Bloody hell I’ve got a job on thanks to you lot! 😯

After reading the threads on RC cars, I finally decided to look at the car my dad gave me a few years ago, and see if it’s worth fixing…

He bought it in about 2001 I think, and used it for a year and then put it in a box in the (very wet!) garage. A few years back, the box ended up in my garage. Its a Schumacher 21XTR 3E – A 1/10 truggy with a 21 nitro engine and a 3 speed gearbox. Good for 100kmh apparently!

Holy crap that thing was rusty! Turns that the nitro slime that coats everything really corrodes cheap fixing and removes paint. The steel chassis is rusty and a lot the paint just fell off, and most of the fixings had to be drilled out. I’m now counting up fixings and deciding between stainless steel or anodized alu… Obsessed already!

The chassis is still solid now most of the paints off, and the engine seems nice and clean inside with good compression, as does the gear box. I’m going to set the engine and radio gear set up on a small base to check everything runs. if the engine is dead, I may get a brushless conversion for it – not sure where a battery would go in such a small chassis though.. The diff and wheel bearings/bushings need replacing or servicing…

It should hopefully look like this again when done –

I can get a new body shell, but there a few steering parts that are broke that will need to be made… Also no wishbones or hubs available anymore, so can’t crash it if it ever runs again!

Seems worth saving though, was a sought after car in it’s day and seems to be rare now. Will keep me busy this winter! 🙂 Off to a mates on Saturday to sandblast and powder coat the chassis plate.

(This is definitely going to cost a lot, and I will break it on the first outing! 😕 )

Where’s that bloomin like button

Keep posting updates…. It might inspire me to actually get my Hyper 8 running again!

If it’s been standing for a while you will have to replace the fuel lines, they will be gummed up. I highly recommend Byron Gen2 Nitro Fuel for when you do get it running. I found I wasn’t chasing the tune every 10 mins with Byron fuel.

Go careful breaking in the engine, I hated breaking them in. If you have already ran the engine, you may find the engine seized as the fuel would’ve gummed up the piston/sleeve, put some thin oil in it to soak overnight.

That looks great. What is its equivalent now?

Not sure If there’s anything similar now? Seems you can get as much craziness from brushless motors now.

I’ve left the steering rack soaking overnight and today, the steel bushes the steering linkage arms swing on are stuck solid. No replacements available for either bit, so I at least need to get the bushes out (can easily be re-made) and save the plastic arms.

Diff, gearbox and top and of drive shaft where stripped and cleaned last night, greased then re-assembled.

The last ting I want to do before committing any money to it is get the wheel bearing out of the hubs – the backs look like they just need pressing out, the front are clamped in two cast halves. The screw heads have rusted to almost nothing..

If I can get the steering rack apart and those hubs, then It’s just a case of new fixings, cleaning, painting the chassis plate and getting the engine running. I’ll buy a new shell last.

Where’s that bloomin like button

Next to your avatar and post count.

Cool looking car.

I actually scrolled up to look for the like button, next to the avatar and post count… Then I realised this is STW. 😆

Greno, genuinely excited for you. I had a standard X-TR I bought around 1998, same .21 Thunder Tiger engine but not the 3 speed box. Awesome cars back then and still nothing comparable. Far too much power and horrendous to control, wheelies, understeer etc. A few months ago I did exactly the same as you, stripped right down and rebuilt. Runs just like it did almost 20 years ago! Crazy fun. I just bought a load of M3 stainless fixings off eBay plus a few other but which were gone. You can get most parts still. And you will crash it and break it! If I could figure out how to post pics I would of mine!

My brother had one of these . Stupid quick ! you could almost hear the tyres disintergrating .

All this RC talk is making me….curious. Except with a plane. Oh gods is it that time of life already? 8)

Like that 🙂

Even BikeRumor are now reviewing RC… 🙂

Off The Bike Review: Traxxas 1/16 Slash 4×4 remote control truck is a steal

I really wanted a shumacher menace back in the day (slighly newer version on this to an extent) did 70MPH!! Glad to see someone is restoring it even if it will be financially 😆 stupid

About 10 years later I built a Traxxas rustler that did 70MPH and it was just stupid and destroyed its tyres at anything more than half throttle (like literally ripped them apart)

I’ve still got a few electric losi trucks to get back up and running soon no ive got the kids some to play with…

I had one of these back in the day. Make sure the tyres are glues on. They expand like mad when it hits 3rd gear.
You need space…… lots of space.

Mine eventually got killed in silverstone pit lane while showing off. It was well into 3rd gear when a gust of wind got under it and sent it into a roll ripping bits off for the next hundred yards.

Cool car.

ooh! Interesting!I have a pre-runner to that awaiting restoration when I have time. Please stick some photos up!

Mine is a Schumacher Storm Nitro 10 from early/mid-90’s but seems to still have a lot of parts in common. I had huge problems with the chassis too, but they are anodised aluminium on this and the earlier cars (Cougar, etc). I had a couple of crashes where the chassis would bend and the engine would separate from the gearbox!

All this RC talk is making me….curious. Except with a plane. Oh gods is it that time of life already?

rcgroups.com

go find the beginner areas – too much to cover in someone elses thread

Missed this, nice one.

Just ordered mine today.
🙂