# Advice on reactivating 25 yr old Tamiyas



## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

So I'm looking at a box with the RC stuff of my youth. A Frog & Wild one, circa 1985. And wondering what it's gonna take to get them going again. 

These cars both have futaba twin stick controllers with icky, ancient, acidy batteries. I'm betting they're toast due to the acid. 

Speed controls getting wet and frying out was a major problem for me back when these cars ran, so I'm guessing the been-wet-a-bunch speed controls are also garbage. 

Servos have a different plug than what I see at the hobby stores these days. Likely justifies new servos. 

Basically, where should I look for a battery/controller/servo/speed control package? Should I buy seperate? Can I buy an RTR cheaper than the components needed? Will my ancient chargers work with modern batteries?

Thanks for any advice!


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## wurthusa (Feb 13, 2005)

Tamiya re released most of those kits. Probably be money ahead to buy new kits.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

You can absolutely get them running again first ditch the old mech speedo and get esc's ask around here somone will sell you a couple and ditch those remotes and start fresh,btw if you want to sell the wild one lmk.:thumbsup:


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Thanks for the response. I could use a bit of specific advice. Such as......

There's things on the market now not available 25 years ago, such as 2ch traxxis takeout controllers/receivers for $25 on ebay. Are they worth a darn and are the servo signals standard so I can use them with anyone's servos?

Looking around I'm not seeing kits featuring radio gear, servos, and speed controls. Does anyone offer such a thing or will I have to piece it together?


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

Ive had luck using servos with different recievers and vice versa you still might get your old controllers up and running dont give up


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Indeed....today I got the controllers up and running. Citrus based cleaner to attack the acid-caked battery compartment. Sanded the battery contacts and voila! The battery indicator on the transmitter powers up! 

The receivers are powered off the car batteries, still no way of knowing if anything actually works. Hopefully the new batteries arrive soon, it'll also be interesting to see how these cars run with 3X the mAh of original tamiya bricks.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

Be sure to bench test them i wouldent trust the old speedo's once you get a good battery.I have cars and trucks that are back from the dead check out my photos:thumbsup:


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## rcwolfee (May 17, 2003)

If all else fails... Futaba does have radio, reciever, servo,and speedo packages available.
The speedos are great for MILD (17-19turns) mods and stock brushed motors.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

One of the cars has a black Kyosho motor and a speed control that was $70 in 1985. If anything's wrong gonna look into the gearboxes ability to handle a modern brushless setup. Batteries should be here in another day or two. Frickin dying here.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

I have seen a frog on a brushless set-up but the tranny blew after awhile.It sure was wild:tongue:


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Do the later frog variations like the blackfoot have stronger gearbox cases?

I read something about king blackfoots having improved cases, and this frog had chronic problems with the case sides spreading under load & shearing gears. Is there a bolt-in case assembly out there? Been thinking about applying a little bit of grown-up skill and tack welding structural ribs onto the case sides, but bolt-in is always good.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

That actually sounds like a good idea i just have a thorp tranny in 2 of my 6 blackfoots and they work well but the price for a thorp is insane,as for the new frog gearbox its only improvement is the dog-bone set-up as to the old hex design.


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## BuzzBomber (Jun 20, 2008)

TamiyaKing said:


> I have seen a frog on a brushless set-up but the tranny blew after awhile.It sure was wild:tongue:


Yeah, that would be interesting. My "re-release" Frog blew the tranny sideplates out from running a Trinity CO27 Pro...strangely never had that problem on my original Frog running whatever mod motors I could get my hands on in 1987. The weird part is the gears look fine, but if you get into the throttle with any gusto, you hear them go "BRRAAAPP!" and slip.

Post up pictures when you can, it's always nice to see vintage Tamiya stuff, especially the wild one!


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

So what's the deal with wild ones? They seem to fetch a fair amount on ebay. Are they rare or is it the appeal of the rollcage buggy body?


