Nitro Sedans that almost were
 

Just doing some late internet browsing and after talking to a friend of mine who asked about what price to sell his vintage vehicle for...the Yokomo SuperDog Fighter buggy. The company's name sparked a memory jog back to when few other vehicles were on the market. The first thing that came to mind was the Yokomo GT4w2.

Yokomo GT4

I remember with my first nitro sedan, the NEO TNT, when flying around Prospect park in Brooklyn, NY I came across too guys who were frequent visitors to my home track Floyd Bennet Field. Both were owners of the GT4w kits sporting the RB X12 5 port and the other with the MT12. Good times in the park messin' around. It came to thought (what if) should someone pick one of these up (not me..8th onroad only this year) and with a good setup how would they do? It's ancient indeed. Some online shops still sell ALL parts for this car. Surely it's all about driver setup and car however there are guys out there with the most expensive kits...and can't drive worth a damn or hack their way to victory.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1.../gt-4w2_01.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...teur/gt-4r.jpg
http://www.parallelci.com/onroadrc/i...chael%2001.jpg
http://www.rc-racing.inghams.net/rc-...r/IMG_0049.JPG


NTC3

Alberto Picco made a picco xp .12 and Barry baker used @ the last 2002 1/10 200 World championship in Ohio. Baker TQ the event and Alberto picco were on his side for support. For the $$ that Picco had a ton of power. The car itself handles, but just wasn't up to par with durability like others. Still nonetheless a great vehicle. At least people still talk about it today. (I know Barry isn't in the picture...this is from the 04 Sedan Nats)

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...ts_winners.jpg

GS Vision/Vision Pro

One heck of a car. Not sure how long it was on the market. Still another great car with potential for some club racing.
http://www.rcfun.nl/images/gs/vision2_100000.jpg
http://www.sylkamodell.hu/images/D/g..._porsche_v.jpg

Trinity Reflex NT

I'll never forget the many times the flame wars raged on because the Reflex and the VoneR were quite similar. The Reflex and the advertised Rossi Pixi engine were a great combo. Stand up style steering servos were the thing back them for most nitro sedans. This car later on coupled with the Sirio .12 were an unbeatable combo. Sirio was named to be "feared" with as being the fastest revving .12 on the market. It was also used in the GS Vision Pro kit.

http://www.rctech.net/forum/attachme...o-p1020292.jpg
http://www2.gpmd.com/image/t/tric0101.jpg


These are the few that come to mind. These were the popular picks way back when the economy was booming and back when I was still learning the ropes of racing and never even set foot on a track. Heck there were plenty of options for the beginner or the advance hobbyist to get into on racing before 8th onroad really took off. For me it was an enjoyment to click through the web to "travel" to all the RC tracks and watch recorded as well as live events. We have all come along way in the world of RC and we must never forget were we all started. We must never forget the progress we have made.

i had both the gt4 and a ntc3,,,those were the days.

i remember when joel johnson showed up at a club race with the reflex nt and put on a clinic. if he had ten of those things in his trunk he would have sold every one of them that day. :lol:

It seems to me that theres been alot of talk about old cars on here lately..

I like it:blush:


Heres the last car i built, one of the last remaining kits from cruzin AFAIK..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0/IMGP0198.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0/IMGP0200.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0/IMGP0201.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0/IMGP0202.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...0/IMGP0203.jpg

You have to admit, the impulse was a pretty significant car in terms of touring car history.

Turbo - Indeed! The Impulse was popular at my home track. When you think about it the only really high end cars for nitro sedan were either the Mugen MTX2 or the Serpent Impulse! Micheal Salven really had it big with his Novamega Salven edition line. Those motors had plenty of power for the parking lot and other tracks. The only other contender was the HPI RS4 Racer 2 kit. That's when Wolfpack Radicals came about with a lot of nice option parts for the car and surely made some great sales. The HPI Racer and Racer 2 were HPI's popular car pick for the HPI challenge, club and pro racing. Those were the days when the OS .12CV were a nice fit to get the car going 45mph. Back then we only spent a lot of money on the radio and the Hitec Lynx 3D was big. Drivers focused on engine heatsinks, driving skills, foam tires and having fun. There was a website that had at least 10 pages of car photos from parking lot racing with sweet paint jobs. HPI bodies were big for that track (forgot where).

http://www.thehobbystore.com/images/425.jpg

http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/racer2/r2front1.jpg

http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/racer2/r2chas1.jpg

http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/racer2/r2chas2.jpg

^^ The HPI Nitro Start .12Pro was about as close you could get to the Novarossi MT12. The MT12 today if you could get parts is still an awesome engine. Not only is it small and lightweight but packs a punch. If modified it could well hold its own against a TZ and probably have the edge on top end. I remember picking mine up for just $100 even brand new in box.

