Not just another Fox Resto...!!

[civilguy]

One of the major problems I remember from the first couple of seasons racing RC10s against Foxes was the ease with which you could break the gearbox housing with a rearend collision and a decent hit to the relatively exposed motor. That 'cage' at the back was not effective at fending off the full weight of a gold tub buggy.

[CNA75]

Can I also ask how you found the Fox compared to other cars when racing? What was good/bad about it (in terms of performance) in comparison to its peers?

The Fox was much improved over the frogs and Wild Ones we were running but only a slight match to the RC10 which just smashed the the market when it came out.

As for the Hotshot HP suspension, it's basically what came on the supershot take a look at some TC members entries to see how it was fitted to the buggy http://www.tamiyaclub.com/userridescat.asp?id=54&cat=2

Thanks for these details and the link. Looking at the fitting of the HP suspension (I also took a look at members rides of the Hotshot with this hop-up fitted) it may be feasible but would involve additional drilling into the chassis for the screws. I think I would also have to revert to the original Tamiya Fox front anti-roll bar which looks like it may be compatible with the HP setup. I agree that it is definitely a neater/tidier set-up over the JG conversion. Probably a little less susceptible to breaking too. I'm quite tempted to investigate this further....

[CNA75]

One of the major problems I remember from the first couple of seasons racing RC10s against Foxes was the ease with which you could break the gearbox housing with a rearend collision and a decent hit to the relatively exposed motor. That 'cage' at the back was not effective at fending off the full weight of a gold tub buggy.

Yes I remember that the rear plastic cage used to break easily and all I did was back yard bashing! I have seen on the TC website a few examples of Foxes which have a rear gold metal roll cage fitted. This would surely solve the problem; if only I could get my hands on one + find out who made them....(here is an example of what I'm talking about: http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=6108&id=793)....

[Brandon G]

Your build looks great! I must agree on the front shock mounts though. Make a shorter set using those as a template for the mounting points. If you need a small bit of fiberglass to do it, let me know.

I'm sure it took a while to scrape together all the parts you needed to make this happen. Probably the mose expensive Fox build yet! I really dig the adjustable front upper control arms. Good job on posting the build process too!

[CNA75]

Your build looks great! I must agree on the front shock mounts though. Make a shorter set using those as a template for the mounting points. If you need a small bit of fiberglass to do it, let me know.

Thanks. I have a spare set of these mounts on the way (I'd like to keep a set of the true hop-ups as they were intended), which means (i) I don't think I'll need some fibreglass for now, and (ii) I can play around with the ones fitted. For starters, I agree that they can be trimmed down so am going to see what I can do in this regard. I might also see if I can die them black with the old Rit Dye.

Still considering the Hotshot HP setup but wondering whether (i) the effect of the independent suspension will be negated somewhat by the mounting be so far back along the chassis (i.e. inside the rear of the front arms), and (ii) suspension travel will be affected by the shocks being mounted on the rear of the front arms as opposed to on the front of the front arms (this ties in with point (i)).....

[delsami]

COULD ALSO DYE THE FIBERGLASS TOWERS BLACK! AWESOME CAR ANTWAY!!!!!!!

[Mr. ED]

Thanks for the comments, and I'm grateful for those who have provided their suggestions too. Any other comments most welcome. Just to come back on the points raised:

Fascinating build and thank you for all the pics and info.

2 small suggestions:
- use the front shock mounts as a template for some home-made shorter ones (maybe in black?)
- use hornet shock mount parts to fix the front shocks to the mount.

Looking forward to see the paint job you're going for

Good idea for the front shock mounts. I think maybe carbon fibre would be a suitable material. Not aware of the Hornet shock mount parts. Do you have a link you could provide so I could view them?
...

Sorry, I missed the updates on this subject somehow.
Here's a picture of the mounts I referred to: the metal part that holds the top of the shock:

[CNA75]

Thanks for that. It's a little hard to see where the metal parts you refer to end (they look like they join on to the whole shock mount?). Do you have a picture of just the metal parts which you could post?

