A Tale of 1 3/4 Optimas

[markbt73]

I was just looking at the radio that came with this beast: it's 40 mhz. Good thing I didn't try to use it... that's a Europe band, I think? Guess I'll try to sell it to somebody overseas. I sure can't use it here.

[GoMachV]

I was in Tammies a week ago and one of their little toy cars was 35mhz. I was joking with mike about it being black market cause surely 35mhz isn't legal in the USA.

Here is a chart of what frequency is what in the US. Pretty cool
http://review.infinityok.com/fcc_frequency_allocation_chart.pdf

[markbt73]

After tearing apart most of the complete car, and checking the incomplete car against it and a downloaded manual (in Japanese, so I had to rely on the photos), it seems like I can get two complete cars out of this. I'm short one front top-deck mount, the aluminum brace that goes between the top deck mounts, an upper chain guide, a front bumper brace, and a final pinion gear. All of these things can be improvised if need be.

So here's what my workbench looks like right now...



Time to get cleaning, and order up some parts.

One question for the experts out there: what are the original 5-spoke wheels made of? They're in decent shape, except for the awful gold paint. I just need to make sure I'm not going to melt them getting the paint off. Is brake fluid safe?

[ralphee]

That brings back memories, looking forward to seeing the final outcome. The joy of this car, is you can polish so much of it up, to a shiny bling machine in no time.

lee

[Bormac]

I may possibly never be able to move past the Kyosho Optima series
The original was my first 1/10th scale and my first race car. The appeal for me is also all the extra goodies that turn a good car into a great one. Who can not love Option House gear?

Watching yours with interest.

[RedScampi]

I've stripped Optima wheels successfully with the purple stuff from Autozone. Used to be called Castrol Super Clean, now Purple Power. Don't get it on your hands. Also, I've used Easy Off Oven Cleaner (the cheap stuff). Simple Green might be a less toxic way to do it.

[Coelacanth]

The wheels are nylon, I've used Easy-Off oven cleaner (the one with the yellow cap) to remove paint, as well as the chrome finish that was offered on optional chrome wheels.

PM me if you need those parts, I have spares of all those items except the bumper brace. I could even sell you a hard final pinion if you're planning to build a runner, but those are a tad pricey and hard to come by.

[markbt73]

The wheels are nylon, I've used Easy-Off oven cleaner (the one with the yellow cap) to remove paint, as well as the chrome finish that was offered on optional chrome wheels.

PM me if you need those parts, I have spares of all those items except the bumper brace. I could even sell you a hard final pinion if you're planning to build a runner, but those are a tad pricey and hard to come by.

I actually ordered a steel 5mm bore pinion gear that I'm going to try using as a final pinion. As far as the other parts, I'll PM you this afternoon when I'm in front of a real computer.

[Coelacanth]

Interesting, let me know how that pinion gear works out.

[markbt73]

So after a flurry of order-placing, I have a set of bearings, a Robinson steel 19 tooth 5mm pinion to use as a final drive gear, a stainless-steel screw set, and a reproduction body and tires from Marwan on the way. This stuff adds up quick... my poor credit card is reeling like a punch-drunk fighter.

Once those things get here, the plan is to build up the the car that was incomplete using the new bearings and gear, and the Duratrax gold shocks. This will be the runner. It will use the old black and gold body and a set of wheels and tires to be named later. At some later date, I have a really interesting idea for a replacement body for it.

The other car, the one the was complete, will also be run-able, but it will be the showpiece. (At least, in as much as I'm capable of building a showpiece.) I may even go crazy and polish up the chassis parts. It will be close to original, with the Option House side guards and period-ish electronics including a LeMans 360 Gold motor. White wheels (either they'll clean up or I'll shoot them with flat white), repro tires, and very much not a box-art paint job. (That's all I'm saying for now. If I can pull off what I want to do, it will be amazing, and if I can't, you guys will never see it.)

[markbt73]

Progress... got me a date with a bottle of Simple Green tonight...



...and after that, the fun begins.

[markbt73]

Progress: One chassis is back on its feet. Wheels were repainted white, with new Marwan tires.



LeMans 360 Gold motor tested and working fine, so we'll see how it does. May swap in a 540 for normal running.



Oh, and I solved the steering servo mounting problem:



As for that steel gear, it works great! You just have to add some spacers to take up the gap. I used one thin washer on the gearbox side, and one 5x8mm bronze bushing leftover from a Tamiya car on the chain side.



Hard to juggle all those parts blind, however. I slipped an allen wrench thru everything to keep it all aligned during assembly, and then slid the top shaft iin place of the allen wrench after the gearbox sides were on.



Still waiting on a few odds and ends for the other chassis...

[Coelacanth]

Nice alternative solution to the problem with the uber-rare hard final pinion gear. If I didn't have a few spares, I'd consider buying some. Got link?

That's also an interesting way to connect the steering assembly with the servo in that location. Looks solid. You'll find the 360 Gold has plenty of snort, even more with a LiPo battery or 8.4V NiMH battery feeding the juice.

[markbt73]

Here's the link to the pinion:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVCX4&P=7

By the way, I have a question for those with more Optima experience than I. The gear on the outside end of the top shaft... is it removeable/replaceable? It's really worn. I have what looks like a replacement gear, same dimensions, same tooth count, but with a slot for a cross-pin. I can't see how the old gear comes off the shaft, though. It almost looks like it was molded in place on the shaft. Am I missiing something?

[Bormac]

Hi Mark. Yeah the original gear was molded on I think. The extra gear you are referring to can be used with a different shaft. If you get stuck I might have a spare I could send you.