I just converted a NIKKO Wüstenspringer (Turbo Panther was branded like that in Germany) to 2.4GHZ because the radio was missing (and because I have a second one with the original radio). I think the conversion was worth it ! I truly dig the proportional steering and the higher speed with 2s Lipo :) Putting a micro servo in there was really easy. I converted over 25 vintage toy grade RC cars already and would say that the Turbo Panther and the Backfire are totally worth the effort of conversion. I run them mainly indoors to avoid tear&wear on the precious pin tires. The Turbo Panther was one of my first RC´s as a 8 year old kid and just looking at it brings back so much nostalgia ;_) AWESOME !!!
I just found my old Wüstenspringer and want to get it running again. Do you have any assumptions which parts to use best? How do I chek, if the motor is still working? By the way, I'm also from Germany...
@@kybernaut-is-my-name Kauf Dir Einwegbatterien AA Mignon (die haben mehr Spannung als Akkus und das Auto braucht hohe Spannung !) und einen 9V Block Akku (Fernsteuerung braucht kaum Spannung). Kontakte für die Batterien sollten nicht grün sein (durch ausgelaufene Batterien). Dann müsste eigentlich schon alles klappen mit etwas Glück.
Thank you, I feel the same about these RC's and in general. I have a 4x4 Off Roader from Radio Shack in the 1980's. I see a lot of people hack, chop and mod them. I'm keeping mine totally stock aside from components I can swap without physically modding anything on the Vintage RCs like upgrading the battery, etc.
Did this with my Taiyo 4x4 Off-Road Tiger and am in the process of doing it to my Radio Shack Countach! Both were very special RCs to me when I was a kid, and although they both work, I want to bring them with me and enjoy them as an adult, so they are both noticeably faster - though nothing too much for the plastic gearing!
Thank you very much! Yes I have seen this done and I really like it. I am thinking about going down that path but I need to figure out a way to install a servo and attach it to the gear select without cutting or drilling anything on the car. That might be a little challenging.
There are very tiny servo's which should fit perfect.. I just mounted a big one since the wing was gone! The connection i did was by a silicone tube and later with a spring but with the tiny servo i meant it is possible to get it on the axle with a rigid connection, Happy building and hope to see it happen! Cheers!!
Ah yes, I saw on your video. I love the thought of that. I have a nikko 4WD truck that i just picked up. It has hi/low and a 2wd/4wd options. I am planning on making them all remote actuated.
I'm looking forwards to see how that build has come out! Sounds like a real cool build!! I'm saving for a crawler with the full package, a pall of me sold me a dx7s and i'm looking forwards to use every channel on that remote :D
AMPRO Engineering, I think quite good! Good enough for the floor and the carpet, almost too fast with 6xAA. I removed the weights in the "engine" though to stop the wheelies...
Great vid! It takes me back to when I was a kid. I had a Taiyo mini hopper. Looks very similar to this and I had so much fun with it. I remember making courses for. It's something I wish I hadn't let go of now, great memories. To be honest I'd love to have a go with it now. 😊
@6.00 It would be possible to use all the batteries by rewiring the connectors on the battery compartment so that four of the batteries are connected in parallel connection. You can then connect those four parallel connected batteries in series with the rest of the batteries. This will allow you to maintain the voltage below the voltage that the esc permits even though you've used all the batteries.
I love these vids, I have a Golden Arrow frame buggy variant, and 2 4wd Dictator II buggies I have been slowly upgrading ( or thinking about upgrading) I think I'm once again inspired to dig out the frame buggy. Thanks for taking the time to make videos.
Great and informative video. It really is a great time in RC when we can take a car we cherish and make it better or simply fix it with modern gear. I love my big brand toy cars but there will always be something I can't explain about the joy of driving the Nikkos and other similar cars. Thanks again for another fantastic video
That was fantastic! Now that it has the best of both worlds, I'm way more impressed. I was 25 when it came out, so no childhood memories.... It makes me want to get a couple of broken cars, and doing that myself! So..... I guess you used nothing more powerful than a Park Flyer ESC and cheapo micro Servo? I can't imagine it drawing even ONE amp. Definitely fascinating! Murph
I had the first sears lobo (1986) man that thing was cool but waiting 11+ hours for those AA’s to charge was soooo looong only to get maybe 10 minutes of run time after school. I guess that’s why I’m back into R/C at 49 years old. Lol Everything is sooo much cheaper and faster. I got a big bear after the lobo. That thing probably ate spur gears as fast as the lobo ate batteries. I have two big bears now awaiting restoration. I would love to upgrade an old lobo. Great job! BTW my VERY first car was a sears 1977 firebird. Talk about old. It actually turned left and right via radio with a steering wheel. I think they weee called real steer or something like that. Anyway, Love all you videos. Thanks again!
Reminds me of my presto Rod Spark that I did almost the same thing to. It is running a 3s lipo though with a hobby wing 1060 esc. Stock 280 motor and doesn't get hot. I managed to get a full size spektrum steering servo in it though.
Hi Jemery Tart and Ampro Engineering. I have a Turbo Panther 2 from my childhood and the motor needs to be replaced. I see the 280 electromotor has same size then the electro motor in my Panther. Do you know which voltage range and RPM I need? Or is that fixed with the type of motor? The one I find online is 1.5-4.5 V and 9500 RPM. Voltage does not seem right to me.
I'm starting to upgrade all the electronics on my turbo hopper I wish there was a way to show you pics of it. I replaced all the electronics with Traxxas ESC, radio receiver with the receiver box, steering solenoid, I have new rear tires rear shock tower and a used body. I also need to replace the front end wing, and new motor coming, and I need to order a battery pack for it as well.
Consideration for all, and maybe it will help someone. When purchasing a "Non-Operable" RC, look at the electrical in car for excessive build up or dark solder point, in addition to obvious wiring issues. My personal experience is that I just bought pretty cheap a complete with controller black Nikko Turbo Panther II "Untested" from Ebay in brand new shiny looking condition with no scratches, peeling stickers, etc. As expected, it did not work when I got it (Looked so pretty I still had to have it)so I immediately opened and sprayed with electrical cleaner and saw two darkened solder points for one of the coils on breadboard. Cleaned up wax coating that built up on electrical and re-soldered dark ends and now works as new as it looks. I just purchased a clean looking Nikko Phantom Fighter from Ebay for cheap with no remote that will be my 1st attempt at doing the brushless motor upgrade with my special needs son. Thinking of the Traxxas 550 12t motor with traxxas servo, 3s lipo battery. Not decided on radio and receiver yet. I just got hit with vintage RC bug, as this is now my 4th purchase in two weeks. Keeping Turbo Panther, Tyco Turbo Hopper and Tyco Turbo Heads Up all in original condition. They were all complete, really clean, relatively cheap, and with the exception of Panther worked upon delivery. Sadly, I am still browsing to see what else may interest me.
This is a good point. I did this when I was getting a couple of other cars going again and of course did not record a thing. It is amazing how often a solder re-flow will fix a bad board.