[Mr. ED]

It's a U shaped part with a 3mm hole in each flat

[huminski]

Reviving an old post here I know, but those metal upper shock mounts look exactly like tamiya lunch box shock mounts. Were used to convert the old thru-shaft setup to oil filled coil overs.

[Mr. ED]

That could well be the same part as was used on the hornet.

[Lowgear]

Tamiya Spring Mount 58035

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLDX0&P=Z


They're a common item used in several kits. They work great for a variety of applications.

[Tuff240]

Very nice build. I used to race a heavily modified Fox BITD. I would regularly win or at least podium with it.

I collected parts for them for a few years around 2000.

There are a couple chassis options that have not been mentioned in this thread yet.
1. Pro Track made a clear lexan removable upper chassis. It came with aluminum chassis braces/stiffeners to make this possible.
2. Sassy Chassis made an aluminum chassis for it. I've only seen one. If another ever pops up on eBay, you'll most likely be bidding against me. :-p
3. Hot Trick made an FRP style chassis for it. 2 to be exact. A thin and thick version. They also made a complete upgrade kit for it called "The Red Fox". This is what I raced and still have several of.

The weakest link was always the counter gear (mandatory to switch to the Thorp dog bones and ball diff for racing). Thorp/Dirt Burners also made a counter gear, but they are also very hard to come by.

The before mentioned rear aluminum cage was actually from a Fox knock off called The Killer.

[CNA75]

Very nice build. I used to race a heavily modified Fox BITD. I would regularly win or at least podium with it.

I collected parts for them for a few years around 2000.

There are a couple chassis options that have not been mentioned in this thread yet.
1. Pro Track made a clear lexan removable upper chassis. It came with aluminum chassis braces/stiffeners to make this possible.
2. Sassy Chassis made an aluminum chassis for it. I've only seen one. If another ever pops up on eBay, you'll most likely be bidding against me. :-p
3. Hot Trick made an FRP style chassis for it. 2 to be exact. A thin and thick version. They also made a complete upgrade kit for it called "The Red Fox". This is what I raced and still have several of.

The weakest link was always the counter gear (mandatory to switch to the Thorp dog bones and ball diff for racing). Thorp/Dirt Burners also made a counter gear, but they are also very hard to come by.

The before mentioned rear aluminum cage was actually from a Fox knock off called The Killer.

Thanks for the comments. It's funny that this thread has been revived as I now have a few more period hop-ups which I have been intending to add to this car as soon as I have time (pictures of which I will posting some point soon). They include the following:

1. a nip Pro-Track lexan upper chassis with aluminium braces which I am in the process of polishing up;
2. nip Pro-Track rear wing with aluminium mount (I intend to use the mount and adapt it so the Dirt Burner wing will fit).
3. nip Thorp heavy duty tie-rods;
4. nip Eagle front aluminium under-brace;
5. new Novak Ner-2x receiver; and
5. mint Novak t1x esc.

I'm also going to change the motor for a nip Trinity Kyosho modified motor (sprint wind). I've already changed the Paranoia diff for a new Thorp dog bone diff. The Paranoia one was good, certainly better than the oem gear diff, but the difference between the Paranoia and Thorp diff in terms of smoothness is a world apart. The Thorp diff really is impressive.

I've been in two minds as to whether to remove the dual front shock conversion as the method of mounting the top of the shocks to the mounts is a bit ugly. However, I'm inclined to keep it true to the period in terms of hop-ups so it can remain an example of what was available for the Fox (arguably Tamiya's first truly competitive racer) at the time.

As for the Sassy chassis, I agree that is looks very nice indeed. See here for a fine example: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=13528

I have also tried to build a modern classic example of the Hot Trick Fox using a combination of period hop-ups and the Lohas Red Fox kit. I'm really pleased with the result - personally (and I know some on this forum disagree with me) I think it looks great! See here: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=20544

More on this build, however, to follow.....

[huminski]

Cool write up. I found a thorp counter gear, unused it appears, in a lot of parts I reccently got. Will complete my Thorp transmission (have diff, outdrives, dogbones and axles already installed).