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## BuzzBomber (Jun 20, 2008)

I don't know how many are left, but it hasn't been re-released, and yeah, I think the full rollcage is a big part of the appeal. All I know is that I lusted after one as a ten year old, and my parents bought me a Frog instead(the Frog was great though, don't get me wrong).


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## Mr-Tamiya (Jan 24, 2002)

the wild one was very cool back then as was the fast attack vehicle. they are sought after because of the open rollcage design as well as they are just plain cool! since tamiya is re releasing just about everything its hurting the classic market a bit, so if your to sell your wild one do it now while they are still fetching a fair dollar. they were a little less popular back in the day hence not many left today so they are truely rare


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

THEY'RE ALIVE!!!

Frog seems fully functional but the wild one has ESC issues. 

It's an 80s tamiya esc feeding a stock 540 motor. Wasn't doing anything til I started cranking the neutral and max knobs. Now it's working great with one exception. All or nothing. No part throttle. 

This pretty much fits my driving style but still, half throttle would be nice. Since I've completely forgotten how to adjust the trim screws, can one of you nice guys provide a lil assistance? I'm not sure if it's this way due to adjustment, or from decades of sitting, or because I just fed the receiver a full 7.2 volts instead of the 6V battery pack previously used? 

Is the servo signal now too high??? The steering servo works perfect, but it's also a DC motor and would appreciate extra voltage. Dunno bout the circuit board in the ESC appreciating an extra 20%


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

12 hour update. ESC symptoms cleared up after running a battery.

New question....batteries. I picked up some ebay ni-cd cheapies that are 3800 mah. The old ones were 1200 mah. 

From reading around I know the slow wall chargers need to be left on longer, basically divide the battery's mah by the chargers mah and you have charge time. Since I've got 250 and 300 mah chargers, the cycles are 12-14 hours now.

But what about 15 minute fast chargers? They charge at 3-5A according to the gauges. Nothing fancy, standard black MRC with car-lighter plug in. So will these chargers sense a larger capacity and charge at max rate for more of the 15 minute cycle? Or since the batteries are 3x larger will I have to run 3 charge cycles?????


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

15 min chargers are good but charge tooooo fast you need a good peak charger it will work wonders.:dude:


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## DJ1978 (Sep 26, 2001)

I don't want to contradict anyones advice on the boards.. but...

The vintage Tamiya vehicles are collectable and it would be a shame to run them and depreciate their value or break a part you can't replace. 
They definitely were NOT made to handle the power of the newer motors. 

It looks like you have already checked ebay to see what they are going for.

Don't bother with Nicads..They need stored in a discharged condition and they are OLD technology and need a lot of attention. If you are going to run Sub C cells, buy Nickle Metal Hydrides. They are much tougher and you don't have to be so specific about how you treat them. 

Get a good peak charger. Wall chargers and 15 min chargers are antiquated at best. 
It is great that you got your ESC's up and running. They may have resale value also to a collector. 

The point is, it is great to get these vehicles running, but in the long run, they are worth more as shelf queens or sold to a collector.

I would suggest, cleaning up your vehicles. Dissassemble them completely and re-lube all bearings or bushings and the diff's. Replace bent screws and broken parts and then decide what you want to do with them. 

If you decided to sell, you could get enough money to buy a new system with the lastest and greatest technology, either new or on the swap and sell boards.

Do some research. Buy some magazines.. RC Car Action, RC Driver, RC Car, See where the hobby has gone and how it has grown and them decide what to do.

Just my 2 cents.
Hope this helps.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

I agree with dj on that all my vintage tamiya's are rebuilt and some are still a work in progress look at some of my photos.:thumbsup:


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

I plan to run the heck out of these buggies. No offense, total respect for those who'd put them on a shelf but that's not me. Real world, I run the heck out of old cars and the clock runs backward for em. These buggies won't be any different. 

There's something satisfying about using items with history. 

