Optima Mid Money Pit

[Duncan]

This summer i started racing again after a very very long break with a ZX5FS2 and i love it. I have already managed to get my first trophy at SHRCC at there GP. I only managed a 3rd place in the b final ( should of been first but a young Justin Beeber lookalike got the better of me ) but it was great fun. My first cars were optimas and then an optima mid and i raced these after school until i discoverd beer and girls so after spending a fortune on a new car / electrics / spares / hop ups and so on and so on i decided to spend even more money on this sorry state that i found on Ebay.
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My thoughts were to rescue this LWB mid and give it some tlc and some hop ups with some modern electrics. I am not that fussed about keeping to all the original parts.
I started by stripping down what i had bought and it soon became clear that i had bought a total lemon
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I found the front gearbox smashed and missing its diff, front shock tower smashed and held together with a cable tie, rear gearbox has all the gears badly worn or missing , all bearings shot , rear drive shafts shot , front hubs and wish bones shot, most screws missing or shot , top plate and supports missing, bottom chassis bent , belt missing , outdrives worn out , missing rear wing support and so on. The ebay listing told me that it was a used item and may have some cosmetic wear ? now i blame myself for this as i did not ask the seller any questions about the car and i could see by the pictures that a lot of parts were missing but i did not expect the mess that cost me £40.
Anyway its done now and i will not give up so i am going to post hear how i get on with this drastic re build.

[Duncan]

So these are the salvaged parts left from the donor car
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As you can see its not much, the good part is both shocks are ok apart from some cosmetic marks.
I cant decide weather to build a SWB with lipos or leev it LWB and use the saddle pack space for lipos.
Will get the shocks and other ally parts anodised soon. :cry:
Still need a set of white turbo wheels, OT-90 i think if anybody can help

Can anybody tell me how to get these pictures bigger

[ralphee]

Ive got some VGC (hardly a mark) wishbones if you need them.

lee

[Duncan]

This is my collection so far, still waiting for parts to come. This lot has cost a small fortune so far !
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[Naushad]

What electrics are you going for?

Vintage or modern?

If you go brushless, go for 13.5 but no more than 10.5.

Personally, I'd keep it old skool!

[Duncan]

I want to go for modern electrics just because they work so much better in my opinion .:thumbsup:

[Naushad]

Great! Beware that there is no slipper clutch (unless you do mods) so thats way I advise caution with brushless

[HKS_TRD]

This is my collection so far, still waiting for parts to come. This lot has cost a small fortune so far !
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Thats a nice collection of parts there!

[Duncan]

Great! Beware that there is no slipper clutch (unless you do mods) so thats way I advise caution with brushless
Yes this may be a problem, i would like to fit a slipper clutch at some point but i do not want to have to fit the shocks in the rear position by flipping the rear arms to give more room for the adjusting nut and spring. I also presume that the gear cover will not fit by fitting a slipper clutch. I will try a low power motor first and see how it goes. All part of the fun

[Naushad]

look for bigjeepz thread on this forum...

[terry.sc]

This is my collection so far, still waiting for parts to come. This lot has cost a small fortune so far !
Jeez, no wonder if you are buying new parts for everything, which I think is a bit of a waste if you are planning on running it. Like the NIP original bumper that's guaranteed to get scratched the first time you run it properly.

For something you want to run a lot the really cheap way is buy 2 or 3 second hand cars, put the best bits from each one together as your runner then either keep the second best parts as spares or sell off everything.

My Mid runs happily with a 12 turn brushed motor in it without a slipper clutch with no drivetrain damage, but then I don't bang the throttle on hard nor throw it over huge jumps all the time.

[Naushad]

Terry, you've mentioned this opinion several times in previous postings.

Personally, I agree with you.

It is very expensive to buy new parts for old cars if you want to run. I guess it depends on how confident one is on used parts performing satisfactorily whilst running - especially if they involve drivetrains etc..On the other hand if you are a purist and want something almost new then you'll fork out the extra cash or buy a NIB kit for silly money.

I also think for a shelver one could refurb used parts and really limit NIP purchases. I've done it several times already!

I look forward to seeing this one come to fruition.

[Duncan]

Jeez, no wonder if you are buying new parts for everything, which I think is a bit of a waste if you are planning on running it. Like the NIP original bumper that's guaranteed to get scratched the first time you run it properly.

For something you want to run a lot the really cheap way is buy 2 or 3 second hand cars, put the best bits from each one together as your runner then either keep the second best parts as spares or sell off everything.

My Mid runs happily with a 12 turn brushed motor in it without a slipper clutch with no drivetrain damage, but then I don't bang the throttle on hard nor throw it over huge jumps all the time.
All you have said is true and i was well aware that getting some donor cars would be cheaper but for me it is not as much fun, i may get a donor car as i cant make up my mind weather to do a SWB or LWB so i might do both. I am not into shelf queens besides the wife would not let me put a toy car on any her shelf my hobby is already known as geek club , this car will be run for fun and used as it should.

[ralphee]

Terry, you've mentioned this opinion several times in previous postings.

Personally, I agree with you.

It is very expensive to buy new parts for old cars if you want to run. I guess it depends on how confident one is on used parts performing satisfactorily whilst running - especially if they involve drivetrains etc..On the other hand if you are a purist and want something almost new then you'll fork out the extra cash or buy a NIB kit for silly money.

I also think for a shelver one could refurb used parts and really limit NIP purchases. I've done it several times already!

I look forward to seeing this one come to fruition.

There is also the fact that maybe, some people, would just like to run the car from a new status?
Its a personal preference, if you want to run a sloppy cut and shut nail, so be it, but i for one am a bit of a perfectionist and purist, who doesnt settle for second best, even, on a runner.
So no, i dont agree at all, as its down to personal preference, not anothers opinion being pushed on you.

lee

[DanB4]

All you have said is true and i was well aware that getting some donor cars would be cheaper but for me it is not as much fun, i may get a donor car as i cant make up my mind weather to do a SWB or LWB so i might do both. I am not into shelf queens besides the wife would not let me put a toy car on any her shelf my hobby is already known as geek club , this car will be run for fun and used as it should.

Are we married to the same girl?! :)

[Duncan]

Are we married to the same girl?! :)
Posibly , does yours resemble a dragon at times as well :o

[gixxer]

Mine is known as the house beast!

[simonbelmont]

So these are the salvaged parts left from the donor car
43754

As you can see its not much, the good part is both shocks are ok apart from some cosmetic marks.
I cant decide weather to build a SWB with lipos or leev it LWB and use the saddle pack space for lipos.
Will get the shocks and other ally parts anodised soon. :cry:
Still need a set of white turbo wheels, OT-90 i think if anybody can help

Can anybody tell me how to get these pictures bigger

i have a decent mid roller i can sell ya for parts. :thumbsup:

[Duncan]

could you pm me the price and some pics please

[Duncan]

so some new parts arrived for my FS2 and i had an idea to use the LAW41 on the lwb for the lipos, i did a quick mock up to get further ideas.

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i may make my own battery post holders so the battery is clamped a little harder but using this method i could still use the original battery straps

[Naushad]

That looks like a great setup!

Watch out for weight distribution as it may be a little lighter than expected at the back end given it was originally designed for sub c.

Bigjeepz on this forum developed some really nice lipo older for a Lwb. I wanted some but my enquiry did get very far. Not very sure why.

[Duncan]

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Started the build now but i found the shaft that holds the spur gear is bent , that will mean the only part left of the original car is the rear gearbox case, 4 screws and the motor mount plate.