Fix or replace old POS?

[Extremities]

Hey guys,
I recieved an old Tamiya Super Hornet for Christmas about 4 years ago and didn't do a whole lot with it until recently. I've been outside almost every day draining both my batteries for the last couple months and the car is starting to die. Within the next couple days I'm going to order the parts I need to fix it, or a whole new kit. The parts I'll have to get are: rear shocks, rear wheels, rear tires, esc (to replace ugly msc) shock oil, antenna tube, bearing set & prolly a bigger battery because mine **** . My question, is this thing (that Tower sells for $70 new) worth fixing, or should I spend my money on a better kit? I'd love to get an RC10B3 or E-Maxx, but I don't think I can spend that much on a new toy yet. Any recommendations would be much appreciated. Also, can you recommend a decent inexpensive charger? Currently, I'm using a "4-Hour Quick Charger" that came with one of my batteries and it aint all that quick.

Thanxx!!

-Extremities

[ZenLosi]

It all depends on what you want to do. If you're happy with the Hornet and don't want anything faster or better handling, fix it. Or, better yet, buy another one. They're pretty cheap. I know some of the parts bags are discontinued, so the only way to replace those parts is to find ones that are "equivalent". Tower has a list of these parts. If you do come across some money, you'll really enjoy an E-Maxx or another type of vehicle (B3, XXXT, T3...whatever). Really, the Super Hornet's designed just to get you into the hobby and working on the cars. It's not high performance, that's for sure.

Buy yourself a budget peak charger. If you do a search on this board, you'll find a dozen or so with pros and cons, I'm sure.

Good luck!

-Zen

[Jo_bomb17]

Well if you cant spend alot you could try a king blackfoot kit $105 on ehobbies or tower hobbies!!!Or a ready to run Rustler with ESC for 174 on tower hobbies!!For a charger i DONT KNOW.All that i have is a peice o junk Mega 2 timer charger!!At least it only takes 15 minutes and not 4 hours that is $29 on E-hobbies!!Well if u want to have a lot of fun get a t/e maxx!!If you cant afford it get a job or if your too young mow neighbors lawns [trust me the $$ ad up fast!!!!]All that i did was mow lawns and baby sat all summer and i made $600!!Trust me a T/E maxx is well worth waiting or working for all summer in my opinion!!Well hope this helps you out!!!

Peace out :)

[Jo_bomb17]

wow me and Zenlosi posted at the exact same time!!Kinda funky!
:p

[Tiggs1]

I say fix it up and stick it on the shelf. In 4 years you should be able to get $700 for it on ebay :D

[cck]

I don't think it's worth to repair it, just buy the new kit instead. And if you can only speng very limited money, then don't buy the B3, B3 will speng you a lot of money eventually. I would recommend you get the Tamiya's Beetle. That kit is much more durable than the Hornet.

[Throtl Hapie]

A superbrain is a good, inexpensive peak charger, about 40 bux.

[very low budget racer]

get a T3 RTR and a dynamite vision peak charger they are good, then with a motor you can race at the track, if you are just bashing save your money and myabe get a HPI rs4-MT they are 4wd which will be better to bash.

[rc51racerx]

homeslice,
How much money are you looking to spend here? I hope you don't mind my asking, but that will help us show you what you can do with the amount to maximize your investment... thats right your investment, chances are you will have this vehicle as long as you own a normal car and you need it to do it all if you ask it to. nothing worse than dumpin serious bones on a ride and then you want to race and it doesn't cut it. RustlerHustler had a good idea with getting a traxxas rustler, you can get a good truck with potential for not a lot of money. also look at AE and the RC10T3 they have a few versions of it and you can get a lower end model for less and then later on as funds permit upgrade it, and it will be race ready. A motor is worth the 30-40 for a rebuildable stock motor like a p2k or MVP. the lower end T3 comes with an MSC that you can use until you get some dough for a nice ESC. As far as a charger.. hobbico makes some inexpensive chargers that will handle most NiCds. hope this helps if anyone has anything to add please post!!

--John

[Extremities]

I'm happy with the hornet so far, but It's nearly impossible to upgrade, and generally not worth it. I probably wouldn't be able to mow any lawns, although I appreciate the support, becuase of my 9-6 job and baseball commitments. I've looked at the B3 because nearly everything can be upgraded, and possibly race it down the road, so I don't mind spending money "eventually." I just don't wanna drop $400 on the latest greatest. I'm thinking around $100 (US) The rustler looks good, would the B3 be better for the extra little bit?

Thanxx for the help!

--Extremities

[iforgot]

For a sub$100 car or truck I would say go with a Rustler for jumping and bashing. If you want a 4 wd buggy maybe get the Tamiya Dirt Thrasher, last but not least for a Monser truck a King Black foot/midnigh pumpkin/beetle is great or the traxxas stampeed. I current;y own the Rustler, Dirt thrasher and blackfoot. I love them all you can't go wrong. and they are all less than $100 at towerhobbies.com
I hope this helps.

[Car_Head12]

my first car was a king blackfoot, its the MAN, it was the perfect truck to start on, but it sounds like you want something a little more high performance...

[Extremities]

On a funny little side note. I hauled out the glue-gun to try and retread my now completely bald spike rears. It was fun trying to keep it in control as it skated around on the road. (No traction for dirt) It was a pathetic, but fun attempt. If only I had some bald fronts so I could have tried some fancy drifting stuff. :)

--Extremities

[ammoace]

Let me start out by saying I am restoring my Hornet, orginal style, and found someone that sold me a complete rolling chassis for $30 plus S&H. In your case go with a Blackfoot/Monster Beetle or buy a new Hornet. I've never owned or operated one but the Chevy S-10 Stadium truck or the Ford F-150 Race Truck look fun, and they are 4X4s also. I don't know why Tamiya pretends that they are a different truck because after doing some research they are the same truck with a different body. If you decide to rebuild e-mail me and I try to get in touch with the guy that sold me the parts to see if he has any more left.
AMMOACE

[spanner]

I have an old hornet with a crapped out kaput chasis and a functional but ugly gear box painted grey and a seriously tortured body an loads of brand new spare wheels and tires. In other words if your chasis and body is still in shape I will consider buying it for parts or you can buy mine for parts. e-mail me at anaik@vt.edu. Check this post for stuff I have available.
http://www.rccaraction.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=11&t=000782