Personally, I'd love to chop wood with abe lincoln's axe. Even if it's had 3 heads and 10 handles


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

Oh, and thanks for the tips on chargers. Will have to look closer at what's available.


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## DJ1978 (Sep 26, 2001)

Please post some pics of these great vehicles!


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

Check out some of my old pics ill put some new ones up as i have finished some restoration of some.:thumbsup:


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## DJ1978 (Sep 26, 2001)

I want to see pics of the ones that 440-4ever has.


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

I agree the one i dont have is the wild one.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

*Here they are*

Here's the buggies. Wild one is stock other than an ESC and the brat front wheels, even wearing the original back tires. The frog's made entirely of battle scars and the goat body is pretty thrashed. Photo is fresh outta slumber, since then the GTO's been touched up and the wild one's helmet got a proper paint job. Starting to look a lot better, the wheels will be next. Check out the totally-80s window striping!!!


The frog's controller bit the dust after one use. Got on ebay, started looking around and have now bought a couple el-cheapo parts buggies and hope to string together a small fleet of these things on a tight budget. 

My evil plan is to get non-RC buddies hooked and demonstrate there will always be running cars here for them to race............at which point I'll have willing labor for making a backyard track :dude:

Any tips for getting a flat spot out of those brat tires? The wild one has a wheel that's still working the spot out after a dozen runs. Given how many brats are made/sold, there sure aren't many used brat tires floating around.


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## mredzadventure (Feb 27, 2006)

440s-4ever said:


> My evil plan is to get non-RC buddies hooked and demonstrate there will always be running cars here for them to race............at which point I'll have willing labor for making a backyard track :dude:


And then take over the world!


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## DJ1978 (Sep 26, 2001)

440s-4ever said:


> Here's the buggies. Wild one is stock other than an ESC and the brat front wheels, even wearing the original back tires. The frog's made entirely of battle scars and the goat body is pretty thrashed. Photo is fresh outta slumber, since then the GTO's been touched up and the wild one's helmet got a proper paint job. Starting to look a lot better, the wheels will be next. Check out the totally-80s window striping!!!
> 
> 
> The frog's controller bit the dust after one use. Got on ebay, started looking around and have now bought a couple el-cheapo parts buggies and hope to string together a small fleet of these things on a tight budget.
> ...


Thanks for the pics. 
I don't care about the frog too much..you can pic them up fairly easily..
but the Wild One is another subject. I would hate to see a rare buggy like that scraped up and battered. It is a part of RC History and as such I think should be cleaned up and displayed.. and only run on special occasions. That is just my opinion. 
There are so many inexpensive used vehicles that you can get to attract you buddies into racing. 
I have two Losi XXT's that I could have up and running with Radios, ESC's, motors, and batteries if you wanted to trade for the Wild one. The bodies are really beat up, but they are in great shape with some spare parts. They are my old race trucks.
Trucks are a great way to foster interest in the hobby.. they can be run on a track and are great fun for bashing. As you know with the buggies, the grass really slows them down.
Shoot me an email or PM if you are interested.
Dan

For the Brat tires. If they are on a split rim, put some foam in them, they will pop out.


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## 440s-4ever (Feb 23, 2010)

I don't care much about collecting for the sake of shelf display. To me, respecting an item like this means using it as intended, while maintaining & repairing to a high standard. It's the approach I use with real cars, which horrifies collectors in that world too. Yet my stuff gets nicer every year because of hideous hours supporting the effort. 

On the other hand my brother's a collector. The wild one was his car. After I built & maintained it, he decided to throw it away during a period of uncollectability. Too much work, too much shelf space. 

Ultimately, these cars tell a story of 2 brothers who are very different people. They were intended to bring us together, yet I look at em and see the starting points to our seperate arcs. Ain't a losi in the world that'll do the same


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## TamiyaKing (Nov 14, 2008)

Fix that wild one up and run it!Nice pics sorry i dident get back to you sooner 440 ive been working nights.


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