trying to ID some Traxxas street cars
11-01-2014, 12:05 PM
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trying to ID some Traxxas street cars
Afternoon all,
Since it is more of an indoor day at least in the south, I decided to crack open a box of r/c cars my Dad put up some years ago. My nephews used to run them but then came big cars, cute girls and so on...Anyway I have two chassis with bodies that appear to be the same cars. 4wd, mutliple gear trannies, fast as hell. Both have been run and one of them clearly hasn't been cleaned very well, the other isn't too bad. Both are obviously Traxxas but I have no manuals so I don't know which ones they are and Traxxas puts out an awful lot of r/c cars. They are old enough to be using AM radios on 27 Mhz instead of 2.4. Both ran quite well when they were put up. The carb is stuck on one but that's easy to deal with. Otherwise I find no issues, no battery leaks, everything should be good to go with a few hours of cleaning and checking. Are these still made? Are parts available if not? I can see where the drive belts and tires are clearly high wear parts that are probably going to need replacement regularly.
The last vehicle was also in the box and either got stripped for parts or never got completed. Hard to say. I have no idea what it is but would be willing to buy enough parts to get it going. Engine seems okay, not frozen and has compression. It might be a fun project if I can find out what it is. Running down parts might be interesting but that's why we have the Web. Any ideas? Thanks for any insights you guys may have.
Rick H.
Since it is more of an indoor day at least in the south, I decided to crack open a box of r/c cars my Dad put up some years ago. My nephews used to run them but then came big cars, cute girls and so on...Anyway I have two chassis with bodies that appear to be the same cars. 4wd, mutliple gear trannies, fast as hell. Both have been run and one of them clearly hasn't been cleaned very well, the other isn't too bad. Both are obviously Traxxas but I have no manuals so I don't know which ones they are and Traxxas puts out an awful lot of r/c cars. They are old enough to be using AM radios on 27 Mhz instead of 2.4. Both ran quite well when they were put up. The carb is stuck on one but that's easy to deal with. Otherwise I find no issues, no battery leaks, everything should be good to go with a few hours of cleaning and checking. Are these still made? Are parts available if not? I can see where the drive belts and tires are clearly high wear parts that are probably going to need replacement regularly.
The last vehicle was also in the box and either got stripped for parts or never got completed. Hard to say. I have no idea what it is but would be willing to buy enough parts to get it going. Engine seems okay, not frozen and has compression. It might be a fun project if I can find out what it is. Running down parts might be interesting but that's why we have the Web. Any ideas? Thanks for any insights you guys may have.
Rick H.
11-01-2014, 03:12 PM
#2
2 traxxas nitro 4tec's and a duratrax maximum ST. otherwise known as 3 piles of crap.
careful with the chassis on that duratrax they are prone to bending and the truck is long out of production.
and the nitro 4tec's are just duds. good for driving up and down the street in a straight line and that's about it. i believe they're still in production thought.
word of advice, ditch those 27mhz radios. they sucked 15 years ago. god knows what time and usage has done to them. i know my old 27mhz radio was glitching like hell a few years ago and had a range of about 40 feet.
careful with the chassis on that duratrax they are prone to bending and the truck is long out of production.
and the nitro 4tec's are just duds. good for driving up and down the street in a straight line and that's about it. i believe they're still in production thought.
word of advice, ditch those 27mhz radios. they sucked 15 years ago. god knows what time and usage has done to them. i know my old 27mhz radio was glitching like hell a few years ago and had a range of about 40 feet.
11-04-2014, 12:33 PM
#4
Those are still pretty descent cars to have fun with!
Oh my,has it been 16 years already....
...My friend across the street bought one...lol,yea,16 yrs ago,I was so jealous.
I had to save an settle for a Duratrax street force.
My friend had me go through his,an clean & tune it for him acouple years ago.It set with fuel in it for 10 yrs.It cleaned
up nice,an gave me a dejivue thrill...
The newer versions have a 3.3 engine on them.Personally,I would not own one.But they are ok,an you can find
parts for them..
Oh my,has it been 16 years already....
...My friend across the street bought one...lol,yea,16 yrs ago,I was so jealous.I had to save an settle for a Duratrax street force.
My friend had me go through his,an clean & tune it for him acouple years ago.It set with fuel in it for 10 yrs.It cleaned
up nice,an gave me a dejivue thrill...
The newer versions have a 3.3 engine on them.Personally,I would not own one.But they are ok,an you can find
parts for them..
11-04-2014, 02:58 PM
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Interesting points of view and quite a variety. I'm not a competitor of any sort with cars, just like to go out occasionally and blast around a parking lot or do a little pick up racing. Nothing serious. I recall these being pretty quick for sport machines and look forward to getting them running soon. I likely will replace the 27 mhz gear with something in 2.4, probably Spektrum.
Rick H.
Rick H.
11-04-2014, 05:40 PM
#6
Interesting points of view and quite a variety. I'm not a competitor of any sort with cars, just like to go out occasionally and blast around a parking lot or do a little pick up racing. Nothing serious. I recall these being pretty quick for sport machines and look forward to getting them running soon. I likely will replace the 27 mhz gear with something in 2.4, probably Spektrum.
Rick H.
Rick H.
I hate working on that one though.Everything has to come off just to get the engine out.
But yea,they are worth having.I see parts for those on ebay.The 3.3 version chassy parts may enterchange with
it.They look identical..
11-05-2014, 03:40 PM
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Lol yes it has. I was wandering through the hobby shop shortly after its release and picked one up. The problem with them was that they were overpowered for what they are, even then. With a little suspension tweaking and fatter tires they have a bit more potential. This is going to be the case however with any of the 1/10th nitro cars. You need 1/8th scale for it to be competitive although a couple guys have been successful at racing 4-Tecs. Don't think anyone has come in first with one though. They weren't really designed to be raced competitively. They are a blast regardless. They are pain to work on. Fortunately I haven't had to do much to mine.
Last edited by jkdv8; 11-05-2014 at 03:42 PM.
02-06-2015, 05:48 PM
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I finally got around to getting them started this afternoon. Both engines had to come out and get freed up and cleaned but getting them both running only required a few hours. I ran them out on the street in front of my house briefly. From a standing start on my garage floor which is pretty smooth, both would smoke the tires coming out which I thought was pretty cool. I like them. Even the old radios work just fine. The third one is now up on wheels. I'll find a radio for it and that should be up and running as well. No other parts needed. I think.
Rick H.
Rick H.
