Bought a rally!

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voo2doo

voo2doo

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Hiya folks
Is there any information out there on the MCD Rally? i.e gear ratios,can you unlock the diffs,hop-up parts,recommended tyres and such like?
Also I have had a look through the web and cant seem to locate a download for the owners manual,is there anyone who has one?
Any info would be much appreciated.
J.
 
MCD have just released the latest spare parts manual - http://www.mcdeurope.de/downloads/Spare_Parts_2009_V2.pdf

It includes exploded diagrams, parts numbers, gear ratios and a brief section on maintenance.

The old (2007) MCD catalogue is still available and is useful on the Rally car as they have made numerous changes to the spec over the latest few years - http://www.kingcobra.co.uk/catalogues/MCD_Catalogue_2007.pdf

Have you purchased a new or used car and is it a Sport or Competition spec model?

My essential tips are - vent the fuel tank, cut out all the side windows (for cooling), install a high response clutch spring (red HPI one) and don't lean the engine out for maximum performance - best to run the engine on slightly rich settings.

They don't need expensive hop-ups, the steel gears (smaller ratios 23/26 or 24/25) are worth getting as the cars are hard on the plastic ones. There are plenty of alloy upgrades - gear plate, servo tray, diff mounts, fuel tanks supports and even alloy wishbones but from my experience of racing and bashing MCDs for nearly 3 years only the gear plate is worth considering.

You don't need a tuned engine, a stock 26cc CY or Zenoah with a good tuned pipe (Samba F1 or Rally pipe) is ideal. Gear ratio of 30, 33, 26, 23 gives good acceleration and for more top speed go for 33, 30, 26, 23.

The tarmac tyres (blue compound) offer amazing levels of traction once up to temperature and have a very low wear rate - the ones I'm using are 18 months old and are like new!!!!

If you ever get bored using it on road you can always convert it for use off road by changing the tyres and using the medium travel shocks...

Here's mine in off road spec

rally3.jpg


Enjoy your new purchase.

Clive
 
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Cheers clive,there are pictures of the car in the thread "Another bargain" It has had a few mods like alloy servo tray and such like but I haven't got a clue what type of rally it is?? It has friction shocks not the three step alloy ones,the engine on it is knackered(head bolt over tightened ) but that's not a problem. It has a Samba on it already and a vented fuel cap,oh,its second hand but it remarkable condition.The gears are the plastic ones and I'll hopefully be getting the steel gears set-up.Do you have a set of short stroke alloy shocks for sale??? Any info on the MCD would be appreciated as I run three FG off roads and there in a different class.

Cheers
James.
Oh,where about in the UK are you from?
 
James, you have got a bargin there!!!

The earlier Blackline models came with the friction shocks and the blue alloy and front upper suspension comes from the Blueline model...

The smaller plastic gears do take a beating - if you ever need to install new ones it's important to run them in slowly for 5 to 10 minutes. The problem is that engines in the MCDs run on the hot side (hence my tip to run the engine slightly rich) and the heat is ultimately transferred to the plastic gears and this can lead to them melting.

The MCD, Vertigo Performance or King Cobra Racing gear plate will help with cooling and reduce the chance of the gears melting. I use an alloy gear plate with a mixture of plastic and steel gears in my Rally car but have experienced no problems in my Evo2/3 off roaders when using the plastic gear plate with either plastic/steel gears or all steel gears.

The Samba F1 MCD pipe you have is just about the best tuned pipe option for the Rally car and unlike some of the lastest tuned pipes can be used with stock and tuned engines.

I don't have any shocks for sale - Rossendale Models had a complete set of the medium travel ones for sale on ebay for £99.00 or best offer. The auction ended today and I don't think they were sold so I'm sure they will be relisted in the coming days.

If you are not planning to use the car off road the friction shocks should be fine for car park bashing.

If you are looking for a cheap engine keep an eye out for another bargin on ebay - I purchased a nearly new 26cc CY that had come out of another MCD for £50.00 - it was not even fully run in and is still going strong after a year of abuse. I would avoid the larger capacity (27cc, 29cc etc) engines - stick with a 26cc and if you do have the misfortune to lean sieze it a new head/piston is only £30 or so. Tuned engines are not worth it for bashing.

The best source of info is the MCD forum - www.mcdrc.com

I'm down in Sussex and fortunately have a largescale on road race track (open nearly all year) close by to play on, along with an old off road track and a large kart track plus there is the local motocross track - the Rally car was amazing over the jumps!!!!

