A couple of tips from a guy that had all of the cars based on that chassis: Be careful in driving. Hitting something with the rear end, will rip off the bottom attachment of the gearbox to the chassis. Thing is, The connector plates (x-74 and x-73) are made of a very soft pvc, and shear and deform far too easily. Same problem with the rear under-guard, part w-62. That'll rip out also. Redesign the side plates, or add a metal plate that strengthens the little eyelets at the bottom of the gearbox side-plates, or they wíll rip. I made some crude side-plate strengtheners by simply tracing X-73 and X-74 on tin-plate. worked like a charm. There is some wiggle-room in the slots in the chassis where the side plate eyelets attach. Second tip: Carefully check the spur gear in the rear. It has a habit of running hot and deforming the gearbox with hotter motors, eating the other gears in the process. Marui tried to fix it with tiny metal spacers, but it only delayed the inevitable. Bit of a design flaw: making the spur gear too small, so it runs some crazy rpm, ànd making the gearbox out of a far too easily deforming plastic, which made the sides of the spur rub against the inside when under a bit of side-load --> heating-up everything. The materials of the time just could not cope. Third tip: Carefully shim the diffs, or use a thin, long screw through the diffs and drivecups, otherwise the bevel gears in the diffs will wear away in 3 packs, and the rattling starts. Think Frog, but worse. Just don’t run really ‘hot’ motors. Marui included a timed 27t black-can, and stated that it could run 8,4v. Welllll.. the chassis can take a 8,4v nimh/nicad, but the drivetrain will wear away blistering fast. I ran a Kyosho 480Gold 19x4 LeMans in it. Not a good idea, especially on 8.4v and high-grip undergrounds.
Marui still exist, they make mostly airsoft products. The Coors Thunderbird shares the chassis with the Ninja & Shogun. The Shogun was the last RC car kit made by Marui in 1988. Its a shame they didn't produce more models, they had some fun cars in the line up. The Marui Big Bear Datsun is believed to be the first RC monster truck. My personal favourite is the Samurai, such a cool car.
My first “Real” R/C was the Marui Big Bear. Everyone else had RC-10s or Tamiya. I loved it but it ate gears like crazy and I couldn’t afford to keep it going. 40 years later I have two of them with 8 perfect tires (I got lucky) and I hope to be restoring them soon. Awesome vids, thanks again.
This is awesome. I restored a 1985 big bear this year. Marui is still in business, they stopped making RC’s in 1991, and concentrate on air soft guns, and they make some of the finest air soft guns on the market..
Hopefully you can make a video about Marui cars in the future, that would be awesome. Much like yourself I also get colleagues handing me their old RC cars. Sometimes I've even had to turn them down and advise that they sell it for a fortune on ebay instead of giving it to me.
It absolutely was! And among all buggies, converted to biggish touring cars, the Coors drove better than anything else. Sadly the running gear was let down by the soft PVC used for the gearboxes and the side plates that held the lower A-arms. Put in big power, and You'd have a great TC... for about an hour of actual running before the inevitable rattling and melting of gearshaft slots, in the rear gearbox especially, commenced. The Coors and Shogun were a bit better than the Ninja, though. The Ninja had plàstic bevel gears in the diffs. Thóse hardly survived more than 3- or 4 runs. I had JB-welded the diffs in desperation, so that I could, at the least, run off-road with that beautiful Ninja. The Coors and Shogun had pot-metal bevel gears, ànd got the proper thickness shims. It at least delayed the inevitable spitting-out of gears. Though, to be brutally honest: Running a Kyosho 480 gold @ 8.4v with a small pinion for more punch (and no slipper to ease the jolts too) wasn't exactly my brightest idea..😋
The ACTUAL Marui 550??? O_o holy moly.. that thing must be worth a fortune, by now. Keep some idler gears around. they will wear away even faster with a 550. Better even, see if someone can print them for You.
