Restoration Project #7 - Kyosho Spada

[gandalfnz]

Hi Guys

I acquired this little guy a few days ago, never seen such a small engine!
Smallest I have experience with is .15, and this is 0.9.
Amazing to see such a small engine exists and works!
Cost me $100 USD.

Now, it seems to be barely used, and I am not sure if the engine has been broken in, but there is gummed up fuel int he tank.
I see that the carb and engine block is actually once piece.

Thought it was a two speed, but looks like its just one?
Also, how am I to start this thing, flywheel is so small, and does not protrude below the chassis plate?
Pull start or rotostart are out of the question.

Glow plug is also special size, and smaller than standard plug. At some stage I will re-tap the thread on the heatsink, to take normal size glows.

Please let me know what you think.

Thanks

 

[Chubaka]

Sweet ride. I'm guessing its like a mini rs4 or the like? Seems on the smaller side. I never heard of a .9 engine! I think the Traxxas Image .12 is the smallest I heard of. Probably a good idea to tap the hole for standard plugs.

Hows the belt vs shaft? I've always neen svared of shreading one.

 

[cbaker65]

09 engines were common ,an I think they still might be produced ,there was all kinds of
mini's in the early 2000 to 2012 ,that included mini stadium trucks ,buggy's & trophy trucks ,
including rally & street cars!

 

[gandalfnz]

Sweet ride. I'm guessing its like a mini rs4 or the like? Seems on the smaller side. I never heard of a .9 engine! I think the Traxxas Image .12 is the smallest I heard of. Probably a good idea to tap the hole for standard plugs.

Hows the belt vs shaft? I've always neen svared of shreading one.

I must admit, I was the same, thinking belt drives was just asking for trouble, and nowhere to be found once they snap.
Turns out they never do, and are extremely durable.
The S3 Kyosho you see just above the Spada, probably the worst condition restore I have ever done, that car has been abused to the point I had to replace the engine. Guess what, belts look like new.
I noticed that acceleration and throttle response time is so much smoother on it.
Shouldnt turn you away from getting one.
The only problem are small stones that can get caught between and the pulley, and it such case, its the pulley that ends up damaged.
I have no such problems as the road I drive it on is quite clean.

09 engines were common ,an I think they still might be produced ,there was all kinds of
mini's in the early 2000 to 2012 ,that included mini stadium trucks ,buggy's & trophy trucks ,
including rally & street cars!

Thank you, yes its a .09 bore engine, its very small!

 

[Chubaka]

Good to know. I may look for one if its like that. my rare cars get the road blown off to ensure no pebbles.

 

[cbaker65]

I must admit, I was the same, thinking belt drives was just asking for trouble, and nowhere to be found once they snap.
Turns out they never do, and are extremely durable.
The S3 Kyosho you see just above the Spada, probably the worst condition restore I have ever done, that car has been abused to the point I had to replace the engine. Guess what, belts look like new.
I noticed that acceleration and throttle response time is so much smoother on it.
Shouldnt turn you away from getting one.
The only problem are small stones that can get caught between and the pulley, and it such case, its the pulley that ends up damaged.
I have no such problems as the road I drive it on is quite clean.



Thank you, yes its a .09 bore engine, its very small!

Kyosho made a lot of those sizes ,just because may not be normal here in the states ,those sizes are still popular in Japan!.
I think Siro engines made an 09 an they are rare ,becareful what you do with that ,it could be worth more than what you gave for it!..

 

[alfredwong2003]

They are supposed to come with their own starter box.

 

[gandalfnz]

Thanks ppl.

Yes, its a Sirio 09, made in Italy.

Cleaned the fuel tank and fuel lines today, its ready to fire up.
Cars manual says use Kyosho 2.0 starter box.
I dont have any, never needed it, however from the pic, it does seem that the starter box spinning rubber wheel is too big and will not reach the small fly wheel on the Spada?

What to do guys?

 

[gandalfnz]

I am back to this one atm...

Any sugggestions regarding the steering linkage.
This is not stock and has been MacGyverd by the previous owner.
This way, one of the wheels does not turn at all when steering to the left, so set up is rubbish.
Also what is the proper name for the white bit on each rod end?

Second thing is, I see this has one speed clutch bell, but has a two speed transmission.
Would love to make it 2 speed, but when I google Kyosho Spada 2 speed clutch bell, there is a bell with no pinions, I guess they are purchased separately.
Parts for these are super rare and expensive.

 

[WickedFog]

The white pieces are called "rod ends" or "link ends". In 1:1 drag cars and such, they are rod ends.

You could get a dual horn or a round horn and do this.

 

[gandalfnz]

The white pieces are called "rod ends" or "link ends". In 1:1 drag cars and such, they are rod ends.

You could get a dual horn or a round horn and do this.

