chances are that there are telophone wires near you. it happens to me all the time, like an interferance (sp??) becuz like i try to drive any of my xmods down the road on it going one way, and i only get like 20 ft. but if i tun around and go the other way, i can get like 200, its not a problem with ur car, im pretty sure of that. but if its gen 1, the wires are probably old, and they may be disconnected, or not have a good connection if they are. take off the black box on the top of the circuit board and examine all the wires, including servo. make sure you have good connections, and if you dont, resolder them. hope this helps,
later,
fordman.