Old School Restoration: Superior SRP-1 4wd

[Doug Carter]

With the Cooper's race approaching, and the demonstration class of the old school 4wd cars being run, I thought you guys would enjoy this. I know a lot of you guys have been racing for quite a while, but there is a good majority of members here who have only been pounding the dirt ovals for a handful of years. Every once in a while, you'll hear someone like me talk about the "heyday" of electric dirt oval racing. For me, it was the years between 1987 and 1992. There was a time that in our area of the Midwest that we could race 3 or 4 times a WEEK if we had the motivation.

When my dirt oval skills were at their sharpest and the fun factor was at the highest point, I was running 4wd cars that ran 7 cells and generally 11 to 15 turn modified motors. Speeds were insane and when there was a crash, they were massive. The Custom Works Dominator was the king of dirt oval racing, and had been for many years. This was about 1988 to 1990 for me. I had been piloting a pretty dialed-in Dominator regionally and doing fairly well with it, when I happened to attend a race with a friend who had recently shelved his Dom in favor of a Superior Racing Products SRP-1, which I had coveted since I first saw one at the Chicago Hobby Show a couple of years before. Doms were expensive and these made Doms look affordable. Inevitably, he couldn't make it fast and I convinced him to sell it to me for a LOT less than it's market value. I rebuilt the car, set it up to my specs and raced the car at a very high level for a few years. It was the single favorite car of all that I have ever owned, and I have had a lot of RC cars in my life.

About 4-5 years ago, I decided that I wanted to find and restore an original SRP-1 to the specs I had run the car a decade ago. More for personal enjoyment than anything else, I wanted to bring back a bit of the "old school" days when DO was running strong.

I have been assembling the components for the build-up ever since, and have recently acquired some of the final remaining pieces to complete my project. I've been pretty excited with the progress lately, and with the same Twister/Premier Super Wedge body that I ran exclusively in 1990 recently arriving in the mail, the car is closer than ever to complete.

I figured you guys would like to see some of my dirt oval history, revived again, and restored to brand new condition.

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/random/rc_stuff/srp-1/srp-1_002.jpg

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/random/rc_stuff/srp-1/srp-1_003.jpg

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/random/rc_stuff/srp-1/srp-1_004.jpg

The SRP-1 is essentially the design of a Custom Works Domiinator, that is slightly narrower and slightly longer, with one obvious major difference in the CNC machined magnesium suspension parts. The parts are ultra light and super strong. The motor in the car is a 13 turn quad wind Revtech, and the chassis beds 7 SCRC batteries. The shocks are original Delta gold shocks, and holding everything to the track are CKW Yokomo-wheeled soft-compound rubber caps. All of the electronics will be Novak products. The body to be used will be a Twister/Premier Super Wedge, using full length side-dams.

I hope you guys like my project, and my apologies for the novel here.

:D

doug

[kipp]

i still have some of those stickers and motors. thats how long ago i raced seriously. 7 cell with a 9 turn revtech on shumacher cats. we raced rc10s, ultimas, losi jrx2s and few tamiya cars on a banked tacky clay trioval behind my bodyshop in nj. those were the days!!! and yes, when you lost control it was usually a pretty wicked ride.

[JoeDirt]

great job upon....those revtech stickers and motor bring back some memorys, as does the car. i remember a guy named charles huckaby blistering coopers with one of those years back. thanks for brining back the memorys..great job

[twisted]

great car ! i started back in the early 90's with a graphite rc10 then switched to a losi jrx2. still have a pic of the losi.not on my pc though.

[DirtFords1]

Nostalgia is a wonderful thing!!!

[Pit Stop]

Those were the days. 125 cars on any given night of racing

[wait a minute]

wow..are those 1200-1700 sce batteries? if they are they got to be old..i think i still have a pack of those kickin around somewheres.

[Doug Carter]

Yup, 1700 yellow label SCEs are in there right now, but I am debating about the period-ness of the electronics to be put into the car. I had run all Tekin products for a while, and then all Novak, so it may boil down to what I can find in perfect to new condition.

The batteries are funny... when your stuff becomes so old and outdated that it is impossible to sell, it then becomes nostalgia. In this case, I have some 1700 SCEs in the car, a couple of sets of 1400 SCRs and at least 4 sets of 1700 SCRCs. Not 2 minutes of run-time much if I actually wanted to race, but fun to see strapped into a car, nonetheless.

Still remaining are the complete electronics package, as well as the painting and mounting of the bodywork. The body will be done close to, but not identical as the cars I was racing in '89/90. I'll be sure to post pics as soon as things are further along in the process.


