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ORIGINAL: OldtimeRCer

Its the same here, I have to buy all my parts online. There is no LHS in my city, the closest is about 1 hours drive away. It doesn't matter much anyway, they don't carry HPI parts, and especially the old aluminum parts that probably aren't even made anymore. I have to shop on ebay from as far as hong kong to get the pieces. My RS4 3 is rapidly approaching the thousand dollar price tag because of hop-ups, parts, and repairs. I still need shocks for it, a proper exhaust system, better servo's, and a roto start wand that fits the tiger drive on the back of the motor.

I discovered a few other interesting bits while working on the car too. The previous owner had the 2-speed transmission put together not quite right, the spacer shim was in the wrong place. He put the tiger drive rotostart on the engine with its clutch bearing backwards, so it was trying to crank the engine in reverse. He also put the steering knuckle bushings in upside down, making a lot of play in the front steering, and causing the metal wheels to rub the steering hubs when you turn. Tightening the bushing screws also crushed one of them, making the steering bind if the screw was more than finger tight. Thankfully I have new steering hubs on the way that include fresh bushings.

I ordered a new plastic radio tray assembly, its the stock one from HPI. I have read this forum thread a lot, and some others that really race thier RS4 noted that the car is balanced better with the plastic radio setup. It also is good since the radio gear is fully protected and kept clean. The aluminum top frame looks nice, or the carbon fiber one, but I really don't like the radio gear hanging out in the air like that with exposed wiring.

I can say this, the car has been far from boring, and I haven't even started it yet!   lol