I think the GT4 would still be competetive with current cars. IIRC, it was the first to use the high rear link(high RC) on the rear suspension. One of the very few weaknesses was it's use of soft steel outdrives/axles, which would notch quickly.

NTC3...Great car. Just don't crash or the bodymounts and/or shock towers will rip right off.

FREAKAH - I think so too. I'm debating about finding a GT4W kit for a good price and testing it out. I really don't want to run two classes this year, but it will be an experiment. I have a site for all the parts too as well.:smile:

Yes, I remember the HPI Racer 2 (which I still have). That was the car that launched my nitro racing career.:nod: I bought and put the 2-speed transmission in mine during the building process and within a couple of months, was one of the top racers in my parking lot club racing scene (going against MTX2s and Impulses). I eventually bought a Mugen for big track racing when I saw Racer 2s getting their butts handed to them at a Texas Biggie in the early 2000s. It was (and still) is a good parking lot club track car.

Here is my yok GT4 from around 2002 and my NTC3

Jlock - It sure is. The good ol' days!

Francis - Nice upload. You can see through the years of nitro sedan racing the RX pack has been not only be made in a smaller lighter form, but now located under the fuel tank of most car set ups. About 3-5mm from the edge of the upper deck from the exhaust pipe in would be removed. A position for the belt tensioner pulley would be somewhere mounted between the zip ties. The front steering servo would be lay down with a cut out in the upper deck so the horn would be able to move freely.

NEO T.N.T made a setup similar to the one for the GT4. Since they went under ownership of Megatech price for the car kit has decreased however shortly after being bought out the car is no longer being sold. Only the Razor (a fairly decent basher) is available. I remember Megatech offered a couple thousand dollars to those who used their engines in one of the offroad nationals. A guy won $5,000 for using their SH .21 in his Ofna buggy courtesy of a third place finish from Megatech! Trophy, pictures, fat check...it's all good!:D Here was my intro into nitro.

http://origin-images.rcuniverse.com/...rs/ACF7E63.jpg

Like the NTC3 it came with ball differentials front and rear. Though a sport level parking lot racer and also considered to be one of the best parking lot racers it came with the Centax adjustable clutch, side belt tensioner, graphite upper deck and shock towers, aluminum shocks, and some delrin parts. For under $300 I purchased mine and it was a sweet deal. It came with the M16 engine which once the nitro finesse of tuning was mastered (with assistance from local racers) it's about as powerful as the OS .12CVR. Pull start was a pain however it was all about fun.

That was you I was passing with my Serpent back then. Should of said Hi on my 4th pass.:lol::ha:;)

I've had both cars, I loved my GT4. I didnt have all the bits that Francis had on it though. I bought a TC3 and runned it for a year, sold it when I realized that the diff gears were going to be a problem, it handled great though. I remember going to Revelation one of my first times and having one of the team drivers (dont want so say names) take appart, rebuild and shim the diffs after every qualy. Sold the tc3 and bought another Yokomo. I never had the problems that some people had with breaking the axles, in 2 years I never broke and axle or dogbone, very strong car IMO.

Francis, are those Mugen uprights in the back?

The rear uprights were modified stock peices in the picture.. The chasis was also milled to lower the bulk heads and other bits. The car came with rear anti squat which was removed and made the car handle so much better.

I had the. Hpi rs2, hpi rs4racer ,reflex,r40,mongoose, v1RRR & right at home now with my MTX4R last 3-4yrs

Ofna CD3 Pro
 

Inexpensive, durable, great club beginner racers car. Ran this with the RB V12 Rody 3 port turbo and used the Dodge Stratus body. I did feel a little bit of torque steer, but the car was ran in box stock form with the R40 tires. A little tuning and this could be a nice beginner track car. The GPX4 is out, however the LD3 is a fun car and an alternative to the NTC3.

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r/DSCN2895.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r/DSCN2883.jpg
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...r/DSCN2881.jpg

Revalation raceway was the track I was referring too! They had tons of pages of pics then they closed the onroad track and now only run offroad. :mad: