krispy378

Getting ready to assemble this shortly. Finally broke down and bought one. My Tamiyas are ALL looking at me, with a real gleam in their eyes lol...Actually cannot wait to drive this...My son can tell i feel like im his age again, yes excitement. Anyhow i was looking for an opinion. Chain drive or belt drive. I like the chain for nostalgia, but i know the belt is going to be more efficient and less maintenance. I do like metal in my cars, hence i am leaning towards the chain. But, if i remember correctly, the belt drive back in the day was a pretty big upgrade option when it was released. I got a G15 Kyosho can 540 for this, so yes laugh! But i no load tested it on our Vintage Shinwa Motor Dresser and got what looked like a solid 20k rpms no load. So, when i break down again and buy the Lemans 240S 15.5t brushless setup, will the belt be ok or is the chain the way to go? Will post pics soon and thanks for the help, cheers to all.

krispy378

A few pics...

krispy378

krispy378

krispy378

RustyUs

I'd go with the belt drive. The chain needed constant adjustment as it stretched from what I can remember.

krispy378

Gotcha there. Belt it is!

krispy378

krispy378

krispy378

krispy378

Getting the gearboxes and belt drive together. Its a Kyosho for sure...Lots of thrust washers, tiny hex head screws, shaft pins, tight clearances. My son and I just came off a Super Hot Shot build. I thought that was pretty complex...So far the Optima seems to be more challenging to assemble, at least for my three thumbs and ham hocks lol...!

krispy378

Assembling the chassis backbone now. Enclosed beltdrive and lots of metal. Got a ways to go until drive time...

krispy378

Got the Optima close to complete! Took it for a quick drive in the backyard and it was excellent. The suspension works incredibly. Silky smooth. Almost no hop etc... Here are some more photos, and have fun with RC!

RustyUs

Whoa. You really are trying to step back in time with that Magnum radio, Molex connectors, and long antennas.
Just messin' with ya. Old school rules!

krispy378

Were going Back to the Future...Hahaha About as old school as i could make it! Transmitter i can use to jack my Silverado up with lol...Its a brick!

krispy378

Working on the body tonight... Dont quite know if it would be easier to mask and paint the blue/white/yellow color scheme. The decals are a little tricky to line up in spots. There are a couple wrinkles, i can probably remove with a hairdryer while smoothing out. I always liked the wingless look of the original Optima body, its very simple, functional, classic buggy looking. This is an awesome vintage ride imho. I dont know if im going to drive this often or shelf it. I actually want to drive this, not abuse it or even really bash it. Just to have alot of fun with. Might just have to have a head to head with the boy and his Super Hot Shot.

krispy378

smanders

I remember staring at these in RC Car Action in my youth. So cool to see them now.

krispy378

I hear you there. Rc car action was required reading then. It was a really cool time to be there with the hobby and sport..

krispy378

Heres a few more pictures...The decals are comming out pretty good. Gonna drive it. Not going to abuse it, but enjoy it. Im sure there will be plenty of shelf queens out there for years to come. I have shelf queens and runners. This is gonna be a runner. My Thundershot is a runner. The 4WD buggys are a blast to drive! Keep assembling, soldering, tweaking and just having plain ol' fun with RC!

krispy378