hi there
i have a lurcher saluki/grey ( technically a longdog ) she loves chasing my shortcourse truck around the garden, its a good change from a tennis ball as she gets bored easily and turning and changing direction all the time adds extra fun for her. What ever you do i recommend running something that has an enclosed body shell so that the wheels are covered, this way if they accidentally step on it they wont hurt themselves on spinning wheels or anything sharp etc that will put them off from chasing again. if i were you and was on a tight budget id sell the vintage stuff you have and buy a ready to run short course truck. ( for what you get for the vintage stuff will cover most if not all costs of new kit i think ) at least this way you have no issues with spares or breakages.
i dont know what your budget is but iv seen dms are doing ashima rtr sct kits for under £90,
what ever you do i would recommend you tie some washing line/string to the back bumper and drag a soft toy along ( not too long as you dont want them to get caught up in it ) this way you save your car from getting munched on ;-)
take a look here:
http://www.dms-racing.com/index.php?...acturer_id=258
or if you have a bigger budget the worlds your oyster theres loads of toys to buy!