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1990 blackfoot restoration


Mrfox

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Hi All

I've recently been reunited with my old rc truck. Given its been sat in an attic for the last 30 odd years, is there any chance in getting it working again? I don't want to throw a load of money at it but thought it might be a fun project for me and my son to tackle. Can anyone offer advice on where i should begin? Or tell me plainly if its a lost cause. 

 

I'm coming at this totally blind and have no experience or knowledge about the hobby. Please be gentle. 

I'm sorry if this should be posted elsewhere on the forum (have i mentioned im new). Please move/delete if so. 

 

Cheers.

 

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Hello. 

I suppose first order of business would be to try and turn the thing on. 

New battery and charger required. 

Plus a batteries for controller.

Then Oil everything. 

 

Probably best I do the above before asking for advice. Got a bit ahead of myself. 

 

Cheers.

 

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welcome aboard, no reason why you cant get the Blackfoot into nice usable condition, just see if you can charge up the old pack if just to see what works, then set about cleaning, you can get a lot of spares so clean shocks and maybe new springs, good luck  as it looks to be an original no a re release

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55 minutes ago, Mrfox said:

I've ordered a new battery pack/charger to test it but i suspect im in over my head with this. As its an original model, is it worth anything to a collector/enthusiast? I think I'm better off starting from scratch with a new kit.

 

The old one you have wont take much to restore, once you get going you will enjoy it and it will be worth more than a new re release

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Bear with me here, im a total novice at this so i might not use correct terminology.

Got a battery connected today and there's good and bad. 

Good thing is that the motor turns and the steering servo responds.

Bad thing is as soon as I plug in the battery, the motor turns without any input from the controller. Why is this happening? Given how old and un lubricated the thing is, I didn't let it run for more than a few seconds before disconnecting the motor.

I was then able to test the steering which appears to work OK (bit jittery but , again, it's not been cleaned or lubricated for 30 years). 

I assume my next step is to get the electric bits working properly or replace them (suggestions welcome). How though? 

Is there any basic restoration work I can do to the motor to ease it back into operstion after 30 years. My expertise ends at dousing everything in wd40. 

Same with the gearbox and rear axles. Do I just pump a load of grease in here or is there a more sophisticated way of restoring things?

Are there any specific parts that anyone would reccomend I replace or give more considered overhaul to? 

Things to look out for? 

 

I am enjoying the process of tinkering with the car and the prospect of getting it working again is really exciting. I'll take any advice that anyone is prepared to offer. 

Thanks.

 

 

 

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That thing will have a mechanical speed controller that wont be sitting in the right place so as it sits in the middle and thats why the wheels are turning, personally i would replace it with a esc, a 2.4ghz radio system and a better steering servo, take the drive wheels (for safety) and that black plastic cover off and then look at the orange board thing move when you move the control and it will make sense to you

Edited by wolfie1
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12 hours ago, wolfie1 said:

That thing will have a mechanical speed controller that wont be sitting in the right place so as it sits in the middle and thats why the wheels are turning, personally i would replace it with a esc, a 2.4ghz radio system and a better steering servo, take the drive wheels (for safety) and that black plastic cover off and then look at the orange board thing move when you move the control and it will make sense to you

Great. Thanks. Can you point me towards what I should get? Can you post links on here? 

 

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I run a flysky gt3c radio system and it works well there are other budget ones that also work well, its a personal choice. https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/absima-4-channel-radio-cr4s-v2-including-receiver-1350827 As far as a servo anything metal geared 20kg or above at 6v would suit your needs https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/power-hd-lf20-metal-geared-servo-red-388829 for an esc it depends if you simply want to keep using the stock motor or go for something with slightly more power, for your stock motor an esc like this would be ideal https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/tamiya-hobbywing-1060-rtr-60a-brushed-esc-wp-1348298

 

these are just suggestions at the end of the day its up to you how much you want to spend, i have picked some budget options for you

Edited by wolfie1
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  • 4 weeks later...

It's been a while but finally got around to this again. More problems I hope you can help with. 

I've dismantled everything ahead of giving it a good clean/grease but left the wiring intact so i could test it all.

The following happened.

Connected the battery. Servos both work (repond to controls).

Connected motor. Servos stop working. Disconnect motor, servos still don't work. 

Can't get them to respond to the controls again.

They give a little twitch every time I connect the battery or switch the little black switch (what even is that?). 

I'd preferred it if they hadn't worked at all but knowing they were fine one minute and not the next has me puzzled. Any advice on how to get them working again? 

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the little black switch is the on off switch and could be the culprit for it not working try flicking it on off a few times see if its dirt or the battery is flat to old maybe

give the battery a good charge and try again

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Gave the battery a charge and wiggled the living hell out of the switch and it all works again. Thanks. 

Before I reassemble, I'll regrease the gearbox and clean everything. Are there any other maintenance jobs I should do before assembly? 

Oh, I need some tyres too. Is it easy to find a generic replacement or will they need to be specific to this model? 

 

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