The Monster Truck we should all tip our cap to...

[ultegrasti]

...The Tamiya Blackfoot. Monster Trucks exist b/c of this truck and its sister, The Monster Beetle. Immensely popular on their release in late 1987. It ushered in offroad for the masses. The Clodbuster, Stadium Trucks, T-MAXX, Truggies, and of course modern nitro (and now electric again) Monsters all trace back to this great model.




Mined turned 21 today as i turned 30. Hey, my Blackfoot can carry those Coors decals aka like Bill Elliot all those years ago legally now!!! HA!

Here she is after 5min up and down the stone driveway nice and easy.

RS-540 Motor (4hole johnson just as they came)
Futaba Mag Jr 'A' Model Radio (just like i had back then)
Futaba MC112B ESC (Had 1 of those in 1991, the last yr i raced the truck)
Futaba R102JE Rx (from when we had to go narrow band)
Futaba S148 Servo (still period, again from 1991, replaced tired S128)


Similar to what they say on those car shows, honor the timeless classsics. and dont crush em, restore em!!!

R

[Goodesta]

i got the beetle with a striped tranny... do they still make parts for these

[ultegrasti]

well the key is that u can get 'used'/'original' parts off ebay of course. however...

u can get new parts for the tranny with the rerelease of the frog (they've rumored to the idea of rere Blackfoot or Beetle), the frog shares the exact same tranny. so you should be able to get what you need. check ur metal dogbones, they usually rounded off inside the cups (cups could be worn too). CRP sold plastic 1s for those of us not rich enuff to get a thorp diff kit, the plastic bones lasted far longer than the metal 1s simple b/c it wasnt metal to metal contact. imagine that. that is goin back i tell ya.

check part #s in the beetle/foot/blaster manual (on tamiya website, and tamiyaclub) vs the rereleased frog and i think u'll find stuff the same (maybe updated p#s b/c of their immense catalog and fact that MRC doesnt distribute them like in the old days).

if ur near LIR, you should know that vintage nationals in september is at RCHR in CT. Great place to really celebrate all these classic models.

R

[Goodesta]

ive heard about that race.. unfortunly i can make it due to football. lol im going to make a trip up there some day once i can drive. what do you think is the biggest motor you can put in a beetle is?

[ultegrasti]

the answer to that question likely answers the question of why your tranny and/or driveshafts need help. they simply cant take the wallop that the new motors can give these days. i choose to leave the original in there for this reason that spd isnt the point anymore. honestly, i feel these should be preserved and therefore, puttin somethin in the truck from the time to be most appropriate. somehow a brushless in a blackfoot seems wrong or out of place. to each his own.

R

[Goodesta]

i never tried a big motor in the beetle i got it from some1. and it was stripped out

[harv29t]

the original 87 blackfoot was my first r/c. my cousins had the frog and grasshopper, then the usa-1

[SocalSnakeEyes]

I think the radio and body where the only things changed on mine. But, it is the way I picked it up two years ago in trade.

[EG1]

I owned 3 blackfoots and loved them all. The biggest pain was rear axles as the hex in hex design was trash.

[vwjuice]

I have four blackfoots currently. I know they weren't the first monster truck but they definitely were the ones that put monsters on the map.

I run a period correct Trinity 17t mod motor in one that I have raced numerous times. To make them strong enough to handle the power you need to get a complete trans kit from the new re-release frog. It's stronger and has normal dogbones in it. Then cut a metal ring to fit around the the sides of the trans housing. Just needs to cover about 1/4" on either side of the screws. I tried thick grease in the trans and that didn't work out very well so I jb welded the diff together and it has plenty of traction now. It doesn't really seem to affect the cornering at all in these.