TOPIC:

Got this off ebay some time ago. Was puzzled by the sponge tyres are they look too small for the rims. However I have seen others like this so it must be an option or something (carpet racing?).





I won a set of random tyres off ebay which included what I hoped were Meteor tyres. They were not - however they do fit...





The front tyres have gone sort of white after cleaning (in washing up liquid). Any tips to get these back to black? (I am thinking about the automotive product called just that).

I do love the old mardaves, and that one looks in particularly good nick. I've already got a marauder, corba and selection of v12s. The meteor is next on my list

I'm in two minds about the sponge "tyres" - I thought at first they were inserts rather than tyres, but the super hard shock settings suggest carpet racing... surprised the car hasn't been lowered through.

Re the front tyres, "Back to Black" has a lot of additives I wouldn't want to leave on tyres long term, I'd give them a soak in glycerine or a wipe over & buff with sunflower oil instead

Jonny wrote:

I'm in two minds about the sponge "tyres" - I thought at first they were inserts rather than tyres, but the super hard shock settings suggest carpet racing... surprised the car hasn't been lowered through.

I think they are tyres. They seem too hard to be inserts and why colour them black if they will be inside tyres?

Jonny wrote:

Re the front tyres, "Back to Black" has a lot of additives I wouldn't want to leave on tyres long term, I'd give them a soak in glycerine or a wipe over & buff with sunflower oil instead

Hmmm... I thought the sunflower oil thing was a trick used by cheap Polish car washes...

Ebay bodyshell arrived today:



Interesting decals!
I like this style of Meteor body better than the one with the battery sticking out the side.

I was a little surprised to learn that the badly scratched bit of bent ally on the back was not in fact a home-made item, but the factory bumper
I am now waiting for a NIP non-scratched bit of Mardave bent ally to arrive to replace it with.

Also started dismantling. Much of the front suspension and steering is rusted solid. I am afraid that a couple of the suspension pins may be so bad that I might not be able to get them out without mullering them completely.

Re the sponge tyres - I think that they are cut down 1/8th Mardave I/C stock car tyres.

Press the pins out in a vice or with a G-clamp or molegrips + suitable drift. Don't hammer them cos they're soft & will "mushroom".
A long soak in WD40 or diesel, or in hot really soapy water might help too.

Mardave like their soft ally plate.... When doing my Cobra I was alarmed at how easily the chassis bent at the front (Just behind the shocks), causing the steering links to get tangled with the springs after a couple of light damper-testing drops on the floor (About 2-3" height)

Got the front suspension apart eventually with a combination of slip-joint pliers and drifts as Eddrick suggested. Mardave uses hefty M3 ball joints for the steering and every one of them was heavily rusted. Cleaned it up by spinning parts in a drill and reassembled.

On to the rear. By contrast to the front, the rear suspension metal work was in amazing condition. Just a quick wipe with an oily rag needed. Maybe it's been parked with its front end in a pond for the last 20 years
Dismantled the gearbox. Gears in very nice condition and very clean. Almost unused I'd say. However there was a distinct lack of ballraces. The second (red) gear did not even have space for bearings and was just plastic running on the shaft. Luckily I had some (very dirty) spares:




These cleaned up OK and seem to be in good condition.

Original gearcase on the left (no bearing), spare on the right.


All cleaned, greased and reassembled.




Motor looks like good quality and good nick. Anyone have any more info on it? It's a "Kyosho Competition Series Super Stock 34".



It has a very strong cogging action when turned. I guess this means the magnets are OK, right?

New and old rear bumpers:


Underside of car with new bumper:


Front a bit scratched, but not too bad:

Yes, for some reason Mardave like to use untreated mild steel for their metal parts & fasteners, & they (Naturally) go rusty.

The 2x versions of gears are interesting in a historical kind of way. The pitch has got a bit of a Lego Duplo thing going on!