Tamiya Rough Rider Restoration
01/01/10 11:12 Filed in: Hobbies | Radio Control Cars
For my first post of 2010, I thought I’d share with you the restoration of my Tamiya Rough Rider which we've had from new.
This is the car: It’s a Mk1 Rough Rider, My dad bought it in 1979, when I was 7. I have vague memories of him building it, but I can clearly remember him taking me to our local club to race it.
It actually Appeared in the September 2003 issue of Radio Race Car. I had it with me when I was racing at Southport in the Radio Race Car summer series (I was racing a Schumacher Fireblade and an RC 10 not the rough rider
), and the magazine photographer took a picture of it while I was racing!
Its not in too bad condition, the body has a few cracks, the front suspension rods are all bent, and the front bumper and rear cage are both long gone
My dad smashed the front up years ago when he hit a bollard in his works car park, the car went out of his sight. The top was broken off the body post when a marshall picked it up by the body after it rolled during a race, the body came off the car at the rear and snapped the front post! It was never replaced, we just kept the body on with an elastic band!
I smashed the cage up when I reversed into a radiator in our Scout hall!. My friends dad made the stainless steel replacement, and although its very good, it’s a bit long.
Its been completely stripped and cleaned. I've polished all the aluminium parts, using a metal polishing brush with a Dremel, which was needed to get the corrosion off, and brass polishing brush (used for polishing gold) to give it an even finish. I also used some long term silver polish to bring it up. I noticed some parts seem to be made from a different grade of Aluminium or something as they have a different colour
Im now reassembling it:
I've replaced the front suspension rods and the bumper and rear cage. Im afraid to say these are off the new Buggy Champ, not originals, but this does mean they are pristine and they look the part, the only problem is the rear cage is not a perfect fit, the bottom lugs that fasten to the gearbox will need to be filed down as the holes don't quite line up. I found the original ariel and some other spares in my dads loft.
The Gearbox was in excellent condition inside, very clean. My dad did a great job of sealing it. I've replaced all bushings with bearings now, also.
Every nut and bolt has been replaced with new stainless steel ones, and Ive got a new body post, which i was told was original and not off the new buggy champ when i bought it, but given the condition i'd say its either never been used, or is off the buggy champ, its A1
Got the Resistor on also, nicely cleaned up, I may put the original Mechanical Speed Controller back in if the Acoms radio gear still works
I haven’t done any wiring yet, i'll leave that for another day. Want to get the build complete for now
I stripped and cleaned the servo saver and realised it was broken and my dad must have repaired it at some point. Didn't notice when I removed it. Its probably stronger than the original
I might replace it at some point can still see a tiny bit of rust when looking at this pic, will have to sort that out.
Coming together nicely
Trying to decide what to do with the body, My dad wants to leave it as is, and i kind of agree, apart from basic repairs. To strip it and repaint it, is like removing its character, and a lot of memories too. If i had just bought this, i'd feel differently, but because we've had it from new...
Am tempted to buy another body, maybe a Buggy Champ body, to paint up like the current one, but just use for show.
I plan to make it a runner, but i don’t plan on running it, if you see what i mean
I'll update as the restoration progresses.
This is the car: It’s a Mk1 Rough Rider, My dad bought it in 1979, when I was 7. I have vague memories of him building it, but I can clearly remember him taking me to our local club to race it.
It actually Appeared in the September 2003 issue of Radio Race Car. I had it with me when I was racing at Southport in the Radio Race Car summer series (I was racing a Schumacher Fireblade and an RC 10 not the rough rider
), and the magazine photographer took a picture of it while I was racing!Its not in too bad condition, the body has a few cracks, the front suspension rods are all bent, and the front bumper and rear cage are both long gone
My dad smashed the front up years ago when he hit a bollard in his works car park, the car went out of his sight. The top was broken off the body post when a marshall picked it up by the body after it rolled during a race, the body came off the car at the rear and snapped the front post! It was never replaced, we just kept the body on with an elastic band!
I smashed the cage up when I reversed into a radiator in our Scout hall!. My friends dad made the stainless steel replacement, and although its very good, it’s a bit long.
Its been completely stripped and cleaned. I've polished all the aluminium parts, using a metal polishing brush with a Dremel, which was needed to get the corrosion off, and brass polishing brush (used for polishing gold) to give it an even finish. I also used some long term silver polish to bring it up. I noticed some parts seem to be made from a different grade of Aluminium or something as they have a different colour
Im now reassembling it:
I've replaced the front suspension rods and the bumper and rear cage. Im afraid to say these are off the new Buggy Champ, not originals, but this does mean they are pristine and they look the part, the only problem is the rear cage is not a perfect fit, the bottom lugs that fasten to the gearbox will need to be filed down as the holes don't quite line up. I found the original ariel and some other spares in my dads loft.
The Gearbox was in excellent condition inside, very clean. My dad did a great job of sealing it. I've replaced all bushings with bearings now, also.
Every nut and bolt has been replaced with new stainless steel ones, and Ive got a new body post, which i was told was original and not off the new buggy champ when i bought it, but given the condition i'd say its either never been used, or is off the buggy champ, its A1
Got the Resistor on also, nicely cleaned up, I may put the original Mechanical Speed Controller back in if the Acoms radio gear still works
I haven’t done any wiring yet, i'll leave that for another day. Want to get the build complete for now
I stripped and cleaned the servo saver and realised it was broken and my dad must have repaired it at some point. Didn't notice when I removed it. Its probably stronger than the original
I might replace it at some point can still see a tiny bit of rust when looking at this pic, will have to sort that out.Coming together nicely
Trying to decide what to do with the body, My dad wants to leave it as is, and i kind of agree, apart from basic repairs. To strip it and repaint it, is like removing its character, and a lot of memories too. If i had just bought this, i'd feel differently, but because we've had it from new...
Am tempted to buy another body, maybe a Buggy Champ body, to paint up like the current one, but just use for show.
I plan to make it a runner, but i don’t plan on running it, if you see what i mean
I'll update as the restoration progresses.