I scored this gem tonight, all it took was a 2 hour round trip drive. I'm real excited about finally having a Peg Perego. It's not a Gaucho, but it's the same body which I love, and I love the color. I did some searching here, and didn't really find too much on these Apache's. As I understand it they have smaller gearboxes and/or motors than the Gaucho's, but I can swap in the motors and gears from a Gaucho. Is that correct? Also would the wheels from a Gaucho fit on here with any issues? It does have a problem in the wiring somewhere. I'm going to look into it when I'm done the Sun Jammer, I don't want to get ahead of myself with too many projects going on at once. The front brush gaurd is also broken on the drivers side, so I'll be looking for a replacement as well.
I really like how Bunta's police Gaucho turned out, so that's giving me something to shoot for with this one.
oh man VERY NICE find - don't paint that thing, that's one of the nicest looking peg jeeps I've ever seen! :)
Don't worry, the only part I might consider painting is the grille to make it Chrome. One of the rear tail lights is busted out so I was searching the Kidswheels sites for replacement and man they have everything. I felt like a kid in a candy shop! I'm making lists of all the stuff I'd love to get for this thing.
Congrats-that's a nice find and in good shape for being about 10 years old.
I would vote for no paint also, including the girll. You will be forever chasing the scratches and flaking paint (if your kids are like mine) from minor collisions.
Ours broke there on the front bumber also...some small metal brackets and you will be back in business. I cut my brackets out of copper plumbing strap and it held up well.
Also, do not lift it by the roll bar---that too can break.
Now that the Sun Jammer is done until the weather warms up, it's time to get to work on the Apache. I know there is a problem with with wiring somewhere, I just need to locate it. I have a spare harness to use from an older Silver Gaucho (Thanks Wheres), so I may just go ahead and plug that in to see what happens. Most likely this will get all new wiring to keep up with 18V.
As for the plans, this one will be pretty basic I think. I picked up a set of new Gaucho gearboxes and motors to replace the smaller ones the Apache came with and as I said bumping it up to 18V. Wheres also sent me a set of shocks from a Gaucho, so this one will have a wokring rear suspension now, and lastly I plan to make all the lights on this one working. Maybe down the line it will eventually get variable speed throttle and seperate brake a la Grant.
nice find. i'm still looking for our first peg but there arent too many deals on them out this way. the seperate brake is a really cool mod(just put one on the lambo), i had to stare at the diagram for a while before for i got it. but once it made sense it was pretty simple.
"She's not a crash test dummy, she's our daughter."
Well, plans have changed on this one. It will now be getting the 24V Super Power motors and gearboxes, so along with that it will be getting a variable speed (hall effect) throttle and seperate brake pedal. Now I have to see if I want to go with a 36V controller or a 24V controller. I would also like to add a real braking system to it since simply cutting the power to the motors on 24 or 36V doesn't seem like a good way to stop it.
Been looking through the TNC Scooters site for a while, and I think this is the controller I will use. It looks like it has the capacity to handle enough current to the super power motors for 36V high and 18V low. http://www.tncscooters.com/CT-660B9.php
I'll probably end up getting a few other things as well such as a Charging recepticle to place in the gas cap, real keyed ignition, and a 36V charger.
Hey gseric69, you know i bought that controller for my sons SPJEEP and it didn't work to good. The throttle wouldn't stop not even with the cut off brake applied. In the other forum one person had the same problem with that controller. Grant has tried the same model controller and said he has had no issues with it. Just thought i would let you know since tnc wasn't able to take back the controller. BTW I'm using a 36v Razor controller rated for 650w you can find real cheep on eBay i got mine for 20$ shipped and its very easy to install a key switch, its the same controller im using for the Razor quad.
I have used that controller before with success, it allows for quite high performance. The Gaucho SP motors put out 300Watts each @24volt (600Watts combined) so will put out a lot more when running 36volts.
As for the brake failure I have setup the brake pedal to break the circuit between the controller and motor instead of using the brake feature on the controller. This allows the use of electric braking but also means that the vehicle will still stop in the event of a controller failure.
The Super Power Motors arrived today, and they are ENORMOUS! They weigh about 6 lbs each. Here are some shots side by side with a Gaucho Grande Gearbox and Motor and Power Wheels #7 Gearbox and Motor. I've seen the pictures before, but to feel them in hand is something else. The size of them is staggering.
Got my stuff from TNC today. That hall effect throttle does have a pretty tough spring in it, so I'll take Grant's advice and put a softer one in for the little feet. I also goofed and ordered the wrong controller. I must have picked the 500W controller instead of the 1000W one, DOH!!!! So I reordered the correct one, and contacted TNC to see if they'll take it back. If not, it'll go on EBAY.
Can't wait to see this with 24V power on it. Those gears/motors are enormous, I just got a spare set from Perego (under my 1 year warranty ) for free, doubt I'll ever need them, but free is always good!
I love these Apache's for some reason, I think I'd even trade my Yellow Gaucho for one!
It's finally time to start working on this bad boy. I think I have just about everything I need now, they only thing left I'm trying to decide on is the wheels. I like the look of the Apache Wheels, but they are small, relatively speaking, since they are 14", compared to the larger Grande and Super Power Wheels. I really like the look of the Grande Wheels, and was thinking of getting them with Chrome Hub Caps, since this one will have a lot of chrome on it when it's done, but it would take some fabricating to get them attached to the Super Power Wheel drivers. The other option is to get a set of Super power wheels. I don't really like the look of them as much, but the foam tread they have appeals to me, and I could always paint the hub caps with Chrome paint. So, what are some thoughts from the rest of you on this?
