TOPIC:

Hi,

Well, one upside of quarantine (maybe the only one?) is that I am finally getting to projects I’ve put off for years. One of these projects is the restoration of my Porsche 959, which I got for my 12th birthday in 1987. My son is now 11, and I thought this would be a good project for us to do together now that school is out and camp is cancelled.

This car has been in my parents/my attic for the last 30 odd years, and I am excited to dust it off and bring it back to its former glory!

This is my first project like this, and have a few questions maybe you guys can help me with? I plan on disassembling the entire car, but at first glance I see some broken and/or missing parts that I need some help locating.

BROKEN:
1. the front ceramic heat resistor, it is cracked and is missing the metal cover. I see metal covers on ebay, but not the resistor itself - anyone know where I can find a replacement?
2. Both bottom front steering linkages (parts F1 and F2). I see aluminum replacements on eBay - is this the best way to go for a “driver” car like this?
3. Metal antenna is broken off.
4. 3 of the tires look good, but one is torn and needs to be replaced. Should I buy a single original tire? Or are there cheaper replacements for all four?

MISSING:

1. Front right Sa12 drive shaft “dog bone”. Any idea where to find this?
2. There is a Futaba FP-R102GR installed but the antenna wire is broken off - only a few inches of the original wire antenna remain. Can just the antenna wire be replaced or do I need to replace the whole unit?

Lastly, the battery. It currently has a Tamiya EX battery (7.2v-1700mAh) and PRO/Tech “Super charger“ AC/DC 702. What is the best replacement battery and charger to use here?

Thanks in advance for any advice or help you can provide!

Those lower arms are notoriously weak. If you want to drive it, the aluminum replacements are a good idea. I use a 1800 mAh NiMH battery which is cheap, reliable, and fits perfectly. The antennae for those old receivers is nothing but a piece of wire, so you should be able to just splice in a new length of wire.

Welcome on board.

I can't help you with much on that chassis, other than suggesting setting up eBay searches, looking for Facebook groups etc - and bending your wallet over a barrel in readiness

I do have one of those RXs (in 27mhz form) though, I believe is still as it left the factory. The antenna is 19 3/8" (490mm) from where exits the case. It's also black with a 1" section of clear (now yellowed) heatshrink at the RX end - look for 10/0.1mm hookup wire. You should be able to get at the PCB starting with the 2 screws on the underside of the case

I'll admit I'm somewhat biased against the 959 & it's brother, IMO it's small, fragile, not very capable & completely beyond my reach in terms of cost. If only it had been on a 1:8 chassis ...

I have to wonder if getting a new Lunchbox & a Midnight Pumpkin so you each have something stronger to drive might be a better use of time & money



Charger - I would definitely recommend the Imax B6 (or a similar 4-button unit), even though it needs a separate mains -> 12v power supply, it's very flexible in terms of the battery types it will charge. I would recommend Vapextech 2500, 3000 or 3200mAh NiMH 7.2v packs if you were in the UK, TBH I'm not sure what would be the equivalent quality/value brand in the US though.

Repro decals are available from mciracing.ca, vacform bodies from Team BlueGroove.

have a look on ebay
www.ebay.com.au...2864837553

www.ebay.com.au...SwoPpaWkYb

www.ebay.com.au...SwuhZeiJFC

as for the radio gear i would be a newer good one in there 2.4ghz because its got fail safe
only if u are going to run it

but dont stop there if u were going to run it? yes upgrade it all
upgrade to the celica
stabilizer
www.ebay.com/it...SwA31eyZA1

center differential
www.ebay.com.au...ctupt=true

www.ebay.com/it...SwWHZe2feN
there is a way to change the wheels hex thats if u want to change it to have a different wheels
www.ebay.com/it...SwWHZe2feN original ones here
if u buy the wheels ask for a dog bone shaft too he may have one

only run it on the flat surface dont jump it or anything cool 959 i drive my one

as for the battery get a lipo u may have to go to a hobbie shop of one because only a few will fit it
like this one u have to change to tamiya plug
go for a venom 1.0 battery converter
because its a lipo u will need a battery low volt unit put that on the battery when u use it because u cant run a lipo dead flat
when its get low volt it will then start to beep like mad so u stop the car stright away ok
i hope restore it my friend hope this heaps u
i put the links up so u know what to buy i'm not saying buy the ones i put up ok u may find it cheaper else where

blakbird wrote:

Those lower arms are notoriously weak. If you want to drive it, the aluminum replacements are a good idea. I use a 1800 mAh NiMH battery which is cheap, reliable, and fits perfectly. The antennae for those old receivers is nothing but a piece of wire, so you should be able to just splice in a new length of wire.

Yes, the plan is to (gently) drive it!
Would this battery be a good choice (attached pic)?
Would my charger (if working) be able to handle charging that batery?

Thanks for your input!

Jonny wrote:

Welcome on board.

I can't help you with much on that chassis, other than suggesting setting up eBay searches, looking for Facebook groups etc - and bending your wallet over a barrel in readiness

I do have one of those RXs (in 27mhz form) though, I believe is still as it left the factory. The antenna is 19 3/8" (490mm) from where exits the case. It's also black with a 1" section of clear (now yellowed) heatshrink at the RX end - look for 10/0.1mm hookup wire. You should be able to get at the PCB starting with the 2 screws on the underside of the case

I'll admit I'm somewhat biased against the 959 & it's brother, IMO it's small, fragile, not very capable & completely beyond my reach in terms of cost. If only it had been on a 1:8 chassis ...

