Just found some of my old cars.

[J77MYF]

Originally Posted by alcyon

Looking at the gears and the gearbox, this is my csi verdict.
You used too much grease internally. Also because the drive line wasnt sealed , all the sand stones and dust went in the gearbox. I wouldnt normally say this, but the gears look like they can run at least another 10 packs.
Why not use zippo and clean all the gears and gearbox, grease with hobby grease then reassamble.use a tissue paper and a small - screwdriver to clean in between the gear tooth.
Or if you can wait for new gears,then wait till you get them.

It wasn't me that built it but in know what you mean about the grease. I've got the new gears coming along with a ton of other stuff.

I tried some associated hex wheels earlier and they fit.

[rob m]

with the ae wheels i found with my lazer the offset on the front was wrong as it made the car to narrow, your mid may be different? . i use ftx vantage snow flake style wheels, the offset front and rear are the same and at £3 a pair in black or white.

[isobarik]

Originally Posted by Optima4Ever

Hmm, that would indicate a Turbo, or it was installed later as upgrade. Still odd there are no turnbuckles, just normal tie rods...

and its a standard optima mid ..

no turnbuckles
no UJ´s
no turbo chassi

and it has frp mount on the gearboxside for the mechanical speed controll

verdict ..

standard optima mid

mvh isobarik

[OptimaFan]

First it was posted that it had UJ's front, and dogbones rear, but that posting was edited to "no UJ's". Then it's clear it's a regular Mid, no doubt about it.

[J77MYF]

Does anyone know if you can get reproduction new arms or are they hard to find?

[J77MYF]

I've stripped the Optima Mid and cleaned a few parts tonight. Not sure I've made the right decision doing this as it's easily going to cost £200 to make it nice again and I'm not sure if I'll dare to drive it at the end. image.jpg

[OptimaFan]

The Mid is pretty durable. Parts I saw damaged on the used Mids I bought are the gears, front bumper, bent wing mounts, and bent chassis plate.

[oli4ke]

Originally Posted by J77MYF

Does anyone know if you can get reproduction new arms or are they hard to find?

Hi, i have many optima mid parts available. Let me know what you need and i will check for you.
Brgds
Oli

[Essex2Visuvesi]

if you are doing a full clean up job get yourself one of these:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Digital-Ul...item1e9003cfe8

A quick clean in soapy water to get the worst off then into the USC with hot water and a few drops of fairy.
When cleaning gearboxes and internals change the water for some engine degreaser, then another cycle or 2 with hot water and washing up liquid.

[alcyon]

I dont think its neccesary to spend 200£ to fix the mid. Your arms look fine so no need to blow money on those. I do have spare nip rear arms from speed model.
I also make my own arms and i do have the fronts.

All you need are belt covers..gears and body. If you want to drive this car best not to spend money on new parts. Sometimes used parts lots appear on ebay for cheap. You can go for those. Heck sometimes buying a used car is way cheaper.

[DanB4]

It won't cost you £200 - I'll help out, drop me an email to rowlandsdaniel@hotmail.com I may have a spare diff gear and other bits that you need to get your Optima Mid raceworthy.

I'm an Optimaniac - have around 14 of them SWB and LWB, NIB, shelfers and runners.

Dan

[daz75]

Originally Posted by DanB4

It won't cost you £200 - I'll help out, drop me an email to rowlandsdaniel@hotmail.com I may have a spare diff gear and other bits that you need to get your Optima Mid raceworthy.

I'm an Optimaniac - have around 14 of them SWB and LWB, NIB, shelfers and runners.

Dan

14

[Peakey]

Originally Posted by daz75

14

What do you buy the man who has everything

[OptimaFan]

Originally Posted by daz75

14

Originally Posted by Peakey

What do you buy the man who has everything

Remember, his wife may be reading here as well, so he probably left out the 0 behind 14.


But joking aside, Dan is a great guy, and there are more good people on this forum that really love the vintage stuff, and truly want to help others out. Much better than some other people that sometimes pop their heads because they're just into the vintage hobby to make money, and buy vintage cars/parts, only with the intention of selling later for top dollar.

[Welshy40]

Originally Posted by rob m

with the ae wheels i found with my lazer the offset on the front was wrong as it made the car to narrow, your mid may be different? . i use ftx vantage snow flake style wheels, the offset front and rear are the same and at £3 a pair in black or white.

Annsman mad rat wheels are an exact match for the zx/zxr in diametre but look so much better. I use these on my race car.

[J77MYF]

Originally Posted by alcyon

I dont think its neccesary to spend 200£ to fix the mid. Your arms look fine so no need to blow money on those. I do have spare nip rear arms from speed model.
I also make my own arms and i do have the fronts.

All you need are belt covers..gears and body. If you want to drive this car best not to spend money on new parts. Sometimes used parts lots appear on ebay for cheap. You can go for those. Heck sometimes buying a used car is way cheaper.

Would you consider selling some spare front arms?

[alcyon]

Originally Posted by J77MYF

Would you consider selling some spare front arms?

drop me a PM.

[oli4ke]

Originally Posted by J77MYF

Houston we have a problem!!

I've just stripped the gearbox which was absolutely packed full of 25 year old dirt including small stones. It has a gear diff which internally is fine but the gear on the diff is worn along with the idler.

Attachment 73679

Attachment 73680

Attachment 73681

What are the best options from here? I see ball diffs available but are parts for gear diffs non existent?

See picture, this is what you need right? They are in used condition but still ok for a runner!

[J77MYF]

Been really busy the past couple of days but I stripped the front shocks down last night and the Pistons have vanished

image.jpg

These are the kind of issues I've been running into all the way through. Fingers crossed the rear ones are ok.

[OptimaFan]

Luckily the bladders are still there. These are much harder to come by then the pistons.