-doug

[twisted]

have any pics from back then ?

[Doug Carter]

Any pics I have scanned in are in the gallery here on DO already, and those that are here in photos aren't scanned. Scanner is dead so you'll have to wait for those. ;)

I did find some pics of one of my old Dominators, though. Man, the flashbacks are a trip. There's a hint there of another restoration project in the works, too. :D Sneak peak...

http://www.apexspeed.com/doug/random/rc_stuff/dominator_001.jpg

[twisted]

i love old rc stuff. smile.gif

[bjscustombillet]

is that a picture of one of your old bodies in the background? I can remember seeing it in an old copy of RCcaraction when they used to run a dirt oval special!

[Doug Carter]

Yes, that was my car, and the one this SRP restoration is based on. The new Twister body will be painted like that Super Wedge in the photo that I painted up 14 years ago. :D Good eye.

[twisted]

i remember that rc car action dirt oval special.had a blue cover on it. i loaned it out about 3 yrs ago and never got it back. :(

[maestro]

That is a great looking SRP-1 I have two of the ones that had the woven graphite cahssis with the black arms.They are awesome cars even today they are the baddest dirt oval has to offer.I ran my Dominator at the open wheel race and had a blast.

[Mr.Tmaxx]

Man I was just 1 in 1990

[Doug Carter]

If anyone has some new/unused or new looking SCE 1700 batteries lying around, I'm looking for a few (14) to complete these projects this winter. smile.gif Thanks. They don't have to be good numbers or anything, just dummies for the restorations.


doug

[racerfreed]

[jherzog]

Doug,

As you stated early on, many of those on this board may have only been racing for a few years so they may not be aware of 1700 SCE cells. Personally, I think it is funny when someone dumps hard today when we ran 4 minutes (the last 10-15 seconds was often at a slow pace) with much less capacity. Not too mention, the old Revtech 12 singles that used rope for wire. Maybe that's why I don't race electic anymore.

You're getting me all nostalgic. I remember when the first 1200 SCR cells came out. What a difference from the 1200SC cells that we ran prior to those.

[axis]

WOW! Those cars bring back some very fast memories for me. As well as the Revtech stickers and the Paragon wheel discs..

[huffrcman]

I believe there is a SRP-1 on ebay.

[IRON LOU]

Upon,I think you can still get new 1400's...They'd be period correct.TWELVE hundreds?? I started with ONE THOUSANDS!! I still have a few of the old Trinity stick packs,the yellow ones that had shrinkwrap running around them,and then around the long end,and they're still usable.Got yellow 1200's too,and a few original 70's pancars with new,original kit packs.Love the car,closest thing I have is a Turbo mid Optima SE.The SRP was pretty new when I stopped racing.

[big mac 72]

UPON3..did you ever race in Quincy Illinois at R & R Hobbies back in 89-90? they had a big DO race.

[Doug Carter]

As you stated early on, many of those on this board may have only been racing for a few years so they may not be aware of 1700 SCE cells. Personally, I think it is funny when someone dumps hard today when we ran 4 minutes (the last 10-15 seconds was often at a slow pace) with much less capacity.No kidding, and on 7 cells, too. The way we used to have to gear things to get them to last the entire race was funny. You actually had to pace yourself and conserve the car unless you had access to the really good stuff. I still try to get my hands on those old Revtech motors, which to me, were the best made electric motors in R/C. Neil could build some beautiful horsepower for regular guys.


I believe there is a SRP-1 on ebay.Yeah, I saw that. Kind of vague photos for a high BIN price tag. I've contacted the seller for better photos, so we'll see if the car is in any condition at all. I was contemplating it for spare parts for the project.


Upon,I think you can still get new 1400's...They'd be period correct.I saw that, too, but I never ran 4wd with 1400s when I was oval racing hardcore in the later 80s. I wasn't running 4wd until the 1700 yellow & black label SCEs were the battery of choice. I still laugh at the batteries that are being used now. With so much on tap, I'm surprised oval isn't bigger than it was back then.


did you ever race in Quincy Illinois at R & R Hobbies back in 89-90? they had a big DO race.Yup, I raced there a couple of times in that era. Fun races, but my favorite times were at some of the Wisconsin bullrings like the original Trackside and the track in Oak Creek (the name of the facility escapes me at the moment). I remember running a sprint car there with foam tires all gopped up with tire goo, on an 11-turn with 7 cells. The car did wheel stands off the corners for the first 2 minutes of the main. Looked cool but was a mutha to drive.


