Traxxas probably don't want you to see this!

This is an RC Car from Traxxas that I can imagine they don't want to shout too loudly about. Yes, it was one that put RTR RC Cars on the Map, but with a sour history of Patent, Copyright and Trademark lawsuits under their belt, it's certainly an interesting Chassis! The Nikko Rhino?
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[@MustangsCanTurnToo]

I feel like I’m a bit of an expert on these. The Nikko F10 chassis this is based on is one if the longest produced platforms. Nikko licensed these to Radio Shack/Tandy (Golden Arrow 😍😍🥰, Black Wolf, and Vortex 🤮) and Sears (Lobo). These featured a digital speed controller and were far superior to the MSCs used by pretty much everyone else. The Hornet and Grasshopper is nearly identical to the nikko, even the gears and differential can be swapped but the Nikko diffs are riveted while Tamiyas’ screw together. I actually broke the rear axle on an F10 and replaced it with one from a grasshopper. It fits perfectly with only a slight adjustment to the pivot blocks. The motor sits slightly higher than in the Nikko making it more prone to rolling over. The Traxxas gears are the same but almost no parts are directly interchangeable. Only the front bumper and bottom plate can be swapped. To get the rear axle to articulate, Traxxas added a single, central ball joint to the rear axle which slides into a bell shaped socket in the chassis. The front suspension arms and shock towers are also wider which gives better stability. The Rhino, Lobo, and Golden Arrow improved stability by replacing the plastic and metal friction dampers with lighter, all plastic ones with larger, stiffer springs. These were all powered by 540 motors of varying quality, the best being in the Rhino, Golden Arrow, and Vortex which could all achieve about 18 mph. I’ve done extensive modifications to them and I’ve seen speeds over 40mph using a 12T 550 on 3S. Do a modern hobby swap on the Spirit and clean that Stinger motor and you’ll be pretty surprised. It will still handle like 💩 because nearly half the weight of the car is in that rear, unsprung axle. Oil dampers do nothing 😂

[@TomleyRC]

Thanks for clearing that up mate. Some really good info there. 👌

[@MustangsCanTurnToo]

@@TomleyRC I do a lot of driving videos with my modified 80s/90s cars and fewer overviews (I hate hearing my voice on video 😅). I claim to have the world’s fastest nikko dictator 😛

[@TomleyRC]

You have some cool stuff! Just Subbed 🤘

[@davidhiscock1969]

Excellent information. Many thanks for that. Very interesting 👍

[@MustangsCanTurnToo]

@@TomleyRC thanks! I have Speedtator 2.0 ready to go. Hopefully running it tomorrow

[@MrFredshb]

They called it the spirit because when the throttle stuck it's a free spirit it does what it wants to do 🤣🤣🤣

[@TomleyRC]

Hahaha

[@AMPROEngineering]

Thanks for the shout out! The Rhino/Bison is definitely an “80’s” de facto design and given Tamiya’s success with the Grasshopper and Hornet, clearly they were on the right track. I may have even mentioned this car on the Rhino buyers guide though it’s been a while. Glad to see someone else poking at Traxxas!

[@TomleyRC]

Your videos were the first that popped up when I searched the Rhino 👌

[@AMPROEngineering]

@@TomleyRC Well, for once I can thank KZbin.

[@theesotericworldofjason1661]

Duuuddee, I remember this truck!!!! Thank you for unlocking this core memory! Don't let Traxxas see this video because they'll end up suing Arrma because they released the infraction and they'll claim they did the whole truck thing first

[@englishbannana1232]

From my understanding, nikko licenced out that chassis to different companies to use under their name. Traxxas, sears, radio shack etc. So traxxas decided to use this chassis for their first rc car and then reuse it one more time for this spirit. Its pretty neat how many vehicles came from this chassis.

[@Reaperman4711]

I remember reading something about this on rcmania back in the day. it actually motivated me to buy a rhino, which is still on the shelf next to me.

[@TomleyRC]

Nice! The Rhino is hold to get hold of!

[@thepassenger6499]

Traxxas engineer: "This car will drive people crazy!" Traxxas CEO: "That's the spirit!"

