Vintage CAT XLS for the race track.

[BORMAC]

Back in the day I used to watch these cars go round my club track with envy. I ended up buying a used CAT XL from a fellow racer back then and this car served me well. It made driving in stock a breeze.
All these years later I wanted to build up another CAT for the race track but this time I opted to go with the XLS version (those chrome rims really look ace in action).
This build has taken me a while as I wanted it to be as period correct as I could get it. Lots of mods went into this build which includes alloy diff centres, WASP slipper assembly, saddle pack chassis, ball raced alloy steering levers and more. The concept was to build and fit out a CAT in similar fashion to what would have been back in the late part of the 1980's.
For this I wanted to go with 1700 cells, brushed motor and esc, FET servo and 2.0" kit standard full spiked tyres. Over time I have sourced a pile of old cells so I thought I'd give some Sanyo SCRC's a go. With limited room in this chassis I opted for an old Hitec 1802N brushed esc. It's a pretty simple unit but I think it should be ok with the power plant I want to use. Not wanting to shred the drive train I have bolted in an old kyosho 'Super Stock 20' motor for the time being. These motors were never on the cutting edge back then but it was an obvious choice to motor this thing around gently. It's taken me a while but I have a nice Ko Propo FET servo with booster box plus an AM EX5 radio set to steer this thing around.
These cars look really hot sporting the chrome rims but also the tall spike kit tyres. Schumacher still make these and I have a set of yellow compound fitted up to the car.
This build was never an attempt to take on the pointy end of competition but rather a chance to truly experience these cars as they were. I don't want to demolish this car nor blow people away down the straight. I do intend to set this car down on a couple of different tracks and see how much fun it can be.
At some stage I will have more pics of the action track side.
Cheers-Jason

[Naushad]

Jason, this is the nicest cat xls setup I've seen!

The electric setup is just oozing vintage...love it!

I make it a point for most of my cars to have vintage setups

[BORMAC]

Many thanks. I gave it a test run today (not with those tyres though ) and it actually gets around quite well. Very smooth

[DanB4]

Brilliant Jason!

[NeilD]

Top job Jason, love the servo.

[Moozo]

Very nice Jason, is this the car the black tranny plates went on?

Look really good with the black chassis mate gr8 job........
Bet it looks ace with the body on .....

[Gayo]

The all black look with a neon belt and lima cell stickers is absolutely gorgious I feel so jealous now
Where is the shell?

[zoomzoombang]

Jason,

as always, your car builds are immaculate and totally HOT! Watch out for that Wasp slipper though. The one on my original Topcat went and died a horrible death when the grub screw loosened and kill the main thread. Look forward to seeing the action shots indeed!

[BORMAC]

I'm glad there are friends out there who appreciate these old cars being set up with the right kind of gear. Keeping it old skool was always on the agenda with this one.
I charged up another battery today and gave it a test run on the pavement. In happy to report that all works well. The FET servo is lovely to use, the 1802 esc is sweet and the old EX5 radio set is a nice unit to hold. The stock motor I am using is brand new old stock but was never at the top of its class back then. I went with this one as I knew it would be gentle enough for the time being. I may work my way up to a Twister Mod motor in the near future. Hardly break neck speed but very smooth and easy to drive.

[primesera]

That looks totally awesome. Takes me back to when my brother had one.

Love that you have kept everything period too

[Checa]

That looks awesome