twatts1000

I;ve been talking to Don at 50cal about his rear swing arms and have gotten some response...

In the meantime, I've ordered and installed Xtra Speed 75mm Shocks on the rear... These are basically Yeah Racing clones. I swapped out the Coils to the gold ones for looks and have adjusted per table top with no actual running as of yet... Lazy...

I need to get off my lazy ass and drill out the 3mm holes to 4mm on the outer suspension aluminum bracket on the Frog so I can install the 70mm Yeah Racing shocks... Again, lazy...

Once these are installed, I can think about upgrading the front bumper... Have a Parma one in mind, also a few DIY options... I'm not sure I'll install the CRP bumper I have... Lazy...

I would have replaced the Robinson tranny with a Thorp by now, but my Honda Civic was jealous and needed some love ($400 repair)...

Did I mention I was lazy???

Terry

twatts1000

Finally did the major surgery on the Frog and added the CRP Front Bumper... Also replaced almost 95% of the front end (new aluminum parts and new arms). The only things that were saved were the axle thingies and a few screws... Spaced out the front tires so they didn't rub on the steering rods... Next up is the rear swing arms...

Terry

Lunchboxer

Looks nice!

twatts1000

OK... I've been working with Don at .50 Caliber... He sent me the last of his rear swing arm parts, and I had some missing parts made by a machinist here at home... Here are the results, after installation...

The bolts holding the rear shocks to the arms are a bit too long, so off to the hardware store tomorrow. There is an Ace down the street from my office that has a great selection of metric stuff... Here's a hint: 5/32" is so close to 4mm that it close enough for Frog Science. Just a zap with a round needle file and you're golden!

So now my next project is a new body and new custom decals... I've decided to forego the typical Frog decals and make my own. I'll use some of the Frog decals (window netting, the Team Frog logo for the top, maybe some others), but I want to make my own using the logos of the various manufacturers of the parts I added on, plus my favorite local restaurants, beer, and whatnot... I figure if I'm going to have a few "sponsor" stickers on there, I should make them "local"! Why not?!?

As for body colors, I'm thinking of keeping it pretty much the same - black, gold, white... Though I may switch out the gold for silver since most of the car is silver now...

I also have a Parma Frog Jumper body (you can see it in an old pix below). It doesn't fit anymore with all the goodies I have on there, so I'm not sure if I should sell it, cut it to fit, or keep it as-is for a possible future Frog Project (doubtful)... Any thoughts???

Thanks,

Terry

twatts1000

Here is the updated Frog... See above for the updated "upgrade" list...

I took her out for a run this evening while the wife took the kids for ice cream... She runs great now - rock solid now. The BEC was giving my servo twitches so it got yanked... Direct feed from my 7.2v to the vintage Rx doesn't seem to bother it so I'll run like this until my new ESC come in the mail... Knowing how much I actually get to drive (about 1 hour every couple of weeks), it won't be an issue...

I've also done some serious tweaking of the rear end, and now its almost perfect. The .50 calibre arms are awesome, the new shocks are silky, and the CRP1606 holds everything rock solid, and the Road Hawgs keep if from flipping...

Question: if I replace everything including the chassis, is it still the "same" car as before???

Terry

twatts1000

just pulled the crp front bumper and put back in the tamiya front bumper...

wanted more room for bigger tires...

drunk and tired...

Terry

twatts1000

This morning I figured out one of the rear hub axle thingies is cracked...

Its always something...

Terry

RustyUs

I like the looks of your pad hopper with all the alloy parts on it. To bad The Frog didn't come stock, back in the day, with shocks on the front. Those arms on the Frog...were they a "one and done" deal? They look heavy duty for sure.

twatts1000

The rear swing arms are a custom job from 50 Caliber Customs (now defunct). The proprietor sold me the last of his spare parts and I had to have one piece machined here at home... He is now currently selling his "demonstration car" on EBAY. Just do a search for "ORV Blackfoot Chassis". His website seems to have died...

