Can vintage keep up with a modern car?

[sldmodels]

I'd say that as long as you're happy with it, and doing well, no need to change cars. I would keep an eye on the spares market for it, as if that dry's up and you have a major crash, your car could be on the shelf for quite some time.

I upgraded from the TC4 to the 5, simply because I felt that as a shop, I should be running the latest equipment, and although performance wise, I didn't need to do it, the 5 runs a lot better than the 4 ever did, even if I'm now only getting to match and beat it's race results.

Guessing you're wanting a 2wd though if you change, but have you thought about the Yok BD-Max? It's an amazing looking car, and the story is it was seen as a bit of a joke "cheap-end-of-the-market" car, until it started winning races, and now it's been carbon-ed up.

[Northy]

There's some on here isn't there?

G

[Northy]

http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/yorkvintage/

Those were the days

[Stu]

[DerbyDan]

Originally Posted by Northy

http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/yorkvintage/

Those were the days

Brilliant (& some amusing) pictures! Really getting me excited about running in some of these vintage meets, hopefully during this year

[mikeyscott]

Love the pic of the XXCR. Reminds me I need to send a XX shell to Blitzboy

[traffman]

The phrase those were the days matches that picture of the old optimas and the like sooo much .

I was getting all misty eyed. Back then you were good if you hadnt dumped by the 5 minutes gone.

Ps any one else here remember the old Queensferry club under the Forth road bridge ?

Thats were it all started for me circa 1988 ish.

Ps I get whupped week after week with a chap with a xxcr at our club and i run a B44.

I may just nick my mates Lwb optima for one of the races.

[Dyna]

Not sure if i'd class a Losi XX as vintage really ( as far as performance goes ), as although technically it came out in '93 it had a looong shelf life and was quite capable of winning big even after the XXX came out. I think it was fair to say the XX was one of 'The next Generation' of buggies then, and as is proven now, still a very capable buggy even today.

To me, Vintage is pre-93-ish...so no XX's, B2's, Cougar & CAT 2000's etc etc. These buggies are still quite capable of mixing with todays buggies, especially at club level and even Regional level - as long as you have spares !

For example i ran a Traxxas TRX1, Lazer ZX and Top Force at Caldicots Vintage series last year, and every other buggy was pre-93-ish... original RC10's, Optima Mids, JRX Pro etc etc. As good as they were, they are all a step down in performance i feel from the post '93-ish buggies. Ok Craig Harris hustled a TRX1 round with a 7.5 at an amazing pace, but he could hustle a wheeled brick around pretty quick...

And yes i suppose you could add another 'Generation' cut-off point of around pre '84-ish to take into account Rough Riders, Bolink Diggers, Mardave Apache's, Kyosho Scorpions etc etc...

Sorry, just my own rablings & thoughts on the subject, no offence meant to anyone with more modern 'vintage' buggies - i have plenty of those too...

[tymill]

Optimas are legend...

I lent my friend an old Salute to run at EPR last Sunday for the winter series race. Hey - he'd never raced before and he wasn't eactly on the pace - but the old 23 year old car did pretty well, knocks and all! Didn't technically even come in last...

It's just so stable (translation: slow and heavy) that it just goes where it's pointed - great for a beginner. And the full-width front bumper got a workout too...

It's such a tremendously complex car though - must have 3x the parts count of a modern 4wd. not to mention the individual chain links...

Cheers,
Ty

Originally Posted by traffman

The phrase those were the days matches that picture of the old optimas and the like sooo much .

I was getting all misty eyed. Back then you were good if you hadnt dumped by the 5 minutes gone.

Ps any one else here remember the old Queensferry club under the Forth road bridge ?

Thats were it all started for me circa 1988 ish.

Ps I get whupped week after week with a chap with a xxcr at our club and i run a B44.

I may just nick my mates Lwb optima for one of the races.

[Adam F]

Took my Cat xls/Procat hybrid for a quick lap of the PDA on Wednesday night....

Managed to land it nose first into the table top on the first lap and then decided to wind my neck back in and switch to my b4 before I broke it...

Was still pretty quick, but needs a bit more fine tuning before I run it again.... (and some new elastic bands!)

[Northy]

Originally Posted by x313

Was still pretty quick, but needs a bit more fine tuning before I run it again.... (and some new elastic bands!)

Use actual elastic bands

G

[Adam F]

Already sourced! 1 box of size 64 rubber bands now in my pit box!

[BORMAC]

The Procat is still a top vintage racer. Not much out there (pre 1990) that will keep up with it or be as reliable as it. My car happily runs a 12 turn every day of the week.

[Adam F]

Agreed, mine is running a Novak 6.5L brushless systen & Lipo and no problems at all.. needs the suspension setting up so it handles a bit better, but fast and seems reliable..

Just a new shell and some black wheels and its ready to go..

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by BORMAC

The Procat is still a top vintage racer. Not much out there (pre 1990) that will keep up with it or be as reliable as it. My car happily runs a 12 turn every day of the week.

I can think of only one other car that can keep with it. The Lazer ZX, but do agree with you the Procat is still a designers wet dream. Brilliantly thought out and simple ideas to stop breakages made this a great car.

[kaszal]

Hi x313 how did you get on with your Procat? I'm trying mine out at Stotfold. Check out my thread "Procat for Li-Fe". Let's exchange tips to get these great cars competing again. Luke

[BORMAC]

I race my Procat on dirt and much of the time it can get a liitle loose.
The front one ways were swapped out for solid drive shafts. The biggest issue with the Procats front trans is it coming loose. Set up right you'll have little trouble. I only run Bud's orange belts and they really do make a difference. Quiet and efficient!
Luckily I had access to alloy diff outdrives, alloy trans housings and a few other odds and ends.
The standard rear shock tower is terribly soggy. I made up a fiberglass plate to stiffen things up in the rear.
Bosscat rear hangers with threaded rod right the way through with a washer and nut at each end. This makes a difference especisly if the track you drive has jumps.
There's plenty of other tips but these are eccentials.

[kaszal]

Good stuff. Thanks Jason (did you get my pm?) I remember the rear alloy trans housing cost a packet but really strengthened the whole gearbox and soaked up the motor heat. Likewise I've switched back to the alloy z-bracket because it's stronger. Fibre-Lyte make all the carbon towers so these are readily available. Wish I had the Procat front super diff (with the SE kit?) but the MMS nylon diff I'm using is still way better than the stock diff. Can you get orange belts for the rear too? I also saw Raul's custom alloy pulleys but couldn't find the right part number. It looks like they would need machining.

I didn't want to mess it up the car but I finally brought myself to race it properly. I just hope it's dry at the track because I hate cleaning it!

[BORMAC]

I also like to keep the drive train as free from debri's as possible. Both the undertray and top lexan cover is sealed up with double sided foam tape to keep rocks and dust out of the sensitive drive parts.

Wish I had a spare Procat bumper. I need one myself.

[mpg200]

I finished 3rd in the york 540 championship, with a cat 2000