Q's on the Javelin, ownership and how they drive?

[flipwils11]

I have to confess that I have a strange infatuation with the Javelin. I like looking at resto builds on this forum as well as when they come up on ebay, usually for insane money it seems. I think I might like to get one, but maybe if I knew the whole story I'd be better off continuing to admire them in pictures.

They're chain 4wd right? How are they as a runner with limited use? Are parts scarce making them shelfers only such as tires and other critical components? What are the weakpoints if I were to get one and run it a little bit? And last question I think, can they accept modern electronics like lipo and brushless, as well as consumables like modern 2.2" tires?

[Coelacanth]

I have to confess that I have a strange infatuation with the Javelin. I like looking at resto builds on this forum as well as when they come up on ebay, usually for insane money it seems. I think I might like to get one, but maybe if I knew the whole story I'd be better off continuing to admire them in pictures.

They're chain 4wd right? How are they as a runner with limited use? Are parts scarce making them shelfers only such as tires and other critical components? What are the weakpoints if I were to get one and run it a little bit? And last question I think, can they accept modern electronics like lipo and brushless, as well as consumables like modern 2.2" tires?

In a word, they're awesome. Javelins were a lot less popular than the Optimas, and the plastic rollcages are nigh impossible to find at affordable prices today after all these years, hence their much-inflated value today. They're essentially the exact same car; one had a body, one had a rollcage. If you really want a Javelin, be prepared to pay. If you want something that performs the same, get an Optima, it's the same car.

As a runner goes, they kicked pretty much everything's ass back in '86, winning just about everything. They had their weak spots, though. The bumper braces & front "chin" metal piece are easily bent/broken, those are hard to find in decent shape. One solution is to cut off the bent part and do away with the front stabilizer assembly altogether, as some people suggest it wasn't too effective, anyway.

The chain drive needed frequent adjustments to keep it tight, another annoyance of the car. This is more or less remedied by installing the belt drive conversion, another rather pricy hop-up item that's not easy to find.

Lastly, the aluminum final pinion gear, inside the rear gearbox, wears out faster than all the other gears. You can find replacement aluminum gears easily enough (pargu2000 has them) but they will also wear out. Finding a hard final pinion gear (made of steel) is a sweet hop-up but those are also difficult to find.

I don't think you'd need either of those hop-ups (belt conversion, hard final pinion) for an occasional runner. The existing powertrain will handle ESC, brushless, LiPo just fine; 13.5T or higher would be no trouble at all, and lots of people are running them with even more power, but I'd want the belt drive & hard pinion before going that route.

If you want more detailed info than you could shake a turnbuckle at, there's a lot of info below. With my 2 Optimas (and a third upcoming), I've done countless hours of research, trial & error to find all the ways to modernize the Optima/Javelin series. Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=17726
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=17162
http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=16938

Chassis with inexpensive 2.2" wheels & tires:


See it scoot:
http://youtu.be/7jv-2dYfyQQ

[flipwils11]

They're essentially the exact same car; one had a body, one had a rollcage. If you really want a Javelin, be prepared to pay. If you want something that performs the same, get an Optima, it's the same car.

Really cool, thanks for the great answer. I watched your video too and it was fun to watch. Has anyone ever worked to fab a metal cage for the Javelin?

I did a quick search on ebay and saw a fair amount of Optima related parts including some nice metal suspension arms and other metal bits that look like reproductions. I do like the look of them including the Optima now that I know they're nearly identical. I'm not partial to the look of the Optima mid though.

So if I wanted to just get the driving experience first should I just watch on ebay for a decent Optima runner? Or is there a Kyosho forum like this?

[Coelacanth]

I don't know about any kind of aftermarket cage (plastic or otherwise) being made for the Javelin, but I'm sure it's been done--at a big cost.

I suggest you keep your eyes open for a runner, pull the trigger on one if it looks decent for under $150 or so. If you need parts, I have a pretty good collection--especially since I'm not going repro on my Optimas, I'm swapping out the stock parts for modern upgrades whenever possible. That means I have a pretty good supply of metal, plastic, and glass-filled nylon parts.

