Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

I know this is not a very common buggy by today's standards but I feel as though there's still a small and dedicated following of this 80s classic. Just like some of you this was the car that actually got me into RCs and each time I see it I feel like a little kid again.

I haven't had one in about 20 years but that's all about to come to an end now that I just bought one again! Its in the mail and on its way. I had it over nighted to me so I hope all goes well and it gets to me tomorrow. I'll get some pics posted up as soon as I get it and clean it up some.

For those of you that have an Arrow or are looking to buy an Arrow the decals will be in bad shape due to use and age of the buggy so I will making a FULL set of reproduction decals for the buggy :D If you guys are interested in getting a set for your Arrow let me know and if I get enough interest maybe I can do a group buy to help keep the cost down.

Come on guys share video, pics, tech info, upgrades, restoration tips or anything else for that matter in relation to the Golden Arrow lets hear it or see it. :)

Cheers

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

I had one many a year ago. It stripped the gearing in the trans. I never could find another they had stopped selling them. The old chassis is around my place somewhere but the body still lives on mounted to another vintage classic a Kyosho Ultima II/Sidways it fit on there with very little mods other than making holes for the body post to come through. I even used the power switch in the body like the Arrow had. Though I wish it came down a little further but, it is different.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Thats pretty cool. If you are ever interested in finding another one I see them on eBay quite often as well as craigs list. Dont ask me how a kid doesnt play with his RC car but the other day there was a BRAND NEW never opened Golden Arrow that sold on eBay for 255.00!!! It was really cool to see thats for sure. I would say on average they go for between 50-100 depending on condition.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Hmm... I was just curious to see if there were any on ebay came up with 0. But, that was only one time a while ago. I have found plenty of other RC's from my past on there but never have the $$$ when I fianlly find it. I do how ever have a good condition Red Arrow with the box, charger, and manual. A friend of mine found it at a thrift store some where in Arizona while travelling Only set him back 10 bux. I wound up with it when he got out of RC's.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Those are really cool too, a friend of mine had one when were kids. Actually there was a Red Arrow on eBay a few days ago. If you go on eBay right now there are a few for sale. The one I just picked up wont be delivered as originally agreed which ticks me off because I just paid for UPS next day service and the seller said they never got the email with the label and I call BS but oh well. I guess it will be here Monday. I just hope they compensate me some how considering the shipping wasn't cheap.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Wow, can't believe we have a Golden Arrow thread!:D Growing up my brother had a Golden Arrow which he still has in the original box. I, at the same time had a Red Arrow. I was able to race him since it was on a different frequency. The Golden Arrow had a 540J motor, which he later upgraded to some sort of Trinity stock motor. I remember the Red Arrow having a Mabuchi 540S. The Golden and Red arrows were pretty much identical in speed. Although as soon as my brother upgraded the motor he did have the edge. The Golden Arrow is sitting in its box up at the cottage but isn't functional. Never really made in effort to find out what's wrong with it. But at least it still exists:D The Red Arrow on the other hand I remember suffered a broken suspension and ended up getting trashed. Typical of toy-grade RC's lol.

Really cool seeing this thread though, since this is really what got me into RC's as a kid.[sm=thumbs_up.gif]

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

HAHAHA yeah my old GA ended up in the trash too many years later of mad abuse, it too a lot though. Thats crazy that you even remember the motors that came in them. What prompted me to start this thread was when I was searching on line I noticed how many people actually viewed the individual auctions on eBay, I mean come on over 300 hits alone on the one I bought!!! So I figured there's obviously a small dedicated group of them so why not start a thread for the car that started a lot of us off and that we have such fond memories of.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

yeah i remember the motors specifically as I was comparing them to the RC's i always ogled at in RC Car Action mags when i was a kid. I know the Red Arrow listed the motor in the manual, not sure on the Golden Arrow though, but i do remember finding out it was a 540 Johnson motor somehow.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

RAK i can"t believe there is one either RLB

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Rich?

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Ok so that it you I just check out your profile. Well I got bent again with RCs because I wont be getting an Arrow any time soon. The chick I was buying this from refunded my money because she got all pissy about the shipping situation so my search continues.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

women? what up for tonight I was thinking of going up to harbor hobbies for some carpet racing

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

When I saw the thread title, I thought to myself, oh my God! A Golden Arrow thread, no way!

This was one of my first RC cars I bought when I got back into the RC scene. Had tons of fun with it when I ran it. I even made rear tire chains for it and use to run it on the ice in the winter! Then, I got married, had a daughter and one year she expressed some interest in RC. So I set out to completely rebuild the GA and clean it up / shine up the body and I gave it to her as a present. I ordered a whole bunch of parts when I bought it and kept them for the big rebuild day. Now that she's 18 and into other things, the car has sat on my shelf for some time now. I think we only got a couple of runs on it after I rebuilt it. I have a bunch of photos I took with my old Nikon rangefinder camera, but I can grab some new digital images.

I'm pretty sure the motor in my car is the Mabuchi 540. Not sure if it's the S model. Mine is still all stock with stock electrics.

Thanks for a good thread and bringing back the memories. If anyone wants photos, let me know. I also have the manual if anyone needs information.

I wonder if Radio Shack can still order parts?