I love it !I had A 1985 Thunderbird Elan. It was awesome 5.0 HO I so bad want to remake the, " Chicken Coop" car that Bert Renold's had in Strocker Ace
I also had one! I dropped in the HO motor and loved it. Sold it to a friend who was begging me for the car and then he left it at his dads for a few years until it was vandalized and scrapped…ho motor and all. Idiot people
Back when those escs were dirt cheap, was also when I was buying them (because they were dirt cheap). I’ve had the exact same hit-or-miss experience with them. Now most of them sit in a box with all of the vintage electronics that I don’t use anymore.
Nice car. I have three Marui buggies. Well two buggies, one truck. A Hunter, Samurai and Big Bear. They weren't big back in the day, but they were around. Marui the company still exists, they just went deep into making airsoft guns etc. Got out of RC.
The Hunter was actually a pretty decent buggy for the times. I had 2. AND those odd frame-buggies. The Galaxy and its pro-variant. They were sadly let-down by the lack of actual bearings in the idler gear. That gear wore like mad. I kept replacing the idler, but finally gave-up. I STILL have those tiny, aluminium shocks, though! They're great for scale-projects and actually can work somewhat decently with some fiddling. And the Samurai. Oh, yeah. Fun story: It was crazy light, and crazy fast for the times. I ran it with the blue LeMans 480s. ... and got disqualified in my first comp with it, because it was too light.. And it wàs light. To get at the required minimum weight of 1700grams for 4wd (locally required. Rules weren't yet homologated internationally), I had to stick wheel weights to it.. Shame that the polycarbonate rear gearbox was prone to shattering. I broke several through rear collisions.
Very cool! There is not a ton out there on the Marui cars and trucks so overall information is fairly sparse, compared to Tamiya or Kyosho at least. Cool to see one up close!
Good afternoon, I don’t know how to reach you other then this but I recently just built a tamiya BBX and I know exactly something you can engineer the rear swing arms need to be stabilized to prevent drive axles from falling out and and also adjust the toe would be awesome . Thanks for even reading this but have to say your solutions are used on most of my cars and trucks so I figured what the heck bring it to your attention
What a classic. These must’ve sold really well after Days of Thunder was released. Too bad no one really continued the Nascar stuff, if someone had I’m sure more would be out there in stock.
Do you know the teeth and pitch of the pinion gear. I have one but it didn't have the motor. Or pinion. Any help would be awesome. Love the channel BTW.
Oh boy I dont. There are a few Marui pages on FB that someone way more knowledgeable could help. I would check mine but I am mid-home renovation and the car is put away.
You don't happen to 3d print wheels for this do you I just took mine out and a wheel broke off it. Probably the first time it's been run in over 25 years.
A couple of tips from a guy that had all of the cars based on that chassis: Be careful in driving. Hitting something with the rear end, will rip off the bottom attachment of the gearbox to the chassis. Thing is, The connector plates (x-74 and x-73) are made of a very soft pvc, and shear and deform far too easily. Same problem with the rear under-guard, part w-62. That'll rip out also. Redesign the side plates, or add a metal plate that strengthens the little eyelets at the bottom of the gearbox side-plates, or they wíll rip. I made some crude side-plate strengtheners by simply tracing X-73 and X-74 on tin-plate. worked like a charm. There is some wiggle-room in the slots in the chassis where the side plate eyelets attach.
Second tip: Carefully check the spur gear in the rear. It has a habit of running hot and deforming the gearbox with hotter motors, eating the other gears in the process. Marui tried to fix it with tiny metal spacers, but it only delayed the inevitable. Bit of a design flaw: making the spur gear too small, so it runs some crazy rpm, ànd making the gearbox out of a far too easily deforming plastic, which made the sides of the spur rub against the inside when under a bit of side-load --> heating-up everything. The materials of the time just could not cope.
Third tip: Carefully shim the diffs, or use a thin, long screw through the diffs and drivecups, otherwise the bevel gears in the diffs will wear away in 3 packs, and the rattling starts. Think Frog, but worse.
Just don’t run really ‘hot’ motors. Marui included a timed 27t black-can, and stated that it could run 8,4v. Welllll.. the chassis can take a 8,4v nimh/nicad, but the drivetrain will wear away blistering fast.