Thank you.

I will try this.

 

[eightball298]

How is your Spada project coming along? Are you running it? If you got all of that for $100, you really stole it. I spent a little over 5x as much. It's an NIB example, but still. Wow. Well, don't worry, you'll need that extra money for parts! I remember a few occasions where I spent more on shipping than the part was even worth to get something here from Australia or Japan.

I just picked up a new Spada 09 the other day. I jumped at the chance to get an NIB example at a fairly reasonable price after dealing with a bad case of seller's remorse since selling my original years ago. Like this OP mentioned, the recommended Kyosho starter box isn't such a good fit for this scale/engine. Trying to make consistent contact between the flywheel & starter box wheel was impossible, even with a very overpriced foam template (about $9, offered on eBay for $90 last I checked) to keep things lined up.

I finally found this thing called a "Handy Start", an extremely rare device that allowed me to start the engine with a roto-start setup without dealing with a starter box. Anyway, I threw it in the box when I sold it, and now I'm desperate to find another, becsause if the starter box is my only option this time...let's just say it'll be the difference between leaving it on the shelf or actually running it. Running it might be idiotic anyway, since replacement parts are damn near impossible to get these days, and I don't see Kyosho re-releasing this one anytime soon.

Anyway, after learning this was actually a common problem with these, I am wondering if you know of any other alternative, either converting the Sirio .09 to a roto-start some other way & using a power drill, or just any other way to start this engine.

Thank you.

 

[WickedFog]

This makes me think of this classic. You can still get these though, from time to time.
https://rc.kyosho.com/en/30635.html

Although, if you're desperate...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3874371381...NCCKxqlTp2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Brand new in box

 

[eightball298]

I found that Handy Start system on eBay ... but this joker is asking $375 for it, which is totally out of line.

 

[CertifiedMike]

I don't mean to make light of your situation but for $300, theres a fair amount of $ to try a custom starter using a good Milwaulkee cordless or similar.
i wish I had a car chassis to try some ideas with!
Fitting a rubber wheel that can access the flywheel to the drill with an adapter should be straigtforward... gotta find a wheel!
(Sorry if I'm picturing the chassis wrong in my head)

 

[WickedFog]

I don't mean to make light of your situation but for $300, theres a fair amount of $ to try a custom starter using a good Milwaulkee cordless or similar.
i wish I had a car chassis to try some ideas with!
Fitting a rubber wheel that can access the flywheel to the drill with an adapter should be straigtforward... gotta find a wheel!
(Sorry if I'm picturing the chassis wrong in my head)

That's basically what my dad used back in the day to start his nitro engine on his plane. Looked like a fat rotary tool with a big reverse cone shaped head, made from aluminum and rubber.

 

[CertifiedMike]

That's basically what my dad used back in the day to start his nitro engine on his plane. Looked like a fat rotary tool with a big reverse cone shaped head, made from aluminum and rubber.

This motor is small, should be easy to turn so friction wheel starter seems right!

 

[eightball298]

I'm afraid my nitro experience just isn't quite on par with what'd be necessary to attempt a roto start conversion... I could handle a brushless/electric conversion, which would subtract 50% of the car's coolness factor... re-entered the hobby a few years ago as an old codger so still getting used to LiPos & brushless motors! I guess I'm stuck on the whole Handy Start system because it really solved the whole problem last time & made the engine sooo much easier to start.

 

[eightball298]

@WickedFog This makes me think of this classic. You can still get these though, from time to time.
https://rc.kyosho.com/en/30635.html

I LOVE the Fantom series... still blown away that the re-release was popular enough for Kyosho to come out with 3 versions... I have this one, the gold 60th anniversary edition, AND 2 originals NIB. I had a ball driving this sucker on a local track ... still can't believe how fast it is with such a seemingly inefficient chain drive setup that rubs the radio plate ... but now that the track has closed, along with every other one in the state, I wonder if I'll ever get to drive it again ... or I can accept the thrashing it'll take in a random parking lot & hope I can find replacement parts... You'd think that popularity would cause them to increase production of them, but I can't even find a new body for the thing.

Although, if you're desperate...
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3874371381...NCCKxqlTp2&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Gotta be so careful on eBay these days ... so many sketchy sellers. This example here is for sale on several other auctions last time I checked, with different pricing, same pictures. This one has the corroded air filter... with every part for this thing so rare & expensive ... I got lucky & snatched up a pristine example for > $200 less than this one, but I did talk to this seller & got no straight answers. In the end I did get a really good deal ... now if I could only find a track that'd allow this classless anomaly of a car...

 

[eightball298]

Forgive my ignorance .. but would any old handheld starter (something like this) work with the .09 engine if I had the joint cup set? They don't provide a whole lot in the way of measurements...