I have to wonder if getting a new Lunchbox & a Midnight Pumpkin so you each have something stronger to drive might be a better use of time & money



Charger - I would definitely recommend the Imax B6 (or a similar 4-button unit), even though it needs a separate mains -> 12v power supply, it's very flexible in terms of the battery types it will charge. I would recommend Vapextech 2500, 3000 or 3200mAh NiMH 7.2v packs if you were in the UK, TBH I'm not sure what would be the equivalent quality/value brand in the US though.

Repro decals are available from mciracing.ca, vacform bodies from Team BlueGroove.

Ah yes, I'm aware this won't be a "cheap" endeavor unfortuntately, but the nostalgia is strong and makes me do foolish things.

Good to know about the wire antenna, I'm decent with a soldering iron so hopefiully that one will be a painless fix.

As I read more about this model it is interesting to see all of the love and hate associated with it - I had no idea it was such a rare and controversial model. I knew when I was a kid I absolutely lusted after it and somehow convinced my parents to get it for me - at the time it was a tough choice between the 959 and the BigWig. My friend had a Midnight Pumpkin that ran way better than my 959 (which sat broken most of the time!) so you definitely have a good point there, especially for my son. If this restoration goes well and he gets hooked there may be a Pumpkin or Lunchbox in our future. Like I said, nostalgia is strong here, and for that reason I am motivated to get the 959 running again (even though I may go broke in the process).

Anyone know a US equivalent to Jonny's battery/charger combo?

spannerman3 wrote:

have a look on ebay
www.ebay.com.au...2864837553

www.ebay.com.au...SwoPpaWkYb

www.ebay.com.au...SwuhZeiJFC

as for the radio gear i would be a newer good one in there 2.4ghz because its got fail safe
only if u are going to run it

but dont stop there if u were going to run it? yes upgrade it all
upgrade to the celica
stabilizer
www.ebay.com/it...SwA31eyZA1

center differential
www.ebay.com.au...ctupt=true

www.ebay.com/it...SwWHZe2feN
there is a way to change the wheels hex thats if u want to change it to have a different wheels
www.ebay.com/it...SwWHZe2feN original ones here
if u buy the wheels ask for a dog bone shaft too he may have one

only run it on the flat surface dont jump it or anything cool 959 i drive my one

as for the battery get a lipo u may have to go to a hobbie shop of one because only a few will fit it
like this one u have to change to tamiya plug
go for a venom 1.0 battery converter
because its a lipo u will need a battery low volt unit put that on the battery when u use it because u cant run a lipo dead flat
when its get low volt it will then start to beep like mad so u stop the car stright away ok
i hope restore it my friend hope this heaps u
i put the links up so u know what to buy i'm not saying buy the ones i put up ok u may find it cheaper else where

Hey thank so much for all these links - great info and very helpful!
Wow those tires and wheels aren't cheap! I don't need this to be OEM showroom perfect, is there a way to just replace the tires with something newer and cheaper? Without changing the wheels maybe?

Going to Lipo looks a bit more complicated (to a newb like me) - is it OK to use a Lipo battery with the Technigold motor?

Thanks for your help!

here a few more
www.ebay.co.uk/...SwXN5e5Qn4

umm this guy www.ebay.co.uk/...SwuhZeiJFC
might have 1 wheel and dog bone u have to ask him

as for your battery charger if its old like the car it wont charge the new lipo battery might blow up
you might have to get a Imax B6 good all round battery charger and yes it will charge 8aa battery too
yes the lipo will run fine in your 959
if your car is going slow it may be because the brushes are worn out in the motor
if i was u i would all so change out the motor to a 540 type cuz the brush sets for the 959 are priceless only if your run it all the time
www.ebay.com.au...ctupt=true
and then u have to put new wires on the motor so it will fit the porsche 959 took me a long time but i got it in the end
u cant just put it on like normal u have to rap the wire around the motor a different way or it wont fit the car

as for getting another car if i was u i would look up a few tamiya cars up dont just go off one of us because we each love different cars if u know what i mean

look up a
supershot
hotshot
grasshopper
grasshopper 2
hornet
frog
bigwig
just to name a few there are a lot more u have to pick one
i'll upload some pic tomorrow

as for your antenna gust get a new one there cheap

Ok thanks, I asked him if he had a dogbone.

Is there maybe one from another car that would work- I see Frog and Blackfoot dog bones and they look very similar to mine.

I took the whole thing apart today, and hit some more bad luck. Looks like the top center chassis piece (it hold the battery and speed control) is badly cracked in two places. Didn’t seem to affect the cars structural integrity when it was all assembled, but now that it’s apart I’m wondering if I should just epoxy glue it and hope for the best, I imagine finding this part won’t be easy or cheap.

In the meantime I ordered the antenna, wheels, tires, aluminum steering assembly arms, and resistor.

Also wanted to ask - what kind of degreaser do you guys use to clean all the parts? I was going to try dish soap and warm water or some wd40. I also have a kitchen degreaser I could use.

far out sorry u run into that bad brake
as for glue sometimes its best to find another part cuz if the glue dont hold its going to brake out the other half or make more damage to the car if your running it
um so
here a few upgrades i made see if u upgrade the radio u dont need the antenna pole
the chassis do come up on ebay from time to time but because of the virus out brake people cant ship the items
see the hex nut there its from the Tamiya Avante 1988 one only the other nuts are not the same some how
and they dont work as good
as for the dog bone no it dont fit the 959 the frog one its bigger then the 959 and ball at the end wont fit into the shaft for the 959 and its longer
i tried it lol
the 959 parts are hard to find yes but they can be cheap too i got a car from Canada for 136 usd like full car