[@philthyco1]

The funny thing about Traxxas is they started off as a ready to run company but all their cars were rip offs of some other companies car but these days they sue anyone for anything similar to theirs.. They even sued HBO Max for having Max in the name smh lol

[@rcwreck-creation]

They call it Spirit, cause the bloody thing is possessed!? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@TomleyRC]

Haha, yes 😅

[@cameronf1460]

That was one of the first R/Cs I wanted as a kid. Saved birthday or Christmas money and got a good ol Rusty instead.

[@kashmurray1199]

Remember those days. That was pretty funny.

[@cameronf1460]

I had a Nikko viper that was pretty good as far as toys r us r/cs go. Had a 540 motor and used a regular 7.2v stick pack. Went 20-25mph. Was basically hobby grade for that time.

[@coreybeaty7166]

It’s a lot of this kind of stuff that is old guys remember, that put a notion in our heads that traxxas is not really hobby quality!

[@TomleyRC]

😅

[@the_minimalistic_adventure]

Holy crap. So much Nostalgia!

[@TomMustache]

Awesome to see a shoutout to AMPRO. It's one of the best RC channels on KZbin.

[@a.marvincausey5352]

Gold Pan RC-10 was my first experience with the mechanical speed control. Thought I was uptown when I got my first Novak ESC.

[@DirtyPlumbus]

Having just built my first lunchbox yesterday that rear end was definitely immediately recognizable.

[@TomleyRC]

Lunchbox is my all time favourite Tamiya. I have 3 😅

[@ravenlorans]

What are you talking about? How hard is it to put the Sandwich in a Zip Lock, put it in the Lunchbox, put a bag of chips in it, maybe even a jello cup and a drink....? Unless it was too small... Yeah Yeah Yeah... I know, Not the Lunchbox you were talking about... you were talking about one of those that come with a Flask/Canteen for Coffee....

[@DirtyPlumbus]

@@ravenlorans 🤣

[@FarmerFpv]

I have 2 of the original Midnight Pumpkins with 1980s 12-turn trinity brushed motors. The servo plugs are male. It was my dad's and it still runs with a mechanical speed control with a ceramic resistor. lol.

[@DirtyPlumbus]

@@FarmerFpv that's awesome. I was looking at one of the new ones the other day and thinking about picking it up. Nice looking truck.

[@garethbayman8713]

I dug my old 20 year old rc out last year and it also did the old runaway all the time.

[@TomleyRC]

Oops! 😅

[@havocisomegathegigaddiappl9560]

That was the traxxas cat as well 🤣they just lowered the chassis and mounts and tires

[@davidlewis620]

Ha-ha, that was fun!! I still have my old original Traxxas Cat from 1986. I had the same problem even back then!! I lived in a big city and kept picking up stray RF signals and had to chase the Cat every which way but loose with my six year old son chasing right behind me!!! I also had the Kangaroo, but I forgot who made it. Anybody remember?

[@TomleyRC]

Nice! Yeah… certainly having some signal issues

[@hock3y4lyf3]

my very first hobby grade car that I got 18 years ago, very cool to see another!

[@MrDonofrie]

The new Traxxas theme music is on point.

[@fitfiz]

Hahahaha that runways parts🤣🤣🤣

[@jrc-fabs1634]

I still have one of those remotes and it still works! Oldie and a goodie

[@Breener79]

Traxxas Cat was my first "hobby grade" rc. What a pile, lol!! Thanks for bringing back the memories.

[@TomleyRC]

Glad you enjoyed it 👌

[@livefootagetube]

Now we know why they call it the spirit because it goes off by itself

[@Nappen87]

i wanted one so bad when i was a kid. bring backs alot of good memories

[@chm2]

I feel like it's sad that you're probably right about the title. Instead of celebrating how far their kits have come, they go full petty king.

[@Pablo668]

Ha ha nice work. That must have been fun. The joys of old radio gear and manual speed controllers.

[@GarcBomber]

That's the one you give the nieces/nephews/kid's friends to learn with their first time 😅

[@TomleyRC]

Yes… although one that works properly haha

[@vinnieland6140]

I have a '99 Stampede and the first thing to be replaced was the mechanical speed control.

[@TomleyRC]

Yes… very good idea!

