Vintage 1989 Tamiya Clod Buster 6WD/6WS "Power Pig" Just Driving Around

"Power Pig" is a 6x6 R/C truck that I built in 1989 and over the years I deliberately deferred many updates to retain the spirit of the original design, which was the working prototype and laid the foundations of all the other 6x6 trucks I would go on to building.

The power behind the truck is the only significant upgrade. Finned F540 sensorless brushless motors give a decent amount of RPM but at the cost of torque. I did this to prevent the chance of breakage but retain the truck's ability to be reasonably quick and dynamic to drive.

For a long time it ran original 540 brushed silver can motors. Three softcase 2S LiPo batteries provide power to the three motors, and they sit all the way at the back of the truck to keep weight off the front axle.

Power Pig retains its original vintage 1989 steering servo specifications, (original Futaba S148, with a replacement S3003) and its general layout.

Supension is the original stock spring shock with no oil damping. The resulting sloppy ride is hilarious and not as frustrating as it could be since the truck is also significantly longer than a stock Clod Buster.

I keep the truck for nostalgia reasons and it is the only R/C vehicle I kept from when i was younger. But this truck is far from being a shelf queen and occasionally gets to go out and play. It serves as a reminder of how far I have evolved in tinkering with the hobby, but how absolutely lucky I was in getting most of the basic parameters for this weird 6x6 offshoot design correct in nearly the first try. I did lots of mistakes too, and the truck wears all of its past mistake holes in the chassis with pride.