Vintage Purple HPI Baja 5B Restoration Project

[zxb466]

Hello everyone,

I finally got my hands on a vintage original HPI Baja 5B with the purple chassis. I always wanted one as a kid but was never able to get one and now they only sell the new SBK kit without the original purple. After a ton of research, finally found an original vintage purple baja 5B with the 23cc Fuelie engine for a decent price RTR. The original body is also in very good condition. It even has the original vintage HPI servos and exhaust! My goal is to restore this gem and preserve it in its original condition as a shelf queen with all stock parts.

So far the only thing I see that I need to change back to original are the rear tires, front and rear shock towers, pull start handle, fuel tank cap, and light cups to the original ones without the led's (as this one came with led's).

The purple anodization on the shock caps and shock adjustment nuts are faded. I found and ordered some original new HPI discontinued purple shock caps and adjustment nuts from Ebay. Wanted to create a build thread for this gem with some pictures. Will update as I go along.

Are there any other parts you guys can see that are not original that I may need to replace? Any advice or suggestions for this project? Thinking of doing a tear down and cleaning every part with soap and water, replacing all fluids, and reassembling.

 

[luke66]

DUDE! That is so freaking RAD!!!

 

[Tunedfrog]

Great looking rig.

 

[9x19]

Very nice!

 

[Doom!]

Looks killer!

 

[zxb466]

Thank you all! Really excited to start cleaning / restoring this thing

 

[Greywolf74]

Nice find!

 

[WickedFog]

What a nice starting point. Knock the dust off and she'll look like new.

 

[Chubaka]

What a nice starting point. Drive the dust off and she'll look like new.

Totally agree. You can ban him of you like. I'm pretty sure old purple cars one can't just go buy is against the rules.

 

[WickedFog]

Totally agree. You can ban him of you like. I'm pretty sure old purple cars one can't just go buy is against the rules.

I was telling Greywolf you'd be foaming at the mouth over this one

 

[Chubaka]

I was telling Greywolf you'd be foaming at the mouth over this one

Foaming at the mouth. Yup. We will stick with that one.

And it's goy the led lights.

 

[zxb466]

Foaming at the mouth. Yup. We will stick with that one.

And it's goy the led lights.

Do you know if those are HPI lights or what brand are they?

Restoration in progress....

Just found out it even has the original 2,000 mah HPI battery!

 

[zxb466]

I’m on the hunt for the original TF-10 transmitter and receiver too so I can complete this original beauty. Will post a WTB thread soon

 

[zxb466]

Restoration Update:

Posting progress pictures. Still waiting on all the bearings, fluids, shock rebuild kits, decals, axle boots, fuel lines / fuel filter... etc to arrive. I also ordered new wheel hubs and every purple part I could find that was fading to replace with a new original one. I cleaned every part with soap and water, replaced the air filter sponge, replaced the pull start rope, and reassembled and replaced the foam inside the radio box that bolsters the battery.

 

[WickedFog]

Restoration Update:

Posting progress pictures. Still waiting on all the bearings, fluids, shock rebuild kits, decals... etc to arrive. I also ordered new wheel hubs and every purple part I could find that was fading to replace with a new original one. I cleaned every part with soap and water, replaced the air filter sponge, replaced the pull start rope, and reassembled and replaced the foam inside the radio box that bolsters the battery.

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Wow. Nice job. That looks like new already!

But you're missing a screw

 

[zxb466]

Wow. Nice job. That looks like new already!

But you're missing a screw
View attachment 199356

Left the screws out for the rear plate as I'm going to remove the rear transmission and diff assembly soon once my shipment arrives haha Good eye!!

 

[Chubaka]

Wow. Nice job. That looks like new already!

But you're missing a screw
View attachment 199356

That's my secret weight reduction trick for racing.

 

[Doom!]

Making good progress. Looks good.

 

[zxb466]

Making good progress. Looks good.

Thanks! Will update again end of this week with my progress.