Turbo Optima Mid SP

[sheriff]

HKS_TRD, have you any pictures of the progress of this bad boy?

[HKS_TRD]

Not yet haven't had a chance, plan to make some progress on the weekend

[HKS_TRD]

I managed to make some progress on this build over the weekend.
I hit two hurdles but I ran out of time anyway.
The first one was that when I opened up my OT-95 plate set it contained two front and no rear wishbone pivot plates.
The second hurdle was that I did not have the proper cap screws for the upper shock mount, I did have some Phillips head screws in the correct length but I'll need them for another build anyway so I may as well get the correct screws. I was running out of time anyway, I am hoping to get back into it in a couple weeks when the parts have turned up and I will have some time again
One change I do plan to make from the original kit is to use the newer metal nyloc nuts on the upper shock mounts instead of the plastic nuts. The plastic nuts are just plain wrong to me, hopefully I don't offend any purists!
I didn't end up glueing the black pads onto anything at this stage seeing as its only a shelfer it wasn't an issue.

Apologies if I have gone overboard with the photos, putting this together brought back alot of memories.

[HKS_TRD]

So, first up this is mostly what went into the build so far



Starting with these packets









I got these guys pieced together



Then it was time to break out the gearbox cases





And something I prepared earlier



To get me to here



Then I almost forgot to include this



Before assembling the gearbox case

[HKS_TRD]

So far so good, I broke out the plates for the rear gearbox case



Only to discover one slight problem !!!



Anyway that wasn't going to hold me up for a little while yet so I bolted the plates onto the rear gearbox case, although technically IIRC going by the Turbo Optima Mid SP manual this is done AFTER the gearboxes are bolted to the chassis as the SP comes with the gearbox pre-assembled and bolted to the chassis





Then out with the spur gear clutch to finish off the main shaft of the rear gearbox





Then it was time for the front gearbox cases and something else I had prepared earlier



Again I had to make sure I remembered to install the belt before putting the case together, I'd done that a couple times working on my Mid 20 years ago



This got me to here and the part of the build I was really eager to get to

[HKS_TRD]

It was time to break out the carbon chassis, which had been sitting in a draw since the day I got it, patiently waiting for this day





And of course the gearboxes could finally go on, and it starts to look a little more like a Mid





Next on the list was these guys







Which got me to here











Keen eyes may have spotted the yellow writing on the belt, I actually had another here with white writing but seeing as it is going to have yellow wheels I decided I'd leave this belt on.

At the end of all this I was left with these. It may sound silly but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to throw them in the bin just yet

[j0pp3]

Lovely! Brings back all memories of my own optima mid build sessions when I see all these pictures. Thanks for sharing

I have taken the decision to hire Fibre-Lyte for my SP build as I will never find that chassis...

[HKS_TRD]

Originally Posted by j0pp3

Lovely! Brings back all memories of my own optima mid build sessions when I see all these pictures. Thanks for sharing

I have taken the decision to hire Fibre-Lyte for my SP build as I will never find that chassis...

No problem, I will take the same amount of photos for the rest of the build then

I would do the same thing regarding the chassis and go the fibrelyte, if I didn't find this one thats what I would have done

[sheriff]

Looking great. Keep the updates coming!

[alcyon]

Originally Posted by HKS_TRD

At the end of all this I was left with these. It may sound silly but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to throw them in the bin just yet

Ha, same predicament, could never throw the labels cause they seem so rare these days. besides if you cut out the kyosho labels you could use them as stickers for your bodies.

[HKS_TRD]

I managed to make some more progress this weekend.
I didn't strictly follow the order of assembly in the manual

I started with the genuine lower belt cover which I had cut out earlier and the genuine Kyosho double sided tape



And here it is installed



Next it was time to break out these



Along with these which needed to be installed onto the wishbones



I decided to prep all four wishbones at the same time



Rears installed. I actually had to move the belt cover forward a little, as it was fouling on the rear pivot block, luckily the tape had not stuck that well to the Carbon Chassis and it was not a nightmare to get it off, I managed to get it in just the right place second time round!







Then time to install the rear bulkhead





Followed by the front belt cover retainer



I've never built a LWB Mid before so this was something new to me, I nearly forgot to get one when I was sourcing parts for this build

[HKS_TRD]

Next it was time to break these out





Then it was time to install the front wishbones



After which I decided to deviate from the instructions again and install the front bumper







And then I decided to make another deviation and install these so the rear sway bar does not swing around freely while the Mid waits for the next round of progress

[HKS_TRD]

And so this is where I am so far with the build.
When the missing cap screws turn up I will get back into it and make some more progress. I guess I can build up the front and rear hub and knuckle assemblies in the meantime in preparation for the next session

[DanB4]

Looking fantastic!

[sheriff]

Looking good, looking forward to seeing it with the shocks fitted!

[oli4ke]

[lllyf]

amazing car, I still have the optima mid trailing arm conversion kit but never want to build it.

[j0pp3]

Looking good!

The plastic part in the upper left area of this image should have some kind of thin foam attached underneath to protect the drive train even more.

[HKS_TRD]

Originally Posted by j0pp3

Looking good!

The plastic part in the upper left area of this image should have some kind of thin foam attached underneath to protect the drive train even more.

Yep I know the foam you are talking about, which is part of the tape set but I didn't have that sadly, though I did get the rubber piece that goes under the upper belt cover where it passes over the motor I did have some other foam that I could improvise with but seeing as this is going to be a shelfer I figured it would be OK to omit it. I will be doing something for the runner Mid I am building down the track though.

[j0pp3]

Originally Posted by HKS_TRD

Yep I know the foam you are talking about, which is part of the tape set but I didn't have that sadly, though I did get the rubber piece that goes under the upper belt cover where it passes over the motor I did have some other foam that I could improvise with but seeing as this is going to be a shelfer I figured it would be OK to omit it. I will be doing something for the runner Mid I am building down the track though.

I totally agree that it's OK to omit on a shelfer.

Got the fibre-lyte chassis the other day so I will start the build soon. They really make wonderful parts. If I just can find a substitute for the tape set...

Cheers