Optima Mid SE shelfer
Posted: Tue May 22, 2018 2:32 pm
So, I just completed restoration work on this SE and thought I’d share it here. Just click the photos to have a better look.
I bought this one from an ebay member a few months ago (think it was 170 shipped) and it arrived pretty much as you see it here sans a body and wing. It appeared to be low run-time car as the gears (and drive train overall), motor, chassis, suspension parts, etc., were like new. Also, thankfully, the wheels were still in good condition and didn’t require repainting. Apart from the missing body, it just needed a good clean-up. Ball diffs and shocks were nice and smooth so there was no need to disassemble them. I just scrubbed everything with hot water, dish soap and an old toothbrush and reassembled the car.
The new body and wing are from TBG (notice the gap at the rear shock plate) and decal set is from MCI. The paint is from a 30+ year old bottle of Pactra “RC57 Daytona Yellow” as that color appeared to closely match the box art car. It’s strange how old Pactra paint seems to have an infinite shelf life (maybe that's also true for all polycarbonate paint?). I used a Sharpie Paint Pen to do the tire letters (kinda tedious). A quick note about the MCI decal set; unfortunately, for some reason, it doesn’t include the “4WD”, “CRAGAR” or air inlet duct decals so, if you want to replicate the original box art car, you’ll need to improvise.
Anyway, the JR Propo radio system shown here also came with the car (not familiar with that brand so is it good, crap or somewhere in between?). The original MSC had been replaced with an early Duratrax ESC and the throttle servo rod was missing. I really want to keep this car as original as possible so I re-fitted the MSC and just need to locate a rod.
I’ve kinda been on an Optima buying binge lately and with this one completed, the Mid runner (posted previously) and a yet to be completed Javelin runner, I have enough parts remaining to build another SE. I’ll probably sell that one when it’s finished – not sure.
I bought this one from an ebay member a few months ago (think it was 170 shipped) and it arrived pretty much as you see it here sans a body and wing. It appeared to be low run-time car as the gears (and drive train overall), motor, chassis, suspension parts, etc., were like new. Also, thankfully, the wheels were still in good condition and didn’t require repainting. Apart from the missing body, it just needed a good clean-up. Ball diffs and shocks were nice and smooth so there was no need to disassemble them. I just scrubbed everything with hot water, dish soap and an old toothbrush and reassembled the car.
The new body and wing are from TBG (notice the gap at the rear shock plate) and decal set is from MCI. The paint is from a 30+ year old bottle of Pactra “RC57 Daytona Yellow” as that color appeared to closely match the box art car. It’s strange how old Pactra paint seems to have an infinite shelf life (maybe that's also true for all polycarbonate paint?). I used a Sharpie Paint Pen to do the tire letters (kinda tedious). A quick note about the MCI decal set; unfortunately, for some reason, it doesn’t include the “4WD”, “CRAGAR” or air inlet duct decals so, if you want to replicate the original box art car, you’ll need to improvise.
Anyway, the JR Propo radio system shown here also came with the car (not familiar with that brand so is it good, crap or somewhere in between?). The original MSC had been replaced with an early Duratrax ESC and the throttle servo rod was missing. I really want to keep this car as original as possible so I re-fitted the MSC and just need to locate a rod.
I’ve kinda been on an Optima buying binge lately and with this one completed, the Mid runner (posted previously) and a yet to be completed Javelin runner, I have enough parts remaining to build another SE. I’ll probably sell that one when it’s finished – not sure.
Google Losi XX images for some typical examples.
