Wild Willy yard-sale find!

[UserUnrelated]

I bet you came in here expecting something beat-up and abused... nope, sorry, not here!
This truck is literally never driven, never even put power to it, as far as I can tell.
I still can't believe that I own one of these in such good condition now!
I really don't want to run it, but I feel that I won't be able to keep it that way for long, it's such a fun looking RC!
At the very MOST, it will get a torque-tuned or sport-tuned motor, so I don't plan on doing anything TOO stupid haha

But yeah, I got this at a yard sale today for $50. You bet your buttons that I was excited to see that box just sitting there in the driveway (next to an RC10 box-o-goodies... which I also bought for $50)

It appears to be all there, and I can't wait to try my best to make this body look great!
I am trying to fight the urge to go something OTHER than box art... but box-art has been done so many times before, and I really want to make this truck MINE (because I have no plans of selling it in the foreseeable future)
So we will see where the paint scheme and decals go.
There is a LOT of Tamiya blue thread lock everywhere, as you can see in a few of the pictures. The person obviously didn't know that thread-lock goes on THE THREADS, not the head of the screw
And the tires have some NASTY flat-spots in them.
Does anybody have any tips or advice about this chassis? Any easy mods to make it more durable, handle better? Fix a blatant flaw?
Another sort of semi-question: Would it be worth keeping the tires mint, and getting new tires/wheels to run the truck with? I just don't want to ruin a $200 pair of tires But if it's like $50 or so for a new-ish set like these, that's what I'd be paying for new wheels/tires anyway, so I'd probably just use these, because I love the look!
Onto the pics, because we all know that's why you're here anyway.




"Aristo-Craft Hitec" servos

[tamiyadan]

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[DennisM]

Yups, nice find.

There´s some repro tires without lettering to be found on the Bay.

[RC104ever]

Nice score! If those tires are the same as a Grasshopper / Sand Scorcher, they can be had new from Tower:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLDX7&P=7

[UserUnrelated]

The tires sure look the same, but I'm not sure on the diameter, I'll have to look.

I have certainly thought about selling it. There's an ebay auction for a USED ONE THAT DOESN'T WORK that has 23 bids, and is up to $177... it still has 9 hours left so I am watching to see where this goes.

The only problem is: I don't really know what I'd do with all tat money... I have ever RC I could possibly want to own (and I'm trying to get rid of some of my other modern ones, I have too many)
And it's one of those things that's like... Alright, I have one sitting right here... If I sell it, I will never own one again (because I am NOT going to drop that much money on one)... so why not just keep it? I am sort of a pseudo-collector, so it's neat to have things like this.

The outcome of that auction may sway my decision to actually put power to the truck, but I think I will end up keeping it...
Unless what I have is worth quadruple digits... that might be a little hard to resist...

[castradingpost]

What an awesome find! How come I only find kid shoes at yard sales? I don't even have kids! I vote keep it!

[rccars4sal]

I havent seen wild willy go for very much on ebay, but yours being mostly new might be different. I got a slightly used one free years ago, and just recently installed a period correct 2 stick radio set. Its pretty cool to scoot around popping wheelies! Very tippy though, and that hard body will not be mint for very long.

[shodog]

Certainly a very tidy example. First off that jeep is way too nice to run. Tires are unobtainium and an odd size too. They are the same design as the sand scorcher but not the same size. They are much larger. I've been unable to find suitable replacements. On my runner I use old beat up ones. The thread lock can be removed by soaking the bolts in warm water for a while.

This vehicle is so iconic, you have to do it in box art.

[UserUnrelated]

We interrupt this train of thought to bring you an amazingly awesome web-link.
Today's weblink is sponsored by ingenuity, and the letter T.
http://autochunk.com/815/2012/06/26/rc-controlled-11-wild-willy-is-strikingly-awesome/
Now, back to your regularly scheduled post.

I have thought about it, and I have decided to permanently shelf this one. I just can't even think about tainting it, it's too perfect.

And along with that thought, comes the "DUH, of course I am going to do box-art!"

The actually finishing up the body part might not come for quite some time, as I am just REALLY busy, and don't want to rush this.

The used, non-working Wheely-king with box I had been watching ended up selling for $270, plus $40 shipping. So I am sure mine could fetch MUCH more. I am going to keep it, though.

[shodog]

They are okay runners. Very prone to roll overs and very wheelie happy even with the stock motor. The ww2 is a much better runner.

[DennisM]

Yups, nice find.

There´s some repro tires without lettering to be found on the Bay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-TAMIYA-Wild-Willy-M38-Hopup-Parts-Tyres-Tires-Set-of-2-/251651526581?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item3a97998fb5

Don´t make me do this again

[shodog]

Those repro tires are pricey. By my calculations they would be around $120 for a set of four.

[DennisM]

Those repro tires are pricey. By my calculations they would be around $120 for a set of four.

Something around 90 dollars for a set of four - if You can avoid customs.

It must be expensive to get the "factory" started

[shodog]

Something around 90 dollars for a set of four -

I'm a bit further away than you so shipping alone would be $60