I've added the CRP 1606's and that really locked in the rear end. I had to trim off 1mm from the Telescopic Arms to get it to move smoothly. Works really well...

I've also taken the CRP bumper out and added the Standard Frog bumper and supports back in so I can run with larger 2.2 truck tires... I have some Losi ribbed balloons on the front and some large Tamiya spiked balloons on the rear... Looks funny, but it rides nice... Now I can switch back and forth between street tires (Brats and Road Hawgs) and off-road tires (Losis and Tamiyas)... I also have some random 2.2 low-pro spikes and some Pro-Line Striker II's that need some foam inserts (being delivered from Pro-Line this week). And of course a full set of Tamiya Tires (spike rear, paddle rear, brat rear, frog front, brat front)...

Next up: replacing the MSC with a TEU-105BK ESC... Wish me luck!

And still working on those custom decals for the body...

Terry

Threddersmatelot

I've now added another Frog to my "fleet" so now I have 2 Frogs and a vintage Super Sabre. The Super Sabre has been a shelf queen most of its life but has a few cracks in the rear suspension stays (which I gather is common). I have done a superglue repair around where the screws fit but I don't feel it will stand too much running.
My questions: In the first Frog I built I have switched to the high speed gear ratio I have not given it a 'proper run' with that yet though. My 2nd Frog I intend to keep to the normal gearing. Both Frogs are fully ball-raced. I have now acquired a Tamiya GT tuned motor. Could I run the high speed geared Frog with the Gt tuned? I only have the standard dogbone drive train and mostly run it on an old airfield with short grass.
Could the Super Sabre (fully ball-raced too) cope with a GT-Tuned motor if I bought the 'Parts R' and replaced the damaged parts?

Thanks for any advice

stoneenforcer

My Feedback: (23)

had a couple frogs back in the day. looking forward to getting another soon. currently running a 2014 scorpion and have a shelf queen full option house javelin.

twatts1000

That's a beautiful Kyosho car Stoney! Props!

Terry

twatts1000

Got some HPI#2100 Super Stars (which btw do not need an adapter to fit the 5x11 bearings), inserted the foams via Pro-Line customer service, and the old Striker II's that I got from Ebay... Replaced the Brat Fronts and did some night-driving tonight. The car is a rocket! And the new HPI/Pro-line combos on the front and rear are working great. I'm not sure if I'll keep the HPIs on the front; I may go back the the Brats... But for now, the new HPIs are nice and shiny and new!

Also received the TEU-105bk, but have not touched it... I need to get a Z > (old school) Airtronics adapter, which I ordered from Airtronics... Let's hope my 30yo Rx box doesn't blow up!

If it does, I'll be in the market for a new Tx/Rx set (and servo), since I don't think any thing modern is going to work with my 30yo Airtronics XL Tx...

This isn't mine, but I have the same set: http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=17493

Terry

twatts1000

I tend to lean on the "safe side" of things, so I would probably try it out and be prepared to go to the normal gears (or the off-road gears)... Replacement gears are pretty cheap, IMO... And if you really want to push it, you could go with a Thorp system...

But I have no real experience with the GTs and/or the runner Frog Gears... I always used the off-road ones since most of my driving as a kid was in the field across the street from my house...

Terry

Threddersmatelot

I have tested the buggy, albeit on tarmac. I can certainly tell the difference! I think I'm gonna stick with the high speed gearing in this Frog and put the GT motor in either the other Frog with normal gearing or the SuperSabre.
I also think another 2 GT tuned motors will be clicked on ebay soon!

RustyUs

Dude! You're hurting me in the worst way! A Kyosho picture in the Frog thread...

I owned an Optima after I sold my Frog back in '86. I patiently await the return of another Kyosho history maker. I would own another Frog if I could get one at a great price. But I would probably do crazy stuff to it, like I did back in the day, and be in the same situation again...busted up tranny with no money to fix it. I know if I got one I couldn't resist putting a high powered motor in it; trying to re-live my youth; attempting to make a pad jumper...fly .

