1981 - Old radio shack dune buggy - my first rc anything
 

Hi, new to this site.

Im not avidly into rc any more, haven't been for over 25 years, but back in the day had a small collection... Gas powered, electric, and store bought when I was a kid and teenager.

I found this - see pictures - the other day boxed up for over 25 years or more. It was a Christmas gift in 1981, and I loved this thing when I got it. It was my first Rc anything. I must have put 100,000 miles on it. It went everywhere I did, and some places it should not have... I was 9.

It is in very rough condition, and at some point I had the brilliant idea of painting it black... The electrics still work, but the drive gear is worn out. And who knows what else. Suspension pivot points, all plastic parts etc are worn out, and you can see in the picture there are multiple cracks and broken parts.

My question is this - is there anyone out there that restores old toys or RC cars? I have no interest in parting with this, but would be interested in having it restored. It is not too far gone, I don't think, but would take a fair amount of work. Actually,a lot of work!

I found a couple of pictures on the Internet of them when they were new and posted them as well.


Thanks for your help.
Jeff.

Decided to try and clean it up a bit myself... A few pictures. In the end I'm not sure if it could be fixed up! Pretty rough condition.

But the memories of the jumps... You know, two feet of air when you're 10 is pretty fun!

It actually survived an 8 foot vertical jump onto concrete from a maintenance stand years ago....

But back to the fixing up, I think I will leave this as is. A trophy for the shop shelf!
but I am interested in buying another one, but in good shape, still in box if possible. If anyone, has any leads where to get one, let me know.

And yes, I understand that it is probably not the most sought after RC buggy in the world, and to be honest the more I think about it, it was pretty useless off a hard surface. Even then if I remember correctly, I had to use rubber bands on the drive wheel for traction. But it's like your first love, you'll never forget it.

Anyway thought I would post a few pictures of it somewhat cleaned up, for all those that remember the late 70's and early 80's rc cars when they were a kid standing behind the car giving it a kick now and then to get it up a slippery hill.....

feel free to eave your comments, suggestions, or own memories of your first rc machine..

This is very similar
http://www.ebay.com/itm/vintage-nikko-buggy-/200977647455?pt=Radio_Control_Vehicles&hash=item2e cb33875f

That is close - looks close - almost same thing, just a different name and tires for the look of it and gearing slector on top. Might be a few years newer?
Thank you
jeff.

I have a red version of that yellow RS buggy you have. That was originally made by Nikko (Japan) for Tandy/ Radio shack. Nikko made 3 higher end versions of that buggy.