After this Video i pulled my Tamyia Wild Dagger from 1999 out and upgrade it with two brushless motors. It was so much fun to drive again with the car i get when i was a kid. But the mechanic couldnt stand much long against Brushless power with 2s now i need to figure out how to repair the Plastik parts of the gears etc.😃
I had a radio shack wild champ (I think its the same chassis as the turbo panther 2 ) I modded the hell out of it !! I discovered the little inside part of the battery box ran the radio and steering and the rest of the row of batteries ran the motor it also used mechanical relays to switch the motor forward or reverse go or stop only had 1 speed I was able to jam 3 9v batteries in series for 27volts to the motor and a strip of duct tape to hold them in !! It actually worked well until one of my friends borrowed it and brought it back destroyed!!!! I actually got about 3 months who knows how long it could have lasted
Nice video, and very professional I must say. I had both Turbo Panther and Turbo Tiger (not remember if T.T. was a Nikko but it had a servo steering type), when I was a kid :)
My first car back in 85 was a radio shack wild champ from what I now know it was a version of the turbo panther yellow body soft rubber tires and just basic direction no turbo function back then they had not went to transistor speed controls and battery eliminator set up yet so it had two AA to run the radio and steering and then 8xAA for the power to the wheels I learned enough about electronics to spot forward and revers relays and realized changing voltage to the motor did not effect the delicate radio and steering board so I modded the battery box to hold 3 9 volt batteries!! 27 volts to the motor!!! needless to say it was pretty fast but only ran about 10 mins on fresh batteries but it would spank the snotty kids 300 dollar grasshopper on a flat surface !!! the good ole days lol
back then I did what I could with a small budget and dreamed of the day I would upgrade to a hobby grade racer now I own a handful of hobby grade and get more enjoyment from fixing and running cars like the turbo panther I run this car more than any of my other cars !! I have found the older panthers with the soft back tires and skinny front tires seem to grip a lot better than the 4x4 looking chassis at least on the street great vid BTW
thank you so much for this video because it was the one that i was looking for ! i have a rc car almost like that (RED) and over the time i have lost the remote so i was thinking how to revive it,and finally i find you :D
Great video, I've just done exactly this to my own Turbo Panther. I bought it as a non-runner way back in the 80s when I was a kid, and never got around to fixing it up. I unearthed it recently and using your video for ideas and parts, got it up and running and now my own kid (and myself of course) can have fun with it, it goes like a train! Only problem is the rear wing frame is long gone. I have the wing but no-where to attach it. Did you ever get around to designing replacement wing mounts? Keep up the good work!
Any pics of the servo connecting to the steering arm. I brought the parts but not sure how to assemble so looked through what people put on here. Many thanks.
I remember pulling one of these apart when i was a very young kid. I must have been given the car as a hand me down or something because it never worked.
I’m about to convert the radio shack version to brushless. Got it for 12.01 on flebay. The battery compartment is probably the worst I’ve seen for corrosion. I’m gonna run a 2s lipo, and just run it on low
Golden Arrow!! Love the channel and have you covered one? I have watched more of your vids than I can count but did not see the Golden Arrow. I just picked up a couple that I’m getting ready to resto-mod. My first was the Turbo hopper. Thanks for your time.
I have not covered the golden arrow as I go not have one but I did review the Rhino which was the car Nikko made for Radio Shack. It is episode 279. These are awesome cars. I love the turbo hopper too! There is a review of that one here also!
nice mods for better drivability! You can probably grind some of the metal steering knuckle off so it can turn sharper that or some of the plastic on the a arm if you need some more steering but it's not like your racing it so it probably dont matter..
Yeah I thought about that but I didn't want to cut anything on that car at all. You don't notice it running weirdly. I think it is because it is so short.
I got one that drives perfectly,,just had to touch up some solder joints,had alot of corrosion in some of the joints,,she expensive to run tho ..I want to update but like you I don't want to cut anything
@@AMPROEngineering I don't want to change my original radio ether so it will be interesting of the small 3 cell I made holds up for time and hope to have more power seeing how I also went through the old brush motor and clean it up and broke it in under water
great video and very informative!!! i was wondering if you can put a brushless motor in it to upgrade it. if so do you have any idea regarding the dimensions of the motor??? thanks!
hello seeing the video of how you converted turbo panther. I was wondering what change you made to the ass to be able to mount the servo thanks for the help
back in 2012 or 2011 tamaiya had several mini versions of cars like the grass hopper the hornet and the fox in 1/16 scale and on a turbo panther platform as I shopped the site I had an ad pop up for a ball bearing and oil shock kit to go with one of these cars it was abouit 30 dollars or so I have not been able to ever find the link again and I think they have since quit selling these cars as they recently have full scale original rerelease on those cars
If it was the Tamtech cars you are talking about they were not good. I used to have one and no mater what I did, that car was a pile. They looked fantastic but that is about it. The onroad versions were killer though.
My Nikko turbo red from 85 /86 stopped working today , I’ve had it since I was 6 , it’s in great condition ( the outer shell etc) however the magnet cables have come away from the circuit board and I can’t even see where they came off as the circuit board had extreme wear 😩…the car still has power from the back obviously, but the weels in the front can’t be operated
I’ve sent it to an RC guy today said he would clean the board up and check any loose connections and re- solder and check sensor. Hope it can be fixed ! If not , il take it all out and my brother will replace it with a custom job instead!
Awesome build!! I’m building a Nikko Excalibur which has the same stock Servo. How would I be able to fit a proportional Servo? I’m having trouble finding a spot to connect the mechanism into the Servo horn. Your response would be highly appreciated! Thank you!
Hey man, this was a hard one as the geometry was not only strange but not easy to access. I sell the parts I developed to make this work but it very specifically is for this chassis. I can send you a link. Shoot me an email at amproengineering@gmail.com
I've got a Nikko Cosmo Flash in transparent blue, it's the only toy that was left from my troubled childhood (I think I was six when I received it), and I went to great lengths to save it so I could one day ride it with my kid. It is remarkably similar to the Panther on the inside but in my case I'm lucky that its motor works just fine both in H and L! The only thing right now that stops me from enjoying it with my 6yo son are the tires, which were hollow and in blue rubber. They finally gave in to age right as my son was born and I can't seem to be able to find any kind of tires that will fit this model rims, of any color, let alone in blue. They really looked like those in the back with spikes, but all four of them were just like that. And are those antenna straws available as well anywhere? Please, dear @AMPROEngineering, would you kindly point me in the right direction? 🙏 Thanks for the amazing channel and great projects! 🤘🤘🤘 Much love, a new subscriber.
I have never heard of that. Man that is a cool looking car. Well the easy thing is the antenna straw. They are available on ebay still for most RC cars from the 80's through early 2000's. Size will be close and length needs to be cut down. As for tires, you will need to have some 3D printed. I have done many in the past and while they are not great, they are still better than nothing. I do not have anything for that car but you can ask a facebook group into Nikko's as I have seen a lot of people making some. Wish I could help more.
@@AMPROEngineering I kinda want to do what you did and just change everything,,but I'm going to try bust down a old lithium ion I have laying around and break it down from 12.8 to 9.6 and that will at least fit in the battery bay
Boy oh boy that was amazing! The best part is that it still sounds original. Would love to do something similar some time. I should have kept some of my 'spare' TB's for this. Brilliant work. 3D printed parts and all. I don't understand why minus 2 batteries would not affect the speed more. It's minus 2.4 v. or 3 v. The new Electronics look good under the body. I like the power switch too. I'm like you, I would not do that to my red one, even though it runs very slow and steers very slow. Something with the old electronics but I'm clueless when it comes to such things. You got a Bison!!! (for me a Bison is still a Bison regardless what it was rebranded as). Now you can start making AMPro parts for it :-) It looks great with the black frame/cage though. Got a red one in a box with fried electronics, flat spot rear tires and a broken frame. Otherwise everything else beautiful. Plan is some modern standard Tamiya electronics, though I've hesitated since I've never done such a thing before. Maybe I should wait and see what you do first :-) But Thumbs up for this great Turbo Panther video!
No i totally agree, I think the car is actually faster with less voltage for some reason. I mean if you think about it, this car was able to run on 12V if you installed 8 1.5V AA's! I think there was some kind of step down to allow for longer run times VS speed. Yes I did snag a Bison! It was dirt cheap for some reason. The car is filthy bit in otherwise amazing condition. I dont know how you can get a toy like that when it was new and not drive it. The upgraded electronic process is rather simple to be honest. There is some fab that is needed but overall isnt too bad, especially for a car that size! By the way, did you check your FB email and messages here? I sent you something.
The cannot come off easily. They are all pressed in place. I have done this on my Tyco Bandit and it was a disaster to get it all back together. My suggestion is to leave the gearbox in one piece as well as the front axles and restore around them.
@@AMPROEngineering This was my first ever "real" RC car. I was able to find another one that works but the motor doesn't work so well in reverse. I bought a NOS body for it and I'm going to restore it to its former glory. These videos are helpful.
Yo amo el juguete clasico y en mi coleccion voy implementando las tecnologias nuevas como la bateria de Lipo y si esta dañada la placa de circuitos se cambia por una moderna con servo digital pero conservando el aspecto antiguo del auto buen video.
This is a fantastic video! I love how you resurrected the Nikko Turbo Panther. Where can a person get the ESC to make this modification? Keep the content coming!
Nice video. I just found a Turbo Panther on a garage sale and bought it. It's working but the electromagnet servo is not. Can I just change it to a regular servo without changing anything in the stock PCB?
Great question. The body holds it down when it is installed. It was how the original one was installed. The ESC power switch is screwed to the adapter and then that slips into the stock mounting.
Can i ask you which parts did you use. I just bought one on second hand market, and i don't have original remote control. Maybe its time to make upgrade
Thats the same esc/receiver combo i used on a couple tandy/radio shack dash trucks Ive resurrected. Kept the original battery trays as well. Think its funny when people have a 60 amp esc in something like this lol
Hi if I was to do this to mine . Do I have to solder the wires to the battery tray and do I do the same on the esc to the motor? Not good with things like this lol.
Yes exactly. The esc comes with jst style connectors. You can either snip those off and solder them straight on or buy more jst leads to solder on that way you can unplug the esc if you need too
Ive just acquired a Nikko Black Fox with Controller. It all powers up,but goes real slow forwards and backwards,with quiet a noise coming from the rear of it. Wondering whats up with it?
great job! any chance you can provide some info for the electronics? i came back after 20+ years to restore my rc and i have no idea what you are using there. thank you in advance!
Sure it is all basic cheap stuff you can find on ebay. $4 mini servo, $3 20A esc and a $4 FlySky Receiver (of which I own 60 of. I love those receivers).
Hi, the crystal on my Rhino board says R 26.590 KDS 7G. Is this 27 Mhz 3 band or 4 band? It was the early 1980's when I got mine for X-MAS and it was tough. I also purchased a Kyosho Ultima but dreamed of having the 4 wheel Optima or an RC/10. Later on, I picked up one of the JRX2 's
There really is no such thing. The best thing to do is locate a radio/receiver combo (turbo racing makes great ones), a 30 amp speed controller and a basic servo.
Hello. I would like to restore my old Turbo Panther that I found in my parents' basement. That was my very first RC car around 1987. Unfortunately the tires are completely brittle and falling apart. And for whatever reason, the pinion is missing from the motor. In general, the motor only turns very slowly when I connect it to a 12V battery for testing... Probably defective too. Does anyone know if you can mount other tires or tires with rims? And can someone tell me which motor and which motor pinion is normally installed? The motor has a 2mm shaft, is 30mm long and 24mm diameter. Thanks!
Hi, can you tell me if the steering electromagnet worked before replacing it ? I have some sort of the same Nikko rc car and the electromagnet steering does not seem to turn. Can you give us a list of used electronics ?
No idea. I would assume it worked as I have never seen one not working first hand. As for a list, all i can say that I have is the complete PCB and ancillary components.
Thank you! Well, I kind of have. I have a video covering a terrible clone of the panther with not only great tires but mint bodies. They are plentiful and cheap.
I'm looking through your other videos...is it available, and I've just overlooked it? I've got a couple of the Nikko Turbo Aeros/Aero-Tuned/Venus, which could sure use some rear tires (as they have none!)
where I can find 3d model for servo box and a modified steering section for servo arm for buggy? I have this kind of buggy but electronics is broken 😞 and wheels have flat places you can tell me how to fix it?
Well I dont have them available since they were super basic and still needed trimming. This could be made from some plastic stock pretty easy. As for tires, until rubber prints are cheap enough you will need to look for parts cars on ebay. These cars can never be stored with rubber on the ground sadly.
@@AMPROEngineering Thanks to your info in another vid, I've been looking Radio Shack Zebra parts cars for rear tires. Sounds like they're a good source for front wheels/tires for Turbo Panthers, and workable bodies. Sadly, they won't help with the fronts for my Nikko Turbo Aero, as it uses the wide knobby fronts. Anything else worth stealing from the Zebra, or shall I just pull the tires, rims, body and motor, and pitch the rest?
You would think so but it doesnt feel like it is. Before the 9.6V had these areas where the system would pull different voltages at different points where the series circuit stacked up. Honestly I dont think it ever used a 9.6V to the motor. Maybe a i need a comparison with my stock one. That could be a cool video!
AMPRO Engineering kinda the ball cup this screws into the upright broke where shaft screws down and the steering won’t work with out the ballcup I tryed drilling it to accept a modern ball up but the mill meter hole is to small and the drill bit broke off
ESC is an electronic speed control. They provide power to the receiver and in turn the receiver tells it what to do. The receiver powers the steering servo and tells the servo what to do. Hope that helps!
@@AMPROEngineering Very helpful. Thank you for responding. I'm sure you get a lot of these questions. Do I need one ESC for the motor and one for the steering?
Hi. I have a Nikko Panther 2 that I would like to upgrade. I have a failry good idea of how it will be done based on your video. However my question is how will I connect the ESC to the motor. The motor has 3 wires, blue, brown and block. Thanks.
It does? I wonder why that is. I would say try and see what wires do what. Perhaps one goes to a resistor hidden in the plastic cap covering it? Sorry man I wish I could help more.
