paintstikker

I don't think there's one in this forum yet, so with my latest RC vehicle (obviously, the Futaba FXT) I've decided there should be a thread on it.

About the FXT, I do believe that there were only two versions released by Futaba, a buggy and a stadium truck, and each were on a separate year (release lasted a year, sometime in the 80's). The Stadium truck came first, as far as I know.

Here are some pictures of mine, when I got it I noticed that there are probably a few parts that aren't stock on it, the steering knuckles, front shock tower, the body, and maybe a couple other front end components.









So far it's been a good runner, no broken parts yet. The rear tires had absolutely no grip at all, and one tore at the sidewall on it's first run, so I replaced the rears with some Pro-Line Dirt Claws, or something like that, that I had laying around from a lot of tires I purchased. The front tires were new, but being that I wanted to run it, and I had no other tires on hand at the time, I've been using them. With the amount of camber there's virtually no wear on the outer edges of the tires, and even then there's not much on the inside. I can probably find some new ones, anyway...

I replaced the ESC (Novak T4), motor (unknown, stocker), Rx (Futaba AM 2ch 75 mhz, bigger than modern 8-12ch Rx), and I need to find a body for it. I put a Novak XXL in for the Rx, a Novak Reactor in for the ESC, and the motor with a Reedy 19T. The Tx it came with was a FM Futaba, so I just had to scratch up a set of crystals.

This thing is all muddy now, since there's been a lot of rain lately. I'd love to try it out in the summer dirt here...but I guess I'll have to wait a few months, eh?

mindwreck

wow thats pretty damn good condition.. i had an oppurtunity to pick up one a log while back but it wasn't looking too good so i passed on it..

mechanizeddeath

i really like it! looks nice, Futaba was one of the few RC related companies i'd heard about before i got into RC, so i've always been drawn to their stuff. (MRC and Tamiya were the other two.) it almost looks too nice to run, but hey no shelf queens for me either so i say go get the ramps.

Lunchboxer

Nice!

We should dig up some more history of this thing, because it is obvious that it was a joint venture between Futaba and Tamiya... many of the parts looks like Tamiya parts / design.. was it an official JV between Tamiya and Futaba, or?!

paintstikker

Yeah, it's quite hard to find any information on this thing, all that comes up are questions about it when you do a search, lol.

One part I do need is the motor mount/gear cap. The on there is obviously marked with a Tamiya logo, so it shouldn't be that hard to find. Where the screws enter the cap there's a crack, so if I attempt to get the motor snug against the tranny it just seperates.


I think I've already put a few dings in the anodizing of the chassis, there's some little metal spots at the bottom corners of it now...[:'(] Oh well, I planned for it to be a runner, anyway. Maybe that Astute, or whatever it's name was, CF chassis I have could take place of this if I wanted..

Checkpointracer

Wow, I never knew futaba made a car, I always thought they were a esc and radio company. They should re-release that car, I probably buy one.

mechanizeddeath

you know i didn't even notice it until LB pointed it out, but yeah that gear cap looks suspiciously like the one on my Brat. not sure if it's the same but it does look similar enough! and i agree, a lot of it looks like Tamiya tech.

the Brat's gear cap comes off the C parts tree, Tamiya part code 0005161 according to my manual. of course that also includes the gearbox center and rear suspension arms, so i suppose it isn't a cheap part.

Lunchboxer

Paint,

Go check out the gearbox cover on my Blitzer... that might work for ya!!

Marshl

Yes, the FXT is loosly based on the Stadium Blitzer so many of the parts do interchange.
And FWIW, the FX10 (buggy) was based on the Tamiya Striker so yeah, there was an official joint venture between Tamiya and Futaba.

john01374

Those things where awesome trucks back in their day. They where kinda weird though. Kinda like a cross between a gold pan RC10 and a tamiya stadium blitzer. If I recall the chassis is aluminum correct? I haven't seen one in 10 years or longer.

paintstikker

Yeah, it's an aluminum chassis.


Thanks guys, I'll check out those parts to see if they will work, cause this gear cap is going to fall in half sooner or later.

paba60

My Feedback: (96)

Had to show off my FXT that I just scored for $20...Looks almost new.