On a side note, got the disc brake set up ready to bolt on now. Here's a couple shots of it.
I was talking to a local PP dealer in my area.. she mentioned that they came out with rubberized version but I'm not able to find one on-line.. she also sells used (off their demo rides). If you decide to go that SP wheels route, let me know and I can inquire more for you.
brakes look sweeeet..man i cant wait to see the chaos in 24v.....man i am excited
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti.
Current Fleet: Gaucho 4.0 Gator-painted and bedliner Kawasaki SuperShock Super6 Blue Thunder "RC" ToyStory Eliminator (in progress) Dora-single seat...soon to be a gift Barbie--metal frame (rough)
I starting tearing the Apache down today. Man these things are built tough. I'm really impressed with the quality of it, even for this lower end model. Unfortunately the two Apache stickers on either side are pretty bad off, so I might just end up taking them off. I really wanted to try and preserive as many of the stickers on this one as possible since I don't see where any new ones are available.
Here is the current state of it. I had to take a break to get the kids up from their naps, so maybe I'll get back to work on it tonight.
I starting tearing the Apache down today. Man these things are built tough. I'm really impressed with the quality of it, even for this lower end model.
Yeah I know, I almost knocked myself out getting the rack and pinon steering out for you on the one I found.
"Time to take a ride on the information superhighway."
I finished tearing it down today. Boy was it dirty. The original rear pan was actually cracked at one of the points were the poll goes through. I don't think it's salvagable. Unfortunately my fears on the stickers were true. They were just so brittle that even the slightest touch cracked them and they fell right off. I've saved what I can in the hopes that maybe I can send them to Smoka to have some repro's made.
I picked up a couple of these LED lights. They were pretty inexpensive and have a couple of settings, so now I plan to figure out a way to integrate the LEDS into the apache. The middle ring flashes between red and blue, so I'm thinking police Jeep. Maybe thats the way to go instead of trying to get repro Apache stickers.
Things are progressing slowly with this one, but they are progressing. I got a new set of Super Power Wheels this week, and boy are they nice. I can't wait to get them on. The hubcaps were backordered, so I have to wait a little for them. I also picked up a 36V battery fuel gage off ebay. I'll be mounting it in the dash along with a 12V fuel gage that's on the way which will monitor the accessory battery. I threw this contraption together real quick to test it out. I'm going to buy a 36V 12AH battery to use for main power since it will fit a lot better in the Apache.
Been working on the lighting today. I pulled out the red/blue LEDs from the lights I got from meritline, and put them in the headlights. I also added a single Superflux LED to the center of each one. The red/blue LEDs and Superflux LED will each operate seperate from each other so it can be run with only the center light on for headlights, or only the red/blue LEDs for police lights, or both. I used cfanto's idea and used chrome tape as a backing to add reflectiveness.
With the lights on and police lights only
Lights off and police lights only.
Lights off with Superflux only.
Lights off close up with Superflux and police lights.
Made a little more progress today. Got the dash pretty much finished up. I'm just waiting on my key switch to add and then it'll be complete. The gauge to the right is the 36V battery indicator, and the large one on the left is the 12V indicator for the accessory battery. The blue switch will control the police lights, and the green the regular lights. I also added the charging port to the gas cap for easy charging.
Sweet dash layout, Eric. Are you planning a led flasher for the police lights?
I took the easy way and just ported the setup from those Meritline lights. The LEDs flash between red and blue, so I just moved the setup with the resistors over to the headlights. The looks pretty good, like the rotating red and blue lights that were used before police cars switched to strobe lights.
I test wired everything tonight to make sure it all worked the way it should, and holy cow are those motors powerfull. I was holding one loose while I hit the gas pedal and it jerked my arm a good bit. Those things put out some monsterous torque! They are also incredibly quiet. The scooter controller works like a charm, and the variable throttle is very cool.
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti.
Current Fleet: Gaucho 4.0 Gator-painted and bedliner Kawasaki SuperShock Super6 Blue Thunder "RC" ToyStory Eliminator (in progress) Dora-single seat...soon to be a gift Barbie--metal frame (rough)
Ok, here's a vid. I took this last week when I was testing out the light setup for the headlights. The red and blue colors didn't show up too well though. I was going to go take a video of the motor in action, but the battery in my camera died, so as soon as it's charged up I'll get that one and add it.
Here's the video you probably wanted to see. The Super Power Gaucho Motors running through the 36V CT30259 Controller with a Hall Effect throttle.
I'm going to try and adapt the Super Power Gaucho accelerator to work with the scooter controller. Hopefully it will work, it would be simpler for me to install that with the brake pedal I'll be using.
Damn, I expected a motor that big at 36v to torque over, smash the table in half and then run down the street scaring women and children. What a letdown.
Damn, I expected a motor that big at 36v to torque over, smash the table in half and then run down the street scaring women and children. What a letdown.
I built my table extra strong in case I ever decided to put a 36V big motor on it
wow you can really hear them ramping up in rpms.....are the gear boxes dry? they sound noisy....i spy those sweet super power tires in the back too....that is going to be the sickest apache ever. i think you should paint it something CRAZY!!!!
"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough." - Mario Andretti.
Current Fleet: Gaucho 4.0 Gator-painted and bedliner Kawasaki SuperShock Super6 Blue Thunder "RC" ToyStory Eliminator (in progress) Dora-single seat...soon to be a gift Barbie--metal frame (rough)
Super Power Apache! (Police Jeep) - Video Added
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Posted - 12/15/2008 : 21:31:45
) for free, doubt I'll ever need them, but free is always good!