You know, these cars are very much a restoration of my long-past R/C history, and I realized I have no intentions of ever racing these cars (like there is any place to run them anyway). Though, I do think a retro race would be a ton of fun. I had hoped to possibly attend the exhibition 4wd race last year at Cooper's, but it didn't work out.

I think I'll work on the bodies now... I'm getting the itch to get these things done. Cool stuff, huh? I wonder if there are any other restorations out there of old school DO?


smile.gif


doug

[Mike5413]

Upon3, enjoyed the story. The cars are looking great! Keep up the good work. One of the most expensive hobbies, but also one of the most rewarding.

[4wd#9Nick]

Upon 3

Oakcreek, WI RC Raceways and Hobbies. The last day it was open was Sept 26 1993. A sad day for me , I still miss not having a local dirt oval track.

Last fall I bought a 1990 SRP-1 with 3 runs on it. It has the offset aluminum blocks on it. Sweet car that I will probably just look at and never race.

Also got my hands on 1 of the 11 prototypes that Custom Works used at the Dallas Race in 90. It is a intimidator with a rear chain drive. Stamped on the chassis is prototype 11#. Not competitive today, but cool to look at.

Your car looks sweet, keep the History Alive.

[nightowl75]

I was wondering where you could find a superior, or a rayburn diff. A freind of mine told me that he used a rayburn diff in his CW sprint car. I have a superior diff that is in a late model that I own, but would just as soon not tear it down to use it in the sprinter.

Richard

[almxdup]

Richard I have what you need. See me this Saturday. Keith

[jherzog]

Now all you need to make it complete is an old Novak 1X, a LavCo discharger and a RevTech Bump Box to peak your batteries at the line.

Upon3,
the 7-cells back in the day!!!! I remember having to learn to drive at half throttle through most of the race and only pulling it at the end when the battery was done. Neil did build some fast motors as did Eric Soderquist (I probably spelled that wrong)when he was building for Mike Walker of Twister.

Nick,

how did you end up with one of the prototype cars? I saw them run at some point and remember them in the shop in Bakersfield. Some of the original incarnations of the Dominators were pretty sweet as well. Brings back lot's of memories.

[Doug Carter]

Now all you need to make it complete is an old Novak 1X, a LavCo discharger and a RevTech Bump Box to peak your batteries at the line.You know, I have been looking for a clean/newish N1X for a while now without much luck. I think it would make the perfect addition to the restoration.


I did manage to win that SRP-1 that was on eBay this past week. I guess my collection of SRP cars is growing. smile.gif It seems to be kind of "weathered" but the important pieces seem to be in good shape. It also has with it a full set of unused original MRC belted rubber (front) tires which the 1/8th scale gas sprint guys will kill for.

Not sure if this car will be restored, too, or if I will build it up as a raceable car. I guess we'll find out when it gets here.

:D

[wait a minute]

i got a real nice tekin 100L that would be great with that restoration project. i used to have a little battery box that i connected that charger to that i could bump the batteries up on the starting line. if your interested i can make u a good deal on it.

[lawtonlosi]

I might have some of those old sce out in the garage. Ill try too look in the next day or so. Ill post some pics if my site ever comes back up lol

[jherzog]

Upon3,
you might give Novak a call and let them know what you are doing and see if they have any lying around the shop. It sure wouldn't hurt and maybe a nice finishing touch to the restoration.

Lou,
I think we are dating ourselves talking about the LavCo dischargers.

[IRON LOU]

Upon,the N1-X,is that the original Eliminator with the 14 mosfets? I have a 410-MXC that's one step up in decent shape.I have some earlier Novaks that are like new.I have at least one of the original tempfet ESC's.[got a Lavco too!!!LOL!!]I actually have a pile of the 1700 SCE's too,but,unfortunately,the guy I got them from took off all the wrappers,and re-covered them with clear heatshrink.

[Doug Carter]

Yeah, Lou, the T1x is the original ESC form the first series of Novaks. The T1 and T4 were the same size and the T1x was the beefy big one that the oval guys used.

I sent Novak an e-mail about some of the old stuff, we'll see what they say.


Aslo, if interest to some of you "old timers." I found a few issues of RCCA from 1990 and 1991 when they had a lot of dirt oval content. I am going to try to scan some of the race and tech articles to post here for you guys and some of the young'uns to see. The names in it alone, are enough to throw you into a time warp. There is a cool car feature of Rob Cutman's Dominator and a prototype Intimidator that was Brian Landgraff's personal race-winning car. It was cool to see a 2wd car with Dominator wheels & caps on it. I'll try to get these pieces scanned soon. They are a trip.


doug

[jherzog]

I remember having a Novak 1X before the T-1X came out which was before the Tempfet FET's came out; hence the new "T" designation.

