TOPIC:

Hi guys,
As promised on my introduction topic, you can see the restoration steps of one of my Bruisers.
Course the pics don't show all the working hours i spent on it, but you all may know how much time it was invested in that project.
More topics will follow hortly !

Starting with the body : I got this Bruiser from my hobby store for a real good price like 15 years ago. I drove it a few times and since it was just sitting on the shelf.
Like a year ago i decided to restore it :

Let's start with brake fluid to remove the paint






Almost done.....still needs some sanding....









Unfortunately i don't have any pictures of the paint procedure. Anyway here's the final result:



Well, now that you've seen the body, let's go throught the chassis, transmission and axles. Of course all have been fitted with ballbearings ! Enjoy the pics

Sorry but i had to post a reply as there was not enough free space for the pictures.

Well, now that you've seen the body, let's go throught the chassis, transmission and axles. Of course all have been fitted with ballbearings ! Enjoy the pics

Completely dissasembled gearbox



As you can see, the reassembly starts, note the ballbearings everywhere







Let's have a look at the axles :

Front:



Rear :



Now the final :



Thid isd like the M&M's add.... YELLOW with his bro RED !!!!

Nice work

You're much braver than I am with colour choice - and for dismantling & fitting bearings to a gearbox that Tamiya regard as a "sealed unit".

Nice to see all those brass gears - I just don't believe the plastic gears in the re-release are as tough.

Hi Jonny,
Well actually the red one was bought like 1 year ago, with his original box, manual and everything included in the late 80's from a guy that never ran it ! So this one is 100% original still fittet with the bronze bushings. The only thing i have planned to do is to paint the rear cab in white.

It's quite easy for me to dismantle the gearbox as i work in the automobile branch so i have access to plenty of special tool that allows the gearbox dismantling !
Personnaly i don't think that the plastic geas from re-realese will be as tough as the metal ball bearing ones, but of course it depends on how you going to use it.

In a few days or weeks, i will post my latest project, i have a complete Mountaineer that is almost ready.

Let me find the pictures of the Mud Blaster i restored and i'll post a new topic for it too.

Well done, very handsome twins.
I'm a big fan of builds threads with detailed pics so I'm looking forward to your upcoming topics.

Yes, dismantling those vintage 3-speed boxes is "fun" - did you get as far as removing the gear from the shaft that passes through the bulkhead? - It alarmed me that they're relying on a press-fit to transmit the driving force.
When I was doing mine I also stumbled across lots of info where people were making up special shaft-seals to make the gearbox properly hold oil.
Jonny, I wouldn't be too concerned about the plastic gears in the re-re 'box - it looks very similar to what you'll find in a 24V Bosch battery hammer drill. The High Lift also has plastic gears, & mine survived dragging me around the office on a wheely-chair.... (Tied the leaf springs around the rear axle though)

eddrick wrote:

...
Jonny, I wouldn't be too concerned about the plastic gears in the re-re 'box - it looks very similar to what you'll find in a 24V Bosch battery hammer drill. ...

I wouldn't say I'm "concerned" about the gears, just that I'll never be convinced that "plastic" is better or even as good as "metal" - prove it to me by showing me wear tests, hardness & tensile strength tests, and I _still_ won't emotionally believe it

Did you do the full gearbox upgrade , aka also did the bearings that are between the pressed on gears, did you use shims and how does the grease work for you any problems with shifting?

I did the 98% bearing upgrade (no tools for getting gears on or off shafts) and made caskets out of .25mm paper, using mountainbike chain oil for lub.

I think brass or plastic gears dont give each other that much, brass teeth can shear of like butter wenn not meshed right and I think modern reinforced plastic is pretty tough, altough I prefer the look and feel of the real steel.

Hi Guys,

For the questions raised by Eddrik and Waterbok :

Yes the gearbox is fully upgraded, even the bushing located between the pressed gears!
As i told you i work for a car manufacturer and that's why i have access to plenty of tools including a press. It's quite easy to do it. As i'm restoring the gearbox of my Mountaineer i will post some pics of that process. If you don't have a press you can use a vice , it takes a bit longer but the result is the same. (check the red mark on the picture below)



Course after fitting the metal bearings you have to measure everything to ensure the proper shifting of the gears. Don't forget that the original bushings are like 4.05mm think flanged and that the bal bearings are about 2.48mm think without a flange. So you need a 0.5mm shim in order to keep the right distance between the gears.


Concerning the grease, if you have a look at Tamiyas instruction manual they advices against using grease. I've made a few tests with different type of greases and found the perfect solution. I'm using Teflon mounting grease. This type of grease is specially made for small rotating pieces and non plastic/metal aggressive. If you guys want a pic of if just ask. I know it's commonly used in the car shops, so i think if you're intrested u might find it.

Now for the gaskets. I,ve seen a couple of auctions on E-bay for those gaskets....but honestly i don't it's a good idea to fill thet gearbox with oil.

First reason :

You have to find the right oil spec that won't be too agresive on aluminiun and bronze, and believe it's very very hard to get those spec from the oil manufacturer !

Second reason:

If you use gaskets, you'll have to measure all the spaces between the gears again in order to have a smooth shifting. This is ok as long as the gaskets are new, but what happens after a few month use, will the gasket support the oil that is filled in? So i'm pretty sure if you use such gaskets you will have shifting issues sooner or later. But that's my oppinion.

And don't forget, i only use my Bruisers/Hilux indoor from time to time...

Yes, played all those games with mine too - gaskets, shims, grease, you name it, but the sad fact is they actually work better unshimmed & unlubed & the more worn the the dog clutches are, the more positive the gear changes are!
These gearboxes need a bit of slap-n-rattle in them to work at their best, same goes for the High Lift. In fact, the High Lift manual actually says "Don't use ball races on the sliding gears" - I'll tell you from experience, they too work better with the bronze bushings in them (The hard surfaces of the ballraces dig into the shaft they slide on in this case, what I call "Revere syndrome" - anyone who's ever had to repair 2nd gear on a Honda NTV will know exactly what I mean!).
Next time I do one of these vintage 3-speed 'boxes, the plan is to ONLY ballrace the bearing points of the main shafts, & leave the gear bearings as bronze ones.