New member - hello!

[Half_baked 6]

Hi all, I just registered on the forum.

I've recently been looking for a new hobby, as I've been doing way too many hours at work for any of my usual pastimes to be practical.

I can't even remember how I had the "lightbulb moment" but I remembered my old TA-02w based Nissan Skyline was still in the loft. A resurrection of that model could be done part time, as and when.

I'm actually a little late to the party for a restoration thread, as I'm pleased to report that it's now alive and kicking!

I'm genuinely amazed at the model. It's so robust and has aged very well indeed. All I had to do was replace the batteries, new receiver, tighten up the rear diff and she's back to A1 condition.

Reason for the thread is the "what next". Obviously I could start buying more models but I live in a small flat in London and already have quite enough stuff kicking about.

What I'd really like to do is have a set of parts to allow the TA-02w to run off road. I've read on other forums about people converting touring cars to higher riding trucks capable of dealing with grass and sand. That'd make this model a lot more usable given the terrain around here (the roads are awful!).

Does anyone know which parts are compatible with this chassis?

In other news - just in case that's not possible - the next project has already arrived...

Thanks for reading!

[Sandster 285]

Hi and welcome to the club. I see you have already found out that Tamiya's breed like rabbits. Before you know it you will have half a dozen models in various states of repair and your wife/partner will get annoyed that the dining room table is always covered in car bits. Lol.

[Half_baked 6]

Yes.. I also have a front wheel drive cavalier touring car in the loft so the Dual Ridge is actually my third!

[XV Pilot 1936]

I reckon you are doing the right thing having at least two runners for different conditions, rather than trying to switch one car between different configurations.

While it is quite possible to set a TA-02 up in a variety of configurations, and it makes for a pretty successful runner in all of them, the plastics are not really designed for repeated screwing and unscrewing of fasteners - before long you'll be looking at stripped holes.

For many years before I was able to grow my fleet, the majority of my running needs were met by a touring car and a buggy. My buggy BITD was a DF-01, but the TT-02B is its modern equivalent, and I am sure it will serve you well. It'll also mean you can keep your TA-02 as-is, prolonging its life.

[BigSteve 149]

Hi all, I just registered on the forum.

I've recently been looking for a new hobby, as I've been doing way too many hours at work for any of my usual pastimes to be practical.

I can't even remember how I had the "lightbulb moment" but I remembered my old TA-02w based Nissan Skyline was still in the loft. A resurrection of that model could be done part time, as and when.

I'm actually a little late to the party for a restoration thread, as I'm pleased to report that it's now alive and kicking!

I'm genuinely amazed at the model. It's so robust and has aged very well indeed. All I had to do was replace the batteries, new receiver, tighten up the rear diff and she's back to A1 condition.

Reason for the thread is the "what next". Obviously I could start buying more models but I live in a small flat in London and already have quite enough stuff kicking about.

What I'd really like to do is have a set of parts to allow the TA-02w to run off road. I've read on other forums about people converting touring cars to higher riding trucks capable of dealing with grass and sand. That'd make this model a lot more usable given the terrain around here (the roads are awful!).

Does anyone know which parts are compatible with this chassis?

In other news - just in case that's not possible - the next project has already arrived...

Thanks for reading!

Welcome to rhe money pit lol. This hobby is very addictive. You'll find all the help you need as I have done since coming back to the hobby about 5 years ago.

I have a tt-02b neo scorcher and they are very robust decent runners for their money. There's also the option to hop it up with parts from HK that are way cheaper than sourcing in the UK. Enjoy.

Steve.

[Half_baked 6]

I already bought a full set of ball race bearings for it so always interested to hear about cheap hopups!

Would you happen to know where I could source a cheap prop shaft for the skyline? Above 2/3rds throttle all the extra power goes as noise with the prop smashing into the chassis...

[Half_baked 6]

XV - the reason I was looking to adapt the skyline to grass is that's basically all we have round here. The roads are too busy so the skyline is unlikely to see use any other way.

Understand your point around repeatedly reforming it, but that's not really what I'm looking to do, more of a one-off transformation which I could undo if I ever end up getting a dedicated grass track machine.

Are you saying that it'd be too fragile?

The reason I need both is that I'll be running both at the same time.. My wife is actually very keen on off road buggies and we're building the dual ridge together. Idea being we can both run them round the local park.

[BigSteve 149]

I already bought a full set of ball race bearings for it so always interested to hear about cheap hopups!

Would you happen to know where I could source a cheap prop shaft for the skyline? Above 2/3rds throttle all the extra power goes as noise with the prop smashing into the chassis...

Proper bearings are a must to lengthen run times. If you plan on running it stock with the included torque tuned motor the drive train is more than adequate. If however you plan on furring a hotter motor there are some hop ups you'll need. There's a lengthy thread regarding these on the forum.

Steve.

[XV Pilot 1936]

XV - the reason I was looking to adapt the skyline to grass is that's basically all we have round here. The roads are too busy so the skyline is unlikely to see use any other way.

Understand your point around repeatedly reforming it, but that's not really what I'm looking to do, more of a one-off transformation which I could undo if I ever end up getting a dedicated grass track machine.

Are you saying that it'd be too fragile?

The reason I need both is that I'll be running both at the same time.. My wife is actually very keen on off road buggies and we're building the dual ridge together. Idea being we can both run them round the local park.

Ah, I see. That is an excellent idea!

The TA-02, being a direct descendent of the DF-01 buggy, has the DNA of an offroader and is plenty strong enough. In fact, all the parts are still available to turn it into a fully-fledged DF-01, which would make an excellent running companion for the TT-02B.