Jeremy Z

I'm thinking about a Frog. Its been in my Tower Wish List for years now.

I built a Brat before. It was a great light-duty street basher, with those tires, but they were 100% useless offroad. It was more of a scale rig with non-scale suspension.

Thinking of The Frog with a 20T motor, full bearings, and axle adapters to take more wheel options. Maybe mount up some Pro-Line Badlands or something...

I don't know though. Every time I build up a vintage Tamiya, I enjoy the build so much more than the driving and breaking parts with just light impacts. I'll probably just stick with my Lunch Box in the end.

twatts1000

OK, since I can't edit my previous post that had my Master List of what I had done to my Frog, here is the new Master List:



Since my last post here, I've replaced the MSC with the TEU-105bk. Took a few times to get it programmed right, but it works now (though it beeps whenever I apply the throttle???).

I also broke one of the Robinson/Thorp telecopic arm/drive shafts. I read somewhere and took a gamble... And I can affirm that the Traxxas #4851 is almost a perfect fit - the length is perfect, but the pin-holes need to be reamed out with a needle file slightly in order to fit... Good news! We now have a reliable replacement!

And I committed a huge "no-no". I replaced the original chassis with a Re-Re chassis. The original had a few stripped screw-holes and had some minor stress-marks and cracks... It also had a few burn marks when it once caught on fire long ago! I feel guilty, but it had to be done... A guy laughed at me at work today: "its been through 2 heads and 12 handles, but its still grandpa's axe"...

I also picked up a rubber end-bell motor cover and a heat sink... Just to keep the dust out, and to cool things off since they are covered in rubber now...

Just about the only thing left to do is fix up the body and make new custom decals. I think I'm going to just repair the body I have (I have to keep something original right???). But I've peeled off most of the old decals... I should probably touch up the paint too...

I do need to get some good off-road tires... I have a set of Pro-Line #2526 and #2527 rims that are a bolt on Blackfoot replacement... I have some Losi sand balloons w/ inserts on the front and Tamiya Racing spike balloons w/ inserts on the rear... Old tires that work for now, but I want some new Pro-Lines!

Terry

twatts1000

Well, put some Frog tires on your Brat and you'll have a Frog! About the only differences are the tires and the body/mounts. Pretty much identical...


Well, I can recommend the HPI rims and their adapters. They work great and fit the typical 2.2 tires AFAIK. I have some Road Hawgs on mine... As for the front the HPI rims work well too... Get the Super Stars... And you might have to order the rear adapters separately - that's what I had to do. I found that the front HPIs didn't need the adapters to fit the bearings, though they are a little loose... I need to take care of that - another small project...

If you go with vintage Pro-Line rims, you want #2526 and #2527... You can find them used on fleabay pretty easy, but they are usually pretty trashed... and NOS ones cost you a pretty penny... IMO, the HPIs look better... But I'll stick with Pro-Line tires... They totally hooked me up with inserts for my Striker IIs, I've pretty much decided to only get Pro-Line tires...

And yeah, I really enjoy the build... And the hunt for knowledge here (and elsewhere) and parts on fleabay... They driving is fun too, but not nearly as much as the actual build... I'm an engineer, what can I say???

Good luck!

Terry

BackIntoRCs

Man, I've always loved those old Tamiyas. I remember when I was a kid my friend got a Grasshopper, I was so jealous, lol

Threddersmatelot

Frog advice please

I have 2 frogs. One is running a GT tuned motor and the high speed gearing config. The other is running normal gearing with a torque tuned motor.
Is that OK or would one motor be better off in the other?

Both are using the TBLE-02 ESC on NiMh batteries. How much could I "beef" one of them up in terms of power without going LiPo?
Getting a new ESC to accomodate a different motor is not a problem. How much could I increase the power / motor without killing the stock gears and what improvement in terms of speed could I expect to see?

Thanks for any insight.