Lunch Box Build Update 4

Finished the chassis tonite, including the wheels. On the front suspension, I added a ~1/8" piece of tubing on the shock shaft above the chassis mounts to reduce some of the comical angle of the lower arms.

If you look at the box, or search the Internet, it's easy to see how large this angle is; having the front wheels near-horizontal when landing from a wheelie or jump is important. 

Also wanted to show the red, aftermarket Kimbrough servo-saver I have to use, because Hitec servos were not accounted for in the kit's supplied unit. 

Here's a shot of the completed chassis, sans wheels: 

And ready-to-roll:

One thing I am mildly concerned about us how little the max steering deflection appears to be. I'm sure this won't be an issue out in the yard, but I wasn't prepared for the small amount of steering throw. For example, in the pic above, the front wheels are 'cranked over' as far as they'll go!

All that's left now is to paint the body and install the lights. I ordered the Tamiya colors called for in the manual to match the box art, so hopefully I can spend next week painting & applying decals. 

Stay tuned!!

How to decide which Lunch Box hop ups to do?

So one of the frustrating things about searching for good resources on hop-ups for the Lunch Box is how internet indexing works.  Basically there is a difference between "Lunchbox" and "Lunch Box"...and its important.  I started out searching for 'Tamiya Lunchbox hop ups OR upgrades', and that gave me one set of links.  Then I tried 'Tamiya Lunch Box hop ups OR upgrades' and that gave me a second, different set of results.  Part of my goal here is to help anyone else out with finding the good resources for articles, how-to's, etc. on vintage R/C cars, whether they be originals or the re-release (so called "re-re") versions.

One of the best resources I've found so far on the Lunch Box is RCknowhow.co.uk.  This site has a wealth of information from a webmaster that *loves* R/C vehicles in general, and Tamiya kits in particular.  I highly suggest checking out his article on "6 Essential Tamiya Lunch Box hop-ups," as it gives a great overview of the simple modifications that you can do to this classic bashing machine to make it handle just a wee bit better.

Anyways, thought I'd share the love, so to speak.  I didn't get to finish the front end of Lunch Money tonight as I was having quite a time with the Horizon Hobby website this evening; I was trying to order a new Spektrum DX3C, which I was finally able to do after figuring out a glitch on their order form.  I also ordered up some Deans Ultra Plugs, as I want to get all the juice out of the NiMH batteries I plan on using, as well as another battery, running at 3500 mAH, which should give me quite a bit longer run time than the old 1500's I used to run as a kid. 

Cheers, and happy bashing!!

Lunch Box Build Update 3

Installed the rear shocks, the battery holder and the lower front bulkhead tonight. The shocks really are pogo sticks. But, the system does have some articulation, so hopefully it won't be too bad in the yard.  

Not sure what the little rubber tubing pieces on the shock shafts are supposed to do, other than limit travel so the axle housing doesn't bottom out on the chassis?  There's only about an inch of travel, built as stock. 

Compressed:

The battery holder has a cool loop that flips out to make battery swaps easier:

That little nub fits in a hole on the chassis itself, and is secured with a small clip. Pretty effective and it appears modestly robust. 

Stay tuned for the next update: installing the front A-arms, bumper, and front shocks!

Lunch Box Build Update 2

Today I finished the gearbox, attached the motor attached, and mounted the whole assembly. I have never seen a rear axle setup quite like this...it's a solid rear driving axle, that has mild articulation because the secondary axle that attaches to the chassis rides in ~3/4" slots. It is 'kept' within the slots by means of small wire coiled springs.

 

This assembly allows for some articulation of the whole axle/gearbox housing.  Of course, the coiled wire springs look like a glaring weakness, and they are. This will be one of the first areas of improvement, post-completion...definitely going to do the fifth/third (total/rear axle) shock upgrade. 

Here's a shot of how "Lunch Money" looks so far: 

Thoughts? 

Also not sure on the name, but I figured it works since this kit was bought with spare change, largely left over from buying lunch! 

Stay tuned for the next installment: rear shocks & lower chassis components. 

Lunch Box Build Started!

Started the Lunch Box!  I'm waiting on the Kimbrough servo saver, as the stock Tamiya SS doesn't fit the Hitec servo I'm using. Here are a couple pics of the unboxing and progress. 

Here are the electronics installed, I'm using a Spektrum S201 receiver, the stock Tamiya TEU-105 speed control, and a basic Hitec servo. 

Just received the ball bearing set, so tomorrow should see the transmission assembly start. Stay tuned!

Welcome to the Vintage R/C Blog!

This blog will hopefully be a resource for anyone interested in Vintage R/C, including project updates for vehicles I am building, how-to articles, and links to helpful articles & pages I've found during my research for vintage projects. The main focus will be on new releases of classic vehicles.

Stay tuned for updates about the first couple projects: the re-released Tamiya Lunch Box and Midnight Pumpkin kits!!