ForkliftJeff

My Dad gave me his old Dumas Swamp Buggy. He was into all this rc stuff back in the 70's and 80's, and this Swamp Buggy has been sittin around collecting dust since then. I'm gonna need some advice to get it going.

As it sits it is just the boat, motor, and fuel tank. I don't have it in front of me right now so I don't know what kind of motor it has, but it probably doesn't work. So I'm gonna need to know what kind of motor I need. It also has no turning fin or radio system.

Any pics or advice is much appreciated. I will grab the boat from my Dad's house and get some pics of it posted so you all know what I'm dealing with.

89ram

congrats on getting a boat! that was my first airboat, i loved it. don't give up on the motor just yet. see if it will run before replacing it. i had a k&b .45 on mine. never flipped over once! i think you can go up to a .60. no turn fin is needed on that type of boat. any 2 channel radio should be fine. i use hpi and traxxas pistol grip style radios in mine. check for any type of corrosion in the fuel tank on the fuel pick-up, and it would be a good idea to replace the fuel lines. make sure the prop is tightened, also, don't use wood props on a boat. water drops can shatter them! eager to see pics!

rickburnout666

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE383&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE385&P=7
This is the big one
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE388&P=7

Tower hobbies have these dumas swamp buggies not sure if they have changed over the years

89ram

that 3rd link is the one i built years ago. too bad there's no pic!

rickburnout666

theres a pic you just have to wait a while
ForkliftJeff,
when you say turning fin did you mean rudder?

89ram

oh! ok, thanks

ForkliftJeff

Yes, I did mean rudder. (Sorry, still new to this boat lingo). I just got the boat from my dad's place and took some pics of it. I'm gonna try and post them here. As for the engine... It says "MAX-III OS 15". The carb is stuck but the engine turns over. It has a 8 inch prop. My only nitro experience is with my Savage 25. Should I attempt to start this with my 30% Nitro?? And then if it doesn't work, what kind of engine should I get?

And then once it's running, what kind of radio equipment do I need. And then there's the rudder. Well actually there is no rudder. But nothing is broken I don't think. It's just not there. You will see on the pics.

Thanks for all your help guys. Once I get this running, or even before for that matter, I'm gonna build a trailer for it so I can tow it behind my Savage. It'll be sweet. Pull up to the lake with the Swamp Buggy in tow behind the Savage. I think it will be a riot. And I will definately get pics and video up of this stuff as soon as I can. And I will document the build process and hopefully put it up on my page.

rickburnout666

Hi, glad to see what one it is, looks like it is this one,
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXE385&P=7
The spec sheet says .19 or .20 so i would stick with those engine sizes, the .15 you have will do the job ok , it will need taking apart, and a good clean will be worth the hard work, and save a few bucks, but dont use the 30% nitro for airplane engines i have only ever used 5% in airplane engines (you could use the 30% for firing it up, but i would not advise using it for too long)
The rudder you might be able to get from towerhobbies.com, but if not, it shouldn`t be too hard to make your own rudder kit.

89ram

i agree with rick for trying to get the motor running. for the rudder, are the plans still in the box? you could rebuild from the plans. or can you tell from the picture on the box, how the rudder was constructed?

ForkliftJeff

I'm gonna take the engine to work tomorrow and clean it up and try to fire it up. I find work goes by faster when you're working on rc stuff, rather than working on forklifts. I'm gonna check the local hobby shop for a rudder or see if I can find one on the internet. But if I don't find it, I do have the instructions with the dimensions of the rudder.

89ram

i'm glad to see you have the plans to follow if need be. working on r/c's at work? that must be rough! i need that kind of job!

