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Hi Guys,

Needs some opinions and help here.
I just purchased an incomplete Hot Trick optima. Car is missing the main chassis, shocks, bumper, wheels and one front hinge pin. My main concern is the chassis, can I use a standard optima chassis? Ideally I would like to make a carbon fibre top and bottom chassis but would need a hot tricks for a template,are these hard to find? below are the pics I pulled from ebay as I haven't received it yet.

Thanks

Rob

I do not believe that the Hot Trick pieces will work with the standard Optima chassis rails. Take a look at the manual (avail online) to see how the front and rear components fasten to the rails. The Hot Trick parts have an "L" at the bottome to accomodate the flat chassis pan. See this for comparison:

Thanks Redscampi,

Looks like this project may take a while, I think I'll grab a sheet of carbon fibre and make my own chassis.

I just received the car. The plan is to remove all anodizing (oven cleaner I've been told?). Have it all re done in gold. I'm hoping someone here has a hot tricks chassis that can maybe help me out with a template. I'll post pics of her cleaned and ready for anodizing when I get around to it.

The front diff doesn't seem to want to turn, I have to open it up to get closer look, hopefully there's no major damage.


Regards

Rob

caesar wrote:The plan is to remove all anodizing (oven cleaner I've been told?). Have it all re done in gold.

The Easy-Off oven cleaner with the yellow cap is the stuff you want. Put the parts in a plastic tub and spray on the Easy-Off and let it sit for a few minutes. The anodizing should come off pretty easily, and you can use a toothbrush to get the rest of it off from the nooks & crannies. And wear gloves and possibly a mask too, you don't want to breathe those fumes and the stuff will burn your skin if it stays in contact for a few seconds.

Looking forward to your progress!

One thing to remember when using Easy Off is to not let the parts sit in it too long. It will attack the aluminum in a short period of time and make a real mess of it. Ask me how I know!

Hey Rob, I have always liked this kit but never went for the red though. Your concept to strip and re ano in gold is a great one! Wish I had thought of that myself
I like where this project is headed, thanks for sharing it with the rest of us Optima nuters

As for that lower chassis plate, I have only ever seen these on cars and never as a seperate item. I wish you luck with your search and would also be grateful of a template should one ever come available.

Cheers- Jason

J.M. wrote:Hey Rob, I have always liked this kit but never went for the red though. Your concept to strip and re ano in gold is a great one! Wish I had thought of that myself
I like where this project is headed, thanks for sharing it with the rest of us Optima nuters

As for that lower chassis plate, I have only ever seen these on cars and never as a seperate item. I wish you luck with your search and would also be grateful of a template should one ever come available.

Cheers- Jason

Trinity sold Graphite chassis plate and towers for the Hot Trick Ram (Optima). Used them myself once upon a time!

Thanks for the tip on removing the anodizing.

J.M. wrote:Hey Rob, I have always liked this kit but never went for the red though. Your concept to strip and re ano in gold is a great one! Wish I had thought of that myself
I like where this project is headed, thanks for sharing it with the rest of us Optima nuters

As for that lower chassis plate, I have only ever seen these on cars and never as a seperate item. I wish you luck with your search and would also be grateful of a template should one ever come available.

Cheers- Jason

Not a fan of the red as well , imo stands out like dogs balls, hence the re in gold. If I happen to get a template I would be happy to share Jason.

Regards

Rob

RedScampi wrote:One thing to remember when using Easy Off is to not let the parts sit in it too long. It will attack the aluminum in a short period of time and make a real mess of it. Ask me how I know!

Good point...it really doesn't take too long for the anodizing to come off, and a toothbrush can help remove it from the more hard-to-reach places with less time to soak in the Easy-Off. As soon as I was done removing the anodizing, I would rinse off the parts in hot water. I later wet-sanded and polished the parts before sending them off to be re-anodized, but if you prefer the dull matte finish, I'd wet-sand them with 400 grit and call 'er done. If you want shiny anodizing, and you want to remove flaws like minor scuffs & scrapes, it's a lot of work--but well worth it in the end. Anodizing doesn't hide any flaws; if anything, it enhances them.

It's been a while, but I finally got a chassis for this. I still need to remove some stubborn red anodizing and finish polishing before sending it to get anodized in gold.
Chassis and shock towers are going to be made in carbon fiber, just need to find someone to do it.

Wow, a gold Hot Trick Optima will be pretty unique! Looking forward to your post-anodizing results!

Oh! This is going to look great. I'm not a big fan of the hot trick suspension arms as I would use the stock plastic/nylon/whatever arms. The carbon fiber bits are what's going to make it look awesome. How about doing the shock towers in carbon fiber too?

Look great!

caesar wrote: Chassis and shock towers are going to be made in carbon fiber, just need to find someone to do it.

If you can take a full size scan of the parts and save them as a pdf (I find the size stays closer to actual using pdf) and make sure there is a ruler in the scan, I'd be happy to take a shot at drawing them up. I have been practicing a lot lately and more real practice is always welcome. Eventually I'll be able to cut the parts as well but it's a ways out. You could take the files to any company that cuts carbon and have them do it locally