Tamiya Hot Shot (re-re) Project

[WickedFog]

I've been following along, enjoying the build and organized presentation, and it hit me, this thing is not as big as I was thinking. I'm looking at the size of the post its and tools and wondering how I didn't notice this, I think I was so focused on what was happening I didn't see the big picture.

It's because like Kyosho, the 1/10 stuff is actually 1/10 scale. All the other stuff out there is 1/10 scale"ish"

 

[DMC-81]

I've been following along, enjoying the build and organized presentation, and it hit me, this thing is not as big as I was thinking. I'm looking at the size of the post its and tools and wondering how I didn't notice this, I think I was so focused on what was happening I didn't see the big picture.

Thank you!

It's because like Kyosho, the 1/10 stuff is actually 1/10 scale. All the other stuff out there is 1/10 scale"ish"

That's interesting. That got me thinking as well. In terms of scale, perhaps it's a photo illusion? The Hotshot rims are 2 inches in diameter. At 1:10, scaled up they would be 20". For comparison, my Camaro has 20 inch rims:

I'm actually in the process of putting new tires on this car. Here's a picture of the 2 rims. The Hotshot rim exactly fits where the center cap goes:

The Camaro is 15.8 feet long. It is bigger than it looks. The Hotshot is 3900mm long. Scaled up, that is approximately 12.75 feet. So a full-scale Hotshot would be 3 feet shorter than the Camaro. Imagine a full-scale Hotshot! That would be cool to see!

 

[WickedFog]

Thank you!


That's interesting. That got me thinking as well. In terms of scale, perhaps it's a photo illusion? The Hotshot rims are 2 inches in diameter. At 1:10, scaled up they would be 20". For comparison, my Camaro has 20 inch rims:

View attachment 161626

This car is 15.8 feet long. It is bigger than it looks. The Hotshot is 3900mm long. Scaled up, that is approximately 12.75 feet. So a full-scale Hotshot would be 3 feet shorter than the Camaro. Imagine a full-scale Hotshot! That would be cool to see!

Well, the stock base Camaro came with 14" wheels in '67. And the car was nearly the same length as yours. Oh how times have changed.

 

[DMC-81]

Well, the stock base Camaro came with 14" wheels in '67. And the car was nearly the same length as yours. Oh how times have changed.

Agreed. Generally speaking, wheels have gotten bigger over time. I love the 67-69 Camaro. In fact, that iconic roofline and the fact GM styled the 5th generation Camaro after the '69 is why I bought this car.

 

[WickedFog]

Agreed. Generally speaking, wheels have gotten bigger over time. I love the 67-69 Camaro. In fact that iconic roofline and the fact GM styled the 5th generation Camaro after the '69 is why I bought this car.

Oh, those exact wheels on your car... I machined a 1/4 scale set for the wind tunnel model of that car. I used to have pics of them, but can't find them now. They were wrapped in carbon fiber, and the model was tested on a running road (large treadmill) in a wind tunnel. They looked like these Dodge wheels when I was done with them.

 

[DMC-81]

Oh, those exact wheels on your car... I machined a 1/4 scale set for the wind tunnel model of that car. I used to have pics of them, but can't find them now. They were wrapped in carbon fiber, and the model was tested on a running road (large treadmill) in a wind tunnel. They looked like these Dodge wheels when I was done with them.

Wow, that's amazing!
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Build Process: Step 21

Step 21 involves filling the damper cylinders with oil.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 21 Commentary:

The kit came with 9 cc of silicone damper oil. The instructions didn’t specify what type of oil it was (Medium Set – Blue, or Hard Set – Light Blue), but after a quick image search. I was able to determine that it is Hard set – Light Blue. This is fine by me. I see that one can get Hop Up Options as follows:

• #53443 Silicone Damper Oil Soft Set (Red, Orange, and Yellow)
• #53444 Silicone Damper Oil Medium Set Green, Blue, and Purple)
• #53445 Silicone Damper Oil Hard Set (Pink, Clear, and Light Blue)

After filling both cylinders, I had roughly half of the oil left. I was careful to get all the air out and snug down the caps without pinching the rubber seal. Here are the cylinders all filled:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 22

Step 22 involves putting together the front and rear Damper (Coil-over shock) assemblies.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 22 Commentary:

Aside from ensuring the damper shaft was not damaged during assembly, this was a straightforward step.

Here are both dampers done:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 23

Step 23 involves attaching the front damper / coil over shock.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 23 Commentary:

This was another straightforward step. Both Dampers have 3 set points: Soft, Medium, and Hard. To select a different setting, you pull out the red plastic ring away from the “Adjust Point” and rotate it. I remember that being a cool feature back in the day.

Here is the step completed:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 24

Step 24 involves attaching the rear damper.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 24 Commentary:

This was another straightforward step. This high mounted mono-shock was one of the cool factor features of this model in my opinion.

Here is the step completed:

 

[DMC-81]

Spare Parts:

I had some spare parts arrive.
1) The 16 Tooth and 17 Tooth pinion gears (Part Number 50354) that will complete the set of gear options for the car. These came with grub screws.
2) A set of 6 x 5mm Adjusters (Part Number 50596)

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 25

Step 25 involves charging the battery pack.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are my selected old school NiMH battery pack and my Tenergy battery charger. The battery pack is rated for 5000mAh, so I’m interested to see how long it lasts. I remember my original battery back in the day only lasting for 10 or 15 minutes. Oh, but they were a fun few minutes!

