Another Optima Mid restore

[CharlieOptima]

Hi There,

Well I thought it was about time that I got my old Optima Mid out of the cupboard. It's been sat there for 24 years and I think now deserves a little TLC.

Overall it's in pretty good condition apart from the usual bumps and scrapes. The aim is to get it restored back to original and get it running again but only for posterity...a sunday toy!

Anyway it's now been stripped down, all the aluminium parts have been sanded and polished, shocks refurbed, and all the running gear and plastic parts have now been de-greased and scrubbed.

I'm now waiting on new parts, front ball diff, bumper, body, decals and set of repro OT-66, new bearings, new drive joints, replacement screws, top deck and one or two other bits.

The only things I'm really missing now is a set of OT-90 but I do have a set of Optima Mid Customer wheels and tyres.

The next decision is what replacement engine, ESC and battery combo.

Anyway I'll keep you posted once the re-build starts.

Have a good day and I look forward to sharing.
Charlie

[sheriff]

These old Mids do seem to be getting more and more popular.

That's a nice project you have there Charlie. Why not use the standard Le Mans 240ST motor you already have? Keep it standard. Also, do the gear diffs need replacing?

The alluminium parts look great, good work. When you said you 'refurbed' the shocks, what did you do with them?

Cheers!

Nick

[CharlieOptima]

Morning,

I tested the Le Mans motor and it still runs but it didn't sound great, I'd like to keep it as part of the package but I think with all the new developments over the years it's more practical to put a new motor and power plant in it and TBH not that expensive...be nice to give the old girl a new boost!

I've actually stripped the front diff and cleaned it all up, I've also replaced the case as I had a spare so really that's A OK. The rear center gear was chewed up, looks like dirt got in so that's being replaced.

As for the shocks I emptied out the old oil and cleaned them up, replacing the internals with parts I had in the box. Again just waiting on fresh shock oil.

[CharlieOptima]

and this a 24 year old chassis plate that used to run up and down a gravel drive after a bit of spit and polish...not bad apart from a couple of scratches and a finger print

[j0pp3]

Can never be too many mids around here :drool: Good luck with project, looks like it can turn out really well!

/j0pp3

[Naushad]

From what I understand the Le Mans is a great motor and rebuildable. You could put brushless but I think the drive train won't handle no more than 10.5.

A fee guys on the forums have rebuilt my brushed motor in the past and now they work great!

Of course it's entirely upto you but you've got a great model there so I would keep it to stock spec.

[CharlieOptima]

Having done some reading I'm going to rebuild the 240ST but I'm still tempted to pick up something with a little more punch just to see the difference. I'm not going to go mad so ive been looking at an Ansman 17t. But in reality the car will be a running shelf build and I doubt it'll really get used.

[CharlieOptima]

Good Morning,

Well I decided that as I had most of the bits I'd get on with it. I didn't bother doing mi-build shots as we've all seen a few of those. Anyway it took me a few hours yesterday to put her all back together, I've tried where possible to keep the integrity of the old car but I've replaced a few bits along the way...and spent a horrific amount of money....should have just bought a new car!

Anyway she's had:
Full strip down and clean including both diffs, I was going to put a ball diff up front but decided to keep it original as I had a new case anyway.
New top deck
New bumper
New belt covers - top still to be added
New bearings
New belt
New front and rear shafts and joint cups
New center gear
Mostly new screws

Shocks were stripped, cleaned with new oil
All aluminium was sanded and polished

The most expensive bits were the body and decals (not arrived yet) and the replacement set of OT-90 which are in excellent condition with very good original OT-66's.

Anyway I'm fairly pleased with the end result although having used original parts it's certainly not perfect, at least it's still the same car I was given 20 odd years ago! It's even had a couple of carpet runs with the original motor and battery.

I've probably paid over the odds on a few bits and I've ended up with 2 sets of original Mid Custom wheels. One set with tires (fronts have brand new Bridgestone's on them), one set without.

Anyway here she is, I'll put up finished pics when the body arrives.

Charlie

[oli4ke]

Nice restoration, Well done:wub:thumbsup:

[HKS_TRD]

Looks great. Its motivated me to add another SWB Mid to my list of planned builds. Would you be interested in selling a pair of rear Mid Custom wheels, a friend needs them for his build. They will be getting dyed black so condition does not need to be mint

[CharlieOptima]

Looks great. Its motivated me to add another SWB Mid to my list of planned builds. Would you be interested in selling a pair of rear Mid Custom wheels, a friend needs them for his build. They will be getting dyed black so condition does not need to be mint


Send me a PM as I was only going to put a set on eBay.

