TOPIC:

Edit: quick links to the various pages:

Page 1 : As found
Page 2 : Dismantling, stripping paint & staring repairs
Page 3 : wheel repair, epoxy putty & filler
Page 4 : guide coat & more filling
Page 5 : tyres, grilles & priming
Page 6 : cleaning chassis parts
Page 7 : LED wiring, underguard
Page 8 : Polishing chassis bits, making decals
Page 9 : making window decals, chassis assembly
Page 10 : Colour revealed
Page 11 : What's next?
Page 12 : Cheetah #2
Page 13 : Alternative colour choices, parts swappery
Page 14 : More parts swappery
Page 15 : Godzilla strikes!




I'd been thinking it was time I looked around for a new project - then I spotted this on Ebay ...

The description reads "I am making no claims for this, what you see is what you get. Clearly the torsion bars are broken though there are a couple of apparantly unbroken ones in a large bag of spares included. There are also two other motors - one appears new, and an old acoms transmitter which can be included if desired." ... on to the pictures:














I had a quick look to see what a Cheetah should look like, I don't really know what I'm looking at with the really old stuff like this, but the chassis looks fairly complete & I think most of the parts of the body are there ... but clearly this is going to be a lot more work than the last few cars I've done ... well, actually, more work than _any_ car I've done before ... good job I like doing bodywork ...

As i've just bought this, it'll be soem time before I can post more pics ... but in the meantime - wish me luck - I'm going to need it!

OMG dude. I'm jealous. I've wanted one of those for years. Don't find them in South Africa. I think it's going to be a great project.

This is great! Good luck. I'm pretty sure you'll make It look good. I look fwd to follw the tread.

The Cheetah is a great car. It's 1:1 history is also very interesting...
I've seen a few fans starting on a car like this lately - still very popular for very understandable reasons.

Lamborghini Cheetah history

Good luck with the resto! Expecting to see a brilliant result, as always.
Certainly gonna follow your progress.

Well it arrived today ... I think the condition is best described as "intimidating" - I really don't know where to start!

The tyres are better than they looked in the listing, although they are very soft, so I think will need foam inserts to help keep their shape & keep them on the rims... both rear wheels are broken - one is just cracked in several places, the other has 3 & a 1/2 spokes worth of rim missing - that'll be a bit of a problem I think - though not insurmountable.

The transmitter turned out to be an Acoms AP-227 (mk1) in fair order - it'll need a thorough scrub & the contacts sanding, but I probably won't actually use it, the radio gear on the car all matches & looks very good, as does the MSC, apart from the connector. The case of the battery that's on the car may well be worth salvaging, no doubt the cells are completely shot, and the wiring & connector are no good either ... but I do have two sets of NIP 6v connectors & a modern 5 cell pack ... There's a second 6v pack, but it's been very badly painted & looks heat warped.

The front bumper ... TBH I can't tell what I'm looking at -there's so much thick brown paint on there ... but it seems most unlikely there's anything original left, apart from the lower aluminium bracket/guard.

The bag of bits I suspect is mostly junk - but there's a pair of dogbones in there, a spare (but hused) clear underguard, an MSC I don't recognise, a few gearbox parts, and an early black endbell mabuchi 540 that looks ok - but will need lots of nuts, bolts & washers extracting There are a couple of gems in there - a white endbell Johnson 540, still sealed in it's bag, and a set of 4 unbroken torsion bars - after hearing about how fragile they are, I doubt very much I'll actually be using them to replace the 4 broken ones on the car (I'll make my own out of something cheaper and/or stronger).

Moving on to the body ... in general, the paint is thick & crusty, there's lots of cracks & bits missing, and a lot of extra glue has been very haphazardly applied - completely at odds with the care that's been taken with the artwork & lettering ... that'll all be going of course - but it's a bit of a shame in some ways - I'll try to take so decent photos of it before I start the stripping process.

The wing mirrors are of course long gone, as are the B-pillars, the right side headlamps & backing piece are gone, as are the front marker lights, and a lot of the bodywork they should be frenched in through. There are two bits of plastic ladder (?) glued in over the headlamps, which will have to go. The winch isn't too bad, although 3 out of the 4 protruding bits on the bottom bar are broken.

The windscreen is present, the clear bit is surprisingly good, and the wiper is present, but one of the 3 roof attachment tabs is missing, and there's an awful lot of glue damage to the bottom edge, and to where it should fit on the bonnet...

The interior is a mixed bag

I'd love to see a custom build into a Rambo Lambo...

Edou wrote:

I'd love to see a custom build into a Rambo Lambo...

...

LOL, I don't think it'll come out quite like that ...

Should have added that the seller was a great chap to deal with, and sent the car very quickly I'd certainly recommend him, so if anyone is interested his ebay listings are here .

I did ask if there was any history to the car, but unfortunately not - he bought it from a car boot sale.

On to some pics:

First, the artwork:

The camel & giraffe are quite well executed...




the Swift (or it could be a Swallow) a bit less so ..



The rabbit is kind of basic - but this shot does show the "quality" of the underlying paint ...






The badly broken wheel is going to take some work ..



... as is the front bumper. If you're not familar with British registration plates, "V reg" plates like this equate to 1979...



I don't know how well the driver's butt will clean up, but at least it won't be seen ...



ditto for the battery, if I bother...



Rear end looks a lot better in the photos than in reality ...

Scale accesories - I think the owner must have been something of a pioneer in that field





Steering wheel is just gone ...



Really nasty glue damage to the seat ... but I have to make one anyway, so why not make 2 for twice the effort?



Windscreen fitting recess is nasty too..



All up weight with 6v battery pack & 4 AA cells is a whopping 1.97 kilos! no wonder the torsion bars are known for breaking!

I'll say one thing though, the person that painted the animals has a good steady hand and sharp eye. Pity they don't belong on there, I think they'll look good on a Tamiya CR-01 Unimog painted like a safari truck.