Hi, I've done the electricals and my Nikko Panther 2 is now up and running with the new ESC, servo, transmitter and receiver. I was amazed with the modularized parts and how they operate. Again thank you very much in putting up these very interesting videos. I've been inspired with this episode that I did much research to resurrect my Nikko Panther. Again, thank you very much and more power to you!
@@mansurrahim I'm waiting for a spare car in the mail, as ampro says, that's our only option, unless you know somebody or start 3d printing for yourself.. I am considering getting into 3d printing, just to keep my nikko's running :)
My turbo hopper is fixed however after 5 min the engine stopped 😩working- yet front wheels are working fine ??? Could this be a battery issue , I’m using rechargeable batteries
I have a Radioshack Road Phantom, do you have or know where I can get a donor car(s) to repair my original ? I also have a Nikko Turbo Panther X2 but don't have the remote . Can you please help me either or both of these problems ?
I use these little cheap 30A ESC's you can get on amazon and ebay. They work well but I would say 1 in 10 come dead or will fail within minutes. Those that dont are awesome.
Nice work!!!! Where I can find 3d model for servo? Have you got an example file to make this model with a 3D printer?? Or how can i do this? Thanks for your reply ;-)
Hey Philippe, glad you like it. I dont have this available since it was basic and not very cleanly made. I did a lot to modify it after to get it to fit. If you would like it, I can put it on shapeways for you!
No I was using 6. There are 3 on the bottom and three on the top. I think maybe they were hard to see since you stack them and then shout at them to get the bottom ones out, lol.
I just picked one up at a thrift store for 2 bucks and I'm going to do the conversion, do you have any of those 3d printed parts for sale? I wish mine had a wing it's missing. Have you found tires for replacing the old ones or no?
I do not as they were pretty basic but if you want them I can put them on shape ways. Ill have a wing for them soon! Email me at amproengineering@gmail.com so I can get you links.
What's amazing is the sheer amount of working ones I've found online. They truly are indestructible.
That is amazing. It seems that no matter how beat up they are most of them seem to be operational
I had a turbo panther as a kid. I loved that car!!! Thanks for the cool video.
My pleasure!
that turbo panther though, was amazing to me as a kid. it was my favorite thing in the world. been through a lot of them
I really love this car.
I just converted a NIKKO Wüstenspringer (Turbo Panther was branded like that in Germany) to 2.4GHZ because the radio was missing (and because I have a second one with the original radio). I think the conversion was worth it ! I truly dig the proportional steering and the higher speed with 2s Lipo :) Putting a micro servo in there was really easy. I converted over 25 vintage toy grade RC cars already and would say that the Turbo Panther and the Backfire are totally worth the effort of conversion. I run them mainly indoors to avoid tear&wear on the precious pin tires. The Turbo Panther was one of my first RC´s as a 8 year old kid and just looking at it brings back so much nostalgia ;_) AWESOME !!!
I agree, worth the effort!
I just found my old Wüstenspringer and want to get it running again. Do you have any assumptions which parts to use best? How do I chek, if the motor is still working? By the way, I'm also from Germany...
@@kybernaut-is-my-name Kauf Dir Einwegbatterien AA Mignon (die haben mehr Spannung als Akkus und das Auto braucht hohe Spannung !) und einen 9V Block Akku (Fernsteuerung braucht kaum Spannung). Kontakte für die Batterien sollten nicht grün sein (durch ausgelaufene Batterien). Dann müsste eigentlich schon alles klappen mit etwas Glück.
Thank you, I feel the same about these RC's and in general. I have a 4x4 Off Roader from Radio Shack in the 1980's. I see a lot of people hack, chop and mod them. I'm keeping mine totally stock aside from components I can swap without physically modding anything on the Vintage RCs like upgrading the battery, etc.
Yes I think it is better to keep the car nostalgic.
I must have watched this video like 50 times!
I've finally got a busted TP2 to do this with. Super helpful video thanks!
Glad it helped!
your awesome man, thanks for giving back a little bit of happiness one classic rc at a time!
Haha! Thank you!
Entertainment and well explaining. Good job, thanks for this. Just received a nikko dictator 87, a nikko turbo animal , a nikko kart.
Oh very nice! I am a huge Nikko fan!
Did this with my Taiyo 4x4 Off-Road Tiger and am in the process of doing it to my Radio Shack Countach! Both were very special RCs to me when I was a kid, and although they both work, I want to bring them with me and enjoy them as an adult, so they are both noticeably faster - though nothing too much for the plastic gearing!
Glad to hear when childhood cars get resurrected!
wow, i remember the sound of that thing. was always the only rc car i had where the transmission had that sound
Yes! It really does have a unique sound! I have another video where I cover the "stock" one too.
the aa battery days these cars were so good we have came along way great vid
Thanks!
I also did this with a Turbo Panther and i mounted a servo for the gear shift, this is a highly recommended mod! I like your channel!
Thank you very much! Yes I have seen this done and I really like it. I am thinking about going down that path but I need to figure out a way to install a servo and attach it to the gear select without cutting or drilling anything on the car. That might be a little challenging.
There are very tiny servo's which should fit perfect.. I just mounted a big one since the wing was gone! The connection i did was by a silicone tube and later with a spring but with the tiny servo i meant it is possible to get it on the axle with a rigid connection, Happy building and hope to see it happen! Cheers!!
Ah yes, I saw on your video. I love the thought of that. I have a nikko 4WD truck that i just picked up. It has hi/low and a 2wd/4wd options. I am planning on making them all remote actuated.
I'm looking forwards to see how that build has come out! Sounds like a real cool build!! I'm saving for a crawler with the full package, a pall of me sold me a dx7s and i'm looking forwards to use every channel on that remote :D
Look at the Trailfinder 2. That truck is a marvel. I have one and i think it is the best scaler on the planet.
I just recently upgraded an old Tyco Outlaw Power Boost Truck with ESC, 2,4MHz Receiver and Microservo. I like yer vids!
Oh cool! I like those. How did it turn out?
AMPRO Engineering, I think quite good! Good enough for the floor and the carpet, almost too fast with 6xAA. I removed the weights in the "engine" though to stop the wheelies...
Great vid! It takes me back to when I was a kid. I had a Taiyo mini hopper. Looks very similar to this and I had so much fun with it. I remember making courses for. It's something I wish I hadn't let go of now, great memories. To be honest I'd love to have a go with it now. 😊
Oh yeah...i did that too!
@6.00 It would be possible to use all the batteries by rewiring the connectors on the battery compartment so that four of the batteries are connected in parallel connection. You can then connect those four parallel connected batteries in series with the rest of the batteries. This will allow you to maintain the voltage below the voltage that the esc permits even though you've used all the batteries.
Yeah that crossed my mind but then I would have to carry 8 batteries vs 6.
I love these vids, I have a Golden Arrow frame buggy variant, and 2 4wd Dictator II buggies I have been slowly upgrading ( or thinking about upgrading) I think I'm once again inspired to dig out the frame buggy. Thanks for taking the time to make videos.
Glad you like them. I am looking forward to working on that Lobo but since I can't stand the name it will be relabeled to Bison
Great and informative video. It really is a great time in RC when we can take a car we cherish and make it better or simply fix it with modern gear. I love my big brand toy cars but there will always be something I can't explain about the joy of driving the Nikkos and other similar cars. Thanks again for another fantastic video
Glad you liked it. I think this hobby is all about fun and I find some people forget that.