If you don't fancy going quite so far, the TA-02 makes for a very capable rally car with nothing more than longer shocks and a set of rally tyres. This would make it quite capable on short grass and gravel, and a lot more useful than it is now.

As for the propshaft, if you can't find a Tamiya one, GPM make a quality hop-up available from Fusion or Asiatees.

[Half_baked 6]

Brilliant, thanks. The rally car idea works for me, plus it's an excuse to buy a Scooby shell.. does anyone know the part number for the longer shocks which would be compatible with the "w" version of the TA-02 chassis? I have no idea what the changes were, only that it's a lot wider.

In other news, thanks to this forum I've managed to setup the ESC better than I ever had it before. I now have fully functional brakes for the first time ever!

WRT the shaft, I can find genuine ones, but they're almost £30. Seems a lot for what is basically a stick with two flat ends. It's only £60 cheaper than a whole new car!

[InsaneJim69 1584]

Welcome to Tamiyaclub.

Love that R33 Skyline you have their. I know its slightly the wrong colour, but a set of genuine Tamiya Calsonic Skyline decals would make that body look awesome I have never even owned a TA02 so have no idea what they are like to build etc, I am a huge TA03 fan though.

James

[Half_baked 6]

Thanks James. I have to confess that I chose the colour because I liked it, rather than for realism / accuracy. My favorite ever real car was in a similar colour. It's just one I really click with.

Most of my shells have been quite colourful, only this one and a dark purple murcielago (Traxxas Nitro car) have been plain.

Those aside I had a three tone "slash effect" cavalier, a mad blue / yellow flame / squiggle blended Mercedes shell (which I spent ages on and smashed first time out!). There are probably more that I can't remember. I used to enjoy spraying shells more than building the cars themselves!

[Half_baked 6]

This is the "favourite ever" road car..

Only owned it briefly and lost an absolute fortune on it, but still miss it!

On the subject of shells - does anyone know what the TA-02w takes? My cavalier shell won't even get close.

[XV Pilot 1936]

Shaft, shocks and other tasty and affordable TA-02 goodies here:

http://www.asiatees.com/model?Tamiya-TA02-Upgrades-Parts-Hop-Ups&brand=Tamiya&model=TA02&c=z2

As for shells, most 1/10 touring and rally shells are designed for a 190mm track width, so you'd have a wider choice available if you converted to standard TA-02 spec. You'd probably want to go for standard-width 2mm or 3mm offset wheels to take the rally block tyres anyway.

[InsaneJim69 1584]

TA02W takes any non Tamiya 200mm wide shell. Although Tamiya do some bodies that are listed as "wide", xanavi Nismo Z, Xanavi Nismo GT-R R34, Calsonic Nismo Z, Raybrig NSX and a few others too. But they have to be the "wide" version.

James

[Half_baked 6]

Thanks gents!

Next question - I've taken it out on a test run, and it was just fantastic. It was running cooler, more responsive on the throttle and the brake is fabulous.

Then it broke again.

The rear diff keeps releasing so I get front wheel drive only. Can't understand what's causing it.

Any ideas?

[Half_baked 6]

Is this the right driveshaft?

http://www.asiatees.com/display?id=60109&brand=GPM%20Racing&model=TA02

[InsaneJim69 1584]

Rear diff loose? Is it a ball diff? If so then it may be a damaged thrust bearing due to over tightening. Once its damaged then that is it, the diff will never stay tight. A new thrust bearing is needed and a diff rebuild.

If its the old bevel geared diff, then it should be bomb proof unless there is damage to the gears, and easy and cheap fix on both accounts.

Are the rear counter gears in okay condition?

James

[Half_baked 6]

Rear diff has been loose every time. Each time I've tightened it and it's been fine, for a few minutes then it dies again. I think this is why I retired it all those years ago.

Happily I think I've got it figured out now. Suffice to say, diligently servicing your favourite model is only a good idea if you put the parts back the same way they came out!

I've just rotated the diff 180 degrees. Now it actually lines up with the drive cog. Previously only half the diff was in contact and hence the whole assembly was rotating backward. Sounds like enough to cause it to unscrew itself after a couple of hard launches...

We're about to find out. Taking it for the 4th test run of the day now..

[XV Pilot 1936]

Is this the right driveshaft?

http://www.asiatees.com/display?id=60109&brand=GPM Racing&model=TA02

Aye, that'll work nicely.

[Half_baked 6]

Thanks!

Sadly the diff reversal did nothing. Do I need to thread lock it or something?

Will hold off on ordering the prop shaft till I know what I need to do on the rear diff..

[XV Pilot 1936]

I know many may disagree, but I am not a fan of ball diffs if a gear diff option is available due to the reliability factor. If it were my car, I would pop in a gear diff with some AW grease in it, and there would be no further worries.

[InsaneJim69 1584]

^^Fully agree. On a runner for general use a ball diff is pointless imo. As said gear diff light smidge of AW grease and it acts similar to a ball diff anyways just wayyy less maintenance.

James

[ChrisRx718 4470]

I'm pretty sure ABC Hobby made an MR2 bodyshell just like that. Might be hard to come by now, but the option is there if you ever wanted to build a replica of your old car.

Hello from Pistonheads by the way (C.A.R.)

[Half_baked 6]

Hi Chris - good to see you on here. Wondered if we'd cross paths.

I've finally managed to get the rear diff working properly, but I'm not sure how long it'll last. I've had to pull it up way tighter than I'm comfortable with, and as a result it's causing a lot of drag.

What are the disadvantages of the geared diffs? I must admit I like the sound of reduced maintenance, but then the front diff on this car is 17years old and perfectly serviceable..

I'm debating which type to order when I do the prop shaft..