[@vinnieland6140]

@@TomleyRC I still have the msc in my parts bin😁

[@mikeupton5406]

Oh Mr.Phil oh sitting here having a giggle fest on this one. I saw those shocks and then you turned over the chassis 😆 then mentioned the "stuff" that they have pulled. The stuck speed controller. This is R/C YT gold. On a "I'm not proud of it" R/C moment. I really love the Mercedes CLK, I used to have a CLK that was about as accurate as was the norm for Lexan in the 90s and would race it around on my raggedy Optima with road tires on it in the parking lot in front of the hobby shop or in front of my house. I have tried for so long to get the Tamiya CLK body kit. And always missed it, out of stock. So this week found that it was available from Amain, but the whole kit. I went to the dark side. Bought a whole RERE TEETEE just for the body and the wheels and tires. I'm not proud of it. I reconciled this self inflicted financial injury at the hands of another certain company's wanton acts of piracy because the thing was on sale, I get a really nice CLK body set and maybe I can trade that TT-0U812 chassis for a used not too beat 2wd slash roller and mount this Holiday Buggy body on it. Kind of a tribute car.

[@goodbadugly77]

Given the age of the thing I wonder if the band its controls are set to is even public anymore. Some poor tesla ran off the road when he switched that one. :D

[@TomleyRC]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@wheelsdownrc6348]

Fast furious and a quarter mile radius, i’m starting to think Traxxas knew something we didn’t😂

[@ivanrcn5071]

I believe that you where getting signal interference with that old style radio. Lol

[@TomleyRC]

Yes, it seems so! Lol

[@jdsrcs8061]

I still run that remote on my 3906!!! Works great. I like vintage RC's!!!🤘🤘🤘

[@TomleyRC]

Nice!

[@gabrielpichardo1492]

Funny how that remote is over 20 years old and i still use it actively between my lunchbox and my dr pepper mini cooper

[@TomleyRC]

Well if it works… it works 👌

[@gabrielpichardo1492]

@@TomleyRC yup! It was made to last !!

[@jeffreyyerdon6014]

Love seeing the old RC’s. Keep it coming.

[@chevyb0195]

I have a vintage Traxxas Blast and I love it.

[@wolverine350r]

I have a Radio Shack Golden Arrow which also uses pretty much the same chassis. It didn't have an MSC though, everything was on a single board.

[@roberthartmann782]

Yeah. I have couple those in a tote. They was Kool back then.. specially when I was a kid and I couldn't afford any hobby grade rigs.

[@sakfpv8444]

Remember the duratrax Evader St...with mechanical speed controller...my God it's come a long way hasn't it

[@TomleyRC]

Yes… ESC’s are a blessing!

[@Xofroggy]

nikko was a great company, my dad still has a nikko jeep and hummer that would run just fine today if we could find a battery and the transmitter XD

[@larrypage9201]

Aww you love Traxxas just like us deep down I can tell.

[@tobydyes]

The way they got the shocks in the back it looks like the grasshopper

[@just.jose.youtube]

I'd love to see inside that chassis and electronics! :p

[@TomleyRC]

Yes, I should have looked really. I got distracted halfway through filming this video 😅

[@sakfpv8444]

@@TomleyRC is it a mechanical speed control?...edit, I just heard you say it is almost at the end of the video

[@NickLMears]

@@TomleyRC I also like to see what's inside.

[@GARYU-S44]

Flashy coloring is cool 😎👌 friends🎶👍🤝

[@roberttierney9284]

The Spirit was around when I got into the hobby in 1996.

[@rctrucks2094]

I just looked at the link "My favorite Traxxas" and that is the funniest part of my day

[@TomleyRC]

😅

[@rctrucks2094]

@@TomleyRC Hopefully they don't sue the company for using batteries

[@RCACTIONAUSTRALIA]

I was liking the Body! But the chassis looks like an old Vintage Buggy! 😂

[@tobydyes]

The electronics might need to be clean that has the old type of ESC in it with the brass or the copper shiny shiny

[@Speedbird917]

Love a bit of nostalgia. Reminds me how old I am!!!!

[@TomleyRC]

And me haha

[@kevingilroy]

Those old crystals are probably on the frequency of an iPhone now.

