Tamiya Sand Scorcher – Part 3

By contributing author: Adam Powers

Last month, we wrapped up completing the disassembly process of the suspension, radio body and most importantly, the gear box. This month, we will look at the restoration of  the gear box.

All the parts were taken and put into a ‘bath’ of Spray Nine for a few hours to see how much old grease, paint etc., could be removed:

Not too bad, but we can still see some of the leftover sealer and paint on the case. We will use a toothbrush to remove the loose stuff. Where’s my Oral-B?

After using some acetone nail polish remove on the stubborn paint, I think it looks pretty good!

Now, we will start the re-assembly process. The old bushings have seen better days. Since we already having a new bearing kit, we are going to also use them for the gearbox. The same for with new stainless-steel screws. You can see in the photo, the old and new gears. Time for replacements!

Next, we will put the case halves together, put on the spur gear and the universal joints.

Motor:

With the Sand Scorcher, you are limited to the type of motors you can run it in. You must use a ‘bell end’ type of motor. Even with this one, with the wire holes enlarged, the dust cover will not fit over the motor. I have decided since this will not be used in dirty conditions to skip using this for the time being.

Finally, we did a small sneak peak of the gear box for a test run! The video can be seen here :

 

Next month, we will continue on to body and plastics restoration phase.

Thank you so much!