TOPIC:

Hello to all, I just thought I would introduce myself as I have recently registered and been looking through some of the pages on this excellent and informative website (well done Lars)and maybe get some assistance from the expertise that members provide.

Many, many moons ago I bought a Rough Rider with my hard earned pocket money and about five years later I bought a Thunder Shot 4wd. Once work got in the way of having youthful fun both cars were left in my parents loft.

About ten or twelve years ago when my son was young I got hold of my Thunder Shot and my son and I had some fun until a small crash wrecked one side of the A5 part that holds the lower wishbone/suspension arms - no amount of Araldite would hold it for long - and that was that as we were unable to source a spare from model shops or Tamiya.

A few months ago my son (now 15!)asked about the car. We brought it down from the loft and recharged the old battery, however the glued part fell off most times it was run even on level grass so we searched the internet and found sellers on eBay have some parts available. We couldn't find the A5 part but got hold of a broken chassis with the front of the car relatively intact (incl. the A5 part req'd) and we were soon up and running, albeit with a limited 6 or 7 minute run time from the old 1200NiCd. So we have ordered a new 3000NiMh battery and 3hr charger and hope this helps increase the amount of fun.

I have now managed to get hold of my old Rough Rider (great to be able to download the original manual as mine went missing after almost 25 years in my parents loft) and this is where the help is really required as it requires some TLC. All the rubber parts (switch cover, tyres, damper bushings, battery box bushing) have perished to some extent and the rear axle universal joints are very slack. Fortunately, I have tracked down some parts and ordered from sellers on eBay. The front wheels are very loose, I think it is the metal bearings that are worn so have ordered a new ball-bearing upgrade set - do the uprights wear badly and need replacing? The lights are all broken off as the top lights soon broke off if the car rolled - is there any way of repairing the (disappeared) roof mounts to reattach the lights as all the pictures I see show every one else manages to keep their lights. The plastic body has also cracked at the roll cage and needs strengthening/repairing. One of the light mount points on the front left axle mount broke off also can the metal part be repaired or do I need a new one? I will need a new humped battery but that can wait until the car is running again. I can use the original battery to test the car.

One last query would be how to break the gear case apart and plastic cover off as I think I was a bit exuberant with the threadlock as a kid - is there a dissolver to apply or just brute force and hope the bolts don't shear? Same for some of the grub screws on the rear axle.

My plan was to dismantle the car entirely (except for the shocks), clean/rebuild and hopefully rekindle my youth. Any tips would be greatly appreciated before we start to try and avoid problems.

First of all - welcome!

I'll have to take a look at the manual to be able to answer most of your questions myself...

Too much thread lock is a thing of the exact size screwdriver and enough force I think.
Wouldn't really know what else to do there...
Grub screws you could try some WD-40 on. Or heat if there's no chance of melting anything.

Good luck with the restoration and making it a great runner again!

Hi and welcome!
Well like Edou said you should make sure the driver you use (be it a Flat,Phillips or Hex)is the correct fit and the best quality. The cheaper A...n made tools will not last and probably destroy the screws. I use a Dremel butane soldering iron with the tip removed for a nice small pin-point flame to heat stubborn screws. This will also ease-up any nut-lock compound. In your tempt to remove the screws holding the plastic motor and gear covers on the Rough Rider you should point the flame at the metal casing where the screw sits and away from the plastic. The metal must be heated to just to hot to the touch and be ready to undo the screw, keep a wet rag at hand to quickly cool the heated area before moving on to the next one. With these vintage rebuilds a lot of patients pays. The damaged Front Axle Mounts N5 & 6 can be replaced by the axle mounts MB8 & 9 #19805007 from the Buggy Champ.

Hope this helps and enjoy the rebuild.

Thanks for the tips and the welcome!

We'll have to knuckle down and make a start once we get the spares, problem is we can't stop playing around with the Thunder Shot as we have that working and looking at other cars on the internet - something to dream of. Or is a new re-release considered sacrilege?

I for one don't think buying any Tamiya kit could be considered sacrilegious.
Of course there are rereleases and rereleases...

The possibility for a great restoration is there already with the Rough Rider and getting all the stuff new in the box should be a great experience (again) too. Very curious what NIB you are thinking of.

I was thinking of The Frog or Grasshopper if going 2wd or the Boomerang or Hotshot if going 4wd (only avoiding the Fire Dragon due to it having same chassis etc. as the Thunder Shot).

Ideally I would like to get something that gives the feeling of a challenge for the build stage (my son has been building the advanced Technics models since he was knee high in a day!) as well as having good handling and fun to drive.

I don't know anything about the newer release models to be able to pass any comment. Liked the look of the Durga but saw a bad review on the buildability and quality of the chassis.