ForkliftJeff

I took the boat to work today, but I didn't have time to work on it. But I was thinking... how am I gonna start this thing? I don't have one of those prop spinning starters. I just have a roto-start for my savage. Do you think a drill will spin it fast enough? Or is it easier to start than my truck? Any tips?? Maybe I'll just tie a string around the prop and pull. I'll figure something out.

rickburnout666

starting it is, easy no string, drill or starter is needed , just a good old fasioned index, finger protected with a piece of heavey duty rubber hose, or your LHS should have what is known as a chicken stick/finger and just flick that prop round , that is how i have been starting my .61 super tigre engine

ForkliftJeff

Thanks for the quick help. I'll try that today.

martno1fan

ask rick what happened to his index finger lol ,just kidding go buy a starter they are cheap enough on ebay all you need is a small 12 volt lead sealed battery to power it i have a motorbike battery for my power source.if you do try it by hand use a peice of dowel with some old hose wrapped round it to protect the prop when you spin it.it most likely wont start by hand unless its been set up right in the first place so a starter is the easiest and safest way to start it ,ive seen a lot of injuries caused by props and they arent pretty!!!.

rickburnout666

Oh yes the finger injury story lol, read it here [:@]
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_52...my+idea/tm.htm
But it wasn`t due to starting the engine but by not remembering i had moved the engine
it wasn`t too bad, as i have fired engines up many times with my now repaired fingers , i will put a caution by the blade on the next build , as i`m older and take longer to heal.

ForkliftJeff

I haven't had much time to work on my boat, I've been too busy with work. But hopefully the next couple of days will be slow enough for me to work on it a bit. I sprayed the engine down with wd-40 and got the throttle linkage working smoothly, and the engine is turning alot nicer. I tested the glow plug and it looks good. But here is where I'm confused. Fuel pressure. On my savage truck it gets its fuel pressure from a hole in the exaust pipe. My boat has no exaust. Here's a pic showing the fuel line route. From the tank, to a fuel filter, to the carb. But the inlet tube on the fuel tank isn't hooked up to anything, and on my truck, that would be hooked up to the exaust. Do these engines suck the fuel up themselves?

rickburnout666

Im not too sure how they get the fuel , and i haven`t seen a carb and exhaust throttle set up used for many years and when i did the tank was level with the carb, not below, i just remember that they are very loud, perhaps you could find a universal exhaust to fit the engine, it would make it quieter and you would have the pressure pipe fitting too.

layback2

My Feedback: (12)

I think the os fp older engine muffler will fit that motor and towers still sell them infact here it is

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXCB87&P=OW

jasperrc

Because of the exhaust throttle and case setup, I don't think a muffler will bolt up.

rickburnout666

You will have to remove the exhaust throttle and fit a (universal)exhaust that uses a u bolt or strap to attatch it to the engine , like the ones shown. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...MEWA:IT&ih=016
There are many more styles that you can choose from, but they might be harder to find than the newer bolt up type.

Tommy gallagher

In the picture it seems like a regular bolt on exaust.

rickburnout666

Yes the second one was, i just played with the picture to show how they look, if you can find them with strap fittings as ForkliftJeff`s engine is not drilled for a bolt on exhaust

ForkliftJeff

So I fired it up today. I cleaned the fuel tank and filled it with my 30% fuel, and it actually fired up pretty easy. I just blew into the fuel tank vent to bring fuel to the carb, and turned the engine over a few times, then plugged on the glow plug ignitor and gave it a few spins. After the first couple spins it started making noise like it was goind to start, and then... purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. It ran pretty good. I gave it a few tweaks on the carb and I was able to rev it up and let it sit at idle. NICE!!! And my starter of choice... 3/4" heater hose on a 6" bar. It works like a dream and cost nuthin.
Anyone got any hints on how to tune this old carb? It runs pretty good but I wouldn't mind knowing what each screw is for.

And I'm also looking for tips on getting the radio system hooked up. I'm pretty sure I need a radio receiver, 2 servos, batt pack, and the radio control. But that is all I know. What kind of stuff should I get. I don't want to get too crazy, but I also don't want this thing to die or take off on me whenever it gets a splah of water on it.

ForkliftJeff

Oh ya. All this muffler talk.... it's fine. It runs great and it's probably quieter with no muffler than my Savage is with a muffler. So it's good.