Ta

[CharlieOptima]

Well, I've painted and cut the body out. Took my time over several days so not to rush things and I'm pretty pleased.

I've put most of the decals on although the side swipes are a little tricky as the supplied originals (which I still have from new) and the repros from Marwan don't actually fit the body like the box art. Looks like a little cutting down is required to fit the space.

Also a few issues with the decals lifting on the curved surfaces...I've read this is fairly common.

All in all fairly chuffed....almost like new!

[j0pp3]

First of all, great work!

To get the decals wrap over the edges you can use a common hair dryer. That's what saved my Marwan decals. Now, many months later, the are still in place.

Keep it up!

Cheers

[CharlieOptima]

Did you trim the side body decals to fit?

[j0pp3]

Did cut it to fit better but not as much as I have seen others do. I left a lot of the decal untouched and put the text decals on top instead of having a white background. Here's a link to a picture of mine:
http://joppis.dyndns.org/optima_mid/kyosho_optima_mid.jpg

[CharlieOptima]

Did cut it to fit better but not as much as I have seen others do. I left a lot of the decal untouched and put the text decals on top instead of having a white background. Here's a link to a picture of mine:
http://joppis.dyndns.org/optima_mid/kyosho_optima_mid.jpg

I was looking at your car earlier to see how you fitted the side decals...I think a careful trim it is. Looking at the box art I don't you can't achieve this even with original decals, the sizes are off. Anyway it'll be a close thing!

I have a set of Marwan tires to put on as well, although it's sitting on original ones at the moment and I'm tempted to keep them...shame the wheels have yellowed slightly

[j0pp3]

Yeah I know what you mean. I have some left-over wheels with a yellow tone but some day I might try the same method as the RC10 guys use on white plastic. A bath in Hydrogen peroxide while exposed in sun light. I'll have to try it first before recommending it though :lol:

Looking forward to your version of fitting the decals!

Cheers

[Naushad]

Hmmm...

Just trying the the peroxide method with my RC10 parts...didn't work very well despite roughly 3% solution and UV light.

[CharlieOptima]

Right chaps the next restoration will start next week..Optima Mid Custom. Ebay buy condition yet to be confirmed. Anyway it's my January project.

Pics and updates to follow...just annoyed I sold the set of wheels I had

[Lenn]

Right chaps the next restoration will start next week..Optima Mid Custom. Ebay buy condition yet to be confirmed. Anyway it's my January project.

Pics and updates to follow...just annoyed I sold the set of wheels I had

Hi,

FYI: I have some NIP parts for Optima Mid series.

UM-14 Servo Saver Set
OT-18 Rear Shaft
OT-99 Wing Stay Set
OT-19 Drive washer Set
OT-45 Rear hub
OT-72 Heat sink
OT-98 Battery Holder Set
OT-93 Bumper (GENUINE) not reproduction as many bumpers on ebay!
OT-87 Gear Shft Set
OTW-11 Adjustable Rod
96435 Rotary Speed Controller
OTW-9 Plastic Parts Set
LA-4 Thrust Balls
OT-5 Joint

Below items are 100% NEW but not in original packaging.
LE MANS 360ST Engine
MA-17HY Yellow rear wheels ( optima Mid Custom)

I have many lazer ZX / ZX-R / ZX-RR parts too!

Thx

[CharlieOptima]

Before I start the Mid Custom I have finally finished off my original Optima Mid, almost as good as when it came out of the box 25 years ago.

[j0pp3]

Looks superb!

Hope you don't mind but I put our cars side by side to let them celebrate together :lol:

http://joppis.dyndns.org/misc/optima_mid_side_by_side.jpg

[CharlieOptima]

Looks superb!

Hope you don't mind but I put our cars side by side to let them celebrate together :lol:

http://joppis.dyndns.org/misc/optima_mid_side_by_side.jpg


Looking good! Let's see if the custom turns out as well!

[DerbyDan]

That turned out super! Looks like new :thumbsup:

These Optimas (SWB & LWB) are some of the best looking buggies!!:wub