That was fantastic! Now that it has the best of both worlds, I'm way more impressed. I was 25 when it came out, so no childhood memories.... It makes me want to get a couple of broken cars, and doing that myself!
So..... I guess you used nothing more powerful than a Park Flyer ESC and cheapo micro Servo? I can't imagine it drawing even ONE amp.
Definitely fascinating!
Murph
The "Big Nikko" - THAT got my attention!
Yeah they don't need much to steer. That is a tiny servo but way more than it needs still.
I had the first sears lobo (1986) man that thing was cool but waiting 11+ hours for those AA’s to charge was soooo looong only to get maybe 10 minutes of run time after school.
I guess that’s why I’m back into R/C at 49 years old. Lol
Everything is sooo much cheaper and faster.
I got a big bear after the lobo.
That thing probably ate spur gears as fast as the lobo ate batteries.
I have two big bears now awaiting restoration.
I would love to upgrade an old lobo.
Great job!
BTW my VERY first car was a sears 1977 firebird. Talk about old. It actually turned left and right via radio with a steering wheel. I think they weee called real steer or something like that.
Anyway,
Love all you videos.
Thanks again!
The wait for the charge was hell....Ill never forget how bad it was to wait.
I had one of those and turbo hopper. I did visit your online store. I'm impressed. Not bad pricing either
Thanks Joseph!
AMPRO Engineering no pronlem
Reminds me of my presto Rod Spark that I did almost the same thing to. It is running a 3s lipo though with a hobby wing 1060 esc. Stock 280 motor and doesn't get hot. I managed to get a full size spektrum steering servo in it though.
Oh that's perfect! This servo worked fine so I didnt stress it but I am all for it!
Hi Jemery Tart and Ampro Engineering. I have a Turbo Panther 2 from my childhood and the motor needs to be replaced. I see the 280 electromotor has same size then the electro motor in my Panther. Do you know which voltage range and RPM I need? Or is that fixed with the type of motor? The one I find online is 1.5-4.5 V and 9500 RPM. Voltage does not seem right to me.
I'm starting to upgrade all the electronics on my turbo hopper I wish there was a way to show you pics of it.
I replaced all the electronics with Traxxas ESC, radio receiver with the receiver box, steering solenoid, I have new rear tires rear shock tower and a used body. I also need to replace the front end wing, and new motor coming, and I need to order a battery pack for it as well.
That is super cool! That should transform the car!
Consideration for all, and maybe it will help someone. When purchasing a "Non-Operable" RC, look at the electrical in car for excessive build up or dark solder point, in addition to obvious wiring issues. My personal experience is that I just bought pretty cheap a complete with controller black Nikko Turbo Panther II "Untested" from Ebay in brand new shiny looking condition with no scratches, peeling stickers, etc. As expected, it did not work when I got it (Looked so pretty I still had to have it)so I immediately opened and sprayed with electrical cleaner and saw two darkened solder points for one of the coils on breadboard. Cleaned up wax coating that built up on electrical and re-soldered dark ends and now works as new as it looks. I just purchased a clean looking Nikko Phantom Fighter from Ebay for cheap with no remote that will be my 1st attempt at doing the brushless motor upgrade with my special needs son. Thinking of the Traxxas 550 12t motor with traxxas servo, 3s lipo battery. Not decided on radio and receiver yet. I just got hit with vintage RC bug, as this is now my 4th purchase in two weeks. Keeping Turbo Panther, Tyco Turbo Hopper and Tyco Turbo Heads Up all in original condition. They were all complete, really clean, relatively cheap, and with the exception of Panther worked upon delivery. Sadly, I am still browsing to see what else may interest me.
This is a good point. I did this when I was getting a couple of other cars going again and of course did not record a thing. It is amazing how often a solder re-flow will fix a bad board.
Turbo Panther has been my very first R/C toy.
Same here!
I am a kid and am very glad my RC has proportional controll.
Oh yeah it is very useful.
After this Video i pulled my Tamyia Wild Dagger from 1999 out and upgrade it with two brushless motors. It was so much fun to drive again with the car i get when i was a kid. But the mechanic couldnt stand much long against Brushless power with 2s now i need to figure out how to repair the Plastik parts of the gears etc.😃
Oh man yeah the older plastics cant hold up to some of these newer motors.
I had a radio shack wild champ (I think its the same chassis as the turbo panther 2 ) I modded the hell out of it !! I discovered the little inside part of the battery box ran the radio and steering and the rest of the row of batteries ran the motor it also used mechanical relays to switch the motor forward or reverse go or stop only had 1 speed I was able to jam 3 9v batteries in series for 27volts to the motor and a strip of duct tape to hold them in !! It actually worked well until one of my friends borrowed it and brought it back destroyed!!!! I actually got about 3 months who knows how long it could have lasted
Oh man that is crazy! haha!
Just re-watched this one after watching the Radio Shack Zebra review. What a world of difference.
I know, different planets almost.
Nice video, and very professional I must say. I had both Turbo Panther and Turbo Tiger (not remember if T.T. was a Nikko but it had a servo steering type), when I was a kid :)
Thank you! That is very nice to say. These are great cars and what got me started in the hobby.
I had a turbo panther 2. It was blue.oh them days were great 👍
I hear that!
My first car back in 85 was a radio shack wild champ from what I now know it was a version of the turbo panther yellow body soft rubber tires and just basic direction no turbo function back then they had not went to transistor speed controls and battery eliminator set up yet so it had two AA to run the radio and steering and then 8xAA for the power to the wheels I learned enough about electronics to spot forward and revers relays and realized changing voltage to the motor did not effect the delicate radio and steering board so I modded the battery box to hold 3 9 volt batteries!! 27 volts to the motor!!! needless to say it was pretty fast but only ran about 10 mins on fresh batteries but it would spank the snotty kids 300 dollar grasshopper on a flat surface !!! the good ole days lol
Thanks for the info! These really are awesome little cars and one of my favorite RC's of all time.
back then I did what I could with a small budget and dreamed of the day I would upgrade to a hobby grade racer now I own a handful of hobby grade and get more enjoyment from fixing and running cars like the turbo panther I run this car more than any of my other cars !! I have found the older panthers with the soft back tires and skinny front tires seem to grip a lot better than the 4x4 looking chassis at least on the street great vid BTW
I had the Rino f10, it was toys r' us version of the bison. still have it actually, receipt, in box and everything lol
That's awesome to hear!
Loved mine as a kid, amazing video.
Any time Pete.
thank you so much for this video because it was the one that i was looking for ! i have a rc car almost like that (RED) and over the time i have lost the remote so i was thinking how to revive it,and finally i find you :D
Oh I am glad to hear it!
I love it, my first rc car.
Also a white one....
nice! Its a great beginner car.
Great video, I've just done exactly this to my own Turbo Panther. I bought it as a non-runner way back in the 80s when I was a kid, and never got around to fixing it up. I unearthed it recently and using your video for ideas and parts, got it up and running and now my own kid (and myself of course) can have fun with it, it goes like a train! Only problem is the rear wing frame is long gone. I have the wing but no-where to attach it. Did you ever get around to designing replacement wing mounts? Keep up the good work!
