TOPIC:

Hey everyone, just joined. didn't know this community existed until today.Getting back into RC after a long break. Used to have a Blackfoot and a Fox as a kid in the 80s.

Last weekend I bought a used Blackfoot at a show and I'm trying to work out exactly what I've got.
 Seller's account: original 1986 chassis/motor/servo that he overhauled — fitted modern ESC, CVA shocks, MIP diff, dogbone driveshafts, new wheels/tyres. He described the body as "re-release" (2016) but it has FORD moulded into the bonnet and original-style BFGoodrich / Stomping Around decals.
 The truck now has an aluminium gearbox housing (aftermarket), a Hobbywing 1060 ESC, and a Voltz battery. I haven't been able to find any moulded part numbers or country-of-origin stamps on the chassis frame itself.
 Would love help identifying:Is the chassis genuinely 1986 or a 2016 reissue?
 Is the body 1986 or 2016 (given the FORD moulding question)?
 Happy to take high-res photos of whatever you want to see. Thanks in advance.

Ido
 

Wow, has it really been ten years since the Black Foot was re-released?

Some reproduction decals (with real sponsors) are as good as the original ones, FORD text on the bonnet might be DIY or 3D printed? New tailgates are blank IIRC, old ones also have FORD. 

Some other things to consider:

- original chassis has a pressed/folded aluminium plate bracket at the top of the chassis, re-re has two aluminium rods acting as cross braces;
- original grille is multiple small rectangles, new one is just horizontal bars
- old chassis would have has yellow (cadmium passivated) fasteners, new one will be a mix of Bright Zinc Plate and dark brown passivated
- new body will have a material code (like <PS> or <ABS> and possibly both old and new dates


TBH it sounds like you have a "bitsa" (and the seller was honest about it) with some useful upgrades & you can actually use it without worrying you're going to break anything particularly significant


ETA - we always like to see pics of RC
 

I didn't even know it was re released. I didn't realise it was such a big deal. I just thought I had a cool RC at the time.

this is hugely helpful — exactly the kind of expert eye I was hoping for.
I've added 4 photos to the thread covering the chassis with the body off, the gearbox area, and a few angles. Would really appreciate your read on the four markers you mentioned:

Top chassis cross-brace — visible in the photos, can you see whether it's a folded plate or two rods?
Grille pattern — looks like multiple small rectangles to me but happy to take a closer shot if useful
Fastener colour — I'll grab a close-up of the screws if needed, what's your initial read?
Body material code — I haven't found any <PS> or <ABS> markings yet but I haven't checked every inch — where would you typically look?
Also worth flagging: the gearbox housing is aftermarket aluminium (not stock plastic), and the ESC is a Hobbywing 1060. The seller told me chassis/motor/servo are 100% 1986 with overhaul-grade upgrades (CVA shocks, MIP diff, dogbone shafts, modern wheels). "Bitsa with useful upgrades" feels like an accurate read.
Genuinely appreciate the time — happy to provide any other angles or close-ups.

Fasteners - TBH I'd forgotten the number of BZP, brass & black passivated fasteners on a stock Black Foot, but I do see some yellow passivated fasteners there too, unless your photos are under quite yellow lighting. The fastners in the battery holder end caps look like wood screws

Not convinced by the gearbox housing theory, stock for the Black Foot is pressed aluminium sides with a plastic centre - this is on a Frog nut you get the idea. 

Note also the folded aluminium pressing under the mechanical speed control - your Balck Foot definitely doesn't have that, but I'm not sure I'm seeing the late bars either.

Motor - probably is original, we did have a thread on "correct" kit motors a while back (tamiyabase.com/...ns?start=0) but no-one really cared a lot about it ;)

Here's a clear top-down. The cross-brace you described looks like neither the 1986 folded plate nor the 2016 rods — it's a flat perforated bar. Any thoughts on what this is? Aftermarket repair? Different chassis variant?

That is an original "Speed Control Stay" from what I can see :L

This is a re-release Blackfoot body - note the >ABS< in the rectangular portion in the centre of the underside:



Shapeways 3D printed FORD letters - if fitted & painted well I'm not sure one could tell the difference from original mouldings?



re-release grille - note horizontal slats. I've faked my own OG centre portion in the past, and there are 3D prints available too so merely looking as yours does is no guarantee it's original ...



Blank tailgate from re-re:




Your tyres aren't original, I suspect they're not even Tamiya? They look to to have a smaller rolling radius which will reduce top speed, not necessairly a problem though.


My feeling is that a lot of the chassis is original, and possibly the body too, depending on what it says underneath. 10 years of hard use could give the same sort of patina to a re-re car though

I think the previous owne calling it "overhauled" was a bit optimistic, to me it looks like someone had two or more Blackfeet and probably made one very orginal shelf queen from the best bits, and yours was made up from the second best bits ... it's not necessarily _bad_, but it depends what you paid for it and what you want to do with it.  if it was 85 GBP or so an you just want to have something to make run and not worry too much about then it was probaly a canny buy. 

If you want to make it in to a pristine example of what it could have looked like in 1986, then you're probably in for a long & spendy road with a steep learning curve. Which is about the same for any used RC car TBH    

 

Thanks Jonny — that's brilliant, glad to have the chassis confirmed.
One last thing if you've got the patience: the body. The seller actually called it the "re-re body" in his email — and mentioned it had a "double thickness repair." When I try to fit the body pin to the front post, it doesn't quite reach without bending the pin — He said this is because of the double-thickness repair raising the body.

To me it seem like the front body mount is 3d printed. Get a re-re one and it should fit fine. The re-re is exactly the same as the vintage one. It`s part of the K parts tree.

From what I see this is a vintage chassis, upgraded gearbox, tires and re-re body and bodyparts.
You can still find the vintage yellow screws, The Clod one has the most amount of screws if you don`t buy bag a b c etc...

Monster Beetle has exactly the same chassis.
You can see my thread where I restored a vintage Monster Beetle a few years back with secondhand bits. Body still to be done.
I`m lucky I have boxes full of yellow screws for my vintage builds

My first Monster Beetle rebuild:  TamiyaBase.com - Richard's vinttage Monster Beetle #1 rebuild. - TamiyaBase Forum

My second one:  TamiyaBase.com - Richard's vintage Monster Beetle rebuild #2 Not again! - TamiyaBase Forum