Rusty,
Nitro definitely has a fun factor. For me though, it reminded me of how temperamental those engines can be. One minute they run, the next they don't. Then you spend a ton of time trying to get it to start again. Also the Racing Montero was a messy little buggy. Fuel spilled out of the tank a lot and the engine exhaust spewed oil. My workbench is covered in nitro fuel after working on it. Part of me wants to try to get another engine for it and see if I can get it running reliably. But the parts just don't exist. Also it was not a high end car back in the day. It was an intro level buggy to nitro.
The Optima ran once from what I remember. It was fast and ultra quiet with the belt drive and all the ball bearings in it. All it would need are a few things to complete it. The beauty of the Optima is that it isn't disassembled and in pieces. But it would need modern day electronics.