Busajedi

desperately looking for a new body and sticker for this thing.

Busajedi

still looking for a body and decals. Just started working on mine. other bodies that my work? I'm leaning toward a stadium thunder or dyna blaster set.

paba60

My Feedback: (96)

Hey Busa...

That ST Body Set would work just fine for that FXT. I have tries it before...

You should be able find the ST body and stickers at teamcrp.com

Good Luck

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Awesome truck. ThunderbirdJunkie remembers a kid that was a fantastic driver at the track years and years ago. His dad brought the FX10 with them on one race day and the kid actually wound up winning one of the heats with it.

On another note...can ThunderbirdJunkie point out the irony in having Novak equipment in a Futaba truck?

Busajedi

I've built 3 ST already.  Would realy like to restore this this to new.

billetproofcustoms

My Feedback: (2)

Ok,

maybe I can clear the air on these trucks a little:

Yes, they were a joint venture between Futaba and Tamiya. Futaba only built the FXT, and the FX-10. I bought an FXT brand new in 1991 for $99, and if i remember correctly, they had not been out too long. Suprisingly, they didnt sell very well which is unfortunate because these were very underrated trucks. They should have done much better sales with this truck. I also had the FX-10, and IMO, that was the absolute worst junk I have ever owned.. I hated that the plastic dog bones would always pop out while driving, and it was just way too...well..plastic..[:'(] Couldnt wait to rid myself of that thing!

Some better features on the FXT were:
Aluminum chassis, and a very innovative front suspension setup.
Black fiberglass shock towers
gorgeous gun metal grey wheels look fantastic IMO.
oil filled shocks
VERY solid construction and was fun to build.

I hear alot that these are just Tamiya stadium blitzers packaged for Futaba. Very Very WRONG, these were and are FAR superior to the Tamiya. I own a couple of blitzers as well. The Blitzers are cool, but not nearly as high quality as the FXT. There are very few parts that will interchange between the two, but some will such as axles, front steering blocks, all four suspension "a" arms, rear hub carriers. some hardware, camber arms, etc, just bits and peices. Thats about it..otherwise its a truck that should not be compared.

I am presently doing a custom built FXT for myself, I have eliminated the non-adjustable camber arms and installed adjustable turnbuckles, so I now have a fully adjustable truck, full bearings, upgrading to some anodized aluminum shocks. I would prefer to use the original wheels, but mine was missing the rear wheels, so i am using some RPM revolvers and Losi tires, looks very trick. It came with an original clear body. I never was a fan of the neon green and orange/white scheme on the box, so mine is going to ba a one off custom paint job that will pay homage to Futaba.

By the way, If anyone knows where I can get some original rears, PLEASE let me know!!

I will be posting build pics hopefully this week!
Stay Tuned!

kaiser01

the fxt shares alot of parts with tamiya's blitzer trucks.
the fxt ball diff works in the blitzers too. (the only ball diff that fits)

billetproofcustoms

My Feedback: (2)

thats cool, I have not tried a ball diff swap between the two. I do realize several parts do swap, but I still maintain that the FXT was a far superior truck to a Blitzer IMO. I cant wait to get mine back on the road.

kaiser01

i agree, back in the day you could race a fxt, blitzers on the other hand just resembled a race truck.

Busajedi

Hey all, just picked up a stadium thunder NIB this week so I'm going to part it out amoung my other broken kits. My FXT will get the body. I didn't get this kit new so I can not speak to fits but I bought 2 Blitzer bodies thinking they would fall right on but not the case at all. Body mount locations are completely different , (in my case) . If fitted I'd have 5 extra holes not being used so that does not fly in anyway with me so the staduim thunder body gets the job. Even thou the factory locations are marked the haven't been cut soI can live with thatmuch more. Still wish I could find a original body. I'll put up a pick when done.

Busajedi

My FXT with new Body and Wheels,
didn't want togo with the blitzer body as I have too many now , performance wise this I think is a better image.

R/C10Guy

Here Are Some pictures of my Futaba FXT That I Just  got it up and running a few days ago. I am still trying to decide if I should put knobby tires on it or not...

Busajedi

Nice, I don't think we will ever see a re-release of this kit. Makes restoring them worth the effort.