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volvotech

TA05 build and intro!

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Hi folks! First and foremost, I've been a long time lurker on this forum and finally decided to join. With all the info I've gathered I decided I at least owed it to you all to share my latest build. I got back into the hobby last year after I decided that 1:1 racing was getting a little outside my budget and my team mates were all either getting married, having kids or moving away, so I blew the dust off some of my old RC's and here I am now expanding my fleet, which currently consists of 2 TA03F Pro's (one is a very recent build, which I partially documented with pics), and F103. Non-tamiya cars include an HPI nitro RS4 3SS, a few micro RS4's in various states of disrepair and a Team Associated SC10 4x4 FT (which i built last year). They scratch the itch for way less money. So without further delay the build:

I found a TA05 Ferrari FXX kit on ebay for a very reasonable price. I decided I wanted to build a modern tamiya on-road mainly for bashing and a little insanity:

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Step one: No longer stock, maybe overkill considering the stock counterpart is also aluminum. But this one is blue, so obviously it's better :)

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Step two: Utter disappointment. Tamiya, plastic diff outdrives? Really?! I suppose on a silver can it wouldn't be a problem. The internet quickly confirmed my suspicions about their durability with brushless power. So on with the aluminum hop ups and diff seals because they were cheap and seemed like a good idea. I was really pleased with the design of these diff's otherwise, they've come a long way from the TA03 ball diff's I'm used to.

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Step three: Gear boxes going together. From my old belt drives, I've learned that the aramid fiber belts are worth the investment. I put the first box together and was amazed at the side to side play. I'm a mechanic by trade, so sloppy components just don't sit well with me.

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So I bought shims, .4mm on one and .5mm total on the other. I'm a happy camper once more.

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Step five revealed that I'd be needing shims on the center shaft too. I refused to wait another week to get them, so I grabbed a 4mm washer from work and spent some time with my finger and sand paper and filed it down to just over .5mm. Not the most productive use of my time, but I took comfort in knowing I only had to do it once.

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At this point even my coworkers are amused/intrigued at the design and layout of this chassis. Stay tuned for more!

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Finished up step 5 with the carbon center support. No real value from this hop-up other than it looks good. I went back and added the antenna guide afterwards, I wasn't sure were the receiver would end up.

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Steps six through eleven: Rear suspension, nothing outside of kit standard. I was surprised at how much I had to clean up the suspension arms with a file to eliminate binding. But I am very pleased with fit and finish up to this point.

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Is it bad that I'm already contemplating my next build?

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Welcome to Tamiya Club Volvotech

I see you have picked one of the best/ worst kits for hop ups,

its possible to get nearly every part of a ta05 as a hop up :)

which can get expensive

Yes its normal to start thinking of what you will be building next

Tamiya kits are like rabbits, all of a sudden you are inundated with them ;)

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Welcome I have the same kit - though I built mine to be a racer - I like you can't stand a sloppy drive train so I did the same as you!

Here's mine -

Sam Posey No.77 1970 Dodge Challenger Trans AM race replica - built to VTARC 2S brushless rules

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3D exhausts just like the real car -

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PS if you mess up on the Ferrari body let me know I have mine brand new still I will get rid of CHEAP

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Ukfox, you're right. The cost of all the hop ups almost add up to the cost of the kit itself and there's plenty of room for more.

Zac - I love Ferrari. The fxx however, is not one of my favorites. I passed that on to a friend that's building a TA06. Ironically, I have a new body style dodge challenger shell in the works. It's that or a 458 body. I'm still undecided.

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In due time Zac.

Finally have a few minutes to update the thread.

Got through a few more steps: Some filing required to get the lower arms to move freely, but otherwise smooth sailing. Universals going together as well. I like that these are serviceable now. Cleaning the universals in my TA03's is a little bit of a chore.

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A little more filing to get the knuckles to move without binding.

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Step seventeen: More hop-ups. All of these steering components are plastic in the stock setup, but I'm after a little more precision and less play.

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That's all for now!

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Hey all, been away for a bit but here are some updates:

Step 22: threaded TRF shocks coming together, the stock pieces will go well with my recently purchased Schnitzer BMW M3 that I get to build after this car!

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Skipping head to step 27: Electronics going in place and aluminum side brace, I'm hoping the aluminum brace can provide a little more protection to the motor over the stock plastic brace.

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I attempted to use a Kimborough servo saver on this build, but the stubby savox servo is too bulky up front to allow a full range of motion. I had to use the slightly offset kit supplied part. They get a bad reputation, but the stock servo saver is surprisingly tight.

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Completed chassis, had to remove a small segment of the tub in the rear corner to fit the ESC, and I need to grind down the ribs to sit the battery a little lower, but it's good for test driving at this point:

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HPI X-pattern tires, Castle Creations 7700kV 4-pole w/sidewinder 3 ESC, savox low profile servo and spektrum radio all came together surprisingly well on this chassis.

Body fitting/painting next!

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Apologies for the long delay and happy new year everyone. Here are a few overdue shots of the body. I've only had a chance to trim/mask/drill/paint the shell. I haven't sorted the lighting and decals yet. Or decided on wheels for that matter. The +4 offset wheels that came standard on the FXX kit are a bit wide for this body. And as you can see, quite beat up already. Even with stock gearing this car is nothing short of a rocket and the pavement has left its mark. Also, sorry for the poor quality pictures, they sincerely don't look that bad on my phone after I take them.

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You can sort of see the metallic flake in the paint. It looks stunning in person. I'll be trying to finish up this project soon.

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^I'm debating that, I'm not quite sure I understand the added benefits. Although that clearly didn't stop me from other upgrades haha.

Updates soon, decals have been applied to the body, just waiting on lighting components.

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