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#1
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Vintage Buggies; which will you suggest for racing/runner
I am toying with the idea of getting a vintage buggy just for racing/runner. It does not need to be the perfect vintage machine and or difficult/costly to get spares.
All I need is something I can enjoy while not having the stress of worrying about where or how much it will cost getting spares. In the other hand will not want to get a POC of a buggy I dont know of or handles too bad. I was concidering the Tamiya The Frog, always wanted one but never had one nor seen one in action. I've had friends with Beetles and Blackfoots(I assembled them all for them zillion of years ago) and remener them having fun without any hassles. Is the front suspension too bad? Others I might concider; Avante Optima What would you suggest? Pros & Cons? |
#2
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How about a RC10 or Losi XX?
Both were very popular so relatively easy to get parts for and not too expensive. Both handle very well, can run modern electrics and be reasonably competitve even against the latest cars. |
#3
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Hotshot is good.
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Id steer clear of Tamiya for harder racing, for fun, they are top, but racing, hmm, depends whether you want 2WD or 4WD, and an Avante is a minefield of maintenance.
2WD is a lot cheaper on maintenance, and a nice Losi, or even a re re RC10? Spares are going to be around for that one for sure, and even the older Losi's are pretty abundant in parts. 4WD, well, most are pretty spendy to start with, id always say Yokomo, but parts can be a PITA to obtain, and afford, some Schumacher the same, but, hmm a tasty CAT2000 would be killer, really does depend what you want it for, and how far your budget will stretch! lee
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#5
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What about a Schumacher Procat - I've just finished restoring mine and raced it on Friday indoors for the first time in over 20years. It showed up a load of modern buggies with only cheap non sensors electrics installed.
Can't wait to give it a go again this week - I think I prefer it to my sx3 |
#6
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Like Ralphee said, Tamiyas are fun... and that's about it. For me racing vintages would be for fun. If I want speed and excellent handling I'll just run something modern, perhaps with a vintage body covering it. The Hotshot is nice, but I am not really a big fan. Schu's are expensive and difficult to get spares. Why is the Avante so high mantainance? I would highly concider running one. I would rather race a 4wd, and a Optima maybe, but I already been that path when I restored a Mid Custom to shelf mint condition to later race it and scratch the poor buggy. It not felt right for me... What about the Frog's front suspension? DanB4, did your pal raced his Frog among you guys? If yes, how did he do? Vintage racer wish list; 1)Fun, no stress about breaking something. 2)Cool looking 3)Mech speed controller & brushed motor; nothing beats a high end motor with sparks flying all over!!! 4)Sturdy or at least not a whimp |
#7
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Hi we race Frogs at our club against Wild Ones and other vintage cars.
The Frogs are great fun but are not that competitive against a vintage RC10. Vintage racing is always going to be more for fun as it would take a complicated handicap sytem to make it fair. This is because all the older cars are so different. My advice buy a Frog and have fun they are great. I posted a video of Frog racing on our TRCMCC section here on Oople. Cheers Paul
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#8
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The Frog was all about fun it bounced around the track, was nursed over jumps and got lapped several times by my optima mid and rc10.
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#9
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We race Tamiya Hotshots, Boomerangs and Bigwigs with 540 silvercan motors and it is great fun. If you want to go a bit faster and more durable 4wd car the Tamiya Manta Ray or Top Force are great as well, parts are cheap and readily available.
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#10
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Has anyone not seen the price of vintage tamiya spares??
Kyosho Lazer ZX-R all the way bro. Loads of the breakable parts still available for reasonable money. Either that or my TOMS :wink:
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#11
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#12
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How much are spare gears, front bumper and front bulkhead for a Lazer btw?! Last edited by ozipanda; 13-08-2013 at 10:18 AM. Reason: . |
#13
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It's a Frog, plenty of them about. Pick up a cheap second hand one and run it, if you don't like it sell it again and get your money back as there's plenty of buyers. If you have fun with it then get a better one or a new one to keep. Either way, at least you will have had the experience. Quote:
It's all down to personal choice, go with whatever you fancy and everyone will just tell you to get whatever they like. Personally when I'm off bashing I always take a Frog, Super Blackfoot, Sand Scorcher, Ultima and Optima, with a Lazer ZX-R, Optima Mid and RC10T2 getting an occasional run. The Frog and Blackfoot get thrashed, they bounce off impacts that would take the corner off a racing chassis and are just pure fun to drive. The Scorcher just looks great when bouncing around and attracts the most attention. The Optima gets the most use and is pretty indestructible with some updated gears in the gearbox and a belt drive conversion. The ZX-R gets little use these days when bashing as the parts that can break are the same ones that are impossible to find and I've got through my spares. Spares is something to think about, while some people insist on spending a fortune on new parts every time and having to search for them, it's cheaper and easier to keep an eye open for cheap cars on ebay as a source of spares to keep you going. I have picked up a good supply of spares by watching for battered looking cars on ebay, the parts will keep you running and a few scratches won't stop the parts working.