[@TomleyRC]

Yes.. I can imagine there is all sorts of frequency’s that will interfere. 2.4Ghz is a blessing!

[@corndog9482]

Seems to have a spirit of its own

[@TheRCScotsman]

The irony of RC's worst patent-trolls copying the work of other manufacturers!

[@TomleyRC]

Yeah, I guess it’s easy for them to forget their roots when there’s money at stake!

[@Ratchet_effect]

Phil! this is very nostalgic for a lot! of us RC users. Thanks for sharing oh BTW I had that same run away issue, for me it ended up being the Steering servo that caused it 👍🖖

[@TomleyRC]

No probs dude. I guess any electrical interference can cause all sorts of issues!

[@tobydyes]

Now you can say it's been used every time it scrapes over that jump

[@wadevallbona5314]

That controller is the same one that I got with my Traxxas Tmaxx 3.3 back in 2009

[@mikebird8290]

Hi Phil great fun video. Phil I'm looking forward to watching the comp between Josh Matt Logon Tony and yourself very cool 🇬🇧👍🏼

[@TomleyRC]

Thanks Mike. It’s gonna be an awesome Challenge 👌

[@guymarotta2596]

Looks like a Grasshopper, except for the trailing arm front front suspension.

[@kennethsutton1532]

Omg.. my belly hurts from laughing so hard. Awsome video.

[@TomleyRC]

Haha, cheers mate 😅

[@FastSS02]

I had a Sears Lobo I got for Christmas and 3 days later the gears were stripped out of it. Somehow Sears took it back and my parents got a refund. My dad took me to a hobby shop which I didn't even know such a thing existed as a kid back in 1986 or so being about 12. I think the Traxxas Cat was about $10 or $20 more than the Sears POS. You had to keep the wiper arm and board clean or it would glitch out or if it picked up any radio interference it would take off or the steering would glitch like crazy. It didn't have a BEC circuit so it had the 6 cell 7.2V pack for the motor and 4 AA's for the other electronics. The stupid resistors SUCKED and I burned my fingers on them SO many times picking it up since it was mounted just above the rear axle on the side of the chassis. I beat the CRAP out of that thing for YEARS and the only thing I broke was the front shock bottom C clip mount. There were NO other RC cars that used that type of mount so I had to rig it to stay in place. Mine was so early it was a 2 stick radio, years before pistol grips became common! You thought the Spirit was hard to drive, try it with tires HALF that width and just ribbed buggy tires on front. I did manage to burn the rear tires bald! I even ran it on ice by pushing thumb tacks through from the inside and then using duct tape to hold them in place. Worked pretty good on our frozen pond! I tried to rig up front skis but they were just plastic with flat bottoms so they didn't steer well on ice. They did OK with some snow they could grip on.

[@havocisomegathegigaddiappl9560]

😎 I remember those

[@mossyhollow3732]

Always sit on your bicycle while driving so you can catch up to it. 😅

[@Restless2010]

It looks Very similar to the Radio Shack Golden Arrow suspension, especially with those front A Arms.

[@CK4RC]

I wanted one of these so bad back in the day!

[@Logans_RCAdventures]

Phil, dude your favorite Traxxas is legit op. It dominated the RCCA World Cup in 1989

[@d_n_r_rc_racing2449]

I'm kinda wanting one of these just to mess around with. I think one of these with bearings,a modern xl5 esc,and a better 2.4 radio and servo could make for a fun little car to mess around with.

[@rrrccc1571]

Nice ro see how far we have come with the hobby

[@TheMdavis07]

Oh man the traxxas spirit I used to have one of these it was probably one of the toughest trucks I ever had we would send it off for x Factor ramp Time after Time and it just kept coming back for more the only thing I hated was how kind of toy grade it was at least the way the chassis was designed but it all ran really good and even though the transmission was odd to me at the time but now after building Tamia midnight pumpkins with a similar solid rear axle setup now realize it wasn't really toy grade it was more based off of some old vintage chassis setups still absolutely loved it and this brings back some really great memories I had playing with it.

[@caststhrowsbladespews]

Top Quality right there

[@exgtt2061]

Oooh handbags 😄🫣 I wouldn’t take that outfit on but go as far as you dare!!!

