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So after digging them out, my battery straps are nylon, I was certain I had fibreglass ones, so I guess some Factory Works ones will be ordered

Well, if you know they came with the car, it's certainly possible they are the originals. The fiberglass straps were definitely very early, but that doesn't mean yours came with them. Lots of moving parts back then, lots of subtle variations. If the color and patina matches, I would keep them.

mtbkym01 wrote: ↑Wed Feb 20, 2019 2:06 am So after digging them out, my battery straps are nylon, I was certain I had fibreglass ones, so I guess some Factory Works ones will be ordered

I’ll gladly sell you some, but if it were my car I would use the ones that the kit included over replicas

No they didn’t come with the car, and they’re like new, I bought them a couple years ago, most likely re-re ones.

Ahh ok, I misunderstood.

All the signs are present that this is an “original run” car.
The no hex ball cups are a tell

I picked up some Dubro ball ends, but I think they’re not quite right, I got the 4-40 rod size, but I think the balls/screws are smaller, whereas the ones I should have should be 4-40 balls/screws as well yes?

Dubro makes ball ends with either #4 screw balls or #2 screw balls. You probably have the #2 ones. I have seen early cars with aftermarket parts use the #2 screw ones, especially in the center link, so it would be ok to use them if you didn't want to order more

Dubro 2262 looks most similar to what we used back in the day. This is my only car with Dubro’s on it.

I just had another look at the car and hidden in plain sight are a few more ball cup issues, primarily a couple broken ones, and more missing on the rear
Now I’m not sure whether to obtain more dubro’s or look at other alternatives






These are the ball links that I already purchased, but I think the ones linked above will be far better

Well, here is my opinion. Back in the day when those broke you bought either Dubro or stock ones. Stock ones of the next era are not the hardest to find, but fairly expensive. Dubros that you buy today aren’t exactly the same as those we used back then, but close. It boils down to how original you want it to be, and how much your willing to spend. Your car has been run, so it would look perfectly normal having the newer version Associated or the dubro on there either way.

GoMachV wrote: ↑Sun Mar 10, 2019 8:14 pm Well, here is my opinion. Back in the day when those broke you bought either Dubro or stock ones. Stock ones of the next era are not the hardest to find, but fairly expensive. Dubros that you buy today aren’t exactly the same as those we used back then, but close. It boils down to how original you want it to be, and how much your willing to spend. Your car has been run, so it would look perfectly normal having the newer version Associated or the dubro on there either way.

Appreciate this, think I’ll use the Dubro’s then. Might actually get a start on this fairly soon

So I started the tear down, (will try and get some pics up soon) another issue I've identified so far is a "weakened" part of the front shock tower, not sure if it can be re strenghened with some epoxy or CA.

Also, some of the phillips head screws (particularly from the front end) are quite stuffed and even slightly rounded, what/where do you recommend I source replacements?

I think I'm up for about 8 Dubro 4-40 rod ends, and that will be with repairing the originals as best I can.

Interestingly, this car has at some point had the bushings replaced with bearings, so I'm tempted to clean and re lube them as best as possible, without replacing them as I had planned if they were bushings. Its not gonna ever be run, so I see this as my only choice.
One thing I will be doing is fitting an ESC of some description rather than trying to find a MSC.

Progress Pics to follow

Start posting some pics of the parts as you as cleaning them. You might be able to use a newer tower if you don't have a super early milled tower.

Yup easy enough to clean bearings. I usually soak in alcohol and then lightly oil.

Front shock tower





You can see the crack is lightened

Also, there’s a crack in one of the front wheels, I plan on using the slightest amount of Japanese CA to repair it, along with any damaged ball cups


Tyres are now soaking in some simple green to soften them up and restore some blackness