Dave

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

I have one of these RadioShack Golden Arrow off-road buggy. This buggy simply was too heavy and bounced around the track to compete against other buggies in it's class... sooo... I had a Hobbyshop tech modify it for me back in the early 90's for a race. The modifications were subtle enough not to be noticed by the others. It was loaded with parts from the Tamiya Grasshopper, Frog and Stadium Blitzer. It has full ball bearings, fully adjustable steering camber (toe in or toe out),. Metal steering arms with fully damped front & rear suspension via oil filled shocks. It has a Grashopper/Hornet transmission with a Kyosho 05 motor. The electronics is OEM stock. The battery wiring for the four (4) AA's needed to power the receiver, steering & ESC was bypassed . All I use is a 7.2 volt battery to run this buggy. The steering is more responsive & I get to save some weight so this car is much quicker off the mark. It handles quite well too for a 1980's entry level buggy. It also easily kept pace with the much lighter Hornet and outran the other Grasshoppers that I was racing with back then.
I'll post pics of this buggy later . I still have to dig it out of storage along with another similar buggy called the Nikko F-10 RHINO frame Buggy, also modified.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

WOW guys, thats all I can say. That you for being so enthused with this thread and the GA as a whole. I had hopes to get back into one this weekend but that fell through so all I can do is hope that some day soon I'll have one of my own. However, in the mean time lets keep this thread going and get some more pics posted. I personally cant wait to see the cars described above with all the mods done to them. I know that when I get one I want to mod it to be a little more like modern buggies.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

I'd post some pics, but it's sitting up at the cottage. So next time i go up i'll snap some pics for you guys!

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

As promised. Here's my "stock looking" Radioshack Golden arrow buggy. It also has a CRP Adjustable gear ratio plate. The ground clearance in the midddle part of the buggy's chassis about 1/2" taller than stock, thanks to the longer travel Tamiya Blitzer shocks. Springs on this Golden Arrow buggy are a lot softer than the stockers. Just about right for those front trailng arms to work. Looking this buggy over, the hobbyshop tech that did the modification marked the pinioin gear that was installed in this buggy's transmission. He even included a spare pinon gear in case I had to adjust to the track conditions. I used this buggy about a dozen times before I moved on to the entry levelTamiya 4 WD buggies.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Gotta admit the Golden Arrow's a pretty sweet lookin buggy! For a while in the '80's the Golden Arrow was the holy grail of Radio Shack RC's. I'd love to see a youtube video of someone running one of these or the Red Arrow on an actual off-road course!:D Don't think it'd fair too well, but would be awesome to see it in action!

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

gulfstreamI - If you're ever interested in selling that Arrow you let me know! The mods look great. If you get some time maybe you could take it out to a track and take some video of it in action like Willystylz said. I would love to see what this thing can do with the mods you've done.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Thanks man! This was my FIRST off-road buggy that got me into off road racing. If my memory serves me right.... the hobbyshop tech claimed mine was one of three (3) Radioshack Golden Arrow's that he's modified. The other two (2) were fully modified to include the electronics and rebuildable brushed motors. It looks like mine was the bottom "low end" budget modification. :D

I've got a Radioshack equivalent by Nikko also modified by that hobbyshop tech. It's that Nikko F-10 RHINO that I mentioned earlier on this thread. I'm seriously thinking of letting it go since I've got one too many buggies cluttering my storage space.

Here's a youtube vid of a modified Golden Arrow used off road.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klmIJc8Wfjk[/youtube]

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Awesome video!:D Sure brings back the memories of lots of speed but limited off-roading capabilities.......lol i don't think there's too much ground clearance as I remember getting stuck on the ruts like you did. I remember running mine mostly on paved surfaces and the thing was a blast. But those old Radio Shack nicd's really sucked. I remember a pack only lasting about 10-15 mins and then taking 4-6 hrs to charge! Man i'm liking today's technology much better!:D

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

gulfstreamI - sent you a PM

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

This is the Nikko counterpart of the Radioshack Golden Arrow, it's called the Nikko f-10 RHINO Frame Buggy. Earlier I mistakenly called this the Bison. It was only after I took it out of it's storage box that I realised the error.
I beleive this to be a worthy counterpart to the Radioshack Golden Arrow buggy. It basically has a similar tub chassis, front trailing arms, and almost identical rear transmission. The onboard electronics on this buggy is different from the Golden arrow.
The f-10 RHINO buggy has a TRUE digital proportional speed contol. You can actually run this thing to a crawl, the Radioshack Golden Arrow is just Full speed forward or full speed reverse. This buggy has four oil filled shocks which gives it a marginally better handling that it's stock version. The OEM Transmission has full ball bearings. The motor in it is a Traxxas Stinger 20 turn motor. The spiked tires gave this buggy the needed bite on semi soft soil and hard packed clay surfaces. Matched to this buggy are original 1980's Tamiya grasshopper/Hornet /Frog - three (3) piece wheels. Front wheel camber (toe in or out) is adjustable and steering arms are made of metal commonly found on the Tamiya frog, Brat & Sand Scorcher series. When I got this back in the early 90's the hobbyshop tech told me that this was his "testbed buggy" that he used as a reference in modfying the RS Golden Arrows he worked on.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Very nice. Is it the same exact size as the Arrow? It looks as though the bodies would be interchangeable but I cant tell from the pictures.

RE: Official Radio Shack Golden Arrow Thread
 

Thanks! :D The bodies are not interchangeable. The electronics motherboard is different on both buggies and so are the mounting holes. I think the RS Golden Arrow buggy uses micro relays to turn the brushed 540 motors ON or OFF. Which is probably the reason why some RS Golden Arrow owners selling their buggies at "the bay" are swaping the electronics to hobby grade quality.