Older Xrays
 

I'll be honest, I didn't realise this sub-section was here until now. I thought I might share a couple of cars from my little, and ever growing collection.

I have been fascinate by the Xray cars since I first saw them in a magazine in late 1999. Remember this was way before the internet was what it is today. My fix was one of three magazines that I would regularly get, RCCi was easy enough to get, RACER was almost as easy to get but lacked that special something that a good mag has. And my favourite, though it was the hardest to get was RC Car Action from the states. In the end I had my local Newsagent order me in a copy each month. I was fascinated by these kits as they were unlike anything else at the time. Yokomo had the best shot at TC in the late 90's, but went towards plastic kits as did most of the other manufactures. Xray started with a high end kit that was way above anyone else at the time. The materials and quality were so much better than anyone else, but they were expensive. I couldn't really afford one at the time, but I wish now I had saved and bought one back then.

I have been collecting T1 parts for years from eBay and from model shop sale bins. I almost had enough parts to assemble a car, and around a year ago a new chassis and bulkheads turned up on ebay. It was an odd set up as the chassis was an early one, but the bulkheads were keyed but not anodised, so either T1m or T1r. This is what I was able to assemble:-

https://i.imgur.com/HK2HcQOl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0xIv3p8l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/d2p2wULl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TYr4yNLl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sErzRrTl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/r5kjU0Fl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eXOTQx2l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/mjvSl0nl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FzrK81sl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/eYEaMDil.jpg

I was really happy with the outcome, even though it was a bit of a mess of years.

So then, to satisfy my desire to get this kit correct, I set about finding a later 6-cell chassis for it.

After searching the web for various different parts and options, one user name kept coming up. It turns out I'm not the only fan of these cars, there are a few of us that have small collections of cars and parts. As I had a spare early chassis plate I came to swap this for a 6-cell chassis so was able to 'upgrade' my car to a more comfortable 2002/3 spec.

https://i.imgur.com/r3Ay54vl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TOyMWbQl.jpg

At the same time I added the brass centre weight.

https://i.imgur.com/6L7jGT6l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0hsEPlal.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/dvCx9kBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/RbMTF5rl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/TWebUULl.jpg

Then I started to look around a bit harder for an older T1...

On eBay.com I found an original T1. Metal diff carriers, Serpent dampers, orange odd length springs, philips screws. I easily convinced the seller to post to the UK, and came to a deal on the price.

https://i.imgur.com/SRQjlz1l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7uivRusl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XgR8702l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8A4feAQl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VoNVXRul.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/YJM5yJll.png

https://i.imgur.com/NzBPnbNl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/7bv7l9Yl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wsZX72fl.png

It arrived a bit grubby, but it was new, and complete. I simply replaced a couple of parts, the rear upright had a mark and the servo posts were wrong. It really is a lovely thing.

Now I really fancy one to actually use. This popped up on facebook a few weeks ago, It is currently stripped and various parts are being cleaned/polished/tumbled, I hope to get it going in the next week or so.

https://i.imgur.com/nnASUDSl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UmldJDsl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/1XLnp9Gl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hYxSBbHl.jpg

The steel parts are especially scabby. They'll take some work to get right.

https://i.imgur.com/MPR9HGFl.jpg

Nice. Looking forward to seeing the race ready car.

last one looks tike the later t1, rounded tops on the bulkheads instead of squared off edges. wish mine were in that good condition. first t1 had non anodised bulkheads, think it was evo that were anodised, then evo 2 with the rounded off corners on the anodised bulkheads.

Cheers guys. All of the early T1s were anodised, but the pics in catalogues and the press would have been from colour transparencies, so don’t always show up the colour very well. Some later T1s weren’t anodised though, the T1m and T1r, but these both have keyed bulkheads, keyed for belt tension adjustment.

X RAY T1 FACTORY KIT
 

Hi
I've had my X RAY T1 FACTORY KIT since new in around 2004 and thinking of selling it.

Always wanted to use it into my first serious foray into On Road 1/10th rc racing but probably will never get around to it so thinking of selling to somone whom would love one of these.

I’ll pm you.

Further to the cleanup of that EVO2, I have cleaned up and reassembled the drive shafts. After stripping them down it was clear that having lived close to the sea, the metal parts were worse for wear, especially the steel parts. Screws are easy, just toss them out. But the drive shafts not so much. The original spec ones are NLA, so I have to be careful with these.

After a soak in vinegar overnight and a rinse, a quick wire wheel and polish on the buffing wheel, and the rust is mostly gone.

https://i.imgur.com/LVBHigBl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/3I9bQYUl.jpg

Then a dip in Gun Blue fluid, and some colour and protection is added.

https://i.imgur.com/ha0gG5Dl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/0o69dRhl.jpg

I'd love to know the finish used on Hudy parts, and if it's something that can be achieved at home, though this is perfect for a race car.