I remember getting those RCCA issues when they had good coverage and Dirt Oval was a part of their magazine. They actually had some good stuff back then. I miss those days, except for the shortage of decent batteries!

Next someone is going to break out a Fast Eddie Transmission from Eddie "dude" Knowles, a J-car conversion, or track master's entry into dirt oval racing.

[IRON LOU]

Doug,I'd really like to see those articles.I wish I kept those magazines.I still have what's basically the prototype for the 1X.It's a Novak "2".It's basically a Novak NESC-1,but they built a few with 14 mosfets.A Novak rep gave it to me and a few other guys at a huge regional race in '88 or '89,he wanted to see what we thought of them.It doesn't have the current limiter,and it weighs a LOT less than the Eliminator.James,I still use my Lavco.I played with the resistor grid inside it so it draws less,I use it to test my radio transmitter/receiver batteries.I set it up so ,say, an 1100 MAH battery,takes around 1100 seconds.I used the 4-6-7 cell adapter box as a base for a dyno I built.I built a battery tester in '85,before they were even matching batteries,it drew 10 amps,and had a latching relay setup in it that that held until 5.5 volts,it had an electric stopwatch on it that started when you hit the start button,and shut off when the machine did.I still use it discharge batteries after a race.It's a funky looking thing..It has a little sign on it that says"Iranium PU2 exploding race modulator"!!!I have a Trackmaster car,too.It's brand new,got the graphite DD tranny in it,I bet it would still be competitive in DD classes.Got 2 brand new J-car conversion trannies,and a Hyperdrive belt drive tranny,too.Doug,I just might hafta track down one of those SRP's.

[Doug Carter]

I finally got that one that was in the auction last week. The car had not much maintenance in its life, but I did buy it for the magnesium parts as a base to start with. Much of the other stuff was actually Custom Works parts or identical Yok parts from the old Dog Fighter. I tore it all down last night to get the mag pieces glass beaded. I haven't decided what to do with the stock chassis, as it is pretty well hacked up. most everything else is in repairable or restorable condition, though. I think I will be building this car up as something that could be raced eventually. Might have to build a dirt oval track in the backyard. smile.gif


You guys would get a kick out of this. I had a Team Pit Stop chain drive RC10 gearbox new and in the back that I sold last year. Remember that thing? Great idea, but a terrible diff in it. My favorite 2wd diff was the MIP planetary gear drive unit in the standard MIP case with no slipper. Direct-freakin-drive with a diff. That was a wheelstander on the right surface. :D

[GnarlyCar]

That car rocks, dude...I've only been around RC for about 7 years, so all that stuff you're talking about is pretty alien to me, especially the part about RCCA magazine actually covering dirt oval stuff. I just can't imagine that...LOL You mentioned a planetary diff that came in an old-school tranny... makes me wonder why there aren't any available today. I know a CW direct drive electric sprinter could benefit greatly from a better diff, if for no other reason than to eliminate the need for so many rebuilds, but I think it'd also be nice if all the power actually got to the wheels when you grabbed the throttle. That screeching noise just grates my spine when I know someone's flatsiding thier diff balls...LOL

I know there's gotta be a way to do it...has anyone built anything like that before?

Matt

[jherzog]

Richard,
you were looking for a Rayborn diff. On ebay there is a rayborn car which might be had cheap. I would guess it would have the diff in it that you are looking for.

Lou,

I'm surprised they based it of the Novak 2 instead of the Novak 1. Maybe it did not matter. Those things were pricy when they rolled out, but I had 3 or 4 of them after a short time.

I wouldn't mind picking up a magnesium SRP for posterity sake. I never raced one, but I raced against a lot of them. I talked to a guy that had one of the Delrin verison, but he wanted $500 for it. It's not worth it since I don't plan on racing it. I'll keep my eyes open. I'm sure one will show up from time to time.

If we're not careful were going to create a classic dirt oval car market and then the price will go up since we want to remember the good old days.

Upon,

my first Dominator had some parts that were in Yokomo bags as CW had just started and wasn't producing their own parts yet. I remember those teamp pit stop tranny's. There was a lot of innovation then and many more competitors making different products.

[wait a minute]

i remember when j car was in business. they had a real nice setup too.

[mgtmadness]

I remember them cars.Very Nice:)