I ran a Kyosho 480Gold 19x4 LeMans in it. Not a good idea, especially on 8.4v and high-grip undergrounds.
I love hearing tips like this. So helpful. I found out optima house makes parts for this and just reached out to them. I will pin this!
Marui still exist, they make mostly airsoft products. The Coors Thunderbird shares the chassis with the Ninja & Shogun. The Shogun was the last RC car kit made by Marui in 1988. Its a shame they didn't produce more models, they had some fun cars in the line up. The Marui Big Bear Datsun is believed to be the first RC monster truck. My personal favourite is the Samurai, such a cool car.
I thought the name sounded familiar… i think most know it as Tokyo Marui now 😊
I always loved the Big Bear. I have an NOS body set and I have been planning on getting a junk chassis to re-engineer
Marui still makes air soft???
My first “Real” R/C was the Marui Big Bear.
Everyone else had RC-10s or Tamiya.
I loved it but it ate gears like crazy and I couldn’t afford to keep it going.
40 years later I have two of them with 8 perfect tires (I got lucky) and I hope to be restoring them soon.
Awesome vids, thanks again.
I always thought that was the best known one. They look so awesome!
Happy new year to everyone!
Same to you!
This is awesome. I restored a 1985 big bear this year. Marui is still in business, they stopped making RC’s in 1991, and concentrate on air soft guns, and they make some of the finest air soft guns on the market..
Quite a shame they don’t make rc cars, they were as close to Tamiya as you could get.
Marui is alive and well.
Weird that they made such a transition
Hopefully you can make a video about Marui cars in the future, that would be awesome. Much like yourself I also get colleagues handing me their old RC cars. Sometimes I've even had to turn them down and advise that they sell it for a fortune on ebay instead of giving it to me.
I would like to. I know a few people really into these cars and they would be amazing sources
Finally it’s back on the channel! This was definitely a pretty sweet car to have back in the day as well
Hahaha! Your doing!
It absolutely was! And among all buggies, converted to biggish touring cars, the Coors drove better than anything else. Sadly the running gear was let down by the soft PVC used for the gearboxes and the side plates that held the lower A-arms. Put in big power, and You'd have a great TC... for about an hour of actual running before the inevitable rattling and melting of gearshaft slots, in the rear gearbox especially, commenced. The Coors and Shogun were a bit better than the Ninja, though. The Ninja had plàstic bevel gears in the diffs. Thóse hardly survived more than 3- or 4 runs. I had JB-welded the diffs in desperation, so that I could, at the least, run off-road with that beautiful Ninja. The Coors and Shogun had pot-metal bevel gears, ànd got the proper thickness shims. It at least delayed the inevitable spitting-out of gears. Though, to be brutally honest: Running a Kyosho 480 gold @ 8.4v with a small pinion for more punch (and no slipper to ease the jolts too) wasn't exactly my brightest idea..😋
I’ve rebuilt the red cage Galaxy, with the 550 motor. Awesome buggy.
Not forgotten by all 😅
Glad to hear it!
The ACTUAL Marui 550??? O_o holy moly.. that thing must be worth a fortune, by now. Keep some idler gears around. they will wear away even faster with a 550. Better even, see if someone can print them for You.
Please ,please do a gear box upgrade for that chassis🤞
Turns out Optima House makes one! I reached out
I love it !I had A 1985 Thunderbird Elan. It was awesome 5.0 HO I so bad want to remake the, " Chicken Coop" car that Bert Renold's had in Strocker Ace
Fastest chicken in the south
I also had one! I dropped in the HO motor and loved it. Sold it to a friend who was begging me for the car and then he left it at his dads for a few years until it was vandalized and scrapped…ho motor and all. Idiot people
Back when those escs were dirt cheap, was also when I was buying them (because they were dirt cheap). I’ve had the exact same hit-or-miss experience with them. Now most of them sit in a box with all of the vintage electronics that I don’t use anymore.
I still use the ones that worked and found they are solid. Nothing special but working is better than not, lol
Lovely car I bet those spiked tires are worth a lot in that condition!!
