Kyosho Salute Rebuild (1987)

[fidalgo]

Hi Guys,

I'm from Portugal, and I'm in RC for quite some years now. I've already had several models, from Offroad, to touring, 1/10, 1/12 pan car, mini-z, etc.. And, I think today we don't have RC car with the "Glamour" from the 80s and 90s.

So the story begins with a Kyosho Salute I had several years ago, that I sold to a friend, and recently had a chance to buy it back, all in pieces.. So I decided to rebuild it to almost full specs with original parts, and now I share with you the process.

I still have the original catalog!


So it started like this..



I had to disassemble everything, in order to check what needed to be replaced.

And after some cleaning ..



some parts where a bit used and "out of shape", So I bought:
- Diff housings
- Original diff cases
- Rear and front arms
- Original RIMS
- Full set of stainless steel hex screws (not original)
- Optional Steel Final Drive
- All the gears from transmission new and original
- New Tires..





The aluminium parts where a bit dirty, so I polished them by hand, and with a Dremel.





And The rebuild begins !






For the servo holder I couldn't find the original part so .. So I made a new one from carbon and aluminium!


What I did..


And the rebuild continued ..



I was missing the tires, so I've search the net I found this.. for 4,99 a pair !


Now almost completed!


After some work with the mecanics, I started to think what to do with the original body, that had a pretty ugly paint scheme..



Then I've searched the Internet to find if there was a way to take off the paint from the lexan, to recover the original body. .I came across .. DOT 4 break fluid !! So I tested.. and it worked !!

First test with the wing..


Final result

Not bad !!

To make a long story short, the process lasted for several days, but in the end I managed to take all the old paint..



And finally the paint ..


For the motor, a Friend gived me a Trinity RUBY 17T motor, And another friend a Kyosho 22x1 motor, but I think the Salute still misses the Lemans motor (I most search for the original 480ST). For now it is like this..







And the final result !




Next to a NIB recently build Kyosho Salute 1:20 Baja Bugs, with optional bearings, lipo, micro ESC, etc..


Sorry for the LOOONNG post, but just wanted to share with you this work..

Now I'm searching for my next project: Kyosho Ultima, but they are a bit hard to find (for a decent price !! ), and some people don't want to send them to Portugal .. Still searching. ..

Hope you enjoyed it.

Regards
Luis Fidalgo

[Naushad]

Super build!
Well done!

I tried looking for
Reely tyres too for my
Builds as they are 2".

They are distributed by
Conrad electronics, but
seem out of stock now...

[oli4ke]

Very nice restoration!
Thanks for sharing, always nice to see a fresh looking Salute

[DanB4]

Originally Posted by Naushad

Super build!
Well done!

I tried looking for
Reely tyres too for my
Builds as they are 2".

They are distributed by
Conrad electronics, but
seem out of stock now...

They look just like the TOMS W-5031 rear block tyres!

Great restore by the way!

[optiman]

Hello Fidalgo,
Great build!!! Congrats!!
I think you have your motor search wrong. To my knowledge there is no Le Mans 480ST. There are 480S(blue) & 480T(green) or 360ST(silver 550 size).
There are also 480G and 360G (both gold, 360 is 550 size).
Check your search input cause that extra "T" might be narrowing your options.
Ed

[fidalgo]

Hi, you are right about the le mans motors..

I've searched more info about the motor i used, and it was a Kyosho SPA 480WT.. Even harder to find than the le mans motors..

There is One on Ebay, but not IN very good condition..

I will keep searching.. Probably will choose one Lemans motor.

Luis

[Lamarotante]

Hi All.

This is my love car.
My father bought this model for me in the 1988.

Now i have decided to complete the body paint and a new electronic and motor.

Please check the attachment...