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 26

Step 26 involves attaching the servo saver from the kit and hooking up the electronics to ensure the servo is in neutral for the attachment process.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 26 Commentary:

For my servo, I needed the S4 Futaba / Tamiya servo saver and BD1 3X10mm screw. I was amazed how small the receiver and speed controller are. However, I noticed that the on/off switch for the ESC is too small for the old school switch mounting location on the Hotshot. I may change that to the old style.

I also connected my Gyro and a motor and bound the receiver to the transmitter and tested connectivity.

2 videos that helped:

Binding the Flysky FS-G7P

Flysky G7P with FS-R7P Bind and BVD setup - YouTube

Setting up the Gyro:

Flysky G7P standalone gyro setup. - YouTube

This gyro is compact, and well-constructed. I remember back in the 80’s having this little device was unheard of, and if it was, it would have been a magical black box! Even today, I marvel at this compact technology.

Here is the step completed:

 

[DMC-81]

Wow, I had a busy two weeks. Now, back to the build:

Build Process: Step 27

Step 27 involves assembling and pre-adjusting the steering rods.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 27 Commentary:

The trick with this step is to securely hold the chromed steering shafts without marring them. I used a vise with the jaws protected by wooden paint stir sticks

Here is the step done:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 28

Step 28 involves attaching the stays and the steering rods to the servo.
Here are the Instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 28 Commentary:

I added a rubber grommet between the servo and E7. Other than that, this was a straightforward step.

Here is the servo all ready to put in the car:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 29

Step 29 involves arranging and fastening the radio equipment into the mechanism box. I also changed the new miniature system switch to the old school J Series switch.
Here are the instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 29 Commentary:

The thing to keep in mind in this step is arranging the components so they won't interfere with the drive shaft when the mechanism box is attached to the car.

Switch Mod:

The closest J Series switch I found was in part of a switch harness. So, I disassembled the switch plastic housing:

Then unsoldered the wires from the switch, and re-wired/soldered the cord with just the red connector wire as a simple on /off configuration:

I had to think ahead to ensure the switch was in the correct on/off direction and that the wires exited the housing on the correct side for attaching the switch in the next step:

I applied heat shrink tubing in the wires that I added and left a long leader:

Here are the electronics connected before installation:

Here is the step completed with all components taped down.

View from the bottom:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 30

Step 30 involves attaching the mechanism box and the receiver switch.

Here are the instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 30 Commentary: As mentioned in the last step, I had to think ahead to this step to get the wires exiting the J-style switch away from the propeller / drive shaft and it that was in the correct on/off direction. The switch that I selected fit perfectly in the integrated space and the height of the slide lever was perfect when all of the spacers and seals were added. Here is the clearance between the switch and the shaft:

Also, I needed to lube the threads of the long BA5 screws with Cera grease and back them out and reinsert for them to fully seat without stripping the Phillips head.

Here is the step completed:

I am having such a good time building this little buggy that I ordered a re-released The Hornet which was my first R/C car. I'll start another thread when I have all parts delivered and when I have time to start that one.

 

[DMC-81]

Work Stand:

I am at the point where I'll need a stand, so I chose a Hobby Park R/C Car Work Stand:

Opening the box, I was impressed at the quality of the parts:

It went together easily, and I like the thick foam padding:

The magnet strip was a nice feature:

Here it is with the car on it:

 

[DMC-81]

Well, it was a couple of crazy weeks. Back to the build:

Build Process: Step 31

Step 31 involves attaching the front bumper.

Here are the instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 31 Commentary:

This was a straightforward step. I remember being very glad this bumper was there back in the day.

Here is the step completed:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 32 and 33
Step 32 involves adjusting the steering rods. They looked within this spec to me, so I left this step for doing a double check when the wheels are on and full the weight is on the buggy.

Here are the instructions:

Step 33 involves cutting out the window net and assembling the roll bars.

Here are the instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 32 Commentary:

This was a somewhat challenging step for a couple reasons:

• accurately cutting out the net. To do this, I made a copy of the instructions and cut out the template, ensuring the copy is a 1:1 ratio of the original. I also thought ahead to ensure the attachment points in the net had a full square, (i.e. not cut through).
• Correctly zip tying the net to the roll bar assembly in the right place and through the holes in the net. Then orienting the zip tie fastener behind and out of sight

Here are the rough cuts for the two nets:

Here is the roll bar assembled and the nets cut out:

Here are the window nets attached and before the zip ties were trimmed:

Here is the step completed:

 

[DMC-81]

Build Process: Step 34

Step 34 involves attaching the aluminum roof to the rollbar assembly and attaching this and the access cover to the chassis.

Here are the instructions:

Here are the parts laid out:

Step 34 Commentary:
When attaching the aluminum roof, as before, I made sure to orient the zip tie fastener behind and out of sight. To me this brushed aluminum roof and the access cover added to the mechanical wonder appeal of the Hotshot. I think these parts will look really good with the optional aluminum rims.

Here is the step completed: