Finally---I Score an Optima Mid

[Basher67]

I have a "bucket list" of cars that want in my collection and one that has always been towards the top of the list was an Optima Mid. I have a couple original Optimas and a Javelin but a decent restorable Optima mid in any variation has eluded me for some time. I recently found this one in a box of parts cars while buying a clodbuster from a guy near me. It looks to be complete with nothing broken and very little rash. I believe it is a Turbo Optima Mid SE. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Some of the differences are so small between some of the variations of Kyosho buggies, it's easy to misidentify one. I already ordered a body from TBG and will begin the restoration of this car. Unlike most of my other "restomods" I think I will probably keep this one all original. Possibly even use the original msc. I wiil try to post regular picks of my progress. As always, I love to hear your opinions and tips that always help along the way. Here's a couple pics of what I'm starting with. I did already remove the servos, msc and belt and gear covers but haven't started the cleaning yet.

[Coelacanth]

I think you're right...the Turbo Optima Mid SE has the chassis plate with countersunk holes. The regular one is drilled with non-countersunk holes.

Great score. I got similarly lucky when I bought an Optima parts car and parts lot from a fellow member, and it turned out there was a nearly complete Turbo Optima Mid SE in parts. That turned out to be my OptiMutt build. I already had a group of 4WD cars and at the time, almost nobody was building a mid-motored RWD car, and I wanted to build something different.

Have fun with that project, I know I did!

[Basher67]

Thanks. I didn't even think about the countersunk holes. I was reading some info on the chassis being thicker than the standard Optima Mid. Not sure if they were talking about all the turbo editions or just the SE. Been meaning to throw the calipers on it. I just haven't got around to starting this one yet. Projects started piling up on me a little bit.

[keithrc]

At first glance I thought it was an SE, (I haven't done much RC stuff lately) then I noticed the platinum shocks that only the SE's had, also the tie rods are not the turnbuckle type (only Turbo Mid's had them), stabilizers are there but it should have the silver wheels instead of white ones.

I think the front shock mounts were different too somehow. There's heaps of info on various threads on here.


Keith

[Basher67]

I went through a few very detailed websites with side by side comparisons of the turbo mid se compared to other models as well as the original manual. It's definitely a Turbo Optima Mid SE. The wheels are silver, but with fading over time combined with my crappy photo skills, they look white in the pic.
I'm finally getting around to starting the work on this build. Going to start the tear down tonight. I already have a new body and wing and I ordered a decal kit. I've been looking all over for tires and most of the OT-66 tires on ebay were half worn down and overpriced. I decided to order a set from Marwan. Also ordered a set of the reproduction Javelin tires. I've heard good things about his products being high quality. Everyone here seems to agree that his reproduction bodies are the best around, so I'm hoping the tires will be good quality accurate reproductions as well. I also ordered up a set of Javelin decals while I was at it. My Javelin was in decent shape when I got it, so it was mostly just a cleanup with a few parts replaced, but I've been wanting to do a more thorough restoration. The tires were the biggest obstacle, so with those on the way, I should be able to roll right into the javelin restoration when I complete this Turbo Mid build.

[Basher67]

Hardest part about preparing for this restoration is not straying from the original parts. I really want it to look "box art" like it was advertised in Tower Hobbies bitd, but there are temptations. Pargu has those aluminum Turbo Optima wheels that would look sexy as hell on this buggy. I have a pretty vast assortment of era correct esc's that would be better than the original msc, but I'm determined not to stray and keep it as original as possible. We'll see how that works out

[Basher67]

Not what I wanted to see in the tranny. Looks like new gears are in my future

[GoMachV]

Unfortunately this is all too common in the mids. I’ve yet to pull one apart that didn’t look like that

[Basher67]

This one was missing the lower belt cover, so I should have known what to expect. That belt becomes a conveyor that feeds all the dirt and pebbles right into the trans without a sealed cover. The inside of the front one was nice and clean. Win some, lose some

[keithrc]

Looking at the pics again I can see the wheels are silver. The Pargu alloy Mid wheels are silver so they wouldn't look out of place on the SE, might even be cheaper than genuine SE wheels too


Keith

[Coelacanth]

That rear diff condition is disappointing. What's more disappointing is the people selling spares of the Mid diffs are asking outrageous prices...$50 USD and up.

[Basher67]

The good news is that the center gear took most of the damage.The diff gear cleaned up enough to be usable. The ball diff was far from smooth, but after chucking the discs in the drill and running some 600 grit on them, it smoothed out a bit. The diff as a whole is usable, but I will be shopping for a new one since I will be running this car. The center gear is a loss and the metal top gear is badly gnarled so I ordered up new ones. I was tempted to upgrade the gears, but restrained myself and ordered original Kyosho parts.
So it's pretty much torn down to a pile of parts now. Getting ready to do some scrubbing in the sink. Wheels are in good shape except for the silver fading and I have a couple spares laying around, so I'll pick out the four best ones and clean them up and repaint them silver. Still need to tear down and assess the condition of the shocks. I already had a new set of pillow balls and ball nuts on hand and a bunch of left over screws from the Optima truck build to replace a couple factory screws here and there.

[EvolutionRevolution]

The good news is that the center gear took most of the damage.The diff gear cleaned up enough to be usable. The ball diff was far from smooth, but after chucking the discs in the drill and running some 600 grit on them, it smoothed out a bit. The diff as a whole is usable, but I will be shopping for a new one since I will be running this car. The center gear is a loss and the metal top gear is badly gnarled so I ordered up new ones. I was tempted to upgrade the gears, but restrained myself and ordered original Kyosho parts.

It's better to upgrade the gears, as the center gear disintegrating is also a common failure with more powerful motors. The metal/delrin upgrade gears really help.

[Basher67]

Normally I wouldn't hesitate to upgrade the gears, but I was trying to keep it as original as possible. I know no one can see inside the trans anyway. If I smoke these new gears, then I'll give up and upgrade.

[Basher67]

Finally received some new gears and a new belt, so I decided to start the reassembly. There was a bunch of fasteners that had been replaced over time with incorrect ones. Luckily, I have a pile of original Kyosho screws left over from my Optima Truck and my Ultima project since I replaced all of their screws with stainless ones. After some digging and sorting, I was able to find and use all the original correct screws according to the manual. New gears and belt paid off as the drivetrain is now silky smooth.
Still awaiting the new tires from Marwan. I've been looking at some different paint options at my lhs to repaint the wheels. I'll cover that process closely when the time comes