Ok, some pics of those drive shafts installed.

https://i.imgur.com/7FnaArrl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/28qOswal.jpg

You can see it is on the setup station. I went for a fairly conservative setup, 1.5camber all round, 5.2mm ride height, 1 degree toe out across the front axle, and a whole 3 degrees toe on each rear wheel. Droop was a complete guess, at 2mm over on the rear and something like 3mm over on the front.

https://i.imgur.com/EynClfLl.jpg

I don't have a rear roll bar yet, but substituted a front at the rear to get me going.

https://i.imgur.com/s1V4zoJl.jpg

I also fashioned this LiPo holder front a sheet of carbon and taped the battery in. The tape you can see in this pic is holding the brass weight to the bottom of the LiPo.

Yesterday afternoon, I raced the thing at the Forrest club in Mitcheldean. It was a quiet evening, but it let us get plenty of laps in. There was three of us with vintage cars, there a TC3 and a Pro4. I also took my new T4 '20 to try, just as a shakedown really.

https://i.imgur.com/CinQ9bul.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/6lzWOTQl.jpg

The droop was close, I increased the rear droop to 3mm over through the evening to give me a little bit more steering. I suffered a bit of grip roll, but can't lower the roll centres any more. I tried to increase the track width on the front, but didn't seem to make much of a difference.

The old cars were surprisingly well suited to the small track. Mine as you can see wore relatively modern brushless kit, the other two had brushed motors. I will swap out to a brushed setup before I use it again. Brushed motors suit these old cars so well. The brushless is brutal in power delivery, and I can see it accelerating wear on the car. It has already shown up the front belt as a weak point, so I have ordered a new belt for it although not from a model car... It didn't break, but did twist the belt over so it was rear wheel drive for a good part of the race meeting.

All good fun.

Ok, new belt arrived this morning, and I trimmed it down into two. The belt is for a printer I think. Here's my tool, I made it years ago to cut leather belt straps!

https://i.imgur.com/m99BbJVl.jpg

I now have two belts, I have just fitted one so the car is ready to go again.

Love that belt cutter :thumbsup:

I'll add my mate and team mate Lee stokes, he has every single xray tc from very 1st to current, either boxed klt as new or fully restored, even the fiberglass budget ones

that's a great idea

Collected these two from the sorting office this morning. To the left is a later T1, from 2001 with plastic diff bearing carriers. It’s missing a damper but I’ll rebuild that later from the correct spare parts from Serpent.

http://i.imgur.com/EciStynl.jpg

To the right is a T1R, complete, but needs a couple of parts to bring it up to perfect condition.

Both cars are unused, but have been stored poorly and just need a good clean and rebuild.

I have set up a page on Facebook, give it a follow if you are interested.

https://www.facebook.com/XrayT1Owners

Also, I took these pics a few weeks ago of a set of bulkheads that I cleaned up.

Process, is to polish the machined edges with a dremel and Peek. Then to re-brush the side faces. To do this I used a fresh sheet of 240g finishing paper and a liberal spray of gt85, and used a straight edge as a guide to bush the surfaces. Once done, a good clean in thinners to remove all of the oils and polish, and a half hour in the tumbler with stainless media. This takes the immediate shine off of the surfaces and gives a longer lasting finish.

https://i.imgur.com/TFa0VVpl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/V3eLBF3l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/T7ytbV1l.jpg

It's really hard to get a good comparison pic as the bulkheads were very good condition before. They look perfect now.

A thing arrived in the post today. I'm too afraid to build it though, so I think it will stay as a kit.

https://i.imgur.com/8aTP8L5l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/cjlFmY5l.jpg

ok, look at the this gorgeous pair.

https://i.imgur.com/Uc5EfP3l.jpg

Both T1, the older one has the aluminium diff bearing holders, the later one has the moulded plastic version. Both have their merits, but all later cars had keyed parts to allow some kind of fine adjustment.

https://i.imgur.com/eH29U8Ll.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/olodO56l.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5QKFDRul.jpg

The earlier car has very light anodising, green/brown, typical of hard anodising, while the later car is much darker and brighter, almost gold.

The carbon on each car is subtly different too, both in shape and layup. It is most noticeable on the rear shock tower and front bumper brace.

https://i.imgur.com/R8EO5fRl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/muFPAH6l.jpg

The early car is from 2000, the later car is from 2001. Most likely both european kits as the kits destined for the US had white springs to suit their foam tires.