Vintage Kyosho Stinger MKII: Make It Move

Hi all, this is my Kyosho Stinger MK2. This is an old RC car made in the 80's. It is a belt driven 4wd off road 1/10 scale buggy. I enjoy running it but finding parts for such an old car like this is tough so I cant bash it too hard :( 

To make this thing, I needed to find a new Stinger MKII kit. I found one from a guy in my neighborhood who has had it for 25+ years but hasn't found the time to do anything with it and instantly started building it. To start, I attatched the shock mounts to the chassis. Then I installed the transmission. Next up was the belt assembly and turnbuckles. Not too hard, I thought. Wrong. Once I got to the front differenial, installation was a pain. The A-arms were easy, with a slip of a pin they were attatched.

Next came the shocks. I assembled the shocks themselves then put 50 weight oil in them for good handling in turns. "This is starting to look like a race machine, a 30 year old race machine" I thought to myself. Later that night I put on the point where the front wheels turn- not quite sure of their name. Then came the gears, wheels and gas tank. I picked up a transmitter and reciever along with a .12 OS max engine. The engine installation was tough, I had to take it to my local hobbyshop to get help. After feeling like a fool because the man that was helping me did it in a blink of an eye, I went back home and put on the servos and hooked on the linkage arms to the carburator and steering assembly. I found an air filter that fit my carb at my hobbyshop and slipped it on. The muffler went on easy with a little muscle. I picked up some fuel and filled the gas tank. After 40 or so minutes of tuning the engine, I got my camera and handed the controls to my son who was flying all over the road.

I had a great time working on this thing and my son did too. In total this thing cost me $175 and 3.5 hours of labor not including drive time.  This is my entry to the MAKE IT MOVE contest. Thanks!