Clive
 
So i have a good deal then! great,I have been after one for ages now and when this came up I couldn't leave it sitting there.I tried a set of my FG Marder front shocks on and there is virtually no travel in them at all,the ones I have seen were £200 for a set of short.I have just changed all the heads on my FG cars to big bore jobbies and they seem to fly now even though they are not fully broken in yet.I bought three from DDM and a load of bits like carb/head gaskets ,air filter,plug caps, choke levers etc and I was thinking should I get another head as a spare but then thought ,na,w, should of in hine sight now.
I've heqard so many mixed reveiws on the MCD rally,some saying shite others hyping them up but I've loved them since seeing one on youtube.I'll look into the gearplate if that is a good option and maybe a few more odds and sods.
Do you have anymore pictures of yours? and even better a video of it in action?
Take care.
J.
 
James,

More photos -

rallytwonl5.jpg


rally1t.jpg


rally4.jpg


rally5.jpg


They are robust, reliable and providing the engine receives sufficient cooling you won't have any issues. The only parts that you will break are the shock forks and shafts and even then only rarely.

One other tip is to use medium strength threadlock on the wheel nuts.

You will find alloy gear plates and steel gears (MCD and third party ones) on ebay. The MCD gear plate is the best but it's very expensive at approximately £235.00!!! There have been used King Cobra Racing ones on ebay for approximately £85.00 - the lightweight King Cobra Racing one is fine - I have one on my rally car. The earlier King Cobra Racing one is heavy and the steel gears don't seem to mesh correctly - the spacing is a fraction out. I removed the one I had on my Evo 3 and I'm using a plastic gear plate now.



Clive
 
The bloke I bought this one off had(in pics) the Peugot rally shell on and no vents cut in the body whatsoever? So i think he has cooked the head,put a new one on and overtightened the head stripped the crankcase.I'll just go for what I need to run it first like the gear plate and gears when the mill has been sorted.
Great pics,cant wait to get mine out now!
J.
 
When I first ran mine I only removed one side window (access to the pull start and kill switch) and during a 20 minute final the engine would overheat and the performance drop off.

I managed to kill a stock engine in it due to overheating...removing all the side windows and most of the rear means that I don't worry about overheating when racing - I did a couple of 25 minute finals at one race meeting last year without any issues.

Even when bashing down the local track I keep a close eye on the engine temperature and regularly check the plug for any signs of overheating.

Clive
 
Hey dgav407

Thank's for all the great info on the rally car. I have been looking for something used to no avail. I may just order a new one soon.
 
I was lying in bed last night and was thinking a way of re-useing the motor i got with my MCD.Then thought if the headbolt was stripped then it has to be able to take a nut?So I stripped the mill down and located the stripped hole.Then dremeled the clutch housing bolt hole out and removed a bit of the case then put the gasket and head back on and tightened the whole lot up.I was a bit sceptical about it starting as I had know Idea to what sort of abuse the engine had in the past, so the first pull failed and the second but the third.....Paaaarrrrrp....ding-a-ding-a-ding,ding,ding!..SUCCESS!!! So i took it up to a friend who has a Marder and two Bergonzoni's ( Up for sale) and started it there again. I let it rip down the road and was amazed by the power even though it was a 23cc motor! Comming back up the road there is a slight imperfection, a sort of a step in the road and when the car hit it i was already turning right...woooo...It looked like a real rally car,arse end hanging out in mid air,took me back a few years when I use to navvy for a friend.
Well I'm a happy man with me new toy,its just going to get more and more expensive now and I know when something else comes up in bargain corner ebay I'll probably buy that too!
J.
 
James,

Great to hear that you fixed the engine...I have used a tuned 23cc engine in my MCDs and despite being nearly 6 years old and tuned/built for 1/5th on roads it makes them fly!!!

The medium travel shocks are still listed on ebay if you are interested - from my experience of the seller it's worth putting in a low best offer.

Anyway, I'm off to try out some different ignition maps for the (23cc tuned) engine at the local motocross track, I just hope it stops raining...

Clive
 
dgav407 said:
James,

Great to hear that you fixed the engine...I have used a tuned 23cc engine in my MCDs and despite being nearly 6 years old and tuned/built for 1/5th on roads it makes them fly!!!

The medium travel shocks are still listed on ebay if you are interested - from my experience of the seller it's worth putting in a low best offer.

Anyway, I'm off to try out some different ignition maps for the (23cc tuned) engine at the local motocross track, I just hope it stops raining...

Clive
Click to expand...

Raining here too Clive, what caps do you have? I've got a metal cap but its the nippleless one and it wont fit.If you want it ,its yours.
J.
 
James,

Fortunately the weather forecast was wrong, it was hot and sunny!!!!