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#14
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If you are going to run something then getting a tidy used example and sticking a new bodyshell on it will give you something that no one will be able to tell from a fully restored car when they see it on the track, and you are won't wince whenever you crash worrying about which overpriced new part you have just scratched. None of my runners have parts replaced unless they are damaged, considering how many I have it would cost me a fortune anyway. For example my Optima runner had a horrible pink body, some missing gears, no wheels and a bent front under guard, it cost me £25. Gears were from the cheaper Ultima gear set, the under guard was straightened, not replaced, wheels and tyres from my spares box and a repro body added so the whole buggy cost me £50. Nothing else has been replaced and as all the parts that get scratched are already scratched I don't feel guilty about running it hard and crashing it. Yes, they might have a bit more play than all new parts, but that is going to make no difference when you aren't concerned about fractions of a second in lap time and to be honest a lot of the really old cars were designed to run with all that slop in them.
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#15
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It seems to be a real struggle to get enough people together on a regular basis to race a full vintage class, so it seems I normally end racing my older cars against the modern stuff in the main heats... & just seeing how I fare. My Vintage 'mounts' are all what i'd call racer-grade cars so are a bit more suitable for such racing compared to cars like the SRBs, Hornets, Frogs etc but it is still amazing how well these cars go especially when fitted with more up-to-date electrics... I've even managed to be quite competitive, finding myself at the sharp end of a few A finals, when the track conditions have favoured the rear motor configuration cars (all my vintage runners are 2wd)
I have so far raced a Worlds RC10, a Losi XX and most recently a Losi JRX2 - I get a massive buzz from running these cars, especially if I get a decent result & I love the reaction from the other racers - some think its some 'hot' new design whilst others remember the days when it actually was the 'latest thing' - but all seem rather miffed when they realise they've just been beaten by a 20-25yr old car!
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#16
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Also, did you break the front bulkheads when you were racing?
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#17
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I really enjoy racing my Frog, I chose it as it brought back memories of looking at one in my local hobby shop when they came out but couldn't afford one. It is a Re-re but they're pretty faithful to the original tbh. It has the kit esc & stock silver can 540 so it's been reliable so far. I only get away with the (let's face it, awful) suspension as the track is mainly flat astro, it'd be terrible on any bumps
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#18
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To race/run a vintage again will require to be a 100% enjoyable expirience for me, no worries. Racing my Mid Custom was fun, but at the same time it was troubling for me to examine the buggy after each run and watch how everything I put a lot effort to get it mint go all to waste, it just does not make sence for me. I really enjoy my small vintage collection and stare at them occacionally, cleaning them, doing this and that, but I would hate myself to beat them at the track. But I also, thanks to some members here, I'm starting to get an itch of running something vintage. But like Terry said in his own words, once is on the track with the body on it does not matter if its new, scratched or beat up as long as its running.
I think most probbably I'll go with a Frog or RC10 or might hack one of my B44's and turned it into a Frankeinoptima, once it has the body on top I think it will do it for me. To mimic the chain drive noise I will get a metal MOD1 spur and leave plenty of lash on the pinion LOL!!! |
#19
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Vintage meets are what ive got in mind from here too TBH, as Dan said, its hard to get the numbers up i guess.
I have an indoor venue that run buggies on carpet here in Bham, i pan to acid test my Yokomo's there in the next couple of weeks against modern buggies, and a silly part of me hopes it instils some passion for others to join in the vintage fun. There is just something about vintage cars, little sense of childhood nostalgia, seeing them race is just the best, hence, even my new built '94 will now be run, and its the car i have a pretty hefty spares back up for. I think ill be harder on my 91, more so when i can get a little pitbox of bits for her. Once thats sorted, i want to join Dan at Silverstone, crazy thing is i dont drive, but ive a brother who is eager to run me down for some racing fun, its been far to long away from it! As for the Frog and racing, i have to add, id get a kick out of seeing one tanking round, vintage is vintage, and, its a bit of fun, and takes a lot of us lads back a few years! lee
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#20
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