More AYK restorations

[InetRC]

So... last weekend I ran across a box of AYK 4WD Viper chassis I had put aside for future restorations... forgot all about them... found them... then decided to restore both of them at the same time. Those of you familiar with AYK know the value of these little gems. The AYK Viper was AYK's premier 4WD chain drive off-road buggy back in 1985-86.

CLICK PICTURES FOR LARGER VIEW



I like the roll cage look better, but here is my other built one with the alternate body.



and for you NIB fanatics...



More details can be found in my online AYK museum.

[Mr. ED]

Great to see those cars, and you make very good picures too

Did you take pics while putting them together also?
I'll probably never get one, but would love to see how they were built etc.

[Asso_man!]

sweet rides

[AYKBOBCAT]

Wow!

You and Darryn retro RC are probably the only other guys on earth that I know who likes AYK kits as much as me!

My very first car was a AYK bobcat (nickname!!!).... It is actually that thing that pulled me back in the hobby a few years ago when my kid asked for a Radio Shack buggy! I told my wife... forget that...I have a whole aluminum buggy at my parents place... That was after being out of the hobby for 15-20 years... Got them to ship me the buggy and then I realized... Ah yeah it was broken and I did not have the money at the time to fix it...

So I though no problem lets go to the lhs and buy what's missing... The guy did not even know the brand! That is when I discovered ebay!

I now completely restored this buggy with a a bunch of hop-ups including a ball diff and a dual shock front setup (it was mono shock)... I paid like $80 to get a body from Japan that I can't dare to paint.... (I suck at it!)

I also bought several used Sidewinders Radiants and ProRadiants.... I have a nearly completely resotred Radiant with aluminum suspension arms and two speed setup... Also added the saddle pack chassis to it...

I know this is all worthless wiithout picts! but I live temporarily in the Netherlands and could not take my collection with me! I only brought the stuff I can drive... AYK stuff is safely stored in Canada.... One day I'll show you my picts... I've got a lot of NIB parts too but probably nothing comparable to Alex...

Great to see another AYK fan in action!

I said in another thread that I am not a shelf queen collector... I had forgotten about my AYK stuff what a shame!

[AYKBOBCAT]

Oh yeah I forgot to say...

I have enough parts (used) to build one or two 566 super trail... Forgot about those too... They would not be in perfect stock conditions as I don't exactly have all the parts... but I think I have enough to make a drivable buggy...

Having said all that, while I was driving my bobcat... I was crazy for the RC10... But this car was the car of the american pro! (that's what I though in my little french Canadian reagion). I was subsribing to RCCA but could not even read it (was not speaking English) I was just starring at the pictures... I had seen only one real RC10 before I was like 30 years old!

Now I own several and discovering this site a few weeks ago made me go nuts for RC10 now!

I love that car!!! All metal tub RC10...

[Dr. Robotnik]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the continued updates of your AYK restorations. I don't post a hell of a lot, but I love visiting your AYK museum and viewing any of your cars because the pictures and the cars themselves are superb. AYK is an awesome manufacturer who went there own way and I like that. I wish there were more companies like that now.

I don't own any AYK myself as they are a little on the pricey and super rare scale, but maybe I'll be lucky and get a 566 Super trail next year.

Keep up the good work.

Cheers

Ed

[AYKBOBCAT]

I agree with you.. They are a bit expensive. Not as much a vintage Tamiya though.

I own only one NIB kit actually. A Bobcat. I bought it because it was my very first R/C kit ever. All the other cars were bought used and I build one out of several used ones... I have been lucky at one point and bought a box full of NIB parts for not too much $ and that was a dream comming true.

[hairy-ogre]

hello, i'm new
glad to meet AYK fans but...where the hell are you people ? no reply since two years yet these cars are so gorgeous that they deserve their own dedicated site.
to be honest i'm a fan of the "AYK Aluminium Era". I didn't find any charm in the next cars such as the radiant (i know, it has alloy parts) or the boost. unattractive materials and designs, poor body shapes, nothing common with the early models.

@ InetRC: quite impressive collection

here are my cars:

the Sidewinder (rollcage version):





the Buffalo (NIB kit):





the Vipers











gathering chassis:

[murphy3428]

Hey there hairt-ogre, nice to see another ayk fan those vipers look very nice are you sure you need 3 maybe you might want to part with one I could really use one of those.

[Mr. ED]

Hey there hairt-ogre, nice to see another ayk fan those vipers look very nice are you sure you need 3 maybe you might want to part with one I could really use one of those.

You beat me to it.
There should be a rule against having 3 exactly the same cars
H-O you could either give one to murphy and me , or give them a different profile each
(had to put that in so I won't have to give out my ultimas )

Wellcome!

[GJW]

id love one also excellent groups of ayks you have buddy

[hairy-ogre]

thanks for the welcome

There should be a rule against having 3 exactly the same cars

I absolutely agree with you shame on me.
Murphy talked about running one of them, i even can imagine so. you can run an optima, a hotshot, maybe a cat XLS , but a viper ? no way.
this gem should be exposed in the MET, the MOMA or the Louvres

[Mr. ED]

shoud be a rule against not running them also
Did you run one back in the days?
Just say: 'yes' and tell me they look awesome but stink on the track... please

[RETRO R/C]

Alex - great job as always mate....seems to be some shiny new parts on the cars too!!

The Aussie distributor was a family friend of the founder/owner of AYK, and had some great stories tell\. I was also fortunate enough to buy him out of just about every last dreg of cars and parts about 7 years ago.....therefore, I was in the fortunate position of being able to supply alot of parts and cars to people all over the globe. I have been collecting and restoring AYK for nearly 9 years now - LOVE the stuff. I too love the metal era.....still does not make me feel any better about selling of my NIB Boost kits and a few others - oh well.....

I ran one of my new built Vipers a couple of years ago at a vintage meeting here in Aus....here is the (poor quality pics here) before pic: (just after a test run and packed ready to travel to the track for the first time)



Here is a pic DURING the meeting..........I still have some mud on it too.havent gotten around to giving it a thorough cleaning yet.



When I eventually do the rebuild, it will have ball differentials installed - plus another couple of mods I have up my sleeve for it.

Whilst not the best handling car - damn it looks awesome running!

Cheers

Darryn

[hairy-ogre]

shoud be a rule against not running them also
Did you run one back in the days?
Just say: 'yes' and tell me they look awesome but stink on the track... please

none of my cars run except an egress and the guy is very brave, i give him much pain and he likes it Actually i'm a shelf lover.

@ Darryn: who's Alex?