WLToys A959B Project that got out of hand

[Pyxster]

I know this isn't "Vintage", but I thought I'd share this as a project that got out of hand, I'm sure some of you have similar stories.

I bought a 1/18 WLToys A959B last December and a few runs in I broke a front A-Arm, so I thought Id just replace it with an aluminum arm, that lead to the whole aluminum upgrade kit, then carbon chassis, Yeah Racing shocks, metal wheels, metal gear set, 3D printed side trays and a functional roof scoop that put air onto the motor...

I repainted the "headphones" body matte black

Then I upgraded the electronics with Hpbbywing ESC, Punisher 17.5, 2 Lipos to give it 3000mah, Fly Sky GT5, faster servo...

I think they only thing that was stock when done was the diff cases, I read people had fitment issues with the metal ones.

All said and done I had over $500 into a $60 car.

After it was built I only drove it once to shake out the bugs, it wasn't as fast as the stock setup, but it had more torque and was still uncontrollable.

I ended up reinstalling the stock electronics in it and sold it on eBay, at that point I only lost about $100.

Either way, it was still a fun build.









I also had another set of wheels and a truck body, but the turning radius was reduced as these tires were bigger and would hit the chassis:

[Burniefloyd]

I like that body with the roof scoop, did it come like that or did you add it on?

I hate when a project gets away from you. Something starts as a "deal" but quickly ends up going the other way

[Pyxster]

I like that body with the roof scoop, did it come like that or did you add it on?

I modeled and 3D printed that roof scoop.

As a reference, this is what the car looks like stock, yes, it says "headphones" on the side. The Chinese version of Google translate must have some bugs in it.

[Dadio]

I designed and 3d printed THE steering fix https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3823562
this really works , no more torque steer , transforms the steering !



I never bothered going brushless , 2s 540 brushed motor is bonkers anyway , the metal chassis i fitted lowered the COG and slowed it slightly and after fitting a proper steering its a blast to drive .

[Pyxster]

Nice, I bet that does help the steering.
Yeah, the car was more fun out of the box then after I was done with it.

[Coelacanth]

I love projects like this, taking a cheap toy design and modding it so it's properly functional. Sure the cost can quickly get out-of-hand, but if you watch your purchases, you can still end up with a toy that's almost hobby-grade, and may even outperform the entry-level hobby-grade offerings that might STILL cost much more than your total investment. The forum does have a section for this, the 21st Century Modern section: https://www.rc10talk.com/viewforum.php?f=114

I've done a few similar projects, such as upgrading a few 1/18 Conqueror Crawlers for my wife and daughter to mess around with, and a FeiLun FT012 RC speedboat. For the crawlers, I upgraded the electronics to proper proportional ESC and steering and added aluminum oil-filled shocks, something I saw everybody else who was modding these things ignored. It really makes a difference in the controllability of the cars as crawlers to be able to steer and throttle without everything being full-on or full-off. For the boat, I hated the stock hull paint and ugly-ass painted-on graphics, so I repainted it to something I liked much better...as well as upgrading the prop and rudder assembly, re-doing the water-cooling tubes, straightening out the stock unaligned coupler for the prop shaft, fixed some broken plastic screw posts, etc.

At the end, it's rewarding to know that you made something a lot better than it was out-of-the-box.

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=44228

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=114&t=42961

[Pyxster]

I didn't see that part of the forum, perhaps a mod can move this there.

I've been keeping an eye out for other childhood cars I had, the Tyco Turbo hopper and the twin motor Lamborghini they had. I'd like to pick up a clean copy and upgrade the electronics, suspension, etc.