Any suggestions (good or bad) on my thinking would be welcome.

essemmay wrote:

I was thinking of The Frog or Grasshopper if going 2wd or the Boomerang or Hotshot if going 4wd (only avoiding the Fire Dragon due to it having same chassis etc. as the Thunder Shot).

Ideally I would like to get something that gives the feeling of a challenge for the build stage (my son has been building the advanced Technics models since he was knee high in a day!) as well as having good handling and fun to drive.

I don't know anything about the newer release models to be able to pass any comment. Liked the look of the Durga but saw a bad review on the buildability and quality of the chassis.

Any suggestions (good or bad) on my thinking would be welcome.

I can't comment on genuinely "new" releases - I have no interest in the plastic whizzy spaceship buggies, and loather "truggies" even more ... but I think I can comment on some of the re-re's:

Grasshopper - extremly simple build, no challenge at all. Pretty slow with the standard 380 motor, evil handling if you upgrade to a 540 - terrible bump steer & rear end skips around all over the place.

Hornet - same chassis as the Grasshopper, & just as dull to build. Theorectically better suspension still gives terrible handling.

Lunchbox - shares many components with the Grasshopper & Hornet. Marginally more involving build than the 2 above thanks to chunkier components, enormous turning circle & poor handling, but the rear end can be improved easily with the "5th shock" mod - and it's a hoot if other people are also driving Lunchboxes at the same time

Midnight Pumpkin - ditto what I said for the Lunchbox

Wild Willy 2 - even more mad than a Lunchbox, dull chassis - but if paintwork & detailing is your bag, the body & driver are fantastic.

Super Clod Buster - slow, dreadful steering ... but what these have going for them is presence - and the ability to drive properly on snow, drive across lakes (really), and over just about any other car - including "big wheelers" like the Lunchbox

Frog - TBH it doesn't handle that well - but is a fairly involving build.

Brat - same chassis as the Frog, ABS body is another painter/detailers dream & the extra weight actually makes it handle better IMO.

Hotshot - fairly involving, long build (for a Tamiya) ... although much of that time is spent wondering what the badword Tamiya were thinking with the suspension geometry A bit slow, turning circle is very poor ... but this is a real icon for me
I would imagine the Boomerang is very similar.

Buggy Champ (re-re of the Rough Rider) - a proper chassis with lots of pot metal, handling is indifferent though

Sand Scorcher - as the Buggy Champ - but with the added complication of the paintjob - looks simple, very, very difficult to do well

Holiday Buggy 2010 - shares only the body with the original, chassis is a modern 2WD buggy & a very simple build. Looks completely wrong, handles & goes extremely well with mild upgrades.

FAV - mine hasn't arrive yet so can't really comment ... & due to having spent too much on RC, it'll have to go in the loft and be my Christmas present / I'll let you know what it was like to build in early Januarly 2012


Overall, then, for me anyway:

#1- Brat - if you like building & painting
#2- Hotshot - if you like building
#3- Scorcher - if you like building & painting, & can live with the cost
#4- Lunchbox - if having fun is most important
#5- Holiday Buggy 2010 - if only slightly retro looks and handling are most important.


PS, much in the same way that I don't think anyone's ever bought a huge TV, sat back to watch it & said "you know, I think that TV is just too big", _no-one has ever regretted buying a Lunchbox_

Hi
I recently got the re released 2011 AVANTE. The kit offers a reasonable build challenge with huge amounts of satisfaction on completion, not to mention fantastic looks,speed and handling.
Check Tamiya USA and You Tube for promotional videos.

The Avante would also be my choice. Not taking budget as a criterium.

I'd love to have a FAV or a Sand Scorcher but that would be more for just the fun.
These wouldn't come close to the driving capabilities of the Avante.

Here's the original video :

www.tamiyabase....vante.html

Btw - I have a Grasshopper with some mods to enhance the driving. True what Jonny Retro said about these cars...

Anybody know how to embed a video on TB?

Hello

I used to work in Cheshire (nr Warrington), and live up near Preston, but now I live in SW Germany.

As it happens I just retrieved my old Tamiya Rough Rider from my parents loft in England as well. Seems like the Rc and motor still work, but I plan to replace the gearbox bearings, need a new speed controller, universal joints, and the from suspension has quite a lot of play in it.

The lights broke of mine when I was 16 or 17, plus the roof got smashed off, rear guard & front bumper broken etc. At the time, I made a new roof out of tin, and roof struts out of aluminium tube, a rear guard half out of wire, and bought a tougher plastic front bumper. Actually it looks pretty good, I'll have to upload a picture.

I'd be very interested to hear how you get on restoring the Rough Rider, and where you get any parts from etc, as we might face some of the same issues.

Cheers
Paul