Fireboy has lots of stuff on eBay but you'll find his prices quite high. Pargu2000's repro aluminum stuff is nice and he'll anodize it for you if you wish, but some of his stuff is expensive, too.

[Triton]

Really cool, thanks for the great answer. I watched your video too and it was fun to watch. Has anyone ever worked to fab a metal cage for the Javelin?

semi related but i've got plans to fab a cage for my ultima out of 3/16" brass tube and brass rod, i'll be posting about it once i actually get around to doing it i'm sure it can be done with some patience, research and proper tools

[ROH73]

I'm a big fan of the Optima series; I highly recommend any of the cars as a vintage runner. They're fast, well made and durable. My first race-quality car was a Turbo Optima in 1987 and since then I've added a Javelin and another Turbo Optima. I'm restoring the latter two at the moment and I also have a fourth Optima-based car that I'll be working on soon.

My original TO was converted to belt drive in around 1988 or so, but the others are/will be chain drive. For occasional running, the chain doesn't stretch all that much and there's nothing like the sound of a "screaming" Optima chain .

There's no equivalent Kyosho website to RC10Talk, but this one has lots of Optima info: http://theoptimahouse.blogspot.com/

Mikedealer on here did make a metal Javelin-style cage for his RC10 B4. It's quite a work of art. I suppose one like it could be made for the Optima as well. Here's the thread: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=6856

[Bormac]

The Optima was my first official race car back in the day.

At the time they were big news and did well as previously stated. I worked closely with my LHS back then and they gave me lots of ideas for getting my very standard car up to speed when it came to competitive racing.

The tall spiked 'Sand Super' tyres were burnt up on the road out front of my house when I was a kid so alternatives were sought before too long. I went with 2.0" Option House 'chrome' rims and the OT-66 Bridgestone tyres. These worked well enough on the race track and in comparison other drivers were using Cat full spikes back then.

Over time the chain had stretched and snapped on a few occassions so a belt drive kit went in along with that hardened 'FINAL' pinion and a 48dp spur kit too. Gold OPTION HOUSE dampers were also bolted on and the optima then became quite a reliable racer.

At some point i bought the JAVELIN cage to mount on my chassis as an option because i always liked the pipe frame cars of the day. This was possibly a backwards move when it came to racing as the cage did not to prtect the chassis from those wet race days. The lexan shell of the OPTIMA PRO was then sought and this had the undertray too. This was when my car was at its best.

Good memories.

My racer on the grid with an AlienMid4


My buddies Optima Pro.

[RichieRich]

I really liked the Optima and the Turbo Optima too. I was constantly bothered by the constant loss of screws. Though, I was young and I don't remember using thread lock. LOL! I rebuilt my Turbo Optima years ago before it became popular to restore them. Back then, people were giving away parts. In fact, someone actually gave me a brand new complete belt drive kit. Ah, those were the good ol' days.

[kaz_z]

Apart from the shortcomings Coelacanth mentioned, the optima series suffer from understeer if you're using fast brushless system due to their rear heavy design. the optima pro was suppose to address this issue by placing the battery a little further to the front. The belt system can also slip a little after some heavy bashing but it's not as bad as the chain. don't get me wrong, the chain is actually very good to start with, it will only get loose if you failed to land properly, example if you land head on or hi speed head on collision. for a 25 yr old design, I must say the optima series is an amazing runner,parts are durable, i've run mine on mamba max pro 6900 and lehner 4200 motor with lipo, and parts are still available in ebay or forums like this. it's the brand new parts that are more expensive and hard to find. If your intention is to run at the track with other cars, I strongly suggest you get one with the gold motor guard installed, they are getting rare and dont always pop up in ebay, or they are very expensive. if you intend to do high and fast jumps, then I would recommend you get turbo optime/salute that has an additional chassis plate which protects the chain guide and come stock with gold shocks,the motor guard is still a must,Optima/javelin/optima pro's red shock are leaky and cannot take heavy abuse. Be warned, optima series are great cars and very addictive,one is just never enough