[@zachyurkus]

Don’t care what Traxxas wants...I want to see it!

[@TomleyRC]

😅

[@robertmerinsky3358]

The Traxxas Kat was my first R/C back in 1985 I loved it! Until I got into racing then I got a RC10 Gold pan.

[@andyrobinsonrc2480]

I remember my neighbour having one of these, I’m pretty sure he used to race my Tamiya’s with it

[@adambujakvyaya5806]

The lobo....sweet!

[@sonofsega816]

I just restored one this past summer. I intended to use an ESC but keep the AM Radio but after a couple runaways I had to go with a 2.4G radio. And don't bother putting oil in those shocks, it will just leak out and make a mess. 😂 Definitely a cool piece of Traxxas history though.

[@d_n_r_rc_racing2449]

Would putting the newer style x-rings help the shocks seal better and hold oil?

[@marcoreviews]

Another fun one! The question is 🙋‍♀️ did Traxxas rip off top cat 🐈‍⬛ name from the cartoon? Shhh 🤫 let’s not get them in trouble.

[@davidhiscock1969]

Funny how they get their knickers in a twist about copying eh 🤔 🙄 🤣 . Which came first the Nikko chassis or the Grasshopper/Hornet ? Looks like they were all copying each other back then lol

[@TomleyRC]

Yeah, maybe they need to remember where they came from

[@rickyyoung]

Got given an early Nikko by a guy at work the other week. A Nikko Frame Buggy 'Black Fox'

[@astridsactionrc545]

I have two of those. One is complete in box. Plus a Cat, and a Street Sport.

[@marcbusby3625]

I don't think it will be the speed controller tomley. I assume it's still got the 27mhz reciever? I have found that unless your basically on farmland it will glitch out rediculously. I started up an old Tamiya 27 MHz system the other day only to find the steering sitting there twitching

[@TomleyRC]

Yeah, probably interference, especially in the middle of an industrial estate!

[@BraydenWolframe]

Holy moly the rc hobby has come a long way! That thing looks like it just rolled off a walmart shelf. lol

[@dstjamesrc6395]

In the best Jeremy Clarkson voice “POWWWWWAAAARRR”

[@IowaBudgetRCBashers]

Traxxas bought their designs from tamia for several vehicles, as did Nikko, and taiyo

[@HillBillyKuztomz]

I still have one aswell upgraded the electronics works great still

[@wolfiecrawlsrc58]

Was there a phone mast or radio transmission local, I remember back when we used crystals, people with cb, or amateur radio enthusiasts causing crashes deliberately using “boots” to amplify their signals etc. just wondering if that could have been an issue. It could also be dirty contacts etc.

[@TomleyRC]

Yeah, I think it was certainly suffering some interference

[@Sideshowgaz5779]

Need to watch this one quickly before the lawsuit gets it removed :-)

[@vaugr1917]

Always thought that car looked so cool

[@mikecrystalrobert7898]

Hard to imagine the hours and hours of charging for 5mins of run time we use to do as kids now it’s charge for 30mins runs 2hours 😁

[@charleshulsey3103]

1998, this was my first RC. I still have what's left of the body.

[@givman2004]

I am sure when i was buying a Traxxas Nitro Hawk in about 1995, this was one of the alternates I was looking at.

[@tobydyes]

Yeah but you can always change the remote the power system as long as the car is good it's good

[@markpace5809]

It's all fun, fun, fun making these reviews, lol 👍

[@TomleyRC]

I love it 😎

[@brittballard4030]

I love it im restoring a traxxas emaxx at the moment

[@Virgovenom]

Lol grasshopper/Blackfoot chassis 🤦🏿‍♂️😂

[@red95sdime]

Traxxas should do some vintage re-release vehicles like tamiya did

[@digiprez77]

I thought they looked pretty cool at first, but I assumed it was some kind of new pan chassis and when I found out it was just a re-skinned Cat I totally lost interest... I think the box is the best feature of this car.

[@Eremon1]

Reminds me of my old Tyco Turbo Hopper.

[@adambujakvyaya5806]

Remember the Tyco turbo hopper...get one and upgrade it!

[@f.borgarvik8065]

sweat they was horrybel lol 😎 I remember those