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I really wasn't going to buy another car - between having several projects on the go, not having any money & a Wild One on preorder, I had decided I was going to finish what I'd got, and when I'd done that, start on the 1/12 scale Tamiya bikes that have been sitting on my shelf for several years.

That plan lasted all of nine and a half hours, then I spotted this "bargain" on eBay:

...
GOOD CONDITION WITH VERY FEW SCRATCHES UNDERNETH, THERE ARE A FEW SIGNS OF WEAR AND ON ITS LAST USE THE GEARBOX STARTED TO MAKE A REAL NOISE, SO I'D SAY THE GEARS ARE NO GOOD. THERE IS SOME RUST TO THE SPRINGS.
...

Rear body mounts look more like those off a Mudblaster, but still ... for 16.54 GBP, posted, I thought it was worth a punt

I'm hoping the gearbox issue will be the spur gear ... if not I guess I'll be trying to blag (or swap bits) for some Frog type gears

The real challenge will be getting it to a running condition without spending too much ... my spares pile has got quite extensive, but I think we can safely say this will not be a boxart restoration

The chassis looks very clean and in good nick....not much cleaning that will be a holiday for you. Who cut the motor wires so short

Well done mate! However did you get it that cheap? Was it during the Olympics opening rubbish or something? I'll give you

eddrick wrote:

...I'd lay money the noisy gearbox is down to worn motor pinion, which has probably taken the spur with it.
Alternatively, there may be some cardboard bearings in there....

We should have a sweepstake - I'll take missing teeth on the spur gear

.....why am I thinking about if I've got any loose teeth I could trade for a monster beetle?
Yep, I'd also go for that diagnosis, but resulting from the pinion - they're far too small for the job in hand. There's a lesson to be learned from trying to put big wheels on a normal car by just changing motor or pinion. My favourite is the way the chinese convert nitro cars to electric by slapping in a high torque motor in place of the IC - look at HSPs offerings, their on-road, off-road, nitro & electric are all the same chassis & gearboxes. Masses of fun to be had sorting the gearing if you ever want to put a decent motor in

eddrick wrote:

.....why am I thinking about if I've got any loose teeth I could trade for a monster beetle?
...

Well, they are popular, judging by the number that come up for sale on eBay ... but if they're so great, why would you sell it?

I was very enthuisiastic about my earlier Monster Beetle project, but having paid a dishonest seller a "new build" price for a bit of a shed, that kind of went out the window ...

I still haven't got around to liking it yet, and have never run it. I'm not sure I even like having on the shelf - I don't know whether that would be true of any Monster Beetle, or just that one

I'm in 2 minds about them too. I had a good one, but everything on it felt like it was at the point of breaking, but if you could just get over that caution, it was huge fun to play with! I suspect it's the look of the thing that makes them so popular, there's no way I'd call it a good model or a good level of engineering though, there's loads of design flaws in it & lets be honest, it is a bit of a lash-up on a proven chassis. It's the kind of thing we used to build & race for a laugh at toy car club, only having to survive the 1 meeting.
My current interest in them is only cos I've got a Blackfoot body sitting here that could make me some money if I just had a chassis to plonk it on!

I had a quick rootle through my spares for wheels/tyres & bodies ...

Wheels & tyres, I have 3 Monster Beetle tyres & two Bush Devil front wheels, so no help there, I also have 4 chrome Lunchkin wheels, but the tyres are superglued on, I guess I'll have to winkle them off & repaint the beige Lunchkin wheels...

The lower rolling radius will reduce the gearing though - sounds like a good excuse to put a hotter motor in




Bodies though, I still have my green & orange modified re-re Scorcher, and a barely started re-re Scorcher body set ... I also have a genuine set of Monster Beetle decals, so I guess a boxart paintjob is an option. I also have an "alternative" (pre ban ScreenPrintDigital) set - but I really don't know what colour paint they're meant to be for, or even what they'd look good on ... Silver maybe?

Dont know if they are of any use to you but i have some bush devil wheels dont think its a full set though somehow i ended up with three

tamiya wrote:

Dont know if they are of any use to you but i have some bush devil wheels dont think its a full set though somehow i ended up with three

Ta If you've got a pair of rears I'd be very interested in them