TOPIC:

So I dropped into an RC shop for some heli spares and got chatting about cars to the guy that ran the place. One short comment that I had a car as a kid and still had it in the loft, turned into him realising it was an original Tamiya Rough Rider. He got really very excited. The question is - what do I do with it from here. If memory serves me right, I've got loads of spares, suspension arms, two motors. The car itself is in good condition I think. Guess I'll have to take some pics when I can next get to it and start getting ideas from you good ladies and gentlemen

hello and welcome, pics would be nice.....we all like pics

First of all - welcome!

I think that any Rough Rider is well worth restoring. Especially if you have the parts already. Great car.
You'll be able to get some good info here on the subject.
Maybe share your progress in a build thread...

Yeah - I will post pics in a while. I wont be at my mums house till then - but certainly thinking about restoring - either that or I will sell as is to someone who will give it loving care (and pays the most

StKi1da wrote:

So I dropped into an RC shop for some heli spares and got chatting about cars to the guy that ran the place. One short comment that I had a car as a kid and still had it in the loft, turned into him realising it was an original Tamiya Rough Rider. He got really very excited. The question is - what do I do with it from here. If memory serves me right, I've got loads of spares, suspension arms, two motors. The car itself is in good condition I think. Guess I'll have to take some pics when I can next get to it and start getting ideas from you good ladies and gentlemen

Hope you decide to restore it & stick around, with the recent re-releases of the "Buggy Champ" (what Tamiya decided to call it this time around) & the Sand Scorcher, spares are fairly plentiful, if not particularly cheap.


ps I looked into RC Helicopters once - but the guy in the model shop was surprisingly honest & told me that in the early days of learning to fly, they made as much financial sense at flushing the contents of your wallet down the toilet every weekend ... IIRC he sold me a Wild Willy 2 & all the extras instead

I hear you on the helicopter repair bill - but they are just sooo cool. With regard restoration - do the new release version use essentially identical parts - or will I be "tainting" the vintage concept with a mixed restoration?

StKi1da wrote:

I hear you on the helicopter repair bill - but they are just sooo cool. With regard restoration - do the new release version use essentially identical parts - or will I be "tainting" the vintage concept with a mixed restoration?

I'm sure there are purists out there who would get offended at the idea of mixing parts from the original & the re-re, but I'm not one of them, and as you asked that question, I doubt you are either

Many parts are different, but all are interchangeable as far as I know, principle differences are the Scorcher body (narrower, less rounded wings (fenders)), the bumper colour (was black on very early ones, then changed to grey, re-re's are all black), front shock towers (re-re's have a little extra ribbing), stickers (now free of genuine sponsor logos ), AFAIK the gearbox has been slightly modified to accept the slightly different bearing holder/endbell sizes of current 540 motors, and allegedly the dampers have been improved... and of course the speed control is now electronic instead of mechanical.

Mine is a mixture - chassis is original apart from the bumper, rear cage, one front shock tower, and an ESC, body is a re-re with reproduction stickers (which is now a very touchy subject - don't ask, publicly), none of which bothers me in the slightest

Lol. I'm getting itchy feet to get over to my mothers loft to dig out the car and all the spares. I now recall
I kept braking the rear cage and so made a copper version, but fairly sure I have the original still.