Thommo

I’m not sure you need it or if it fits with the Madcap front bulkhead. ORB Racing parts 3D printed via Shapeways are very good but get the matching ORB front bulkhead.

Durability, design, drive and performance it’s the DB01 for me. Clearly failing some of the other criteria, I give it a 4. DT02 and the TTC both original and 2018 are my other favourites.

Astute looks to have the OG front tower, and the stabiliser is removed. Front dampers on the low mount. This would be one of the first Astutes ever raced.

Respectfully, OP is building an OG TTC not a 2018 so not as simple. 05 mod pinions are out there, just not easy to find.

Yeah the design of this part looks to me it’s intended to break first. The first time I laid eyes on this part it was in 3 pieces with the screws still in place.

All good, the front strap height is perfect with sponge tape under the battery. If anything it can kick out a bit but not much. A better rear stop would sort it.

Love your work, admiring from afar.

🤣🤣It’s in the subject title. Love it !

BOOM !

For @ruebiracer and anyone interested in converting Astute / Super Astute to accept shorty LiPo. This conversion can be done with no drilling, using the existing holes in all Astute chassis' including the Xtra Speed carbon chassis. The start point is to use a regular size servo, (Futaba 3003 shown) and remove the rear bulkhead and the SA rear battery holder G5. Remove the front battery holder G2. Use sponge sheet on the chassis as required. Parts list : Avante / Egress / Astute chassis stay x 2 Top Force J parts - J5 x 2. (These are Not Used parts for a Top Force build). Top Force screw hex mounts or use Xtra Speed aluminium body mounts x 2. Top Force battery plate or Xtra Speed carbon battery plate for Top Force (shown) x 1. Any servo stay x 1. Hardware so screws, tapping screws, sponge sheet and snap pins. With the battery holders removed and sponge sheet in place, replace the rear battery holder with 2 x chassis stays. The OG Astute already has these as standard (shown). Fit the 2 x screw hex mounts or body mounts to the 2 x J5 parts and fit those to the chassis to replace the front battery holder. The existing holes in the chassis match the Top Force battery plate so it's a perfect fit. Then mount the 1 x servo stay as shown. This is the existing hole for the OG mechanical speed control mount and just happens to be in the perfect location to act as the rear battery stop. Then just add sponge sheet to the servo at the front and this acts as the front battery stop. I used another sponge sheet on the rear battery stop to get it snug. That's what I love about batteries, our Astutes get older... they stay the same age !

Interested to see if their is enough adjustment for the 26t to fit without elongating the motor adjustment. The OG TTC gearbox has a large spur gear so it's geared quite low. If you're going brushed motor the best way to keep motor temp down would be reduce weight. The best way to reduce weight is run with shorty LiPo. I've just converted 2 x Astutes to run shorty LiPo using Top Force parts and only using the existing holes in the chassis plate. I'll update one of my Astute threads with more info at some point. Let me know if this is of interest.

Forever with us in RC. I still have some Panda Grafix sticker sets and had some great chats with Willy. Super helpful guy that will be missed. Thank you @kiasukid for giving notice.

I know you want one !

I'm interested.... will you then need to also swap universal or driveshafts ? I think the Top Force hub inner is 1mm deeper than the SA hub.

This is one of the first threads I checked out on TC when I discovered you Guy's in 2010. Durga was then my re-entry to Tamiya so sweet nostalgia for me, thanks ! I remember the review on Oople too https://www.oople.com/rc/photos/reviewtamiyadurga/ I have strong feels for this car still.