TOPIC:

Cheers Waterbok, but I'm gonna machine one up using my Quattro one to copy (Same probably goes for a lot of the missing bits). I'm going to wait to see what actually turns up, then decide what to buy & what to make - I know it needs rear radius arms, a body, a Willy, a bumper & possibly the plate on the front that holds the tubes (Looks like its been replaced with a lump of ally). A wise man once said "For every 1 thing you spot, there'll be 3 others you haven't", which doesn't bode well....

Final price was 698 USD

USD 698 is astonishing for a Wild Willy in any condition.

Guess that's the power of a good sales pitch.

That saleswoman definitely payed off.

My Willy arrived today... It really is in a poorly way - pic is showroom condition in comparison with what was in the box! Yep, the front plate is ally, not original, & judging by the addition of ally plates to the top of the front spring towers, they'll be busted too. Also missing speed control, resistors, speed control plate, radius arms, stripped gears, all 4 tyres are rotten & split/falling to bits, rims are broken, chewed, with bits missing, chassis has multiple undefined hacked out holes, body springs all bent/stretched etc etc etc..... This is at first glance too, haven't plucked up the courage to start taking it to bits yet! Oops....

eddrick wrote:

My Willy arrived today... It really is in a poorly way - pic is showroom condition in comparison with what was in the box! Yep, the front plate is ally, not original, & judging by the addition of ally plates to the top of the front spring towers, they'll be busted too. Also missing speed control, resistors, speed control plate, radius arms, stripped gears, all 4 tyres are rotten & split/falling to bits, rims are broken, chewed, with bits missing, chassis has multiple undefined hacked out holes, body springs all bent/stretched etc etc etc..... This is at first glance too, haven't plucked up the courage to start taking it to bits yet! Oops....

Define "radius arms" - I do have some spares (most of a gearbox) ...

Tyres are the same as the Blazing Blazer ... like that helps

Someone here put bootleg oversize Buggy Champ (Sand Blaster 915) tyres on theirs ...

I've tried Scorcher rears - they are way smaller, but at least they have the right tread ... I also tried Lunchbox tyres with a strip cut out of the middle (with heavily dremmelled lunchbox rims to make them fit) - but they massively overgear it

In the end I just waited for a set to come up on ebay ... I think I paid

Radius arms (I probably mean sway bars or something like that) - the 2x thin rods that tie the suspension arms to the chassis - the rods themselves won't be a problem to make (I'll just copy the Quattro ones) but the posh metal rod ends will be a nuisance to obtain (I keep bidding on Hilux track rods to get a hold of some, bt they always go for silly money). I've got some plastic ones that are the right size, but it would be nice to have the proper thing (Like it's gonna matter with a rere body & a variety of repairs & fake bits!).
Still trying to convince myself I want to spend 40 quid on a toy car body, that & lack of rubber & a Willy is what's delaying me taking the plunge & starting to get on with it! Contemplating the "Make your own boots" suggestion, by the way, sounds possible depending on how much the high hardness silicone will cost, how much I'd need & how best to fabricate a reliable mould to do it. If I could be sure I could sell some sets to recoup cost of doing it, it would be worth having a go I reckon. Hmmm, gonna be awake all night thinking about that I suspect.
Another rag-top - love it!

I just cant picture why nobody makes rere Willy (and Blazing Blazer) tires, the market should be big enough. Maybe someday there will be a BB rere (pray)

From what Andrew (Former Barney's Model Shop bloke) was saying back in the 80s, the Blazer wasn't popular & few sold (If you were gonna remortgage your house to buy a toy, you'd buy the posh Hilux version) which is probably why there's so few of them about now.
There's no reason why a rere Blazer wouldn't re-appear, after all the Bruiser & Hilux have (Escapes me why the Hilux ended up on the rubbish high lift chassis when the Bruiser is so similar to the original though), but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't, being the runt nobody wanted & all.
I will look into the viability of reproducing tyres, but I suspect it'll turn into a financial nightmare long before any saleable items get pumped out!