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Anyone run one of these old mardave buggies before im considering buying a second hand one in great condition. Dont know what it is about mardaves that appeals to me i think its the simplicity yet functionality of them that i like. They are so simple to run. I normally hate nitro with a passion just too noisy and messy but i like these....dont ask me why probably as they look so old and quirky. Noticed these have no pullstart so im assuming its starter box only? what are the engines like to tune? I had a HPI Savage but i could never get the badword thing to run right constantly cutting out it used to drive me crazy.

I've had 2. Don't do it if you plan to run it - they're well over-powered & the basic suspension & lack of diff don't help! Easy to tune & maintain, engine is strong. Early ones had foam tyres which will drive you mad cos the strongest glue in the world won't stop it spinning them off... Application of power should be done gingerly, or else it'll stand up on the back wheels & spin like a tasmanian devil. Wind it up slowly then punch the throttle for some 40mph+ spin outs & out-of-control upside-down drifting... Adjustment of the engine relative to spur gear (Backlash) is crucial to get some kind of life out of the spur - they don't need to be far out to strip the gear the first time you open the throttle. Rubber tyres are better than foams, oil shocks don't make any difference, front suspension actually works quite well. Back doesn't - the rubber driveshaft joints sort of counteract anything the suspension's doing. No ball race option for any of the bearing points (All shafts run direct in the plastic mouldings) & rear wheels are held on by the splined driveshaft being hammered into them (No wheel nuts). They look really good with a Ford Capri body on them. In that pic, someone's hacked the chassis about opposite the engine. Early ones had yellow wheels, foam tyres, no rear shocks. Pic is of a later version. They were usually fitted with Irvine 19,20 or 21 motors. No electric or pull start, you need a starter box or hand held aero type starter (Upside-down bicycle works too, but a bit of a juggling act). Excellent car to learn to drive properly with (Akin to being permanently on ice), bad if you wanna go out bashing with your mates

....if someone offered me one for 20 quid, I might have it with the intention of converting to electric to make it more usable. Otherwise, scratch build one out of 4x2 timber, twigs & leaves, should be a good likeness

I got myself a marauder aswel work in progress me and my son are going to give it a go mine has no shell so busy having a go at making my own

Funny, I have a smaller engine on my mardave F1 but same type of radio box

I don't really know anything about them I noticed the box on mine doesn't have holes in with the wires crossing g through on some of them don't know if its simply just a prefered way of keeping the wires out of the way