

It's a really supprising chassis , considering it's late 1984/1985 and the rock'n city it's based on is 1983/1984 so contemporary with the Yokomo Dogfighter yz834b , it has a very modern suspension system with C hub carriers up front and adjustable camber all round , they started the use of fibre reinforced plastics for suspension components ,belt transmition , practically the only primitive thing is the steering that they clearly got from Tamiya .
Put it on a diet , use longer suspension arms , seal the diffs and add lube (quite easy to do with stock diffs) and have a spur gear with slipper and it's modern !

yes, was thinking the same thing indeed! that belt transmission path definitely is vintage, though

[Dadio]

In the motor trade here we would describe it as a serpentine belt

[threesheds]

well, bodged the wheels as well for the time being, I had bought some cheap wheels not even realising what 12mm hex was, and have just used an undersized 10mm hex nut as a spacer. Wheels fit tight with the round zerda spacer and the 'nut'. I found some square nuts in the shed like you get on coach bolts and will file them down to hex if necessary. I've got some 12mm hex adapters coming from Ireland which look like a fit in the ebay pic but worth a shot at 2 quid. the original zerda hubs had already been bodged with some tyres that although fitting the diameter the tyres were made for hubs with a wide rim edge. As I'm not going to spend a lot of money on this old girl, its been through the wars already, then cheap mods is the way to go. seems no supplier is providing good illustrations of dimensions of their tyres.. I tried building up the rims with insulating tape and rubber bands but not satisfactory and the tyres are a bit worn anyway.
When I suss out how to post pics I will if only to make you glad yours is in better nick. This ones got cheapish plastic shocks which will do until/if they wear out

Also shaken the spiders out of a vigor beagle, kyosho optima copy? My sons old kit found in the loft. the things you'll do on a cold winter evening to while away the time.......

[threesheds]

What medium are you using for posting images Dadio? I used google photos but must have done something wrong