That is great news! Happy to hear it is back on the road. As for the wing, I have not made the mount yet but I am planning on it soon!
Any pics of the servo connecting to the steering arm. I brought the parts but not sure how to assemble so looked through what people put on here. Many thanks.
I remember pulling one of these apart when i was a very young kid. I must have been given the car as a hand me down or something because it never worked.
Yeah I did the same!
I’m about to convert the radio shack version to brushless. Got it for 12.01 on flebay. The battery compartment is probably the worst I’ve seen for corrosion. I’m gonna run a 2s lipo, and just run it on low
So I wouldn't do that. These gearboxes are really weak and the stock motor is more than enough. Even in low, the torque us way too high.
Golden Arrow!! Love the channel and have you covered one? I have watched more of your vids than I can count but did not see the Golden Arrow. I just picked up a couple that I’m getting ready to resto-mod. My first was the Turbo hopper. Thanks for your time.
I have not covered the golden arrow as I go not have one but I did review the Rhino which was the car Nikko made for Radio Shack. It is episode 279. These are awesome cars. I love the turbo hopper too! There is a review of that one here also!
So cool I had one back in 1986.
Nice, I think I got mine in 88?
love your channel! This was also my first rc car! Did the wing replacement ever make it out?
No not yet. I made one but it is the base bracket I need to make. I have it on my list!
When comes "The Big Guy"? He he. Would love to see more of it. Thinking about soon getting my Bison out working.
That is a good question. I have been back and forth on it for a while now: do I or dont I? I suspect I will fairly soon as the car actually works!
AMPRO Engineering Would love to see it 😍
Ill get it out then!
Beautiful upgrade on a classic
Thank you Chris. It really is a great car to drive. I have been using it far more than I should.
So do you have a second channel where you fix tiny ovens? And if so what's that one called?
No but I will soon. First it’s the 1:1 cars
damn I forgot all about the Lobo. It was the prized car to have in our little neighborhood way back when.
Yeah it was. I knew a lot of people with this one. I think it was cheaper than its fraternal twins, the Nikko Bison and the Radio Shack Golden Arrow.
nice mods for better drivability! You can probably grind some of the metal steering knuckle off so it can turn sharper that or some of the plastic on the a arm if you need some more steering but it's not like your racing it so it probably dont matter..
Yeah I thought about that but I didn't want to cut anything on that car at all. You don't notice it running weirdly. I think it is because it is so short.
It looks alright what do you expect its no hornet! =) LOL!
HAHA!
Ok maybe like a mini baby mutant hornet possibly? You think =)
I got one that drives perfectly,,just had to touch up some solder joints,had alot of corrosion in some of the joints,,she expensive to run tho ..I want to update but like you I don't want to cut anything
I use NiMh batteries so I can just recharge them. So much better!
@@AMPROEngineering I got a 3 cell lithium ion
@@AMPROEngineering I made the 3 cell so that will give me 9.6 volt ...I hope to solder a fitting to the original pcb
@@AMPROEngineering I don't want to change my original radio ether so it will be interesting of the small 3 cell I made holds up for time and hope to have more power seeing how I also went through the old brush motor and clean it up and broke it in under water
@@AMPROEngineering well said that heck with it and went along with12.6 and she's a little rocket,,how long the pcb will stand it is anyone's guess
great video and very informative!!! i was wondering if you can put a brushless motor in it to upgrade it. if so do you have any idea regarding the dimensions of the motor??? thanks!
I would not. The transmission cannot support that. You cannot get parts for these anymore really.
hello seeing the video of how you converted turbo panther. I was wondering what change you made to the ass to be able to mount the servo thanks for the help
I 3D printed a plate to support it but it could have also been made from styrene. it was pretty simple.
hi! very nice job! i have an old turbo panther with a one suspension "tower" broke. could you help me to fi nd a new part or a way to repair it?
the best thing to do is locate a forum or group with other fans. That's how I located everything! ahahahah!
Nice work! I did this to my Nikko Brat
On nice!
back in 2012 or 2011 tamaiya had several mini versions of cars like the grass hopper the hornet and the fox in 1/16 scale and on a turbo panther platform as I shopped the site I had an ad pop up for a ball bearing and oil shock kit to go with one of these cars it was abouit 30 dollars or so I have not been able to ever find the link again and I think they have since quit selling these cars as they recently have full scale original rerelease on those cars
If it was the Tamtech cars you are talking about they were not good. I used to have one and no mater what I did, that car was a pile. They looked fantastic but that is about it. The onroad versions were killer though.
My Nikko turbo red from 85 /86 stopped working today , I’ve had it since I was 6 , it’s in great condition ( the outer shell etc) however the magnet cables have come away from the circuit board and I can’t even see where they came off as the circuit board had extreme wear 😩…the car still has power from the back obviously, but the weels in the front can’t be operated
I would try to re-flow the solder and check for any broken connections. You also should look to see if there are any leaky capacitors.
I’ve sent it to an RC guy today said he would clean the board up and check any loose connections and re- solder and check sensor. Hope it can be fixed ! If not , il take it
all out and my brother will replace it with a custom job instead!
Awesome build!! I’m building a Nikko Excalibur which has the same stock Servo. How would I be able to fit a proportional Servo? I’m having trouble finding a spot to connect the mechanism into the Servo horn. Your response would be highly appreciated! Thank you!
Hey man, this was a hard one as the geometry was not only strange but not easy to access. I sell the parts I developed to make this work but it very specifically is for this chassis. I can send you a link. Shoot me an email at amproengineering@gmail.com
I've got a Nikko Cosmo Flash in transparent blue, it's the only toy that was left from my troubled childhood (I think I was six when I received it), and I went to great lengths to save it so I could one day ride it with my kid.
It is remarkably similar to the Panther on the inside but in my case I'm lucky that its motor works just fine both in H and L!
The only thing right now that stops me from enjoying it with my 6yo son are the tires, which were hollow and in blue rubber. They finally gave in to age right as my son was born and I can't seem to be able to find any kind of tires that will fit this model rims, of any color, let alone in blue.
They really looked like those in the back with spikes, but all four of them were just like that.
And are those antenna straws available as well anywhere?
Please, dear @AMPROEngineering, would you kindly point me in the right direction? 🙏
Thanks for the amazing channel and great projects! 🤘🤘🤘
Much love, a new subscriber.
I have never heard of that. Man that is a cool looking car. Well the easy thing is the antenna straw. They are available on ebay still for most RC cars from the 80's through early 2000's. Size will be close and length needs to be cut down. As for tires, you will need to have some 3D printed. I have done many in the past and while they are not great, they are still better than nothing. I do not have anything for that car but you can ask a facebook group into Nikko's as I have seen a lot of people making some. Wish I could help more.
I was pretty good with mine,lol ya the old two sticks was all we had back then..
Mine was rough...oh boy...but I was lucky i was able to find the parts to rebuild it.
