Tamiya Toyota Hi-lux Monster Racer Restoration (part 1)

The Tamiya Toyota Hi-lux Monster Racer (58086) is a vintage radio control stadium truck from 1990.  I found this example on a "for sale" section of a forum that I visit.  Please note that all of the pictures shown here depict the truck exactly as I received it from the seller.  I had not touched or cleaned anything at this point.

Not to be confused with the all-metal Toyota Hi-lux 4x4 Pickup (58028), the Hi-lux Monster Racer uses the same plastic tub chassis as the Nissan King Cab (58081) released in 1989.  Besides the obvious expected body differences between the Toyota Monster Racer and Nissan King Cab, the wheels of the Toyota are red in color and it has ribbed front balloon tires while the Nissan has white wheels and spiked tires all around.  Other than those differences, however, I believe both trucks are exactly the same.

This truck is in very good condition which you'll see in these pictures.  It was run, but was most certainly not abused.  It is definitely all-original, including the radio system and manual speed control (MSC).  I don't know if the motor is original - it could be.  I should note that at the time of this writing, Tamiya has not yet re-released either the King Cab or Monster Racer, so there are no re-release parts in this truck.

I can't say I am a fan of the body color or design, but it was done fairly well and the body is still in good condition with only a few minor scuffs and scratches.  The decals are in good shape, too.

Front ribbed balloon tires are in excellent condition.

The paint scheme is an original design, not box art.

The rear spiked tires are also in great condition.

With the body removed, the condition of the chassis is revealed.  The tub is clean with no obvious signs of damage or repair.

I don't even know if it was ever jumped since there are almost no scratches on the bottom of the chassis.

Very clean chassis underside indicates this wasn't jumped much, if at all.

The receiver's rubber bag is no longer rubber - it has petrified into a hard cocoon.  I hope this isn't too hard to remove.  Maybe it will flake off like a hard shell coating.

Age has deteriorated the rubber bag containing the receiver.

A couple of custom aluminum spacers were installed to widen the battery compartment, presumably to allow for a longer battery pack.

Aluminum spacers allow for a longer battery pack.

The front end and steering assembly looks good.

The front and rear wheels look brand new.  There are none of the usual cuts, scrapes, dings or other damage you normally see on a used truck like this, especially where the rubber meets the outer rim.

Where is the curb rash?

No wheel damage at all?! Outstanding!

And the front and rear tires look almost brand new as well.  Maybe these wheels and tires weren't used when the truck was driven.

Ribs are in perfect condition.

Spikes have some wear.

The next step will be to be totally disassemble the truck and clean all parts.  Then the parts will be inspected for any damage (I don't predict to see any) and replacement parts will be sourced.

One idea I have is to turn this into a King Cab, however finding a body is going to be next to impossible.  NIB bodies go for big bucks and I have not found any reproduction bodies for sale.  King Cab wheels and tires are also quite expensive.  I'll have to take a wait and see attitude for this restoration, so I won't be doing any more work on this for a while.