The motocross track (the beginners circuit) was being used by numerous children so I just used the quad bike track. It was very dusty and although there are no jumps there are a couple of bumps that get the buggy off the ground for some distance.

I tried different ignition maps on the ECU and found a couple that worked ok with the engine. My testing was cut short when I discovered the layshaft drive block had moved (my fault for not using threadlock on the set screws) and the brake disks were rubbing against it thereby affecting the performance and the rpm readings.

I'm hoping before the end of summer to get permission to use the main circuit during the lunch break and arrange for the on site photographer to take some action shots of the cars...

A couple of actions shots taken last year on the beginners circuit -

moto3ov5.jpg


moto1gh8.jpg


Clive
 
Hiya Clive ,I took the MCD out today and wow does it drift! But do you have any set-ups for it not to???It did look good but everytime a turn appeared its back end wanted to drift.
I noticed on the MCD forum you have an ECU ,what are they for and how do you use them? Are they the same as a car because there is not much you can alter electronically as the two strokes work off a magneto so no points or electronic ignition. i'll look a bit more on your thread and educate myself ;)
J.
 
James,

The Oddified ECU is connected to the kill switch with two wires and is powered by the engine and therefore is legal at BRCA/EFRA race meetings.

The latest version has 10 different user selectable ignition maps (one is for IFMAR sanctioned race meetings when it operates as a failsafe only). The ignition maps vary from mild to wild and some are suited to off road and others on road applications.

It makes a significant difference to the performance of even a stock 23 or 26cc engine. It is only suitable for 23 and 26cc engines - the more extreme maps will toast a larger engine (27, 29cc and so on) especially in an MCD!!!!!

The best source of info is the instructions that come with the unit - http://www.oddified.com/downloads/mk2ecu.doc

I have spent a considerable amount of track time (on and off road) trying to find a set up that reduces the drifting to a minimum. Drifting is great fun but results in slow lap times...

The latest blue compound tyres once up to temperature help and so does a limited-slip diff in the front. However, try a heavy weight silicon diff oil in the front diff - I purchased some 500,000 weight oil from Rossendale Models and that is almost as good as running a limited-slip diff. Also helps that it is approximately £5.00 a bottle compared to £180.00 for a limited-slip diff!!!!

Some of the racers use a locked diff (spool) in the front but I have not tried it in my Rally car.

The heavy weight oil will greatly improve the front end traction - it will still start to drift and you should find by opening the throttle the front end will pull the car back on line.

Set the ride height as low as possible and have a few degrees of toe in at the rear and a few degrees of toe out at the front.

Clive
 
I really like this car,it looks good and has a load of potential and I can see myself going for every possible upgrade there is!;) When you mentioned the diffs being locked up ,all mine are! Is there a way to release the diffs as in a planetry gear set-up? Are there any instruction sheets/user manuals that I can download on line? Is there a slipper on the centre diff that is on sale? I have done a bit of research but time limits me. as for ride height ,I really want to go with the gravel pack,can the shocks be set for different heights as it states they are three stage adjustable! I have seen the shocks from Rossendales and I've spent a bit too much in the last few weeks so have to go a bit easy on the money for now (probably wont, i always try to convince myself )
Thanks again.
J.
 
James,

If your front/rear 'diffs' are locked they are probably only 'spools' - similar to the centre diff arrangement. Although is was not always the case, Blackline Rally cars came without open diffs.

If you refer to the 2007 parts catalogue (http://www.kingcobra.co.uk/catalogues/MCD_Catalogue_2007.pdf) you will see the difference between the spool and the open diff.

Very few run an open centre diff in any of the MCDs as it ruins the handling and has an adverse affect on the braking. Your best option is to get a rear open diff - keep an eye out on ebay or see if anyone on the mcdrc forum has one for sale.

The medium length shocks are essential if you plan to bash off road, they provide sufficient travel and ground clearance for general bashing. The shock pistons can be adjusted externally, increasing or decreasing the oil flow.

Unfortunately there are no instruction sheets - the exploded diagrams in the 2007/2009 parts manuals are useful though.

Clive
 
I started the MCD in my workshop this morning and give the throttle a few blips ,the engine was running sweet. I went into my house to get a coffee and when i came back out the engine had stopped? I tried to start it again but it wasn't having any of it so I started to strip it down.when I pulled the head off it(Oo-er! ) I noticed the small C-clip that holds the wrist pin had disintergrated taking the ring ,bore and piston with it! There was such a gouge in it its now rendered un-usable But....that given me the perfect reason to put my 29cc head on So I'm just waiting for the rain to stop and take it out in the close and give it a good setting up!.
J.
 
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