The Hornet - Starting the Rebuild

Now that the parts were all cleaned up and the metal bearings installed it was time to start putting my project back together.
This started with the install of the servos and front suspension arms.  Really I should have been mounting the rear gearbox but the shaft for this was bent on arrival so I was waiting for the new one to arrive.

Turns out I didn't need the battery pack as the ESC that came with it was new enough not to need one.

For now I have decided to keep the original bumper, but have glued up the broken part in the middle.

As you can see the original shaft had taken quite a wallop to cause that bend!

1st Restoration Project - Tamiya Hornet

Ok, so my first R/C restore takes me back to my youth.  My first proper R/C was the Tamiya Hornet.
Unfortunately it met a bit of a grizzly end so thought it would be a good project to start with.

Keeping an eye on Ebay there were a few coming and going in various conditions.  Some I let pass as they were in pretty good shape.  I wanted something I could really work with.

Finally I found it, as sold as seen Hornet with no shell.  Untested but had servos and a speed controller.

Here are the original pictures from the listing:

So as you can see it looks to be in 'working' condition but pretty tatty.  Just what I was looking for.
Once it arrive I basically stripped it down completely:

Stripping it down highlighted some broken suspension parts, a crack in the bumper and a bent shaft for the rear gearbox.  Nothing major but will need addressing none the less.  Also alot of the metal parts and screws had signs of rust.  So my first step was to put these into white vinegar for a day or so then scrub them up.  This worked a treat as you can see below:

The next few days were just spend cleaning up the parts.  Using wet wipes to clean up the plastic parts and the white vinegar on the metal parts.  I wanted to get rid of all the dust, dirt and grime.  I also ordered some metal bearings to replace the plastic ones in the gearbox and wheels.  I installed these and made sure all the cogs were lubricated.  But to be fair they were in really good shape.