@@AMPROEngineering I kinda want to do what you did and just change everything,,but I'm going to try bust down a old lithium ion I have laying around and break it down from 12.8 to 9.6 and that will at least fit in the battery bay
Neat... a smaller version of the F10 Frame-Buggy.
Exactly!
I'll always remember how much different this one sounded, compared to my Tyco's...
Oh yeah! They sound very different.
Boy oh boy that was amazing! The best part is that it still sounds original. Would love to do something similar some time. I should have kept some of my 'spare' TB's for this. Brilliant work. 3D printed parts and all. I don't understand why minus 2 batteries would not affect the speed more. It's minus 2.4 v. or 3 v. The new Electronics look good under the body. I like the power switch too. I'm like you, I would not do that to my red one, even though it runs very slow and steers very slow. Something with the old electronics but I'm clueless when it comes to such things. You got a Bison!!! (for me a Bison is still a Bison regardless what it was rebranded as). Now you can start making AMPro parts for it :-) It looks great with the black frame/cage though. Got a red one in a box with fried electronics, flat spot rear tires and a broken frame. Otherwise everything else beautiful. Plan is some modern standard Tamiya electronics, though I've hesitated since I've never done such a thing before. Maybe I should wait and see what you do first :-) But Thumbs up for this great Turbo Panther video!
No i totally agree, I think the car is actually faster with less voltage for some reason. I mean if you think about it, this car was able to run on 12V if you installed 8 1.5V AA's! I think there was some kind of step down to allow for longer run times VS speed. Yes I did snag a Bison! It was dirt cheap for some reason. The car is filthy bit in otherwise amazing condition. I dont know how you can get a toy like that when it was new and not drive it. The upgraded electronic process is rather simple to be honest. There is some fab that is needed but overall isnt too bad, especially for a car that size! By the way, did you check your FB email and messages here? I sent you something.
How to take the wheels off? I loved that can and what to restore mine.
The cannot come off easily. They are all pressed in place. I have done this on my Tyco Bandit and it was a disaster to get it all back together. My suggestion is to leave the gearbox in one piece as well as the front axles and restore around them.
Great video. Very cool mod.
Thank you!
@@AMPROEngineering This was my first ever "real" RC car. I was able to find another one that works but the motor doesn't work so well in reverse. I bought a NOS body for it and I'm going to restore it to its former glory. These videos are helpful.
Yo amo el juguete clasico y en mi coleccion voy implementando las tecnologias nuevas como la bateria de Lipo y si esta dañada la placa de circuitos se cambia por una moderna con servo digital pero conservando el aspecto antiguo del auto buen video.
¡Oh, sí, esa es una excelente manera de mantenerlos en funcionamiento durante los próximos años!
This is a fantastic video! I love how you resurrected the Nikko Turbo Panther. Where can a person get the ESC to make this modification? Keep the content coming!
Thank you Havoc! Yeah those ESC's are all over ebay. Search for "20A ESC"
Awsome my friend. The 3M vhb you mention is with foam or simple to reduce movement? Thank you :)
You are welcome. I would not get the foam version as that will give too much movement. The clear version they offer is perfect.
Make the oven heatable and 3 hotplates usable and i want to see that video... where is the other channel?
Haha! I actually printed an entire kitchen I designed for her, haha! The other channel is in the works!
Can I have more detail for the parts you used in this video ?
These are sadly all generic parts I go in ebay. It was a 30A speed control, a micro servo and the stock motor.
5:00 Can you flip the servo over so its more centered?
Great question. You cant in this case since the geometry is the same on both sides so it would be exactly the same.
Nice video. I just found a Turbo Panther on a garage sale and bought it. It's working but the electromagnet servo is not. Can I just change it to a regular servo without changing anything in the stock PCB?
No you cannot sadly. I can send you mine if you like. email me at amproengineering@gmail.com
Is there any plans to make the turning radius better in the future?
Na, this was just done to make the thing work.
is the printed power switch cover a press fit, or you have to help it with some CA glue of sorts?
Great question. The body holds it down when it is installed. It was how the original one was installed. The ESC power switch is screwed to the adapter and then that slips into the stock mounting.
Can i ask you which parts did you use. I just bought one on second hand market, and i don't have original remote control. Maybe its time to make upgrade
I just used a flysky radio, stock motor, micro servo and a 30A esc that i got for $6. Its small and really doesnt need much to power it.
Thats the same esc/receiver combo i used on a couple tandy/radio shack dash trucks Ive resurrected. Kept the original battery trays as well. Think its funny when people have a 60 amp esc in something like this lol
Yeah I know. Seems overkill and plus, these seem to work fine.
Great videos btw. Thank you for you hard work 👍🏻
Hi if I was to do this to mine . Do I have to solder the wires to the battery tray and do I do the same on the esc to the motor? Not good with things like this lol.
Yes exactly. The esc comes with jst style connectors. You can either snip those off and solder them straight on or buy more jst leads to solder on that way you can unplug the esc if you need too
@@jeschreindl Brilliant thank you. Do you no anywhere I can get front tires from?
Ive just acquired a Nikko Black Fox with Controller.
It all powers up,but goes real slow forwards and backwards,with quiet a noise coming from the rear of it.
Wondering whats up with it?
They are usually not the most quiet. This thing is surprisingly noisy.
great job! any chance you can provide some info for the electronics? i came back after 20+ years to restore my rc and i have no idea what you are using there. thank you in advance!
Sure it is all basic cheap stuff you can find on ebay. $4 mini servo, $3 20A esc and a $4 FlySky Receiver (of which I own 60 of. I love those receivers).
Hi, the crystal on my Rhino board says R 26.590 KDS 7G. Is this 27 Mhz 3 band or 4 band? It was the early 1980's when I got mine for X-MAS and it was tough. I also purchased a Kyosho Ultima but dreamed of having the 4 wheel Optima or an RC/10. Later on, I picked up one of the JRX2 's
Well it is low band but I am not sure if where you are there were more than just the 27 and 48 bands.
I have 2 old Nikko cars. The motors have blue and brown wire. Which way they should be connected on the ESC?
Oh boy I have no idea. If you wire them reversed, nothing bad will happen, only the car will go the wrong way and then you can just swap them.
hi i have a nikko cosmo 3, control is missing, i would like to upgrade the inner electronics and control. could you please recommend an upgrade kit?
There really is no such thing. The best thing to do is locate a radio/receiver combo (turbo racing makes great ones), a 30 amp speed controller and a basic servo.
Hello. I would like to restore my old Turbo Panther that I found in my parents' basement. That was my very first RC car around 1987. Unfortunately the tires are completely brittle and falling apart. And for whatever reason, the pinion is missing from the motor. In general, the motor only turns very slowly when I connect it to a 12V battery for testing... Probably defective too. Does anyone know if you can mount other tires or tires with rims? And can someone tell me which motor and which motor pinion is normally installed? The motor has a 2mm shaft, is 30mm long and 24mm diameter. Thanks!
Check out the Facebook Nikko/Taiyo groups. Those guys are great.
Hi, can you tell me if the steering electromagnet worked before replacing it ? I have some sort of the same Nikko rc car and the electromagnet steering does not seem to turn.
Can you give us a list of used electronics ?
