Thank you for the video and congratulations on winning the auction for that very nice Blackfoot. I have a little bit of information about Sassy Chassis as I bought some of their parts back in the day. The original Sassy Chassis started out some time in the mid to late 1980s and they made aluminum tub style chassis kits for various Tamiya buggies and trucks as you mentioned. Back then, their company logo actually had a Tamiya Fox on it as they did make a chassis for it. Their most famous chassis was for the Clod Buster and that one was actually made by ESP for Sassy Chassis. The story that I heard was that ESP had a patent for their aluminum Clod Buster chassis brace and that Sassy Chassis wanted to use something similar for the center portion of their complete Clod Buster chassis. ESP and Sassy Chassis made an agreement and, though I do not know all of the details, ESP ended up making the entire Clod Buster chassis for Sassy Chassis. If you look at old ESP catalogs and magazine ads from around 1987, they show the first Clodzilla I chassis. That was basically a Sassy Chassis with lots of holes drilled through it to decrease its weight. Later on when ESP came out with the Clodzilla II chassis, then the aluminum tub style chassis were exclusively sold by Sassy Chassis. Sassy Chassis also made other parts for the Clod Buster like steering bellcranks and one piece pulling axles. They also made the first 6x6 chassis conversion kit for the Clod Buster, called the SST chassis. I have one of those and two pairs of the one piece pulling axles on a custom 6x6 Bull Head that I built many years ago. Sassy Chassis went out of business some time in the 1990s. I do not know exactly when but I do remember that they suddenly disappeared from the Tower Hobbies catalog in the early 1990s. (I bought my pulling axles from Tower Hobbies.) Sassy Chassis was sold to a couple in the late 1990s. (I know their first names but I won't post them here to protect their privacy.) I remember that it was big news in my favorite R/C message board back then, the Radio Control Monster Truck Network, or RCMT for short. The couple announced the revival of Sassy Chassis there and they had their own forum on RCMT. That forum was where I first heard a lot of this information from them that I am sharing here. Though Sassy Chassis was back, they did not make all of the products from the original version of the company. They only made a few select Clod Buster products, one of which was the SST 6x6 chassis which I bought at that time. It was only available anodized in black the second time around and not in the various colors that Sassy Chassis originally made it in. I really wanted one in silver for my 6x6 project but I was just so happy to get one, even in black. (Note that I still have my 6x6 Bull Head and I still enjoy it.) It was during this second version of Sassy Chassis that they started really making a lot of parts for the Kyosho USA-1. This was when they came out with the incredible DXS carbon fiber chassis and cantilever suspension kit for that truck that completely transformed the USA-1 from a delicate monster truck that broke easily to a truck that truly unlocked its full potential as a better truck on the race track than a modified Clod Buster. (Note that as I type this, someone is selling a USA-1 with a full DXS chassis and suspension on it on "that auction site." It is extremely expensive so if you want it, be prepared to pay a whole lot!) Unfortunately, the Sassy Chassis DXS only lasted a couple of years in the spotlight and then Sassy Chassis went out of business again. That was a shame as the USA-1 finally got its time to shine and strut its stuff and then it suddenly had the rug pulled out from under it. As far as I know, Sassy Chassis and Bennett Equipment (makers of the Clod a Lever chassis and suspension kit for the Clod Buster) were the only companies that made aftermarket chassis kits for the USA-1. I never saw the Bennett Chassis kit for the USA-1 so I do not know much about it. I just remember when Bennett announced it in their magazine ads shortly before they went out of business. That's all that I know about Sassy Chassis and I am sure that I have forgotten a few details. Thank you for the walk down memory lane. I was pretty obsessed with R/C monster trucks back in the day and I absolutely lived and breathed this stuff 24/7. I am just getting back into the hobby and that was how I stumbled across your Blackfoot video. Congratulations again on getting that beautiful Blackfoot and thank you for sharing it with everyone in this video!
Killer truck man brings back memories racing/bashing these oldies!! Still have my Sassy Chassis King Cab polished up next to the Bruiser and TRF stuff, I bought and raced that thing over 30 years. Thanks for the video buddy!
Glad you enjoyed it and that it made you reminisce. I think I'll be on the look out for a king cab sassy chassis next. Now I need to tear this down and polish up the Blackfoot sassy chassis.
I just saw this. I've never seen or heard of those chassies. Really cool and the wheels are over the top. I had that same tire except for a Clod Buster. Vary cool.
Thanks. It was my first time filming on Phil's track so I wasn't sure where to stand and get the best angles. The more I film there... I"ll get use to the best angles and coolest shots.
NICE! That truck looks great! It'll be even better if you detail the grill and lights. I had the original blackfoot in 1986/1987. It didn't take long for Associated to make a conversion kit for the RC10 and completely obsolete our modified Blackfoots!
