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i_am_scarecrow

TL-01LA Build

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Every project has a beginning, this car is no different..........................sort of!

This is where my little TL-01LA started. Bought for a bargain price of £15 from Facebook I think it was. A kind of TL-01/TL-01B hybrid with bits from both fitted in the wrong places and some not there at all!

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First things first then, employ a minion to strip the thing down!

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Now originally I had planned to build it as a regular TL-01. The TL-01LA was almost unknown to me but after some advice from people on here and IconicRC the search was on to find some TL-01LA parts. The arms I had heard were difficult to source but Facebook came up trumps again when a member offered me these for a crazy cheap price-

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Now I dont understand the ins and outs of it but the LA arms offer better handling whilst keeping to the same width as the original TL-01. Nope, I don't get it either but I bought them anyway!

That was the start of my buying frenzy that has seen me throw a silly amount of pennies at an old chassis replaced several times by Tamiya themselves. Yes I could have bought newer for less but where is the fun in that???

Onwards then! This was my pile of parts that I had collected before the rebuild-

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As it turns out, the only parts I used from that original £15 Facebook find were the front gearbox internals and a few screws. Everything else, including the main chassis parts, are brand new. I decided that if I'm going to build a hugely overpriced and outdated touring car, I might as well do it properly and spend as much as I could!

I bought myself an LA instruction book and dived in!

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I went with the speed tuned gear set-

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Electrics are nothing crazy, a Tamiya sport tuned, a Hobbywing QuicRun 1060 esc and a basic Flysky handset.

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On with the arms-

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Next up was the shocks. Originally I bought some Yeah Racing touring car shocks-

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Whilst being sold as touring car shocks they were actually too long, even with the smaller option lower mounting parts the fronts simply did not work. Also, I wasn't too keen on the aluminium fitting brackets that pushed the shocks away from the body. What to do then? On my last TL-01 I used some Absima 55mm shocks, they were actually very good so four more were bought. The standard springs were removed, the standard oil was replaced with Tamiya's own oil and on they went.

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You'll also notice the LA stabilizer set too, that really stiffens up the suspension.

Wheels and tyres next then. They had to have a bit of dish and have a mesh look to them. The obvious choice was the two piece BBS ones from the Zakspeed Capri set. An order was placed with Banzai and on they went. Standard Tamiya wide slicks on the rear and super slicks on the front.

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Don't they look awesome??? A great plan with only one teeny tiny issue-

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The rears were a little too wide. Another problem to solve then. Do I order another set of thinner fronts or go for something different? I decided some darker wheels would look nice with my choice of bodyshell colour so some black wheels with a similar look were ordered.

Here is the finished chassis then. You'll also notice a foam bumper made for the TL-01 chassis and a Tamiya hop up carbon quick release battery holder.

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I'm dead chuffed with it, turned out great I think. Body shell next then!

I've always loved Alfa Romeo's so the 155 was an easy choice for me to make. Initially I wasn't sure about the Jagermeister decals, I nearly bought some of the older Bosch ones but stuck with the later design, I'm so glad I did!

This was the first two tone lexan shell I have attempted, aside from one little bleed it went really well. I used Tamiya 5mm masking tape for the edges and regular masking tape for everything else-

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And finally-

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Like I said I am really pleased with the outcome, I've just ordered a touring car interior and rollcage to really finish it off. More pics when they get fitted.

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Love the look of that TL01 chassis, all black and very stealth like. :) Nice job on the body too.

James

:)

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Looks great!

Only issue I can see is that the quick release battery holder is on backwards.

The flip-up bit goes on the opposite side to the motor, with the "hook" facing towards the rear. The fixed plate goes on the same side as the motor. This pushes the battery slightly off-center away from the motor, improving chassis balance.

The way it is at the moment, it is pushing the battery towards the motor side, exacerbating the asymmetric weight distribution brought about by the off-center motor.

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Thanks chaps!

Looks great!

Only issue I can see is that the quick release battery holder is on backwards.

Doh!

*Runs off to find his screwdriver*

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Thanks chaps!

Doh!

*Runs off to find his screwdriver*

I fitted my first one the wrong way as well. Need to get it turned around one day

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Great car! It brings back memories of the touring car championships of the 90s. I just drove the same Alfa Romeo in Forza Motorsport 4 on Xbox 360 today.

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It's the TL01 chassis with the "long arm" suspension fitted hence the "LA". As mentioned above they aren't actually any longer than the standard TL01 arms but have a better geometry which improves the handling. Usually found at home under touring car bodyshells of that period.

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Cheers for the info, i'll need to add one to my stable. The hunt begins!

Are these better suited for on-road racing as opposed to rallying?

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I can't think of any reason why they wouldn't work just as well for rallying as they do for track racing.

That said, they are pretty rare nowdays, and rallying is quite hard on the car, so they are probably better used for track purposes where they are more likely to survive.

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Can't you effectively do the same thing with a TL01 and TA04 arms and suspension?

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