No idea. I would assume it worked as I have never seen one not working first hand. As for a list, all i can say that I have is the complete PCB and ancillary components.
Love all your videos brother. Have you found any rear tire replacements for the Turbo Panther?
Thank you! Well, I kind of have. I have a video covering a terrible clone of the panther with not only great tires but mint bodies. They are plentiful and cheap.
AMPRO Engineering what is the video called? Looking through them.. no luck
That one isn't done yet. It will be soon!
I'm looking through your other videos...is it available, and I've just overlooked it? I've got a couple of the Nikko Turbo Aeros/Aero-Tuned/Venus, which could sure use some rear tires (as they have none!)
Hi AMPRO.. a question.. how do you take the front rims off?
I explain that in the transmission rebuild episode of the project bandit. Episode 189.
You still have the white nikko? I had this when I was 8ish and looking to get1
Yes I do. They are pretty easy to locate on ebay for sure!
I've a niko Peugeot 307 would it be possible to upgrade that it's been sitting since 2002
Yes, you can convert anything but it all depends on what needs to be done to determine the amount of work.
where I can find 3d model for servo box and a modified steering section for servo arm for buggy?
I have this kind of buggy but electronics is broken 😞 and
wheels have flat places you can tell me how to fix it?
Well I dont have them available since they were super basic and still needed trimming. This could be made from some plastic stock pretty easy. As for tires, until rubber prints are cheap enough you will need to look for parts cars on ebay. These cars can never be stored with rubber on the ground sadly.
@@AMPROEngineering Thanks to your info in another vid, I've been looking Radio Shack Zebra parts cars for rear tires. Sounds like they're a good source for front wheels/tires for Turbo Panthers, and workable bodies. Sadly, they won't help with the fronts for my Nikko Turbo Aero, as it uses the wide knobby fronts. Anything else worth stealing from the Zebra, or shall I just pull the tires, rims, body and motor, and pitch the rest?
So it does go slower now? Being it only 7,2 volts instead of 9,6 and you are using the same motor
You would think so but it doesnt feel like it is. Before the 9.6V had these areas where the system would pull different voltages at different points where the series circuit stacked up. Honestly I dont think it ever used a 9.6V to the motor. Maybe a i need a comparison with my stock one. That could be a cool video!
Have you ever had the tamiya brats uprights ever break is there a mod to fix for it ?
Yes. All the time. I made metal caps for the trailing arms that prevent and fix this. Is that what you mean? It’s in episode 13
AMPRO Engineering kinda the ball cup this screws into the upright broke where shaft screws down and the steering won’t work with out the ballcup I tryed drilling it to accept a modern ball up but the mill meter hole is to small and the drill bit broke off
Great video. What size was the ESC you used ?
It is a 30A unit. Cheap little thing but it got the job done.
Is an ESC a receiver and does it control the steering, too?
ESC is an electronic speed control. They provide power to the receiver and in turn the receiver tells it what to do. The receiver powers the steering servo and tells the servo what to do. Hope that helps!
@@AMPROEngineering Very helpful. Thank you for responding. I'm sure you get a lot of these questions. Do I need one ESC for the motor and one for the steering?
Those colors look Grasshopper-y
Very!
Hi. I have a Nikko Panther 2 that I would like to upgrade.
I have a failry good idea of how it will be done based on your video. However my question is how will I connect the ESC to the motor. The motor has 3 wires, blue, brown and block.
Thanks.
To add, the ESC I suppose has only 2 wires for brush motors. Where will I connect the 2 ESC wires to the 3 wires on the motor of the Nikko.
It does? I wonder why that is. I would say try and see what wires do what. Perhaps one goes to a resistor hidden in the plastic cap covering it? Sorry man I wish I could help more.
@@AMPROEngineering thank you very much for the advice and very prompt respònse!
Hi, I've done the electricals and my Nikko Panther 2 is now up and running with the new ESC, servo, transmitter and receiver. I was amazed with the modularized parts and how they operate. Again thank you very much in putting up these very interesting videos. I've been inspired with this episode that I did much research to resurrect my Nikko Panther.
Again, thank you very much and more power to you!
Great video. I have the same one and it grinds in high gear and doesnt go in reverse. Any suggestions on new parts I would need or where I can get?
Sadly no. Just finding parts cars is the only way to go.
The gear/pinion that you clips sideways when you go between H and L is most likely worn down, happend to my Turbo Panther II
Clips = flips... :D
@@danielstermark8752 Yes! Would love to fix it.
@@mansurrahim I'm waiting for a spare car in the mail, as ampro says, that's our only option, unless you know somebody or start 3d printing for yourself.. I am considering getting into 3d printing, just to keep my nikko's running :)
Does the Nikko 80s model need to be charged and add batteries also ?? As I can’t remember?
No, they just need batteries. There is no onboard power storage.
Great thanks hopefully Itl be fixed and I can use it then . I just purchase a Taiyo Jet fighter 2 today 😊
My turbo hopper is fixed however after 5 min the engine stopped 😩working- yet front wheels are working fine ??? Could this be a battery issue , I’m using rechargeable batteries
@@nikko7507 Something else could have failed. These cars wont steer unless you give it throttle so maybe the motor failed?
Are they related to the Bison f10
Only the look. Nothing is compatible and it is much, much smaller.
I have a Radioshack Road Phantom, do you have or know where I can get a donor car(s) to repair my original ? I also have a Nikko Turbo Panther X2 but don't have the remote . Can you please help me either or both of these problems ?
Sadly the best I can say is to look for junkers on ebay.
thanks
any Kyosho videos?
Sorry I don't own any at the moment.
What channel do you fix tiny ovens in?
Nowhere at the moment.
Hi! What kind of ESC did you use?
I use these little cheap 30A ESC's you can get on amazon and ebay. They work well but I would say 1 in 10 come dead or will fail within minutes. Those that dont are awesome.
Nice work!!!! Where I can find 3d model for servo? Have you got an example file to make this model with a 3D printer?? Or how can i do this? Thanks for your reply ;-)
Hey Philippe, glad you like it. I dont have this available since it was basic and not very cleanly made. I did a lot to modify it after to get it to fit. If you would like it, I can put it on shapeways for you!
Ohhhh yes, you can do it. I will be fine for me. Many thanks
Can you give me your email?
AMPRO Engineering
Yes,
phil.duquenne@gmail.com
Many thanks! 😉
I would love to purchase the servo bellcrank as well, or the file to print my own. Thanks!
wait what you said it runs on 7.2 volts but 3 AA batteries which you where using is only 4.5 volts
No I was using 6. There are 3 on the bottom and three on the top. I think maybe they were hard to see since you stack them and then shout at them to get the bottom ones out, lol.
Oh and they are NIMh batteries so they are 1.2v each. I think 6 1.5's would fry the speedo so I better be careful about that!
I just picked one up at a thrift store for 2 bucks and I'm going to do the conversion, do you have any of those 3d printed parts for sale? I wish mine had a wing it's missing. Have you found tires for replacing the old ones or no?
I do not as they were pretty basic but if you want them I can put them on shape ways. Ill have a wing for them soon! Email me at amproengineering@gmail.com so I can get you links.
Thank you very much