It looks really nice all cleaned up and the little details painted. The roll bar helps too! I also am digging the burgundy paint job on it, I think it goes well against the aluminum!
Hah I’m going to leave it as is. Not going to source a Thorp as it’s too expensive and not necessary for this “light” runner. And yes, I love the way it kicks up dirt!
I have to tear it down now and clean it... plus polish the chassis like I did for the wheels. once that is done, I'll probably do the grill and I think I have some left over KC stickers from MCI somewhere.. but I agree it will really take it to the next level.
100th like! That's an awesome looking truck, I really dig the deep red! I ran into the same brat gear in a used monster beetle and had to do the same thing. Ask a old schooler group about it. Somehow that one flew under my radar.
IIRC, the rear Sees wheels don't engage the 5 dimple hubs, but rather uses only the pin that goes through the stock rear axles. That might be the reason why a Thorp diff wasn't used -- it replaces the stock axle with a solid one which doesn't use the pin.
I *strongly* suspect what you have there is a mid-to-late 80's racer build. Prior to the Jrx-T, the "Monster Truck" racing classes were dominated by modified Blackfoots; and then, RC10/Ultima/Jrx2 "conversion kits". I can remember seeing highly modified Blackfoots hold their own against the likes of a new-to-the-market Jrx-T. Leave that one-way diff right where it sits, Bro....it's period-correct! That is exactly what would have been done in about 1986/7. It's a GREAT find, and I suspect those shocks are equally rare.... They were a very expensive upgrade at the time.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve never heard of a sassy chassis before. That Blackfoot looks amazing and very high end with all the metal parts. Drives really well on the track too.👍😊
You should do a video on the traxxas bullet. That was my first hobby grade rc and i drove the crap outa it.. nothing left! Now I have twelve and two new kits in box 😅
Damn this was cool - seeing that truck run out there with that music - I had an 80’s-gasm in my pants at work and now I need to gone home & change 😅 You dudes all still ride bmx as well?!? Love this channel guys!!!!!!
LOL thats pretty funny... I use to sneak into the abandoned BMX track in the local park. It wasn't taken cared of and the weeds were all over grown.... I had a White Mongoose BMX but my friend had a Redline which was pretty dope and my other friend had a light blue GT performer.... aawh memories lol
Is that image of the KC sassy chassis yours? I did a search and that came up. I’m not trying to steal peoples images and not give them credit… if it is yours, thank you.
@@RCRetro Yes 👍 was pleased to see it in the video, love seeing the super rare vintage Hop Ups you’ve featured, still have the Sassy Chassis with a A&L belt drive transmission bolted on which looks very nice together. Regarding the KC I have a vintage Hop Ups booklet showing all the bits out there at the time, if you want scans just let us know.
Nice Blackfoot. I have one of those chassis also and champ 500 wheels. Mine also has a Trackmaster belt drive and hyperdrive. Ive been building it for years. One thing Im nervous about is trying to polish the wheels. What polish did you use and what bit did you use on the dremel? I messed up wheels in the past. Was it the tool on a slow speed? Thanks
Autosol metal polish... Heard nothing but great things about it from other RC enthusiasts. Dremel buffing pads... google it....or Amazon lol... low speed...the autosol metal polish is so good that you can apply and hand buff with a rag.
You can adjust the dampening by spinning the spring cups one way or the other. Kind of gimmicky and the Kyosho gold shocks were so much smoother but the did work. Had them on my Schumacher CAT BITD
haha thats funny.... as a kid my favorite thing to get from the ice cream truck was a fat frog. Anyways... I have the MIP in my Blackfoot rerelease. Think I'm going to keep this one as is but, thanks for the recommendation. If I ever upgrade it.. I"ll go with MIP and not the Thorp as the MIP is more reasonably priced.
I like these wheels what kind of wheels are those are these please comment back they are very sharp looking and what kind of tires Please comment back and let me know thank you for this video
The chrome wheels are SEES aluminum wheels. They are vintage and hard to find. When they do come up they are expensive. The tires are Duratrax Diamond Spike.
@@RCRetro How expensive are these wheels please comment back I would love to get a set of them thank you for this video This truck looks really nice Thank you again for the video
@@martinneps9387 When I have seen them pop up but very rarely. When they do, I've seen just a set, lets say the fronts go for $200. Rears would probably be more expensive. The ones that I saw, fronts, were new in package. So maybe you could find them used for a better price. I'd hit up the Tamiya Blackfoot Facebook group and post that your interested in a set and see if anyone responds. Or maybe the Tamiya Legends Facebook group too. people are always willing to sell for the right price.