I have been told! Hahah
Happy New Year AMPRO! All the best for 2024! :)
Thank you! Same to you!
Nice car. I have three Marui buggies. Well two buggies, one truck. A Hunter, Samurai and Big Bear. They weren't big back in the day, but they were around. Marui the company still exists, they just went deep into making airsoft guns etc. Got out of RC.
I really love the big bear
The Hunter was actually a pretty decent buggy for the times. I had 2. AND those odd frame-buggies. The Galaxy and its pro-variant. They were sadly let-down by the lack of actual bearings in the idler gear. That gear wore like mad. I kept replacing the idler, but finally gave-up. I STILL have those tiny, aluminium shocks, though! They're great for scale-projects and actually can work somewhat decently with some fiddling.
And the Samurai. Oh, yeah. Fun story: It was crazy light, and crazy fast for the times. I ran it with the blue LeMans 480s. ... and got disqualified in my first comp with it, because it was too light.. And it wàs light. To get at the required minimum weight of 1700grams for 4wd (locally required. Rules weren't yet homologated internationally), I had to stick wheel weights to it.. Shame that the polycarbonate rear gearbox was prone to shattering. I broke several through rear collisions.
@@marresjepie1887 My Hunter actually handles quite well, better than I thought it would. Yeah thar idler is a problem.
Very cool car the rims are outstanding brother good job on the whole outlook of this vehicle 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Yeah, he did a great job on the body!
Always loved the look of the body. Does somebody make reproduction ones?
Team Blue Groove make one.
MCI does repro decals as well
Thats awesome! Thx for the info!
Team blue groove and they are awesome
Very cool! There is not a ton out there on the Marui cars and trucks so overall information is fairly sparse, compared to Tamiya or Kyosho at least. Cool to see one up close!
Quite a shame as they are super cool!
Very cool. I wondered how they would get those wheels tucked under the body. Holy positive wheel offset!
LOL! totally!
Cool! I have this same car and the hunter, my son has the 4wd ninja which has the same chassis like you showed in this video
Very cool! I like this car a lot
Nice RC car👌💪😉
Thank you!
What a gem ❤it 😎👍
It really is
Good afternoon, I don’t know how to reach you other then this but I recently just built a tamiya BBX and I know exactly something you can engineer the rear swing arms need to be stabilized to prevent drive axles from falling out and and also adjust the toe would be awesome . Thanks for even reading this but have to say your solutions are used on most of my cars and trucks so I figured what the heck bring it to your attention
I’ll have to look at this. We do not have a BBX but this is an interesting problem to fix.
For now: limit the up-stroke of the rear dampers. A 5mm thick spacer, or 5 stacked o-rings on the damper shaft on the outside will do.
Small correction, Tokyo Marui totally still exists, they make very nice airsoft guns now.
I looked that up and assumed they were different! What a change
What a classic. These must’ve sold really well after Days of Thunder was released. Too bad no one really continued the Nascar stuff, if someone had I’m sure more would be out there in stock.
Man....I didnt think of that. I would love to see this with the Mello Yellow paint scheme! Yeah, seems NASCAR RC's kind of died with pan cars.
Oh, that would be gold!! Yeah, that was the perfect platform no doubt
Do you know the teeth and pitch of the pinion gear. I have one but it didn't have the motor. Or pinion. Any help would be awesome. Love the channel BTW.
Oh boy I dont. There are a few Marui pages on FB that someone way more knowledgeable could help. I would check mine but I am mid-home renovation and the car is put away.
@AMPROEngineering ok cool well if you ever get it out the pitch would be very useful. I don't have the face book I used to have IG I was eye4awesome.
You don't happen to 3d print wheels for this do you I just took mine out and a wheel broke off it. Probably the first time it's been run in over 25 years.
No but there is a guy that along with the Optima House, makes almost the whole car.
Epic, thanks!
Hare Krishna
Any time!
I could loan you a car you may not have ever heard of for a video if you like. Late 80's Custom Works Dominator. Let me know
Thanks for the offer! I will add you to the list! Love unique cars